The history of the South African forces in France

In Short

This historical volume serves as the definitive record of the South African Brigade during the Great War. It tracks the unit from its initial mobilization through its grueling campaigns in Egypt and across the Western Front, including the Somme, Arras, and Ypres. By documenting both the grand scale of military operations and the specific contributions of signalers, artillery, and medical corps, the work creates a comprehensive portrait of a dominion’s commitment to the conflict, preserved through official records and the personal testimonies of those who commanded and served.

The Story

The narrative begins in the autumn of 1916, when the official history project is commissioned to capture the record of a military achievement the author deems among the finest in the history of modern campaigns. The arc initiates with the raising of the brigade, but quickly pivots to the harsh reality of desert warfare in Western Egypt. Here, the brigade faces the logistical nightmare of water shortages and the need to navigate the difficult terrain of the Sollum plateau, maneuvering against the Senussi forces. This early training in adversity provides the foundation for their deployment to the Western Front, where the scale of conflict shifts dramatically.

The heart of the story resides in the brutal intensity of the Somme. The brigade’s engagement at Delville Wood stands as the central, most heroic episode, where twelve decimated companies hold a wood under constant artillery fire. The narrative follows their transition from the Butte de Warlencourt to the Battle of Arras, where they endure biting snow and the "shrieking steel" of an unprecedented barrage. Each engagement illustrates a pattern: periods of fierce, desperate combat followed by the grim necessity of trench maintenance and the slow, grueling progression through defensive lines.

As the war enters 1918, the story darkens with the Somme retreat and the Battle of the Lys. The brigade is tested by the German spring offensives, forced into a kaleidoscope of tactical shifts, withdrawals, and local counter-attacks designed to stem the enemy’s momentum. Through the sheer, untiring energy of all ranks, the line is maintained, and communication—the vital nervous system of the army—is preserved against all odds.

The conclusion moves toward the final advance to victory in the summer and autumn of 1918. The narrative traces the collapse of the German reserves, detailing the mounting exhaustion of the enemy armies as they are pushed back toward the Rhine. Yet, the author is careful to temper the triumph of victory with the reality of the struggle; he highlights the gallantry of the German rearguard actions and the immense cost of breaking through entrenched positions. The book ends not merely with the ceasefire, but with a sober look at the aftermath, including the integration of injured soldiers back into society through specialized training schools and a detailed accounting of the honors won. It is a chronicle of a unit that began as an overseas contingent and finished as an indispensable component of the British war effort, leaving behind a record of sacrifice that is both statistical and deeply personal.

How It Unfolds

The mobilization and desert trials The brigade is formed and immediately tested in the water-starved deserts of Egypt, where capturing the Sollum plateau requires sophisticated coordination between infantry and armored cars. These early operations establish the necessity of rigorous logistics and the endurance required for the coming European battles.

The crucible of the Somme The narrative shifts to the Western Front, focusing on the harrowing defense of Delville Wood, where the brigade holds a vulnerable position against relentless shelling. This period establishes the unit's reputation for tenacity in the face of near-total annihilation.

Assaults and retreats The arc follows the brigade through the Battle of Arras and the defense against Ludendorff’s spring offensives, detailing the constant flux of trench warfare. The focus is on the tactical strain of maintaining a defensive line while being forced to move and regroup under intense enemy pressure.

The final advance The concluding chapters detail the gradual collapse of the German forces and the brigade's role in the Allied push toward victory. The book finishes with a comprehensive summary of the logistical support, medical services, and the rehabilitative efforts for the wounded, grounding the military victory in the human cost.

The People

Major-General Sir Henry Timson Lukin emerges as a central figure, a leader whose strategic command guides the brigade through both the Egyptian desert and the French mud. His ability to coordinate disparate units—from mountain batteries to camel corps—is portrayed as essential to the brigade’s early survival.

The regimental commanders, including Brigadier-Generals Dawson and Tanner, are depicted as the anchors of the brigade. Their leadership is defined not by detachment, but by a shared, haggard experience with their men; they are described as "haggard and drawn" yet immensely proud of the troops they lead through the worst of the carnage.

Individuals like Lance-Corporal W. H. Hewitt provide the human face of the conflict. His Victoria Cross-winning action, where he repeatedly attacks a “pill-box” despite severe wounds, serves as a quintessential example of the individual initiative demanded of the soldiers. These men are not portrayed as distant heroes, but as ordinary individuals—signallers working through the night to repair cable lines, or matrons managing the hostels for the disabled—who collectively constitute the military achievement. They are transformed by the war, moving from civilians in various trades to battle-hardened soldiers, or, in the case of the injured, into students learning new skills to rebuild their lives in the aftermath.

In Its Own Voice

"My aim has been to tell as simply as possible the story of a great military achievement, to my mind one of the finest in the whole history of the campaigns."

The author outlines the purpose of the work in the preface, emphasizing his desire to document the South African forces' contribution to the war effort with clarity and precision.

"The regimental officers were an awful sight this morning, haggard and drawn, unwashed and unshaven for four days, covered with mud and utterly tired, but very happy, and exceedingly proud of their men."

This observation, quoted from a letter by Brigadier-General Dawson, captures the physical exhaustion and emotional resilience of the leadership after the fighting at Delville Wood.

"There were now no enemy front trenches; there were no second-line trenches; only a hummocky waste of craters and broken wire, over which our barrage crept relentlessly."

The author describes the scene on the morning of Easter Monday, 1917, conveying the overwhelming power of the artillery that defined the Battle of Arras.

What It's Really About

At its core, the book examines the nature of institutional endurance and the mechanics of large-scale military operation. It probes the question of how a relatively small force, operating thousands of miles from home, maintains its cohesion when subjected to the most brutal forms of attrition. There is a deep, underlying curiosity about the bridge between logistical support—the signalers, the railway companies, the artillery—and the combat effectiveness of the front-line infantry. The argument is that the "achievement" of the South African forces was not merely found in isolated acts of bravery, but in the seamless integration of these auxiliary services under conditions of constant, grinding disaster. It asks what it takes to persist when a unit is "gravely weakened" and holding a position commanded by a semicircle of enemy guns, ultimately suggesting that the answer lies in a combination of professional organization and collective human resolve.

Why Read It Today

Readers with an interest in military history will appreciate the precise, unvarnished detail that avoids the romanticism often found in later accounts of the Great War. The book reads as a serious, steady, and remarkably thorough record of a specific unit’s experience. Because the writing is contemporary to the events, it carries the weight of the era’s perspective—it is earnest, formal, and deeply respectful of the professional military structure.

However, modern readers should be prepared for the book's density. It is not a narrative focused on character development or introspection, but rather a granular account of movements, battles, and unit rosters. The period-specific attitudes are present in the tone; the author writes with the confidence of a contemporary observer who views the colonial contribution to the imperial war effort as a matter of significant, unproblematic pride. There are no modern concessions to the trauma of the conflict, and the prose is strictly utilitarian, meant for those who wish to understand the "how" of the war rather than the "why" of the personal psyche. If you are looking for a meticulous, ground-level understanding of how the South African forces survived the most harrowing years of the Western Front, this book remains an essential, albeit demanding, source. It stays with you as a long, detailed ledger of the machinery of war and the men who were moved by it.