On February 10 the Field Marshal concentrated three divisions on the Modder River: Kelly-Kenny (6th), Tucker (7th), and Colvile (9th). Then he secretly assembled the cavalry, grouped into three brigades (those of Broadwood, Porter, and Gordon), under General French. The latter, supported by seven mounted batteries and six field batteries, started in the night of the 11th-12th, reached Rooidam, continued by way of Potgieter’s Farm, brushed aside General Ferreira, and entered Kimberley on Thursday, February 15, at half-past five in the evening. The surprise was complete, as we know! Meanwhile, Lord Roberts had not been idle. On the 15th, Maxwell’s Brigade occupied Jacobsdal, and Lord Kitchener was pressing Cronje, who was retiring upon Paardeburg. French, his raid accomplished, joined Kitchener by way of Koodoesrand, and on the 17th the whole of Roberts’ force surrounded the Boer General. After a ten days’ defence, more heroic than reasonable--for he might have broken through with De Wet’s help--Cronje, crushed by the terrible fire of 90 cannon,[#] bore out Colonel de Villebois’ prediction, being forced to surrender unconditionally on February 27, at 7.30 a.m. [#] Lord Roberts had 6 field batteries, 1 howitzer battery, 7 horse batteries, and 5 naval guns--90 pieces in all, to be exact. Lord Roberts telegraphed as follows to the War Office: ’PAARDEBURG, 7.45 a.m. ’General Cronje is now a prisoner in my camp. The strength of his force will be communicated later. I hope Her Majesty’s Government will consider this event satisfactory, occurring as it does on the anniversary of Majuba.’ It was afterwards announced by the War Office that the General had surrendered two Krupp guns, one belonging to the Orange Free State, and two Maxims, one of these also belonging to the Orange Free State, 4,000 men, of whom 1,150 were Free Staters, and 47 officers, 18 of them Free Staters. Among the officers was the artillery commandant Albrecht, formerly an Austrian officer. In Natal, on the 28th, Lord Dundonald entered Ladysmith, the siege of which had been raised at six in the evening, preceding a convoy of provisions which arrived on the morning of March 2. Lord Roberts did not linger long on the banks of the Modder River. After giving his troops a short rest while he went with Kitchener to visit Kimberley, where he was the guest of Cecil Rhodes, he continued his march upon Bloemfontein. On the 7th he was at Poplar Grove, on the 10th at Abraham’s Kraal--he called the battle fought here Driefontein--and on the 13th he entered the capital of the Orange Free State. ’BLOEMFONTEIN, ’_March_ 13, 8 p.m. ’By God’s help, and thanks to the bravery of Her Majesty’s soldiers, the troops under my command have taken possession of Bloemfontein. The British flag is now flying over the President’s house, which was last night abandoned by Mr. Steyn, the late President of the Orange Free State.