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Civil War Relics
Peter Krueler
NAME- Pieter Krueler
NATION- South Africa
DATE (S) OF INTERVIEW (S) November 1984
PLACE OF INTERVIEW (S)- Cape Town, South Africa
LANGUAGE (S) CONDUCTED- English
SIGNIFICANCE OF SUBJECT- -Guerrilla and messenger during Boer Wars and German volunteer in World War I Africa.
OTHERS IN ATTENDANCE- None
FORMAT- Q & A standard.
Q- Where and when were you born?
A- I was born on 10 April 1885 in a town called Mahado Dorp. This was west of Pretoria. I had two brothers, Hans and Paul, and a sister named Willemina. Only I live today. Paul was older and died in the fighting against the British at Paarderberg in 1900. Hans was younger and died with my mother and sister in a British detainment camp, which we call concentration camps today. My father also died as a British prisoner of war, so I was all alone.
Q- How old were you when you first saw combat?
A- I was only fourteen when I was assigned as a cavalry messenger during our attack against the British garrison at Kimberly in January 1900, where I was shot out of the saddle. I was not hurt badly, since the Enfield round penetrated my horse’s neck, came out, and struck my telescope strapped to my saddle. The next time I saw action was the next month, when I was just short of my fifteenth birthday, and when I was with my older brother Paul at Paarderberg, which was February 1900. Paul, who was three years older was a commando protecting the wagons and oxen used to carry our supplies through Orange Free State. This was an important job, because we had many families who traveled with us, even tough it does not make sense that this should have been allowed. However, many of the families moved with us since many of the homes had been destroyed, farms ruined and no one felt safe being away from the fighting men. We had to move all the time to survive.
Q- How did you get chosen for this kind of work?
A- My brother Paul and I were considered the best shots in the territory. We always competed in shooting events, including shooting from the saddle at full gallop. Because I was a short and light weighted youth, as well as a great shot and horseman I was personally interviewed by Jan Smuts, who gave me the job. He was a little concerned at my age, because I looked much younger. Paul was the more intelligent, and he spoke several languages fluently, including Bantu and other dialects of the Zulu.
Q- What was Paarderberg like?
A- I was always confused by such things, never being a great strategist or being able to see the larger picture. I will admit that I was perhaps frightened, but the excitement of fighting the greatest army in the world probably made me do stupid things that I would not have done had I been older and wiser. I remember the British cavalry were out flanking us following an artillery attack, which did little in the way of damage but it scared the animals, which was enough. We had positions at Magersfontein, which the British were expected to attack, but our officers believed that most of the enemy would try and go to Kimberly, which was still under attack from our commandos. I had been pulled from Kimberly to deliver a message to the colonel in charge, whose name I can’t remember, and found myself stuck there doing mounted reconnaissance. It was during a recon mission that I was instructed to deliver the message that British forces were going to Bloemfontein. I was on the way to deliver the message when we ran into a massive British force; thousands of cavalry and infantry, and more men than I had ever seen in my life in the field were coming right at us. Many men dismounted to support our infantry on the hills. The battle was short, and I killed two British horses, although I don’t know about the men, and the British broke through, still going to Kimberly, and we could do nothing to stop them. I was ordered to ride ahead of the British on a fresh horse and alert the garrison, the same one I had left a couple of weeks before. By the time I reached the outskirts of Kimberly the British were already there. There was nothing I could do. General Piet Cronje then informed me that my brother was dead and my family captured by the British. I would never see any of them again. Cronje ordered Magersfontein to be abandoned; we were to go to the Modder River. Our destination was Bloemfontein. The women and oxen slowed us to a crawl, and the general was very concerned that a superior force would overtake us. This was when we began doing twenty-four hour mounted reconnaissance missions. We even ate and slept in the saddle for over a week, and the horses were worthless by the end of it all. It was around February 15, my brother Hans’ birthday when our commandos joined us. They had been hiding from the British on Smuts’ orders to deceive them of our true numbers, and to have a strong reserve force when needed.
Q- What happened? Did the force make it?
A- Well, in fact the British caught up to us and attacked the rear elements, but we turned and successfully fought our way through, which was not easy, protecting women, children and the slow moving pack animals. We escaped, or so we believed. General Cronje was a magnificent leader, and he led by example. He only ate his meals when he knew the horses and soldiers were cared for, and he ate the same food, took the same risks. It was a couple of days after this that we met the British at Paaderberg. They shelled our camp, and we were ordered to dig in. We were told that a relief force was coming to us, and so we had to just hold on for a while. The British surrounded us and fired hundreds of artillery shells into our defences. I was to ride to the various points and pass on the general’s orders, since in those days we did not have the communications equipment of today. Orders were to be orally transmitted, never written down and memorised for accuracy. This was in case of capture, you know.
Q- How did the battle end?
A- Well, the British attacked us with everything they had, hitting our positions and wagons at the Modder River, following an artillery pounding that lasted a few hours. The British advanced across open terrain, and at five hundred yards we were killing them quite easily, since most of us had British Lee Enfields or German Mausers, which was my personal favourite, although a shorter carbine would have been better for mounted duty. Each man carried one hundred rounds, and I can assure you that a British soldier fell for every two rounds fired, if not for every round fired. We just could not miss. We were well entrenched and protected from all but a direct artillery hit. We had bunkers, communications trenches, and fall back positions in case we were overrun. I must state that the British soldiers were very brave. They even entered our trenches at one point and the fighting was hand to hand, although I was not involved in that, but we could see and hear the action. We were pinned down most of the time, and I was ordered to stay with my commander, Christian De Wet, who was perhaps the best field soldier I ever saw. When we heard that De Wet was coming I ran from the wagons and found a horse, British I am sure, and rode south. I met De Wet and his commando of three hundred soldiers as they were arriving several miles away. I informed him of what had happened so far, and late in the afternoon we attacked the British positions. This was the chance to provide an escape route for our soldiers at the Modder, and the British must have known this as well.
Q- Were you successful?
A- Oh, yes. We killed several of the enemy and occupied their position. I was then ordered to ride back to General Cronje and tell him of the developments. No sooner had I ridden a thousand yards my horse was shot dead. I then had to run back on foot and request another mount, which was difficult. I then was able to escape with my message. I reached Cronje and gave him the message, and he then said that he was going to try and negotiate a cease-fire, since their were so many wounded on both sides. He was that kind of man. I was told to ride to the British commander with a written letter from Cronje. I was carried a white flag tied to my rifle barrel and entered the British camp, where I met a colonel. I spoke to him, and he took my letter. I waited for about three hours I think, and finally this British colonel came back and handed me another letter with a wax seal tied by a white string. I rode back, wondering if I would be shot in the back. I went back and forth three times, passing letters back and forth, never knowing what was in these letters. The entire time Cronje was speaking with the other officers and they were planning a break out to De Wet’s location, and I did hear some of this being said. A day later I rode to De Wet but was greeted by rifle fire; the British were in the positions I had just left earlier and De Wet was gone. I rode back to Cronje, who had just refused a surrender offer from the British. Eventually we did surrender, mostly for the civilians’ sake, and the smell of the dead was enough to want to change locations. After a week of artillery shelling Cronje finally accepted the terms. The women and children were given safe passage, and our wounded, as well as over four thousand as prisoners I think were to be well treated. I cannot say that the British treated me badly, maybe due to my age as a child. I had removed my weapons and was allowed to join the other children. I don’t think that would have happened had they known what I was.
Q- What did you do after the war?
A- I worked on a few farms and went back to school. I wanted to learn to speak better English, and up until 1905, around my twentieth birthday, I was teaching young people also. I never went to university, although I would have liked to. The British controlled the schools and the government, and it was difficult to succeed.
Q- You also fought in the First World War, didn’t you?
A- Yes, and this was even more interesting. I was living in Hoachanas, South West Africa, which was a German colony when the war began. Since I could speak German finding work was easy. I decided to become a policeman, and I made friends with Paul Gaisser, who worked for the German government. He was a fine man, and he recruited me into the German Scouts to fight in Africa. This was in 1915.
Q- What was the motivation, hatred of the British or the money?
A- Both, although I did not really hate the British, but they were my enemy. I had fought the British during the Boer War and was a messenger for Jan Smuts as well. After the war the Germans began recruiting South Africans and others to serve in their colonial service, and they paid more money than most of us had ever seen. Our officers were all German and they trained us in their standard military methods, yet they respected our hit and run cavalry techniques, and they were impressed with our ability to stay in the saddle as well as in the field without re-supply for long periods. We were used to living off the land, and we knew the terrain in most of South West and Southern Africa. However, in going into Eastern Africa we were in a strange environment, yet we were able to adapt.
Q- How did you fare in these campaigns?
A- We were very successful in attacking British, French, and Belgian troops who were mostly infantry and heavily tied to their routes of supply. We hardly ever engaged enemy troops directly, yet by striking at their supply lines and destroying their communications we had perhaps inflicted more damage by destroying morale and placing hardships upon their commands. This was the true nature of guerrilla war as we knew it.
Q- How did you feel about Jan Smuts’ working with the British?
A- I was very upset that he did that, although I understood years later that he wanted to heal the wounds of the country, which helped him to become Prime Minister after the war. I felt betrayed at first, but soon I was too busy to think about that.
Q- Who if any major personalities did you meet during the war?
A- I met General [Paul von] Lettow-Vorbeck, who really impressed me with not only his knowledge but also his willingness to listen to subordinates. He trusted our opinions, and when it came to updating military maps he instructed his officers to use us as experts. Each commando of one hundred men was represented by a German officer, usually a captain who was in overall command, and a lieutenant who was Boer. This really worked out well, and the Germans treated us very well, at least from my personal experience.
Q- What were some of the memorable actions you were involved in?
A- Once in 1916 we went to North West Rhodesia and attacked British and South African outposts, stealing weapons, food and ammunition. These were strictly hit and run raids. Later we went further north into the Congo where the Belgians had built defences along the main towns and the Congo River. They re-supplied their forts by river, which they believed was safer than overland due to our attacks. It was also faster. Well, they soon learned that even this was not safe.
Q- How did you conduct river operations?
A- Well, the Germans had river boats, but they were unable to go very far without being detected, so we decided to dress as Belgian soldiers, use a stolen boat and ride up and down the river. We would usually move at night, land the boats along the shore and steal fuel, weapons, and whatever else we could find. There was not really much fighting. Most of our work was appropriations and intelligence gathering. Once we did get involved in a serious fight, when a Belgian officer wanted to board our boat. The German officer with us thought that taking him prisoner was a good idea. As soon as the Belgian major approached something happened, and he tried to run away. The enemy soldiers fired machine guns and rifles into us, killing their own officer and nearly sinking the boat. We all fired back, and this lasted for about twenty minutes. The Belgians finally withdrew and we decided to leave quickly. Going further north would have been suicide; the enemy would surly report our presence. We had spent two months on the river up to that time. But the boat began to sink, and we did not have time or the material to repair it. We ran it aground and decided to head back south west on foot. This was November 1916, and we had eighteen men. When we finally arrived in South West Africa at the town of Kobib it was April 1917, and there were only eleven of us. The rest had died from fever, probably malaria, which I still have on occasion, and one man died from snakebite. We were not aware that our short adventure had thrown the entire Belgian Congo Military Command into a panic, and the German High Command decorated all of us.
Q- Was that the only action you saw?
A- No. The British launched an attack against German East Africa, and we counterattacked at Mgela, supporting the conventional troops with our guerrilla tactics. This was October 1916, and we were led by Vorbeck himself. We routed the enemy who was not very well organised, and there was a lot of disease going around, even we became ill. I think that disease was perhaps the greatest enemy we feared. Otherwise, most of my time during the war was reconnaissance and intelligence gathering. Not very exciting, but we still had our pay.
Q- How did the war end for you?
A- Well, it was interesting. The surrender terms stated that all German and their allied forces had to surrender to the nearest Allied unit or town. Since we Boers were virtually unknown to the Allies we just melted away. I went to Windhoek and remained there until I married Ingird, my late wife, in 1926.
Q- Where did you go from there?
A- I finally ended up in South Africa working as a demolition man in the Kimberly mines. I worked there from 1931 until 1936, when I was injured in a premature explosion. I then began reading with interest the activities of that man Hitler in Germany, and the goings on in Spain. I remembered trying to figure out who was on the side of right, Franco or the Republicans. I then heard that there was a good deal of money to be made as a mercenary, so I volunteered. I ended up in Seville in June 1937. Most of my time was spent working with the Basques in the Pyrenees, who were at that time not Communist or Fascist, just Nationalist, and we learned a lot from each other. They were very apolitical, only wanting a free and independent homeland. I could understand that, since that was what we had fought for many years before. The Civil War for me ended the following year, and I never really saw any big battles, although we did engage the Republican border police many times, and we always had the upper hand. Those Basque mountain fighters were incredible, and very brave. I still have the greatest respect for them.
Q- How did World War II effect you personally?
A- Well, my wife Ingrid died in childbirth, so I also lost my only son. I have never remarried; I just don’t think that I am destined to be lucky that way. Once Ingird died in 1940 I decided that I could not fight for Germany again; Hitler was, in my opinion at that time, less a nationalist warrior than a political opportunist, and although he had been wounded and highly decorated in the Great War, I saw the great numbers of European Jews trying to come to South Africa, and I knew about the mass migrations elsewhere in the world. I fought tyranny all my life, even if you look at Franco’s forces, whom I fought with because Communism was an evil I could not support; also I needed the money, and I never regretted that decision. World War II was a war in which I was too old to get involved, and the two major sides were equally detestable to me. I just sat that one out.
Q- But you did see service as a soldier again?
A- Yes, I did. I joined the South African army as an instructor for a while, then went to Rhodesia, already at retirement age, and worked with the Selous Scouts after finishing up with 32 Bushmen. We taught the standard cavalry techniques of guerrilla warfare, as well as the infantry skills that almost brought us victory in 1899-1900. The Communists were becoming a great threat and I found myself allied to the very people whose fathers and grandfathers had tried to kill me, and I probably shot at them. It is a strange world after all. I finally retired for good in 1970, after seventy years as a soldier, miner, farmer and God knows what. I like to think I have earned a rest. Besides, I am thinking about taking up deep sea fishing as a hobby. I still run two miles a day, you know?
Q- Well, you are ninety-nine years old, and you look about sixty or so. How do you do it?
A- It’s all luck. I can’t stand people who play it safe all their lives. These people are afraid to run a risk, even a small one. My God man! That is when you know you are alive! I would rather die in a hail of bullets, or in a high-speed crash, leaving a positive impression upon my friends and others, as opposed to dying in my bed; obscure, anonymous and alone. I guess that is about it.
Q- Thank you for the interview Piet.
A- You are most welcome.