The Great War in Africa: 1914-1918

This is the only book I know of that deals exclusively with this odd theatre of operations. WWI in Africa did not have any impact on the war in Europe or on world history, but the stories are so fantastic that they deserve to be rmembered and retold. The first and last shots of WWI were actually fired in Africa, by unknown black soldiers. The author describes the colonial setting, and points out how unnecessary the war in Africa really was. All four major campaings are described in chronological order.The courage and loyality of the black soldiers fighting for the Germans were amazing. Most of the book is dedicated to the longest campaign, in German East Africa. Here, wastly outnumbered German troops fought with rifles and knob-kerries, time and time again outsmarting the British enemy. Idiotic racism led the British to first import Indian recruits to fight, rather than arming the black population. Oddly enough, it was the South African general, Smuts, who actually first starting using black troops for the British. Thus turning the tide.Von Lettow-Vorbeck must rank as one of the foremost generals of history. He is sadly unknown, even by military buffs, and deserves to be remembered. The book is filled with larger-than-life charaters and their exploits. This book reads like a "boys-own" adventure. One must remind oneself constantly that the pain and suffering described are real.

Few incidents in 20th century military history are as astonishing as the World War One campaigns across Africa. While there was little strategic benefit to either side in fighting these tropical campaigns, the thought of NOT fighting would have been anathema to the imperial mindset of the day. Hence, both sides vast armies of African auxiliaries, together with improvised navies (and even a small air wing) to wage a series of campaigns in places where heat and disease were to account for most (in some cases all) of the casualties. The Great War in Africa was prosecuted in three fronts: a brisk (and virtually uncontested) conquest by the Allies of German West Africa; followed by a quick invasion by South Africa of German Namibia; lastly the epic Anglo-German struggle across Tanganyika (modern Tanzania). The principal players were Colonel Richard Meinertzhagen (on the British side) and, most prominently, the wily German commander, Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck, who marched his guerilla army the length and breadth of Tanganyika before invading Mozambique, keeping his guerilla forces intact, and only surrendering once the Kaiser had fallen. Farwell tells their stories expertly, together with some stunningly bizarre vignettes: the battle that was halted by an outbreak of killer bees, the Zeppelin that flew from Bulgaria to central Africa and the "phantom flotilla" that was marched through the Congo to sail along Lake Victoria. A terrific story.

Farwell is my favorite British military historian and this book might be his best. Growing bored with the same old discussions about the war in the trenches, and never finding more than a footnote or two in most history books about the war in the colonies, I searched for anyone who gave this theater of the Great War the attention it deserves. Farwell does not write dry history but tells a tale that keeps one wanting to read just one more chapter before putting the book down. I read this book in one sitting because it tied together many of the fragmented items I associated with this period of time in Africa:"Out of Africa","Young Indiana Jones","African Queen", etc.One of my favorite sections of the book is the story of the hunt for the Konigsberg. My father told my the story as a child: the German cruiser was bottled up on the Rufiji River with its engine in need of repairs. Thousands of native laborers hauled the engine, en masse, a hundred miles overland to a machine shop in Dar-es-Salaam and then back again.This book reads more like a novel than a history book and is, I believe, the best place to start if one is interested in the African theater of WW1. If you still want more, try "A History of the King's African Rifles..." by Malcolm Page and "My Reminiscences of East Africa" by Lettow-Vorbeck himself.

Mr. Farwell has written an exciting and detailed account of the war in Africa from 1914-18. He captures all the mistakes, the courage, the vicious battles, the incredible treks, wild animals, machine guns, snakes, armored cars and swamps. All of it true. Superb piece of work. I also highly recommend any of his other books.

Byron Farwell offers the reader a well researched and well presented account of this often forgotten campaign of WW1. In just over 380 pages (hardback version) he covers all aspects of this little known campaign covering such incidents as L-59, the German Zeppelin which made the world's longest sustained flight, from Bulgaria to Central Africa and back! Hunting a German Cruiser on the Rufiji River by an elephant hunter (The African Queen?). Accounts of some of the terrible battels on land, one where both armies were routed by killer bees! Men fighting with spears, knobberries, machine-guns, planes and armoured cars. The author also offers an interesting account of that famous German commander who had the allied forces chasing themselves for so long; Paul Emil von Lettow-Vorbeck. This is a great story which I recommend to anybody who enjoys a well written history book.