Author Description

Specially commissioned artwork and thrilling combat accounts transport the reader to the far-flung and inhospitable African theater of war, where the Schutztruppe faced off against the King's African Rifles. Stalemate in Europe had prompted Germany to turn its attention to Africa in an attempt to divert Allied forces from the Western Front, using a small colonial force under the command of Oberst Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck to raid British and Portuguese territory. Despite being heavily outnumbered, his expert use of guerrilla tactics forced the British to bring Jan Smuts in to lead a massive offensive, culminating in a major battle at Nyangao-Mahiwa that saw both sides suffer heavy casualties. Meticulously researched analysis highlights the tactical and technological innovation shown by both armies, as they were forced to fight in a treacherous climate where local diseases could prove just as deadly as the opposition.