Gregg Adams

Good comparison of the two native fighting forces in the East African Campaign with a definite pro British flavor. Covers mostly the last two years of the war when the KAR battalions had been fully spun up. The book leaves a couple of loose threads. For instance saying the Lettow Vorbeck has lost some prestige with recent scholarship but doesn't follow up or explain. The author is at pains to make sure that the KAR formations are shown to be just as good as the Schutztruppe which is fair enough as most sources give the impression that the British were pretty much helpless to stop the Germans and we getting beaten hard and often. Most of the beatings administered to the British were against Indian and other Empire troops (to say nothing of the completely hapless Portuguese) while the native KAR troops did better (however after a rough start in some cases). Also, the statement that the Germans has been reduced to a raiding force by 1918 and somehow could not claim to be undefeated is a bit forced. The fact is that Lettow Vorbeck and his Schutztruppe ran rings around ten times their number for four years and were still an effective force right up until the Armistice.… (altro)