Commando tells the tale of the Boer war from the perspective of Denys Reitz. Reitz grew up in the Orange Free State in the 1880s and 90s, and was well prepared for war by the time it broke out in 1899. He grew up shooting, riding and living in the wilderness for times, while his father worked as a statesman for the Orange Free State government.
After the events of the Jameson Raid by the British, war seemed inevitable. The British were amassing troops in the colony of Natal, and Reitz' father was one of the Boer to send the British an ultimatum: remove the troops or the two Boer republics (Orange Free State and Transvaal) would invade. The British refused to remove the troops and the Boer invaded the Natal.
Reitz was only 17 at the time, and his father did not want him to fight. Nevertheless, he stated his case directly to the Transvaal president, who gave him a gun and allowed him to go.
The original Boer plan was a rapid march through Natal and to the coast. This was based on a few simple observations. One: the Boer at the outset of the war heavily outnumbered the British. Two: the Boer had a less professional but more mobile army. The Boer army was mostly conscripts like Reitz who had considerable skill in riding and shooting, and they were almost entirely mounted shooters. However, they were not skilled in logistics and organisation like the British. They were also outgunned: the British artillery was much larger and had a longer range. All these factors made the optimal strategy a quick dash to the coat to seize the ports, cut off the British supply of troops and supply, and then mop up the troops already left in Natal.
Unfortunately, the Boer generals did not see it this way, and this lead to the first mistake. While the initial confrontations were very favourable to the Boer, they decided to dig in and form a defensive line along some mountains in the Natal. This gave the British the ability to fight the war on their advantage. This gave the British plenty of time to bring fresh troops, larger artillery, and to build more fortifications. The Boer did not have the skills to build defences, to bunker down in those defences or to siege the opponents defences like the British forces had. At this point, the war was almost certainly lost for the Boer.
However, the Boer had no intention of surrender. Even after the British took the capitals of the Orange Free State and the Transvaal republics, the Boer decided to continue as guerrilla warfare. Reitz was initially fighting with General de la Rey and General Botha around the areas of the Boer republics; Reitz eventually saw a newspaper about the Cape Colony and made up his mind to go there and fight.
However, it took him a very long time to make this trip. The British had engaged in building blockhouses along railway lines, setting up fences, scorched earth tactics against Boer farms and sweeping patrols, all of which made getting to the Cape a challenge. Eventually, after much difficulty and loss Reitz made it to the Cape with Jan Smuts. Their band of around 300 men were ruthlessly hunted down while in the Cape, and many times seemed to come eerily close to being captured or killed. However, they persisted.
At this point, they were in the South of the Cape colony, but eventually made their way north. Smuts' men were short on everything; clothing, horses, munitions, food. They were in poor shape, and it looked like they might soon lose a war of attrition. Nevertheless, a stroke of luck came and they were able to capture a British camp. They had a total restock of their supply, and were able to move north. In the North Cape, there were many friendly Dutch farmers, who welcomed them, with open arms. This gave them bases to stay, supply, and security. From here they quickly amassed forces and took control of the northern cape, generally becoming a nuisance for the British and stealing a lot of supply.
Smuts captured several key British positions including forts and mines in the area, and was placing a plan in motion to trap the British. While it was going well to begin, a message came that there was to be a peace, and Smuts was summoned. Smuts allowed Reitz to go with him, to try and find his father. They journeyed back to the Boer Republics, but generally wondered why the Boer were prepared to surrender while the guerrilla campaign was going well.
Arriving at the conference, they immediately understood why. Those still in the East of the country were exhausted; without clothing, barely without food. They were worse for wear, and it was clear the British had won. The peace deal brought South Africa into its next section of history.
Reitz and his father were not prepared to live in a British South Africa, and so moved to Madagascar temporarily, until Smuts' wife wrote a letter to Reitz convincing him to return. In the end it was Smuts himself who ended up taking charge of this new South Africa for many years and helping to lay the foundations of the state today.
Commando tells a truly gripping tale of war from a personal perspective. Reading about how Reitz dodged death or becoming a prisoner of war numerous times was thrilling and I couldn't put it down. I think there were some very interesting observations about war and strategy contained within the book, and it is truly fascinating to see a critical chapter of Anglo-Dutch history play out. The forward from Smuts vouching that the work is indeed accurate only adds to its weight. I can not recommend this book enough.