The Soldiers - Willem Steenkamp - First edition 1978

The Soldiers - Willem Steenkamp - 1978, first edition - Don Nelson, Cape Town - 144p - Black & white photographs, maps and index - Lagre format book - Hardcover and dustcover show minimal shelf wear.

South African s are a warlike breed, although not militaristic by nature. Therefore it is hardly surprising that in its troubled history, this country and the territories which became part of it, have produced generation after generation of daring generals. Some of them, like Louis Botha and Jan Christiaan Smuts, went on to greater fame as statesmen; others were fighting men, pure and simple.

This book we present six of the warriors, two from each of the great wars in which South Africa fought between 1899 and 1945. To a remarkable degree their stories are intertwined; sometimes they fought against each other; at other times one would be a young soldier serving under a great general, not knowing that in later years he in turn would be at the lonely pinnacle of supreme leadership in the field.

The six soldiers of this book were men of widely varying temperaments and backrounds. They range from Chritiaan de Wet , the untutored bushveld general, to Evered Poole, the product of two of South Africa's most famous schools. Yet they had something in common, the intangible, yet vital factor that sets a leader of men apart from other good men.

With rare photographs from sources all over South Africa, linked by an anecdote-studded text, Willem Steenkamp has produced a unique and lasting monument to the South African soldier.

CONTENTS:

PART ONE:

• Genreral Jacobus Hercules de la Rey

• General Christiaan Rudolph de Wet

PART TWO:

• Major-General Sir Henry Timson Lukin

• Lieutenant-General Sir Jacob Louis van Deventer

PART THREE:

• Major-General Daniel Hermanus Pienaar

• Major-General William Henry Evered Poole