Frontiersmen

Warfare and History

by Anthony Clayton

Since 1950, there has been almost continuous military unrest in Africa. This study offers an overview of warfare in this period, examining a military tradition that ranges from the highly sophisticated electronic, air and armour fighting between South Africa and Angola-Cuban forces, to the spears and machetes of the Rwandan genocide. The author explores two first, that warfare in North Africa has principally been a matter of identity and secondly, that warfare south of the Sahara is comparable with that of pre-colonial Africa - conflicts of frontiersmen trying to extend their control over land and resources. Exploring liberation campaigns, civil wars, ethnic conflicts and wars between nations, this study provides an authoritative military history of Africa over half a century.

Genres: History

259 pages, Paperback

First published November 11, 1998

About the author

Anthony Clayton was Senior Lecturer at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst from 1965 until 1994. One of Britain's leading military historians, he earned a Diploma in French from the University Paris in 1947, a Master of Arts in History from the University St. Andrews in 1951, and a Doctor of Philosophy in History from the University St. Andrews in 1970. He was made a Chevalier dans l'Ordre des Palmes Academiques in 1988 in recognition of his expertise in French military history.

Reviews

[Andrew Stocker · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decent attempt at a survey of post-colonial warfare in Africa. However, Clayton's execution is marred by a number of factors: he attempts to group wars thematically in time periods, leading to forced comparisons such as the discussion of Rhodesia-Zimbabwe as a war of Decolonization (with the Rhodesian government as the Colonial power, against ZANU/ZAPU who were supported by Britain, amongst others). Moreover, by grouping the wars thematically, he chooses to move his narrative through Africa, generally North to South, before starting again when he starts on the next period. This leads to a cluttered and confused read, as we take a break from countries for extended periods, only to jump back to them during their next wars (generally, not long after the original break point). This disrupts the flow of the book, and is worsened by Clayton's failure to make argument or draw common trends through the text when referring to his thematic groupings. Finally, given that geography and anthropology is key to these discussions, the text would be greatly aided by the inclusion of maps (including, preferably, tribal surveys).