Assegais, Drums & Dragoons

Assegais, Drums & Dragoons PDF Author: Willem Steenkamp
Publisher: Jonathan Ball Publishers
ISBN: 1868424804
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 540

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Book Description
What motivated a small multiracial force of Cape-born soldiers - whites, coloureds and Malays - to put up such stiff resistance at the Battle of Blaauwberg in 1806, in spite of odds so overwhelming that even some long-serving professional soldiers broke rank and ran? This was the intriguing question that launched author Willem Steenkamp's research. It was an investigation which eventually took him back to 150 years before Jan van Riebeeck landed at the Cape in 1652, and involved examining the social as well as the military history of the Cape. What Steenkamp discovered differs from what most South Africans think about that period, and he corrects a number of serious misconceptions not only about the soldiers of 1510-1806 but about the social and political development of the Cape. For students of the Napoleonic Wars, the book provides new information about a forgotten aspect of that conflict; for the ordinary reader here is a story no-one has ever told before in its entirety. Assegais, Drums and Dragoons: A Military and Social History of the Cape is a well-researched and fascinating account that now illuminates a previously lightless corner of South African military history Descended from a 1690s-era solider, Willem Steenkamp is a writer, journalist and specialist tour guide who has also been a solider, a security advisor and a director of military tattoos and other spectacles, among several other things. Since childhood he has been absorbing the Cape's history from family stories (one of his ancestors was a hero of the Battle of Blaauwberg) and voluminous reading. And yes, he actually has fired flintlock muskets and muzzle-loading cannon. Willem lives in Cape Town.

Assegais, Drums & Dragoons

Assegais, Drums & Dragoons PDF Author: Willem Steenkamp
Publisher: Jonathan Ball Publishers
ISBN: 1868424804
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 540

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Book Description
What motivated a small multiracial force of Cape-born soldiers - whites, coloureds and Malays - to put up such stiff resistance at the Battle of Blaauwberg in 1806, in spite of odds so overwhelming that even some long-serving professional soldiers broke rank and ran? This was the intriguing question that launched author Willem Steenkamp's research. It was an investigation which eventually took him back to 150 years before Jan van Riebeeck landed at the Cape in 1652, and involved examining the social as well as the military history of the Cape. What Steenkamp discovered differs from what most South Africans think about that period, and he corrects a number of serious misconceptions not only about the soldiers of 1510-1806 but about the social and political development of the Cape. For students of the Napoleonic Wars, the book provides new information about a forgotten aspect of that conflict; for the ordinary reader here is a story no-one has ever told before in its entirety. Assegais, Drums and Dragoons: A Military and Social History of the Cape is a well-researched and fascinating account that now illuminates a previously lightless corner of South African military history Descended from a 1690s-era solider, Willem Steenkamp is a writer, journalist and specialist tour guide who has also been a solider, a security advisor and a director of military tattoos and other spectacles, among several other things. Since childhood he has been absorbing the Cape's history from family stories (one of his ancestors was a hero of the Battle of Blaauwberg) and voluminous reading. And yes, he actually has fired flintlock muskets and muzzle-loading cannon. Willem lives in Cape Town.

A Military History of Modern South Africa

A Military History of Modern South Africa PDF Author: Ian van der Waag
Publisher: Casemate Publishers
ISBN: 1612005837
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 362

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Book Description
The story of a century of conflict and change—from the Second Boer War to the anti-apartheid movement and the many battles in between. Twentieth-century South Africa saw continuous, often rapid, and fundamental socioeconomic and political change. The century started with a brief but total war. Less than ten years later, Britain brought the conquered Boer republics and the Cape and Natal colonies together into the Union of South Africa. The Union Defence Force, later the SADF, was deployed during most of the major wars of the century, as well as a number of internal and regional struggles: the two world wars, Korea, uprising and rebellion on the part of Afrikaner and black nationalists, and industrial unrest. The century ended as it started, with another war. This was a flash point of the Cold War, which embraced more than just the subcontinent and lasted a long thirty years. The outcome included the final withdrawal of foreign troops from southern Africa, the withdrawal of South African forces from Angola and Namibia, and the transfer of political power away from a white elite to a broad-based democracy. This book is the first study of the South African armed forces as an institution and of the complex roles that these forces played in the wars, rebellions, uprisings, and protests of the period. It deals in the first instance with the evolution of South African defense policy, the development of the armed forces, and the people who served in and commanded them. It also places the narrative within the broader national past, to produce a fascinating study of a century in which South Africa was uniquely embroiled in three total wars.

Hitler's Spies

Hitler's Spies PDF Author: Evert Kleynhans
Publisher: Jonathan Ball Publishers
ISBN: 1776190211
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 281

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Book Description
The story of the intelligence war in South Africa during the Second World War is one of suspense, drama and dogged persistence. In 1939, when the Union of South Africa entered the war on Britain's side, the German government secretly reached out to the political opposition, and to the leadership of the anti-war movement, the Ossewabrandwag. The Nazis' aim was to spread sedition in South Africa and to undermine the Allied war effort. The critical strategic importance of the sea route round the Cape of Good Hope meant that the Germans were also after naval intelligence. Soon U-boat packs were sent to operate in South African waters, to deadly effect. With the help of the Ossewabrandwag, a network of German spies was established to gather important political and military intelligence and relay it back to the Reich. Agents would use a variety of channels to send coded messages to Axis diplomats in neighbouring Mozambique. Meanwhile, police detectives and MI5 agents hunted in vain for illegal wireless transmitters. Hitler's Spies presents an unrivalled account of the German intelligence networks that operated in wartime South Africa. It also details the hunt in post-war Europe for witnesses to help the government bring charges of high treason against key Ossewabrandwag members.

Encyclopedia of Stateless Nations

Encyclopedia of Stateless Nations PDF Author: James B. Minahan
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
ISBN: 1610699548
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 590

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Book Description
This book addresses the numerous national movements of ethnic groups around the world seeking independence, more self-rule, or autonomy—movements that have proliferated exponentially in the 21st century. In the last 15 years, globalization, religious radicalization, economic changes, endangered cultures and languages, cultural suppression, racial tensions, and many other factors have stimulated the emergence of autonomy and independence movements in every corner of the world—even in areas formerly considered immune to self-government demands such as South America. Researching the numerous ethnic groups seeking autonomy or independence worldwide previously required referencing many specialized publications. This book makes this difficult-to-find information available in a single volume, presented in a simple format accessible to everyone, from high school readers to scholars in advanced studies programs. The book provides an extensive update to Greenwood's Encyclopedia of the Stateless Nations: Ethnic and National Groups around the World that was published more than a decade earlier. Each ethnic group receives an alphabetically organized entry containing information such as alternate names, population figures, flag or flags, geography, history, culture, and languages. All the information readers need to understand the motivating factors behind each movement and the current situation of each ethnic group is presented in a compact summary. Fact boxes at the beginning of each entry enable students to quickly access key information, and consistent entry structure makes for easy cross-cultural comparisons.

Geography of Time, Place, Movement and Networks, Volume 2

Geography of Time, Place, Movement and Networks, Volume 2 PDF Author: Stanley D. Brunn
Publisher: Springer Nature
ISBN: 303158029X
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 356

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Book Description


Field Guide to the Battlefields of South Africa

Field Guide to the Battlefields of South Africa PDF Author: Nicki von der Heyde
Publisher: Penguin Random House South Africa
ISBN: 1920545751
Category : Travel
Languages : en
Pages : 616

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Book Description
Expert battlefields guide Nicki von der Heyde presents 71 battles covering three wars and a series of conflicts that shaped the course of South Africa’s history – from the colonial clashes that characterised the 18th and 19th centuries through to the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879 and the 2nd Anglo-Boer War of 1899–1902. Informative and lively accounts of the engagements are provided, with special attention given to the context, action, outcomes and principal combatants involved. Arranged in provincial and regional order, the Field Guide to the Battlefields of South Africa includes an array of special features that allow for an enthralling and multi-layered account of the battles: • 580 images • 80 illustrated timelines • 60 fact and feature boxes • 16 annotated battle maps • 10 regional locator maps • Detailed directions to each site • GPS co-ordinates for inaccessible locations. Comprehensive, compelling and vividly illustrated, the Field Guide to the Battlefields of South Africa is an indispensable tool for professional and amateur military historians as well as anyone interested in exploring South Africa’s fascinating history.

A Russian on Commando

A Russian on Commando PDF Author: Boris Gorelik
Publisher: Jonathan Ball Publishers
ISBN: 1776191374
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 334

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Book Description
In January 1900, galvanised by the daring of the Boers in taking on imperial Britain, the young Russian officer Yevgeny Avgustus set off for the Transvaal to fight in the Anglo-Boer War. Like most of the foreign volunteers who flocked to the Boer cause, he ended up on the Natal front. Avgustus and his companions joined the Krugersdorp Commando, and their experiences in the field are portrayed in vivid detail. The central part of this gripping account covers the Battle of the Tugela Heights in February 1900 and the Boers' subsequent retreat. The immediacy of Avgustus's writing captures his trepidation and excitement as he approaches the battlefield for the first time, as well as his experience of life on commando. The keen eye of this foreign volunteer brings to life a turning point in South African history. Avgustus is a gifted writer, and his narrative offers both acute observation and thoughtful introspection. A gripping portrayal of human frailty and courage in the face of mortal danger, A Russian on Commando highlights both the strange attraction and the absurdities of war.

Rub Out My History

Rub Out My History PDF Author: Con Krüger
Publisher: Strategic Book Publishing
ISBN: 1625168942
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 449

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Book Description
On the Insistence of Kevin, Con Kruger wrote this fascinating biography introducing the Krugers in South Africa and the Cunynghames in England. The Progenitor Jacob Kruger arrived in Table Bay, South Africa, during 1713. Kevin's family background is an admixture of French, Belgian, German and Royal English genes (well camouflaged to protect his pony breeding business in Sussex, England). The story is cast against the larger canvass of the war between the global British Empire and the two tiny independent Zar and OFS Boer Republics during the last 20 years of Queen Victoria's reign - a war described as barbaric. This shameful period in British history has remained largely unknown covered by a thick-veiled diplomatic silence. Lest the Empire's brutal cruelty to animals and other atrocities be forgotten, Kevin feels compelled to recall the details. Kevin goes further. These wrongs must be redressed. He is resolute that those in command of the Empire Army face charges of war crimes. Warning: This book contains material that may upset sensitive readers. Con Kruger, born January 1930, is an eighth generation offspring of progenitor Jacob Kruger, who married a manumitted slave daughter, Jannetjie Kemp. She started the Kruger clan by bearing Jacob eight children during the early 1700's. Con obtained a master's degree in psychopathology and a doctorate in industrial psychology from Stellenbosch University. He practiced as a consulting psychologist from 1952 to 1992. He has authored two historical dramas and four anthologies of Afrikaans poetry. He now lives at the southernmost tip of the African continent at Cape Agulhas. Publisher's website: http: //sbprabooks.com/ConKruger"

Marching to the Drums

Marching to the Drums PDF Author: Ian Knight
Publisher: Frontline Books
ISBN: 1848322410
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 298

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Book Description
In this gripping collection of first-hand accounts, Ian Knight presents the adventure of nineteenth-century warfare from the thrill of the cavalry charges at Balaklava and Omdurman, to the terror of battle against an overwhelming odds such as Rorke's Drift in the words of the men actually there.These eyewitness accounts provide a vivid and sometimes shocking insight into the brutal realities of warfare for the British imperial soldier, who fought against enemies from massed ranks of Russians and assegai-armed natives to sharp-shooting Boers, in often the most terrible conditions imaginable.These stirring tales of military adventure have been edited by Ian Knight and brought together and published in book form. Originally featured in turn-of-the-century magazine, popular during the heyday of empire, these historically valuable accounts throw considerable light on campaign conditions during Queen Victoria's colonial wars.Marching to the Drums includes accounts focusing on the experience of battle during such pivotal conflicts as the Sikh Wars, the Crimean War, the Afghan Wars, the Anglo-Zulu War, and those in China, the Sudan and South Africa.

Assegai Over the Hills

Assegai Over the Hills PDF Author: Frederick Charles Metrowich
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Cape of Good Hope (South Africa)
Languages : en
Pages : 242

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Book Description