THE FALL OF PRETORIA

The fall of Pretoria forms in many respects a turning point in the history of the war. Since the retreat from the Modder River and Tugela, victory had but seldom and then very briefly smiled on the Boer arms. It was everlastingly retreat, retreat—wearying, dispiriting retreat. At every stage of the retreat the Boer cause became more hopeless, the Boer army smaller in numbers, and the Boer resources more exhausted. Pretoria—that holy of holies of the Republic in South Africa—was generally expected to mark a decisive stage of the war; to the British commanders the expected final Boer stand at Pretoria and its capture seemed likely to be the coup de grâce to the Republics; to the Boer rank and file it appeared in advance as the great Armageddon where the Boer forces, concentrated from all points of the compass in defence of their central stronghold, would deliver that final united blow from which perhaps the British forces might be sent reeling back to the coast.