Wordsworth Military Library
2 total works
Mafeking, Colenso, Ladysmith and Spion Kop, battles won by the Boers against the might of the British Empire, still have a resonance a century on. The Great Boer War (1899-1902) pitted a sturdy, stubborn, hardy pioneer people against the arrogant self-confidence of Britain at the height of her power. It produced in almost equal measure extraordinary feats of personal heroism, unbelievable examples of folly and stupidity, and many incidents of humour and tragedy. It was the last romantic war. Byron Farwell's definitive account of this dramatic conflict explains the origin of the war, and covers the political developments, the bloody battles that the outnumbered Boers almost always won, the sieges, the concentration camps and the men -Kruger, Roberts, Botha, Buller, Smuts, Kitchener and de Wet.
From 1837 to 1901, in Asia, China, Canada, Africa, and elsewhere, military expedition were constantly being undertaken to protect resident Britons or British interests, to extend a frontier, to repel an attack, avenge an insult, or suppress a mutiny or rebellion. Continuous warfare became an accepted way of life in the Victorian era, and in the process the size of the British Empire quadrupled.
But engrossing as these small wars are-and they bristle with bizarre, tragic, and often humorous incident-it is the officers and men who fought them that dominate this book. With their courage, foolhardiness, and eccentricities, they are an unforgettable lot.
But engrossing as these small wars are-and they bristle with bizarre, tragic, and often humorous incident-it is the officers and men who fought them that dominate this book. With their courage, foolhardiness, and eccentricities, they are an unforgettable lot.