Commando

In 1899, seventeen-year-old Deneys Reitz enlisted in the Boer army to fight the British. He had learnt to ride, shoot and swim almost as soon as he could walk. The skills and endurance he had acquired were more than put to the test during the war. Commando is his classic account of guerrilla warfare during the Anglo-Boer War (1899-1902), during which Reitz served in a Boer commando consisting mainly of farmers on horseback using their own guns. Written while in exile in Madagascar and originally published in 1929, the book covers the early engagements in Natal, the battle of Spion Kop and General Smuts' audacious guerrilla campaign deep into the Cape Colony. The straightforward narrative of his experiences is both a classic of true-life adventure, and an unforgettable picture of mobile guerrilla warfare. The book contains a preface by South African statesman JC Smuts and an introduction by the historian Thomas Pakenham.