The National Army Museum Book of the Boer War - Lord Carver

Condition: Good
Format: Medium softcover
Published: 2000 (PAN)
Pages: 299
ISBN: 9780330369442

In October 1899 the British Empire was at the height of its power, but was about to meet its nemesis in the unlikely form of Dutch farmers from two small republics in Southern Africa. In Lord Carvers expression, a people out of the Old Testament, they fought a more advanced warfare than had been previously encountered. The Boer Generals, despite their lack of military training, succeeded in besieging British forces in Ladysmith, Kimberley and Mafeking and kept the British at bay for nearly three bloody years. Eventually, Britains reformed military leadership under Lord Roberts and Kitchener, and superior resources (by the middle of 1900, British troops numbering some 200,000 men were fighting 30,000 Boers), won the day.

Lord Carver delivers a dramatic, entertaining and authoritative account of the war, supplemented by contemporary documents, first-person accounts and high-quality photographs from the National Army Museums archives; many published here for the first time. There are also seven detailed maps devised by Lord Carver. Accounts from the level of squadron, battery, company and below ensure that, in Lord Carvers words, a clear picture emerges of what life was like for the soldier in this messy and unnecessary war.