Battle of Paardeberg - Boer Surrender

Boer Surrender

Cronjé's encampment was subjected to an increasingly heavy artillery bombardment, as more guns (including a battery of 5-inch medium howitzers and another of 1-pounder "pom-poms") joined the besieging British forces. Almost every horse, mule and ox was killed, and the stench and flies became unbearable. On the final day of the battle, the Royal Canadian Regiment of Infantry, having lost more than 70 soldiers in an earlier charge against sheltered Boer positions, were again called to take the lead in the routine daily battalion rotation. Instead of another charge the next morning as was expected, the Canadians, with the help of Royal Engineers, advanced at night towards the Boer camp, then set about digging trenches on high ground 65 yards from the Boer lines. On 27 February 1900, the Boers woke up staring into the muzzles of Canadian rifles and surrendered. Cronjé surrendered with some 4,019 men and 50 women; around 10% of the Boers' entire army were now prisoners.

The Boer War marked the first ever overseas deployment of the Canadian Army. The Toronto company of the Royal Canadian Regiment had joined the Queensland Mounted Infantry in dispersing a Boer commando at Sunnyside and Belmont in the Western Cape in January.

The account of this battle and of Cronje's surrender is given in much greater depth by AB Paterson, war correspondent for the Sydney Morning Herald, "embedded" with the New South Wales Lancers. Paterson states that Cronje had decided on the previous night to surrender at 6am on February 27th as his supplies were exhausted, but when the Canadians attacked at 4am he refused to be hurried and fought for two hours at a cost to the Canadians of "15 or 20 shot and many more wounded", then surrendered at 6am as planned, and with some considerable degree of dignity. This account differs slightly in detail to that above and deserves to be noted.