Cover image for World War I : the African front
World War I : the African front
Title:
World War I : the African front
Author:
Paice, Edward.
Personal Author:
Edition:
First Pegasus Books edition.
Publication Information:
New York : Pegasus Books, 2008.
Physical Description:
xxxix, 488 pages, 32 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations, maps ; 24 cm
Summary:
The definitive history of World War I's forgotten front: Britain versus Germany in East Africa to secure the belly of a continent. On August 7, 1914, Britain fired its first shots of World War I not in Europe but in the German colony of Togo. The campaign to eliminate the threat at sea posed by German naval bases in Africa would soon be won, but in the land war, especially in East Africa, British troops would meet far fiercer resistance from German colonial forces that had fully mastered the tactics of bush warfare. It was expected to be a "small war, " over by Christmas, yet it would continue bloodily for more than four years, even beyond the signing of the Armistice in Europe.--From publisher description.
General Note:
"An imperial war on the African continent"--Cover.
Language:
English
Contents:
Maps -- I. 1914: 'The Germans open the ball'; Phoney war; 'The action of a lunatic'; The aftermath; Marking time -- II. 1915: The coast; The war in the West; 'A brilliant affair'; The end of the "Konigsberg"; 'The lion and the springbok'; A "Velha Aliada" - 'The old ally'; 'Swallows and Amazons'; The African war -- III. 1916: The build-up; The 'first Slaita show'; The 'robbers' raid; "Opsaal!" Saddle-up! ; The advance down the Northern Railway; The crescent flag; 'The cannibals'; The 'ubiquitous Rhodesians'; 'Abso-damn-lutely fed up'; Smuts's 'final phase'; 'The condemned'; The 'suicidal system of supply' -- IV. 1917: Unfinished business; The raiders; The allies; Into 'the unknown'; The Germen Pimpernel; The 'China affair'; The propaganda war -- V. 1918: The hunt begins; Nhamacurra; "Tipperary mbali sana sana!"-- Epilogue: 'There came a darkness' -- Appendices: German East Africa "Schutztruppe": dispositions July 1914 -- Indian Expeditionary Forces 'B' and 'C': summarised orders of Battle of 1914 -- German East Africa "Schutztruppe": Order of battle 5 March 1916 -- British forces in East Africa: summarised order of battle 4 April 1916 -- British order of battle (main force), 5 August 1916 -- British forces in East Africa: Summarised order of battle 20 June 1917 -- German East Africa "Schutztruppe": Order of battle 31 March 1918.
ISBN:
9781933648903
Format :
Book