French's men did not have much opportunity to relax when they reached the town, as they were roused during their first night in the town first to make yet another dash to try to capture the Long Tom gun and, in the early hours of 17 February, to cut off Cronjé's main force, who had abandoned Magersfontein and were heading east towards Bloemfontein along the Modder River. Kitchener directed French to cut off the Boers' escape; of French's original strength of 5,000, only 1,200 of his cavalrymen were still fit, while the horses were depleted. At first light, the cavalry headed towards the Boer dust clouds; soon they were overlooking a whole valley full of Boers, with cattle, 400 wagons and women and children in tow. The surprise was complete when the British started shelling the Boer column just as it started crossing the Modder River at Paardeberg Drift, causing considerable confusion and panic. Cronjé elected to sit tight rather than escape, giving French the opportunity to summon reinforcements before the Boers realised how small and depleted the force was that was harassing them. The Battle of Paardeberg ensued over the next week, resulting in the defeat of Cronjé, but at the expense of a considerable amount of British blood.