Commando: A Boer Journal of the Boer War [Illustrated Edition]

by Deneys Reitz, F.-M. J. C. Smuts (Introduction)

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781787206243
Publisher:	Borodino Books
Publication date:	07/11/2017
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	679
File size:	108 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

DENEYS REITZ (2 April 1882 - 19 October 1944), son of Francis William Reitz, was a Boer soldier who fought in the Second Boer War for the South African Republic against the British Empire. After a period of exile in Madagascar he returned to South Africa and became a lawyer. During WWI he fought for the Union of South Africa against the German Empire and in later life he was a politician.

While visiting his father in Pretoria at 17, he joined the Boer forces at the start of the Second Boer War. Following the Boer surrender in 1902, he went into voluntary exile in Madagascar. On the advice of his former General (now Field-Marshal) Smuts, he later served with distinction in WWI as a comrade-in-arms of the British and became Commander of the First Royal Scots Fusiliers, one of the oldest regiments in the British Army.

In his native South Africa he entered the Union Parliament and occupied a succession of important public offices. In 1943 he became the High Commissioner for South Africa in London, where he died in 1944 at the age of 62.

FIELD-MARSHAL JAN CHRISTIAAN SMUTS (24 May 1870 - 11 September 1950) was a prominent South African and British Commonwealth statesman, military leader and philosopher. He served as prime minister of the Union of South Africa (1919-24 and 1939-48). He led a Boer Commando in the Second Boer War for the Transvaal. During WWI he led the armies of South Africa against Germany, capturing German South-West Africa and commanding the British Army in East Africa. He was a member of the British Imperial War Cabinet from 1917-19 and was instrumental in the founding the Royal Air Force (RAF). He became a field-marshal in the British Army in 1941 and served in the Imperial War Cabinet under Winston Churchill. He was the only man to sign both of the peace treaties ending the First and Second World War. He died in 1950 aged 70.