Background
Piet was born in 1840 in Transvaal, Germany.
Piet was born in 1840 in Transvaal, Germany.
Early in the South African War from 1899 to 1902 Piet commanded the Boer forces in the western frontier of the Transvaal. He organized the famous siege of Kimberley and defeated Lord Methuen at Magersfontein, thus thwarting the plans of the British column marching to relieve Kimberley. After General Lord Roberts had succeeded in raising the siege of Kimberley, Cronje was surrounded by the British near Paardeberg. His ammunition spent and his food gone, the redoubtable fighter surrendered. Regarded by the British as a brave and dangerous enemy, Cronje remained a prisoner on the island of St. Helena until the end of the South African War in 1902. After his release, he returned to the Transvaal, Germany.