The Boer War: London to Ladysmith via Pretoria and Ian Hamilton's March (Bloomsbury Revelations)

by Winston Churchill

Paperback, 2013

Status

Available

Call number

968.048092

Publication

Bloomsbury Academic (2013), Edition: Reprint, 392 pages

Description

On October 11th, 1899 long-simmering tensions between Britain and the Boer Republics - the Orange Free State and the Transvaal Republic - finally erupted into the conflict that would become known as the Second Boer War. Two days after the first shots were fired, a young writer by the name of Winston Churchill set out for South Africa to cover the conflict for the Morning Post. The Boer War brings together the two collections of despatches that Churchill published on the conflict. London to Ladysmith recounts the future Prime Minister's arrival in South Africa and his subsequent capture by and dramatic escape from the Boers, the adventure that first brought the name of Winston Churchill to public attention. Ian Hamilton's March collects Churchill's later despatches as he marched alongside a column of the main British army from Bloemenfontein to Pretoria. Published together, these books are a vivid eye-witness account of a landmark period in British Imperial History and an insightful chronicle of a formative experience by Britain's greatest war-time leader.… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member PCorrigan

My Amazon review:
This is a highly readable 'you are there' account (from the British viewpoint of course) of actions during the so-called '2nd' Boer War, by the future World leader from his arrival in South Africa late 1899 to mid-1900. Winston Churchill was a 25-year old correspondent for the

London Morning Post so these are more or less stories he filed at the time. I assume they appeared in the newspaper much as written here..which gives them a raw and riveting 'real-time' quality if they are read in that context. A lot more military history might benefit in terms of reader attention from such reporting, despite the inevitable inaccuracies that arise. And would that newspapers of today had anything remotely like this quality of content. I speak in terms of detail (unit names, detailed and numerous maps of the actions) and writing quality. Churchill could write! Yet even though it is written from a Brit standpoint, the reporter Churchill makes seemingly every effort to interview Boers and attempt to understand their point of view. He is mostly complimentary to their fighting spirit and belief in a cause. Of course he is mostly effusive and acclamtory with regard to the British military and their generals (Buller, Roberts, Hamilton). But he also does not hesitate to offer sharp criticisms of tactics where he is able. This is really two books in one as the title suggests. The first (London to Ladysmith) dealing with his arrival in-country, the fierce fighting in Natal including the notorious setbacks at Spion Kop and the difficult crossing of the Tugela River. His capture and subsequent escape from a Boer prison is chronicled in the first book as well, an adventure yarn that beats most Hollywood thrillers because it actually happened! The second book (Ian Hamilton's March) is perhaps less captivating as the military invincibility of the Empire becomes apparent. Still the capture of major Boer cities and the end game is interesting as well. And it was amusing to read how they debated the question of whether 1900 was really the first year the new century or not, much as the question was contested in 2000!

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LibraryThing member majackson

Churchill's news dispatches from the front line. Not just what the war looks/feels like, but a lot of insight into Churchill's psyche as well. As a war correspondent Churchill describes the suffering, blood, horror, joy of killing, the excruciating pain of boredom, the self-justifications, and the

subtle insanity of war---6 month's worth of how the soldiers experienced a war that kind of lasted a two-and-a-half years. Compared to WW1 & WW2 and even the Korean War, this is more of an exhausting skirmish. It's intriguing to discover how much the two sides hated each other...and yet respected their ability to fight(?!). Wikipedia says "The Boers had refused to grant political rights to non-Boer settlers, known as Uitlanders, most of whom were British, or to grant civil rights to Africans." (And don't forget the gold & diamond mines.) All of this ugliness is amply and colloquially detailed by Churchill, providing us much insight into the mindsets of the soldiers and civilians on both sides so that we learn to both sympathize and detest both sides. If we gloss over some of the military deployment details, the book is a relatively easy read and provides much to think about, in terms of what it is that people want and are willing to pay to get it.

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