The South Africans with General Smuts in German East Africa 1916

The story of Jan Smuts is a remarkable one. A brilliant young Boer commando in the Boer War, he, like his chief Louis Botha, made his peace with the British Empire and became one of Britain's most trusted and admired collaborators. Later Prime Minister of South Africa, he became a respected elder statesman. The Great War, however, was not Smuts' finest hour. Sent to German East Africa with a large force of South African troops he found himself up against a guerilla leader of genius, Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck, who outwitted his unwieldy army at every turn. Smuts was only in command of the campaign briefly between February 1916 and January 1917, but during this time, the wily German ran rings round him. Nonetheless this history, written by his Chief-of-Staff, makes essential reading for anyone interested in one of the most successful guerilla wars in history.