The war diary of burgher Jack Lane chronicles the experiences of a member
of the South African Republic’s military during the long and bitter Anglo-Boer
war of 1899 to 1902. It is a very insightful account of the war. The author of
this work partook in the war against his will, being an Englishman who settled
in South-Africa. Subsequently he is very critical of the Boer forces, despite
being part of a Boer commando.
This publication is in many ways a very important one. There is a lot known about the South African war, and yet, for some reason, it remains a very over-romanticized line of events in the history of South Africa. Where it is often portrayed as a war of bravery, it was very often marked by the opposite.
The Anglo-Boer war was a bloody, tragic and largely unnecessary business. It was a war that should have never taken place. It was a season of disinformation, lies and big ego’s, both on the Boer side as well as the British side. It was a war, not between two civilized races, but against civilians (much like modern day jihad). It can thus be said to have been a war fought by cowards, won by losers and lost by idiots. The war dairy of burgher Jack Lane confirms this, at least to me.
But most of all, it was a war of innocent victims, caught up between the political egos of cowards calling themselves statesmen. One often encounter, while you read through the pages of this work, how many Boers would brag about their bravery, but would run away from gunfire or would try to injure themselves to obtain sick leave. Rich influential men, often having being politically affiliated with the president Paul Kruger, would obtain powerful positions in the force – not because they are the best men for the job, but because they are able to manipulate the election processes.
Inevitably, this led to a poor and disorganized Boer force. Although there were many brave Boers (the war would not have lasted so long had there not been so many brave Boers), the Boer forces were, as a rule, disorganized and pathetic and were it not for their guerrilla tactics the war would have been over long before 1902.
But the diary does not chronicle this part of the war, because Jack is taken prisoner. It also doesn’t tell any tales of how the British army treated the women and the children like animals – burning down their houses and crops, and moving them to overpopulated concentration camps in open train trucks with no sanitation in the blazing African sun and thru the icy cold night, only to die in their thousands of hunger and disease.
These people were the real heroes of the Anglo-Boer war, and the war diary of Burger Jack Lane tells us why. It tells the story of how society can flourish on lies – and how chaos and murder is soon to follow in the shadows of these.
This publication is in many ways a very important one. There is a lot known about the South African war, and yet, for some reason, it remains a very over-romanticized line of events in the history of South Africa. Where it is often portrayed as a war of bravery, it was very often marked by the opposite.
The Anglo-Boer war was a bloody, tragic and largely unnecessary business. It was a war that should have never taken place. It was a season of disinformation, lies and big ego’s, both on the Boer side as well as the British side. It was a war, not between two civilized races, but against civilians (much like modern day jihad). It can thus be said to have been a war fought by cowards, won by losers and lost by idiots. The war dairy of burgher Jack Lane confirms this, at least to me.
But most of all, it was a war of innocent victims, caught up between the political egos of cowards calling themselves statesmen. One often encounter, while you read through the pages of this work, how many Boers would brag about their bravery, but would run away from gunfire or would try to injure themselves to obtain sick leave. Rich influential men, often having being politically affiliated with the president Paul Kruger, would obtain powerful positions in the force – not because they are the best men for the job, but because they are able to manipulate the election processes.
Inevitably, this led to a poor and disorganized Boer force. Although there were many brave Boers (the war would not have lasted so long had there not been so many brave Boers), the Boer forces were, as a rule, disorganized and pathetic and were it not for their guerrilla tactics the war would have been over long before 1902.
But the diary does not chronicle this part of the war, because Jack is taken prisoner. It also doesn’t tell any tales of how the British army treated the women and the children like animals – burning down their houses and crops, and moving them to overpopulated concentration camps in open train trucks with no sanitation in the blazing African sun and thru the icy cold night, only to die in their thousands of hunger and disease.
These people were the real heroes of the Anglo-Boer war, and the war diary of Burger Jack Lane tells us why. It tells the story of how society can flourish on lies – and how chaos and murder is soon to follow in the shadows of these.
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