East Africa & Von Lettow Vorbeck
Anyone know of any studies of this remarkable man ? I have read Asprey's "War in the Shadows " Chapter 19 and Miller's " Battle For the Bundu " but mostly brief references .
Col . Von Lettow Vorbeck was a tough . innovative master of bush warfare during World War I in East Africa .
Low profile German general
The only book I have readily to hand on Lettow-Vorbeck is 'The Great War in Africa' by Byron Farwell (pub. 1987 by Viking). One of the few books on WW1 and Africa. Possibly re-published in paperback more recently.
I am sure there was an article on the failed British landing on the then German East Africa coast, in the Western Front Magazine recently. Cannot readily put my hand on that. The role of the commerce raider Konigsberg features irregularly in the WFA magazine.
Hope that helps.
Ten articles on the East African campaign
The Western Front Association (WFA) is dedicated to the study and commemoration of WW1 and their latest newsletter had an article on a conventional battle in the East African campaign, in March 1916. Following the e-trail their website has ten articles:http://www.westernfrontassociation.c...-theatres.html
The latest article had a phrase that appeared on SWC this week, referring to the US Army in WW1 & WW2:
Quote:
..the hastily trained and poorly disciplined South African officers and men were on a steep military learning curve..
Von Lettow-Vorbeck seems reminiscent of Amundsen to me,
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Firn
From a German (Western) view waging such a guerilla war in East Africa was thus of course easier as the it was the native African population who shouldered and carried literally the war effort and did most of the dying.
whose accomplishment cannot be denied, but who ate many of his dogs along the way.
A new book with very mixed reviews: you choose
In the summer of 2017 a new book was published ''African Kaiser: General Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck and the Great War in Africa, 1914-1918' by Robert Gaudi and was savaged in a British review. Here is a taster:
Quote:
His story has often been told, and Gaudi — an American ‘freelance writer and historian’ — appears to have consulted only these secondary sources, so reveals nothing new. Furthermore, he frequently misunderstands the sources and repeats their errors. He is certainly not au fait with military detail.
Link:https://www.spectator.co.uk/2017/08/...n-east-africa/
On Amazon.com there are eighty-two reviews, the majority are 5*. See:https://www.amazon.com/African-Kaise...s=Robert+Gaudi
Amazon.co.uk has three reviews and one states:
Quote:
This account is based on a synthesis of existing works. Hence there is little that is new. The author resorts at times to guesswork and speculation. Nevertheless, it is an engaging book about a superb soldier who led the Allies a merry dance over four years. His troops loved him. He was a genius in the art of bush warfare.
Link:https://www.amazon.co.uk/African-Kai...s=robert+gaudi