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

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Book Description

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: Gregory Fremont-Barnes
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1472810171
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 143

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Book Description
Victorious in its previous campaigns in Africa against native armies, Britain now confronted an altogether different foe. The Boers proved to be formidable opponents, masterfully compensating for inferior numbers with grim determination, resourcefulness and strong religious faith. Their mobility, expert use of cover, and knowledge of the terrain, in which they employed powerful long-range magazine rifles, gave them initial advantages. By contrast the British suffered from inadequate transport, insufficient mounted troops and poor intelligence. Despite marshalling the immense resources of their empire, the British were to be severely tested in a war which one general described as 'the graveyard of many a soldier's reputation'.

Author: A. V. F. V. Russell
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : South African War, 1899-1902
Languages : en
Pages : 236

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Book Description

Author: G. D. Scholtz
Publisher: Protea Boekhuis
ISBN: 9781919825120
Category : South Africa
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
This concise history of the Anglo-Boer War, a prize-winning work which was originally written in Afrikaans, is the ideal book for those who want an overview of the military fortunes of the two warring parties. Now richly provided with maps and illustrations, it is one of the most accurate short histories of this important three-year war. The author, G. D. Scholtz, was a Afrikaner historian of great stature, who saw the Anglo-Boer War as a struggle for liberation, a fight for Boer freedom and independence. His original text has been sensitively translated into English by historian Bridget Theron, who is a lecturer at the University of South Africa. It is an accessible work that may provide echoes to the American wars of independence.

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

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Book Description
'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: D. Omissi
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 0230598293
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 325

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Book Description
This exciting new book marks a major shift in the study of the South African War. It turns attention from the war's much debated causes onto its more neglected consequences. An international team of scholars explores the myriad legacies of the war - for South Africa, for Britain, for the Empire and beyond. The extensive introduction sets the contributions in context, and the elegant afterword offers thought-provoking reflections on their cumulative significance.

Author: Rodney James Constantine
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Afrikaners
Languages : en
Pages : 416

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Book Description

Author: L. Scholtz
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 023051331X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 210

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Book Description
Why did the British win the Anglo-Boer War? Although there is truth in the simple statement that they were much stronger than the Boers, it does not explain everything. Therefore, the main focus of this book is to analyse the most important strategic and operational decisions made on both sides, and to measure them according to accepted modern military theory. It is shown that both the British and Boer war efforts were very haphazard at the beginning, but that both learnt as the war went on. In the end, the British got the Boers in a vice from which they could not escape.