Churchill S South Africa

In October 1899, the twenty-four-year-old Winston Churchill sailed for South Africa as war correspondent for the Morning Post to report on the Anglo-Boer War. When he returned the following year, it was as a military celebrity. This book follows Churchill’s footsteps across South Africa and gives his impressions of the places he visited, the landscapes he saw, the people he encountered and the events he was involved in. Churchill’s South Africa covers the future statesman’s travels across the Great Karoo and through the green hills of Natal, his capture by the Boers, his escape to Delagoa Bay and his triumphant return to the Natal front as an officer in the South African Light Horse. It recreates the drama of the Battle of Spioen Kop and the relief of Ladysmith, and describes Churchill’s experiences during the British advance through the Free State and the Transvaal, before returning to England as a Boer War hero. Enlivened with photographs and with quotations from Churchill’s pen, this beautifully produced volume documents the travels of a key historical figure in South Africa at a critical time in its history.

From the bestselling author of Destiny of the Republic, this thrilling biographical account of the life and legacy of Wintson Churchill is a "nail-biter and top-notch character study rolled into one" (The New York Times). At the age of twenty-four, Winston Churchill was utterly convinced it was his destiny to become prime minister of England. He arrived in South Africa in 1899, valet and crates of vintage wine in tow, to cover the brutal colonial war the British were fighting with Boer rebels and jumpstart his political career. But just two weeks later, Churchill was taken prisoner. Remarkably, he pulled off a daring escape—traversing hundreds of miles of enemy territory, alone, with nothing but a crumpled wad of cash, four slabs of chocolate, and his wits to guide him. Bestselling author Candice Millard spins an epic story of bravery, savagery, and chance encounters with a cast of historical characters—including Rudyard Kipling, Lord Kitchener, and Mohandas Gandhi—with whom Churchill would later share the world stage. But Hero of the Empire is more than an extraordinary adventure story, for the lessons Churchill took from the Boer War would profoundly affect twentieth century history.

A fascinating piece of first-person reporting from the British statesman’s early years as a war correspondent in South Africa. As a young, ambitious soldier, Winston S. Churchill managed to get himself posted to the 21st Lancers in 1899 as a war correspondent for the Morning Post—and joined them in fighting the rebel Boer settlers in South Africa. In this conflict, rebel forces in the Transvaal and Orange Free State had proclaimed their own statehood, calling it the Boer Republic. This book consists of two separate works in one volume, “London to Ladysmith via Pretoria” and “Ian Hamilton’s March.” In the former, Churchill is captured in Pretoria not long after he arrives to join the British forces—and is frustrated not by the conditions in the prison, but by the fact that he was missing the action. Churchill tells the story of how he escaped and made a daring overland crossing, traveling only at night to avoid detection. Recounting Churchill’s own adventures and observations during the conflict, this book is fascinating for both its historical and personal perspective. “We never think of Churchill as a reporter. That is our loss . . . His dispatches from the 1899-1902 Boer War in South Africa to the London Morning Post . . . sizzle with energy and daring.” —The Washington Times

These despatches sent to the Morning Post from the the war front in 1899 were originally published in book form as London to Ladysmith via Pretoria and Ian Hamilton's March under the title The Boer War. In both books Churchill adopts a personal approach and recounts his own experiences.

In addition to his enduring fame as a statesman, Winston Churchill was a Nobel Prize-winning author whose military histories offer the unique perspective of a participant in world affairs. London to Ladysmith and Ian Hamilton's March reflect his early career as a Boer War correspondent for London's Morning Post in 1899 and 1900. London to Ladysmith chronicles the Boer War's first five months, from the author's arrival in South Africa to his capture during a Boer ambush of an armored train. Churchill's gripping narrative of his escape from a prisoner-of-war camp traces a grueling journey across enemy territory and back to British lines. Ian Hamilton's March picks up the action immediately afterward, documenting the eponymous general's 400-mile advance from Bloemfontein to Pretoria. The march saw ten major battles and numerous skirmishes, culminating in the release of prisoners from the camp where Churchill himself was held. Written mostly in the field, this book offers a vivid, personal account of the conditions under which the Boer War was fought, as well as a fascinating look at the formative years of one of the twentieth century's preeminent leaders.

On October 11th,1899 long-simmering tensions between Britain and the Boer Republics - the Orange Free State and the Transvaal Republic - finally erupted into the conflict that would become known as the Second Boer War. Two days after the first shots were fired, a young writer by the name of Winston Churchill set out for South Africa to cover the conflict for the Morning Post. The Boer War brings together the two collections of despatches that Churchill published on the conflict. London to Ladysmith recounts the future Prime Minister's arrival in South Africa and his subsequent capture by and dramatic escape from the Boers, the adventure that first brought the name of Winston Churchill to public attention. Ian Hamilton's March collects Churchill's later despatches as he marched alongside a column of the main British army from Bloemfontein to Pretoria. Published together, these books are a vivid eye-witness account of a landmark period in British Imperial History and an insightful chronicle of a formative experience by Britain's greatest war-time leader.

This gripping account of the ill-fated Dardanelles campaign of World War I, written by one of the campaign's principal architects, is a classic of military history. With vivid descriptions of the battles and campaigns, Ian Hamilton's March is a must-read for anyone interested in the history of modern warfare. This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

Brought together first as enemies in the Anglo-Boer War, and later as allies in the First World War, the remarkable, and often touching, friendship between Winston Churchill and Jan Smuts is a rich study in contrasts. In youth they occupied very different worlds: Churchill, the rambunctious and thrusting young aristocrat; Smuts, the aesthetic, philosophical Cape farm boy who would go on to Cambridge. Both were men of exceptional talents and achievements and, between them, the pair had to grapple with some of the twentieth century's most intractable issues, not least of which the task of restoring peace and prosperity to Europe after two of mankind's bloodiest wars. Drawing on a maze of archival and secondary sources including letters, telegrams and the voluminous books written about both men, Richard Steyn presents a fascinating account of two remarkable men in war and peace: one the leader of the Empire, the other the leader of a small fractious member of that Empire who nevertheless rose to global prominence.