Battle for the Bundu: The First World War in East Africa

by Charles Miller

Very slightest of wear to the dust jacket, pages nice and clean, no writing or highlighting. Slightly stained on foreedge and bottom edge. A very nice copy. All our books are individually inspected, rated and described. Never EX-LIB unless specifically listed as such.

Genres: History, Africa, World War I, Nonfiction

384 pages, Hardcover

First published January 31, 1974

Reviews

[FiveBooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Veteran foreign correspondent Richard Beeston has chosen to discuss Charles Miller's Battle for the Bundu: The First World War in East Africa on FiveBooks on his list of five books on Spies, Lies and Foreign correspondents, saying that:

"Miller’s book is the most accurate and detailed account of this little known part of the First World War. A fascinating epic about an amazing German general, von Lettow-Vorbeck. It’s an account of his campaign against the Allies, which lasted throughout the entire war. In fact he was still fighting after the armistice, because no one was able to get through to him there. With a small force of German officers and loyal native troops he managed to hold up something like a quarter of a million Allied forces."

http://thebrowser.com/books/interviews/richard-beeston

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the focus on intelligence and reconnaissance, the vivid descriptions of the terrain both sides were struggling with, and the fairly cogent explanation of a war that ranged all over a huge region with various German regiments and battalions splintering, feinting, about-turning and generally trying to lead the Entente (chiefly British) forces on a wild goose chase, all while the Entente forces were equally hard to follow as they repeatedly split into attempted flanking and surrounding manoeuvres. The small asides, interesting quotes and amusing moments sewn into the main narrative kept it always interesting.

That said, I think anyone reading this now should be aware of its limitations as a popular history work from the 1970s. The principal narrative of Lettow-Vorbeck and his relatively small force tying up hundreds of thousands of Entente personnel in east Africa to the bitter end of the war is both compelling and remarkable, as are the tales of the cornering of the Konigsberg in the Rufiji and the slightly bizarre story of the war on Lake Tanganyika. But amongst the tales of clever ruses and derring-do, the local people and colonial troops themselves often melt into the background in this book despite being so central to the history. Lettow-Vorbeck resorted to scorched earth tactics, forced conscription of porters and plundering the villages and farmland along the way in order to support his army and deny the British forces chasing him. I've seen elsewhere that the ensuing famine amongst African civilians has been estimated at ~350,000 people. This gets scant attention in the book. Similarly I found the opening chapter's coverage of Germany's early years in Tanzania quite light on the specifics of who they were fighting with at various points. On the other hand, there is at least some mention of the high mortality of the porters carrying large loads prodigious distances on starvation rations. I suspect a dearth of appropriate written sources hamstrung the author but it's worth bearing in mind.

Another concern was the degree of reliance upon certain diaries. Lettow-Vorbeck's diary forms the backbone of the German narrative and left me suspecting I was missing anything that presented the man in a bad light as a result. In the epilogue that wraps up the rest of the man's life it's telling that it mentions his involvement in crushing the communist Spartacist revolt in Germany but, when it comes to him aiding the failed far-right Kapp putsch just over a year after the war, chooses to describe his expulsion from the military as "In 1920 he resigned from the army and entered politics".

Finally, another diary concerned me: that of Richard Meinertzhagen whose diary is heavily used for details on the British side throughout the first half of the war before Meinertzhagen was invalided home. Miller can't be blamed for not knowing this in 1973, and Meinertzhagen could certainly tell a story, but he was also a colossal fraud and seemingly a pathological liar. He took credit for the "haversack ruse" during the latter half of the war which he claimed was enormously successful, when in fact he was not involved in its execution (that was done by a man who subsequently died), nor did it work, yet he traded off that reputation for years afterwards. He also built a reputation as one of the world's foremost ornithologists only for it to be found years after his death that many of his "discoveries" were specimens awaiting identification that he'd stolen from the natural history museum - causing a heap of problems for the entire field (one species of bird was thought extinct for decades thanks to his false locality data). Further details of Meinertzhagen's various lies and deceptions are handily detailed on the wikipedia page about him if you're interested. Suffice to say, the use of Meinertzhagen's heavily edited diaries meant that almost every time Meinertzhagen judged someone of ill character I started to assume they were probably actually rather good (and vice-versa). Nor could I trust anything said about his personal activities during the war. I definitely felt more confident trusting those sections after Meinertzhagen left or the naval chapters largely devoid of his input.

So overall an excellent, very readable history of the war in east Africa with some unfortunate gaps and one particularly glaring issue (in hindsight) with a source.

[ТАИСЛАВ МЫЛОВАРОВ · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fascinating view into some of the most unique military minds of the First World War. Not only does it have strategic analysis of the various battles and skirmishes, but it has unbelievable anecdotes as well. Truly, the phrase 'Warfare in Africa is truly unbelievable' rings true in that era as well. The absurd feats pulled by Von Lettow and his British counterparts have rarely been topped after all these years. Miller's research gives insights into both the German and the British command, and holds up wonderfully, despite the current claims against Meinertzhagen's diaries which were used as an occasional source for some of the book. A delightful read that highlights a fascinating front of the First World War. I cannot recommend this book more.

[Brad Anderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

First rate military history book on a little known topic.

[iskandar · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Mimi ni askari Mdaichi" -- "I am a German soldier" was the proudest thing any Swahili-speaking Tanzanian could ever say. Paul Emil von Lettow-Vorbeck was the only undefeated German general in World War I, and his army was the only one allowed a victory march beneath Brandenburg Gate. As the fate of Europe was being decided on the Western Front, Vorbeck led a ragtag army of 3,000 white and native troops in the forgotten East African theater and consistently defeated a British force of more than 25,000 men. The last gentleman-soldier of his time, Vorbeck respected his enemies and even met the British generals for tea and a little chat after a particularly nasty battle. This is the amazing story of a legendary hero, both in Germany and in Tanzania.

[Jon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing history book. Easy to read, well written, nice sprinkling of humor, & very engaging. Fascinating story , highly recommend.

[Edward Sullivan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent chronicle of the East African campaign of World War I, lively, vivid, and entertaining.

[Mac · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books I have ever read.

I have now re-read this again after a 16 year gap and it remains as good as ever.

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the best book I have read on the East African campaign in the First World War.