Written by one of the most famous Second Boer War guerrilla leaders, this dramatic work provides a first hand account of many of the great events of that conflict, written from the losing side's perspective.
Appointed "fighting general" at the start of the war, De Wet reveals his plans and strategies used in man of the most famous battles of the war-including Nicholson's Nek, Ladysmith, Paardeberg, Sanna's Post, and many more.
After the British had occupied all the major Boer settlements, the war then switched to a hard-fought guerilla conflict-a tactic at which De Wet excelled. After harassing the British forces for over two years, De Wet shows how the Boer forces were finally forced to surrender-after the civilian population was interned in concentration camps.
This book also contains a full transcript of the last meetings of the Boer commanders just before the end of the war, in which it is revealed that there were only 15,000 men left in the field (fighting a Briths force of 250,000), and discussed the plight of the Boer women and children in the concentration camps. The conclusion they drew was to fight on and be utterly exterminated as a people, or surrender and be subjected to British rule.
This edition contains the complete original text. A newly-added biography of the author includes De Wet's exploits after the war, including his participation in the unsuccessful armed Boer Rebellion of 1914.