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General Piet Arnoldus Cronje (1840?-1904) was the leader of the
Zuid Afrika Republic's military forces that were formed
into groups called Commandos.
Born in Transvaal, he had rough peasant ways and a lot of courage. He was
short of stature and had a black beard. Cronje was one of the heroes of the first Anglo Boer War and rounded up Jameson at Dorinkop during the Jameson
Raid. During the Second Boer War Cronje was general commanding in the western
theatre of war. He began the sieges of Kimberley and of Mafeking. At Mafeking, with a force varying between 2000 and 6000 he laid siege against 1200 military
and militial under the command of Colonel Robert
Baden-Powell. After his surrender on February 27, 1900, he was banished as a prisoner
of war to St. Helena Island where he remained until the conclusion of peace
negotiations.
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