Life on Commando During the Anglo-Boer War, 1899-1902 PDF Download

Author: Fransjohan Pretorius
Publisher: Human & Rosseau
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 500

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Author: Fransjohan Pretorius
Publisher: Human & Rosseau
ISBN: 9780798138062
Category : Stress (Psychology)
Languages : en
Pages : 492

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Book Description
Military historians, scholars, and readers interested in military affairs and the South African Boer War will find this insightful social history of particular interest as 1999 approaches, marking the centenary of the Boer War.

Author: Deneys Reitz
Publisher: Blurb
ISBN: 9781034469391
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 328

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Book Description
With an introduction by General Jan Smuts. The incredible true first-person account of life in a Boer commando during the Second Anglo-Boer War (1899-1902), written just a year after the events. The author, the son of a State President of the Boer Republic of the Orange Free State, volunteered for war service at the age of 17, and this dramatic narrative remains one of the most astonishing accounts of that conflict. Starting with a short description of a young life as a carefree boy on the plains of his father's republic, the author's story quickly darkens as it describes the opening stages of the war: the Boer invasion of the British colony of Natal. There, the author provides fascinating personal details from the first great Boer victories in which he took part-including the famous Battle of Spion Kop-to the retreat and occupation of the Boer Republics by the British. Defeated in set-battle, the Boers then resorted to "commando" tactics-the word and military operation in fact originated with them and this war-and for the next two years, harried the numerically overwhelming British forces seemingly without end. Reitz's book is however most significant because it provides the only first-hand account of the famous Boer raid into the British-ruled Cape Colony, led by General Jan Smuts, from 1901 to 1902. This remarkable adventure-which effectively occupied vast swathes of that region, driving the British out completely-remains one of the least-known episodes of that war, and saw Boer forces drive right to the Atlantic Ocean, some within sight of Cape Town itself. How the Boers managed these feats, how they survived, and the extent of the British countermeasures-which included the famous blockhouse system-is all contained in this fascinating book which has lost none of its sense of adventure or excitement. This new edition is illustrated with 31 rare images from the time, and contains 109 new footnotes, explaining terms, issues, and events for the modern reader.

Author: Deneys Reitz
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 331

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Author: Boris Gorelik
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781776191369
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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'Lucid, evocative and perceptive, this combat memoir is a delight.' - Fransjohan Pretorius, Emeritus Professor of History In January 1900, galvanised by the daring of the Boers in taking on imperial Britain, the young Russian officer Yevgeny Avgustus set off for the Transvaal to fight in the Anglo-Boer War. Like most of the foreign volunteers who flocked to the Boer cause, he ended up on the Natal front. Avgustus and his companions joined the Krugersdorp Commando, and their experiences in the field are portrayed in vivid detail. The central part of this gripping account covers the Battle of the Tugela Heights in February 1900 and the Boers' subsequent retreat. The immediacy of Avgustus's writing captures his trepidation and excitement as he approaches the battlefield for the first time, as well as his experience of life on commando. The keen eye of this foreign volunteer brings to life a turning point in South African history. Avgustus is a gifted writer, and his narrative officers both acute observation and thoughtful introspection. A gripping portrayal of human frailty and courage in the face of mortal danger, A Russian on Commando highlights both the strange attraction and the absurdities of war.

Author: Deneys Reitz
Publisher: Pickle Partners Publishing
ISBN: 1787206246
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 1149

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Book Description
During his exile in Madagascar, Boer soldier Deneys Reitz wrote about his experience of the Second Boer War (1899-1902). When it was eventually edited and published in 1929 as Commando: A Boer Journal of the Boer War, it still had the freshness and detail of an account written soon after the war. Reitz’ descriptions of the tumult through the eyes of a warrior in the saddle form not only a succinct narrative and important source for the Second Boer War, but his family connections (his father Francis William Reitz was State Secretary of the Transvaal), sheer luck, and participation at virtually every major event of the War all provide for a unique account. A vivid, unforgettable picture of mobile guerrilla warfare. Richly illustrated throughout.

Author: Jan Christiaan Smuts
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 252

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On the afternoon of Monday 4 June 1900, the young State Attorney of the South African Republic bade a sad farewell to his wife and child whom he was never to see again and left Pretoria to join the Boer commandos. He had braved shot and shell to put the government's sole source of finance for the continuing war - less than half a million pounds sterling in gold and coins - on a special train to President Kruger in the Eastern Transvaal. The next day, Lord Robert's army entered the capital. Jan Smuts came to play an important role in the South African war of 1899-1902. His memoirs are recorded here, and they present an account of the critical events from the fall of Pretoria to the reorganization of the commandos in December that year.

Author: Deneys Reitz
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781776193691
Category : Great Britain
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
"The definitive account of Commando: A Boer Journal of the Anglo-Boer War, published word-for-word as Reitz first wrote it; edited and annotated by historian and Anglo-Boer War expert, Professor Fransjohan Pretorius. In 1899, Deneys Reitz, then aged seventeen, enlisted in the Boer army to fight the British. He had learnt to ride, shoot and swim almost as soon as he could walk. He made full use of these skills and the endurance he had acquired in the next three years of the war, during which he fought with the Boer commandos. He was involved in major actions, like the battle of Spioen Kop, and he interacted with prolific political and military figures of the time, such as President Paul Kruger, Boer generals Piet Joubert, Louis Botha, Koos de la Rey, Christiaan Beyers, Jan Smuts and British commander Lord Kitchener. He even met the young Winston Churchill as a prisoner-of-war in Pretoria.Reitz forged a strong personal and political friendship with General Jan Smuts after the war, built on reciprocal respect. Commando is more than a historical document; it is a literary masterpiece that transcends time. With prose that captures both the brutality and the beauty of war, Reitz weaves a narrative that resonates with authenticity and passion.As relevant today as when it was first penned, Commando has become a South African classic and stands as a testament to the indomitable human spirit in the face of adversity."--Provided by publisher.

Author: Deneys Reitz
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780956774552
Category : South African War, 1899-1902
Languages : en
Pages : 298

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Book Description
1929. Deneys Reitz, who is now one of General Smuts's political lieutenants and a warm supporter of the British Commonwealth, fought through the South African War as our enemy. He enlisted on the outbreak of the war as a boy of seventeen and went through it to the bitter end. His father was President of the Orange Free State, and after peace was concluded he and his family went into exile. Later he returned to his own country; and later still fought in the Great War on the side of the Allies, first in West and South Africa, and then in France, where he was severely wounded, and where he came to command the First Battalion of the Royal Scots Fusiliers. Commando abounds in interesting sidelights and portraits-Kruger, De Wet, Smuts, Kitchener. One of the most remarkable passages gives us a glimpse of the young Winston Churchill as prisoner of war in Pretoria. It is difficult to speak of this book in anything short of a string of superlatives. The spirit of it is magnificent; the uncomplaining courage of the boy-fighter rouses memories of all the stories down the ages about unrecking devotion to an ideal. And not one of them is a finer one than this.

Author: Deneys Reitz
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781258850289
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 336

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Book Description
This is a new release of the original 1929 edition.