History Of The South African Forces In France [Illustrated Edition]

Includes 22 maps and 18 illustrationsTens of thousands of men came from all round the Empire to aid the British war effort in the First World War; men from Australia, New Zealand, Canada, India and South Africa fought and died on battlefields far away from their homes. Although these soldiers fought across many different countries for the Allied cause; each of the Nations is linked with a single battle or campaign in which their sacrifice stood out even in the horrific bloodshed of the First World War. For the South Africans it was the heroic, bloody struggle for Delville wood during the battle of the Somme; during which they held their ground under a furious counter assault by the Germans, the South African 1st Brigade suffered 80% casualties in that action alone. Basil Liddell Hart called this engagement '...the bloodiest battle hell of 1916.'However as the esteemed author and soldier, Colonel John Buchan points out in his introduction to this classic Official History, the South Africans fought with equal bravery and distinction wherever and whenever they took to the field. As he states his book '...is a tale to be proud of, for among the many brigades in that field the South African Infantry Brigade may be said, without boasting, to have had no superior and not many equals.'A fitting tribute to the many brave South African soldiers who fought and conquered during the First World War written by an acclaimed author.