Ian Hamilton's March

The dramatic follow-up to Winston Churchill's wildly successful book, "London to Ladysmith via Pretoria," this volume details the second part of the famous British leader's Second Anglo-Boer War experiences. In this book, Churchill continues his personal narrative-as a correspondent for the Morning Post newspaper-of the second stage of the war, that which took up the first half of the year 1900. Having successfully defended Natal and the Cape Colony against the initial Boer invasion, the British forces then turned the tables and invaded the two Boer republics. Churchill's account closely follows the major part of that invasion force, led by General Ian Hamilton-hence the book's title-and the 400 mile route march by that 11,000-strong army over a period of 55 days from April to June 1900. Along the way, Churchill witnessed in person no less than seven major battles-including those at Israel's Poorte, Houtnek, Welkom, Sand River, Lindley, Doornkop (Florida), Six Mile Spruit, and Diamond Hill. In addition, he provides an account of a further 18 skirmishes, and the occupation of eight towns, including Thabanchu, Winburg, Ventersburg, Kroonstadt, Lindley, Heilbron, Johannesburg, and Pretoria. Along the way-and in typical Churchillian fashion-he describes how he was nearly captured for a second time by Boers, how he was the very first Englishman to enter Johannesburg (disguised a s civilian on a bicycle) among many other fascinating incidents. This new edition has been completely reset, contains all the original maps and illustrations, and has an additional 62 new footnotes which provide background details of personalities, events, and places for the present-day reader. It has also been fully indexed for the first time.