The History of the Boer War to the Occupation of Bloemfontein, Vol. 2 of 2 (Classic Reprint)

Book excerpt: Excerpt from The History of the Boer War to the Occupation of Bloemfontein, Vol. 2 of 2 HE first part Of this work contained an account Of the field T operations in Natal down to the relief Of Ladysmith, and Of the events in the western. Theatre Of war as far as the middle Of December, 1899. The present volume includes a narrative Of the sieges Of Ladysmith and Kimberley, Of the Operations round Colesberg, Of the events on Modder River and north Of Sterkstroom until the arrival Of Lord Roberts, and Of the campaign in the Free State up to the occupation Of Bloemfontein. I have selected the last point as a suitable Stopping-place; because, by establishing our military superiority, the march from the Modder ended the first period Of the war and placed our armies on the road - albeit a long and difficult one - to final success. From that time onward the contest gradually changed its character: its main stream broke up into many smaller currents; and although the history Of these, as presenting the complete development Of our South African system, possesses an interest fully equal to any that appertains to the earlier portion Of the struggle, the labour Of tracing their endless deviations and counter eddies appears at present disproportioned to the profit that a single writer could derive from it. Limitation in point Of the period covered was, however, not the only one to which I have been obliged to submit; and a few remarks are necessary as to the materials and method which have been employed in the compilation Of the present volume. After the first was completed it was decided to abandon the system Of fortnightly instalments, and to publish the whole Of the second in ordinary volume form. The reasons for this change were. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.