Roberts had finally resumed his advance after…

Roberts had finally resumed his advance after being forced to delay for several weeks at Bloemfontein by a shortage of supplies, an outbreak of typhoid at Paardeburg, and poor medical care.

He is forced to halt again at Kroonstad for ten days, due once again to the collapse of his medical and supply systems, but finally captures Johannesburg on May 31 and the capital of the Transvaal, Pretoria, on June 5.

The first into Pretoria is Lieutenant William Watson of the New South Wales Mounted Rifles, who persuades the Boers to surrender the capital.

Before the war, the Boers had constructed several forts south of Pretoria, but the artillery had been removed from the forts for use in the field, and in the event they abandon Pretoria without a fight.