Three Years' War

by Christiaan Rudolf de Wet

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476 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1902

About the author

Christiaan Rudolf de Wet (1854 - 1922) was a Boer general and South African politician.

Reviews

[Misha Gericke · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very insightful look at what the war was like. Definitely a must-read for a more realistic view of the war.

[De Wet · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting to see the war through the famous general's eyes. As always with a book like this set against a complicated conflict, you get only one person's point of view. Someone without a good understanding of the war and how it progressed may be somewhat lost in these pages as De Wet doesn't give a wide view of events (how could he, of course), only what he saw and heard about while in the field. Most skirmishes and battles are also dealt with quite briefly. The entire battle of Groenkop (Tweefontein) is described in two pages, for example, and the writing remains very matter of fact thoughout the book.

On the good side though there are many anecdotes and personal observations that add to and enrich the narrative about this war, like the devastating effect of treachery from within the Boers own ranks and the mix of bravery and cowardice that conspired to achieve both impossible success and tragic failure. De Wet also documents his movements so well that it's mostly possible to follow him and his commandos around on a map (which I would recommend you do to get an idea of what these men achieved).

Overall a good read, with the obvious shortcomings you'd expect from a personal "in the trenches" perspective on a wide ranging war.

[Malcolm Retief · Rating 3 out of 5]

I specifically enjoyed the post war meeting deliberations.

[Philip · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great classic - war through the eyes of a simple farmer with no formal education who discovered that he had a genius for the leadership of men in conditions of great adversity and who took on the world's mightiest Empire and was never bettered in battle.

[Johannes J Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

A true story about the sick intentions of brittain

Was hitler the first to commit genocide? Read the history books about the british invasion of south africa and decide