Battle of Paardeberg (Paperback)

High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! The Battle of Paardeberg or Perdeberg ("Horse Mountain") was a major battle during the Second Anglo-Boer War. It was fought near Paardeberg Drift on the banks of the Modderrivier ("Mud River") in the Orange Free State near Kimberley. The battle was the culmination of a move initiated by Lord Methuen in November 1899 to relieve the besieged cities of Kimberley and Mafeking. The army of Boer General Piet Cronje was retreating from Magersfontein towards Bloemfontein after its lines of communication were cut by Major General John French, whose cavalry had outflanked the Boer position to relieve Kimberley. Cronje's slow-moving column was intercepted by French at Paardeberg, where he eventually surrendered after a prolonged siege, having fought off an attempted direct assault by Lieutenant General Horatio Kitchener.