General Smuts's guest appearances

General Smuts

The Anglo-Boer War

Theodore Roosevelt

John Rhodes

Hunter Hunts

Douglas Haig

Lord Kitchener

Paul Kruger

Major Vallentin

Sarah Raal

Jan Smuts

Lord Roberts

John Tengo Jabavu

Louis Botha

Lord Methuen

Gert Bezuidenhout

Deneys Reitz

OwlTail

Cruise

We’re back in the Northern Cape with General Jan Smuts. He’s been waiting in vain for more than two weeks for the British to send a relief force after he laid siege to the well defended town of O’Kiep having already seized Springbok and Concordia. Meanwhile, the first round of peace talks have already ended in Pretoria with the Boers undertaking to select representatives to appear at follow up talks set to take place at Vereeniging starting on May 15th 1902. Smuts has no idea that this meeting has already been agreed. As far as he’s concerned, the British will send a relief column by ship from Cape Town to Port Nolloth, and entrain from there to O’Kiep – which is a copper producing town of some significance. Compared to Kimberley and Johannesburg, hardly strategic, but important nonetheless. And with him is our young narrator Deneys Reitz, fighting on with the other bitter enders. “On the surface things looked prosperous..” he writes in his book Commando. “Five months ago we had come into this western country hunted like outlaws, and today we practically held the whole area from the Olifants to the Orange River four hundred miles away…”Except of course for a few garrison towns which had held out against Smuts. These were now hunkered down and the British inside the towns were unable to travel freely while the Boers roamed this vast territory at will. The success of Smuts’ commando were gratifying for the Volk back home in the Free State and Transvaal, as well as sympathisers in the Cape. Their spirits had been raised as reports circulated about General Smuts’ incredible attacks using hand grenades and trench type warfare at Springbok and Concordia. “Unfortunately while matters stood thus well with us, the situation in the two Republics up north was far otherwise..”Lord Kitchener’s drives and policy of scorched earth had worked in the end. Smuts had been out of touch from his own leaders since the previous September. That was almost nine months of no direct messages. Even guerrilla leaders must be in communication at some point or the entire idea of command and control evaporates in a mist of local delusion.“We had been out of touch with them for so long that we did not realise the desperate straits to which they had come..”Reitz along with Smuts had been trying to motivate the men while at the same time, realised that this war could not continue in the same vein. Something had to give. So towards the end of April, Smuts and his men were living in the town of Concordia  which lies around four miles from O’Kiep. The British there were dug in and their defensive positions were too difficult to overrun. Smuts had assumed that eventually the relief force would arrive, and it would be large. This he believed, would mean the southern region of the Cape would have been weakened and then he could make a direct dash south and perhaps catch the British off-guard. Reitz presumed the dash included a possible attack on the outskirts of Cape Town.

We’re back in the Northern Cape with General Jan Smuts. He’s been waiting in vain for more than two weeks for the British to send a relief force after he laid siege to the well defended town of O’Kiep having already seized Springbok and Concordia. Meanwhile, the first round of peace talks have already ended in Pretoria with the Boers undertaking to select representatives to appear at follow up talks set to take place at Vereeniging starting on May 15th 1902. Smuts has no idea that this meeting has already been agreed. As far as he’s concerned, the British will send a relief column by ship from Cape Town to Port Nolloth, and entrain from there to O’Kiep – which is a copper producing town of some significance. Compared to Kimberley and Johannesburg, hardly strategic, but important nonetheless. And with him is our young narrator Deneys Reitz, fighting on with the other bitter enders. “On the surface things looked prosperous..” he writes in his book Commando. “Five months ago we had come into this western country hunted like outlaws, and today we practically held the whole area from the Olifants to the Orange River four hundred miles away…” Except of course for a few garrison towns which had held out against Smuts. These were now hunkered down and the British inside the towns were unable to travel freely while the Boers roamed this vast territory at will. The success of Smuts’ commando were gratifying for the Volk back home in the Free State and Transvaal, as well as sympathisers in the Cape. Their spirits had been raised as reports circulated about General Smuts’ incredible attacks using hand grenades and trench type warfare at Springbok and Concordia. “Unfortunately while matters stood thus well with us, the situation in the two Republics up north was far otherwise..” Lord Kitchener’s drives and policy of scorched earth had worked in the end. Smuts had been out of touch from his own leaders since the previous September. That was almost nine months of no direct messages. Even guerrilla leaders must be in communication at some point or the entire idea of command and control evaporates in a mist of local delusion. “We had been out of touch with them for so long that we did not realise the desperate straits to which they had come..” Reitz along with Smuts had been trying to motivate the men while at the same time, realised that this war could not continue in the same vein. Something had to give. So towards the end of April, Smuts and his men were living in the town of Concordia which lies around four miles from O’Kiep. The British there were dug in and their defensive positions were too difficult to overrun. Smuts had assumed that eventually the relief force would arrive, and it would be large. This he believed, would mean the southern region of the Cape would have been weakened and then he could make a direct dash south and perhaps catch the British off-guard. Reitz presumed the dash included a possible attack on the outskirts of Cape Town.

Episode 136 - Deneys Reitz receives a record promotion and General Smuts takes a cruise to Cape Town

We continue to rid4 with General Jan Smuts and he has just entered the Cape Colony, an invasion that has been planned to coincide with Spring in early September 1901. The master guerrilla fighter and his commando of around 400 men are in a spot of bother, however.As they entered the Cape, their route took them through Basutho territory where they were set upon by around 300 warriors armed with rifles, spears and knobkerries. As we heard last week, they managed to fight off the attack, but lost 3 dead and seven wounded.They had also used up spare reserves of ammunition which was a big problem. This commando was supposed to immediately begin sowing mayhem inside the Cape but couldn’t do so without Lee Metford Rounds - their new choice of firearm replacing the German Mauser’s. The Boers were now armed with the same weapons as the British because their supply chains had dried up and were using attacks on the British to replenish ammunition and other material. Our narrator since the start of this podcast series, Deneys Reitz, had joined General Smuts along with ten others just before they crossed the Orange River into the Cape. He had only four rounds left after the clash with Basutho warriors that almost cost him his life. Invading hostile territory with a virtually empty rifle was not going to build confidence and Reitz fretted about this.

We continue to rid4 with General Jan Smuts and he has just entered the Cape Colony, an invasion that has been planned to coincide with Spring in early September 1901. The master guerrilla fighter and his commando of around 400 men are in a spot of bother, however. As they entered the Cape, their route took them through Basutho territory where they were set upon by around 300 warriors armed with rifles, spears and knobkerries. As we heard last week, they managed to fight off the attack, but lost 3 dead and seven wounded. They had also used up spare reserves of ammunition which was a big problem. This commando was supposed to immediately begin sowing mayhem inside the Cape but couldn’t do so without Lee Metford Rounds - their new choice of firearm replacing the German Mauser’s. The Boers were now armed with the same weapons as the British because their supply chains had dried up and were using attacks on the British to replenish ammunition and other material. Our narrator since the start of this podcast series, Deneys Reitz, had joined General Smuts along with ten others just before they crossed the Orange River into the Cape. He had only four rounds left after the clash with Basutho warriors that almost cost him his life. Invading hostile territory with a virtually empty rifle was not going to build confidence and Reitz fretted about this.

Episode 103 - A porcupine causes a stampede & General Smuts makes a big mistake at Murderer's Way

Spring is upon is in this podcast - so too the long-awaited invasion of the Cape Colony by General Jan Smuts and his commando.It has taken him almost a month of zig-zagging across the Free State from his base in the Eastern Transvaal to arrive at the border.Other Boer leaders had already been busy in the Cape, but they were operating in smaller units and were regarded as less significant at least from the point of view of the British occupying the territory. Smuts’ arrival was a completely different kettle of fish.He was the very symbol of resistance, but also a symbol of the contradictions that many Boers encapsulated as I’ll explain. While he remains literally a giant in the pantheon of South African heroes, he was not an easy man to travel with as Deneys Reitz would find out.Remember last week Reitz had ridden to within sight of the Orange River and its junction with the Calendon River in the southern Free State.That’s when Jan Smuts’ commando rode into view and our youthful narrator was seeking to invade the Cape himself with his new found friends - nine extremely young and radicalised teens who wanted to fight the British inside their own territory.But first a quick look at Smuts and why he was such an enigma in South African early politics. He deserves an entire podcast series himself his life was so rich - from his incredibly brave acts as a youthful Boer leader, all the way through to his involvement in the formation of the Royal Air Force during the First world War, his leadership during the second world war, his diplomatic skills and crucial role in the formation of first the league of Nations and then United Nations, and of course, as South Africa’s prime Minister decades after the Boer war.Strangely, he studied American poet Walt Whitman, and then wrote a book which remained unpublished until 1973 called Walt Whitman: A study in the evolution of personality.But as soon as General Smuts and his commando crossed the Orange River into the Cape Colony, they came under attack by Basotho warriors hired by the British to police the border.

Spring is upon is in this podcast - so too the long-awaited invasion of the Cape Colony by General Jan Smuts and his commando. It has taken him almost a month of zig-zagging across the Free State from his base in the Eastern Transvaal to arrive at the border. Other Boer leaders had already been busy in the Cape, but they were operating in smaller units and were regarded as less significant at least from the point of view of the British occupying the territory. Smuts’ arrival was a completely different kettle of fish. He was the very symbol of resistance, but also a symbol of the contradictions that many Boers encapsulated as I’ll explain. While he remains literally a giant in the pantheon of South African heroes, he was not an easy man to travel with as Deneys Reitz would find out. Remember last week Reitz had ridden to within sight of the Orange River and its junction with the Calendon River in the southern Free State. That’s when Jan Smuts’ commando rode into view and our youthful narrator was seeking to invade the Cape himself with his new found friends - nine extremely young and radicalised teens who wanted to fight the British inside their own territory. But first a quick look at Smuts and why he was such an enigma in South African early politics. He deserves an entire podcast series himself his life was so rich - from his incredibly brave acts as a youthful Boer leader, all the way through to his involvement in the formation of the Royal Air Force during the First world War, his leadership during the second world war, his diplomatic skills and crucial role in the formation of first the league of Nations and then United Nations, and of course, as South Africa’s prime Minister decades after the Boer war. Strangely, he studied American poet Walt Whitman, and then wrote a book which remained unpublished until 1973 called Walt Whitman: A study in the evolution of personality. But as soon as General Smuts and his commando crossed the Orange River into the Cape Colony, they came under attack by Basotho warriors hired by the British to police the border.