Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-02-17

The details of Lord Roberts successes
around Kimberley continue ito cheer the
English people. so long accustomed to the
story of reverse and disaster. General
Cronje is in full retreat toward Bloemfon-
tefn having abandoned JacobSdal in evil
dent haste. This is a;t..Sted by the fact
that the British captured large quantities of
stores. together with seyenty-eight wagons
Had the eastward movement of the Beers
been merely a feint retreat. to draw the
British into a dangerous position away
from the railroad. it would hardly have
been executed at such a heavy sacrifice
The particulars of the pursuit now being
conducted by Cen kelly-kenny, under the
direct supervision, it is believed. of Gen.
Kitchener. will be awaited with great in
terest One report already received is that
Gen. Cronje found it necessary to stop to
rest his oxen. thus giving the British pur-
suers a chance to offer fight. This indicates
that the march to the east is being rapidly
conducted. and is even suggestive of rout
In this connection the London war ex
perts are figuring the part to be played
by General Kitchener in the pursuit of the
fleeing Beers if the situation really de-
velops into a flight. His most noted
achievement was the pursuit of the Khalifa
up the Nile and his ultimate destruction of
that chieftain's force at Omdurman. He
maintained then a thin line of communi-
cations with the base of supplies on the
far-distant seacoast. although menaced by
the mobile dervishes. There is now
considerable Boer force south of Jacobsdal.
engaged in holding back the forces under
Gatacre in Cape Colony. Two lines of pos
sible action are being figured out with ref
erence to this situation. One is that Kitch-
-rril- str iph fhrniYph f0yya a
Bloemfontein. ignoring for the present the
enemy south of him. and relying upon the
main line of defense along the railroad to
Kimberley to keep him in supplies. The
other is that he will seek TO cut in between
these southern Boer forces and their own
base of supplies. which seems to be Bloem-
f0ntein thus getting them between his own
forces and those of Gatacre. 1t all de-
ponds upon the numbers to be told off for
the invasion of the Free State to
whether the latter maneuver could well
succeed.
Jacobsdal is about ninety miles from
Blcemfontein. as the crow flies. and one
hundred miles by road. The Beers in north
ern Cape Colony have pressed forward to
Rensberg. which is about one hundred and
fifty miles by rail from Bloemfontein. 1t
may be part of the British plan to desist
from advancing at RenSbers. thus holding
the Beers there, while cutting through and
securing the railroad line which runs
north from that point, and upon which
the Beers have relied for their supplies and
the movement of troops into the elbow of
Cape Colony. 1t is. therefore. among the
probabilities that if the pursuit of Cronje
continues there will be serious fighting for
the possession of this line the seizure OF
which by the British at any point north
OF the Cape Colony boundary line would
materially lessen the area of Boer mobility.
Thus it appears that unless the present
R0er movement is complacent-a SUPPOSE
ton weakened by the circumstances of the
abandonment of Jacobsdal-the campaign
will now develop upon radically new lines.
the first effect of which will be to deter
mine the mastery of the lower Free State.
with Bloemfontein the chief British OBJ
jective.