One of the most enduring – and far-fetched – myths of the Boer War is the oft-spouted notion that the British infantry (resplendent in red coats and white shoulder belts, apparently) marched forwards, shoulder-to-shoulder, only to be effortlessly...
This pretty much sums them up: Of course, it is easy to show them that their version of events is utter nonsense… but trying to get them to actually accept troublesome things like ‘facts’ and ‘historical reality’ is...
This sums up my haters perfectly:
I am well aware there are some who are roll their eyes at my ‘revisionist history’, and who are enraged by my ‘modern-day claims’ of Kruger’s aim being ‘to build an Empire from the Zambesi to the Cape’. I mean, how dare this Jonny-come-lately...
Interesting article in the Daily Telegraph by Jeremy Black today: Vladimir Putin now faces a 1905-style national humiliation The sinking of the flag ship of Russia’s Black Sea fleet provoked a sense of deja vu among military historians...
Reported in the Telegraph today: Historian Andrew Roberts has been handed the “Book of the Year” prize for his George III: the Life and Reign of Britain’s Most Misunderstood Monarch by History Reclaimed, a group of 40 “anti-woke” academics...
Defenders of the Myth entertain me in so many ways, that it is sometimes hard to decide which is their most amusing feature. Could it be their complete and utter ignorance of South African history? Maybe it’s the way they will argue that black is...
‘Those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it’George Santayana One of the fundamentals of military strategy is to pursue a clearly defined objective, or ‘main effort’. Diversionary attacks should be no more than that – ie...
Back in 2013, I helped organize an off-roading competition in the area around Clarens in the SE Free State, and as part of it, drew up a short quiz on local points of interest. One of the questions was: ‘Forces from which army surrendered at...
I am sure that we have all met someone who ‘knows’ the Kruger Millions are buried on his grandad’s farm… and will regale you with the story every time he has had a few drinks. The tale is ‘supported’ by things a farm worker told his father 80...
“Knock, Knock”“Who’s there?”“Mafeking”“Mafeking who?”“Mafeking car won’t start” For a long time, I thought this was the only Mafeking-related joke, but I recently heard another. During a discussion on the formation of the Boy Scouts, and how they...
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