The Only Enemy

Brigadier Sir John Smyth V. C.

Published by Hutchinson, 1959

Awarded the VC at twenty-one, Brigadier Sir John Smyth has since followed on the flood tide of England's history for close on half a century, and he here recounts his life with no hint of vainglory in the direct simplicity of the telling. Whether he writes of that first fine exploit in France in 1915, at the head of his small band of great-hearted Sikhs, or of Dunkirk, where he was the only Indian Army officer to command a fighting formation, or of the disastrous battle of the River Sittang in the tragic Burma campaign, his steadfast courage burns through the words of the narrative. In victory and in defeat, in his premature retirement from the Service after his advice was ignored and the Burmese defeat made inevitable for himself and his men, he remains unchangingly loyal, only the cold lucidity of his analysis of the situation in military terms revealing with steely logic where blame should be apportioned. In later years he has made a name for himself as a journalist and Member of Parliament, tackling the task with the adaptable resilience of the professional soldier, able to talk the rough with the smooth and to summon to his aid a sense of humour and a stoic philosophy.

Binding: Hard cover

Book Condition: Fair condition. Great reading copy of a scarce book. Some foxing, a bookmark ribbon has been added and there are a couple of previous owner's names crossed out and one spot in the second last page where you can see the binding. Photos show all of these defects.

Edition: First Edition Hutchinson, 1959

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