Search results for ""30 Degrees South Publishers""

Takes you back in time and uncovers the rich history of a South African icon - Robben Island - a desolate little island off that coast of Cape Town in the bleak Atlantic, that has come to symbolise to the world the very essence of the struggle for freedom. This title also includes detailed maps, colour photographs and route guides.

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An account which strives to place the war which South Africa fought in Angola in a historically meaningful perspective. Although the conflict initially centered on the opposing agendas of the SADF and People’s Liberation Army of Namibia of SWAPO, it was to escalate and take on an international Cold War character as Angolan, Cuban, and Soviet protagonists appeared on the stage of the unfolding drama. Apart from the political resolution which was subsequently achieved in South Africa, the war represented the last African liberation struggle for independence from colonial rule. The aim of this book is to present a concise history of the Angolan Border War from 1966 to 1989. It supplements previous books which have covered periods of the war by breaking the entire duration of the conflict down into six distinctive phases and meticulously reconstructing twenty specific military operations in Angola which changed the course of the war. The perspective which the strategy affords should enable readers to obtain a comprehensive understanding of the individual phases of the war and the context which they provide for its final outcome. Two highly significant events of the war, the battles of Cuvelai (1983/84) and the battle at Indungo (1987), are subjected to particular scrutiny in the overall narrative. The battle at Indungo has been relatively neglected by writers and historians prior to the publication of this book. The information included in some six chapters of this book forms part of a dissertation for the degree M SocSci at the University of Pretoria which the author completed under the supervision of the acclaimed historian, Professor Fransjohan Pretorius, at the end of 2019. The study carries the title: The Battle at Indungo, 31 October 1987: An SADF military venture against SWAPO in the Angolan Border War.

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This is the true story of a young guerrilla commander brought up in a Christian family in Rhodesia, a former colony of Britain. Exposed to the excesses of a colonial regime where race and racism determined one's status in society, and influenced by the radical anti-racial views of his parents and later of fellow students and workmates, his character began to change. A chance encounter with a captured guerrilla fighter helped complete the metamorphic transformation of his rebel character, and was catalytic to his decision to cross into Mozambique to join the Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army (ZANLA), the military wing of the Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) led by Robert Mugabe, which was waging a protracted revolutionary armed struggle to liberate Zimbabwe. Known by his nom de guerre, Dragon Patiripakashata, he led several armed guerrilla incursions into Rhodesia, before being promoted to the General staff and appointed an instructor. For the final eighteen months of the war, until 1980, he served as ZANU's Chief representative to socialist Ethiopia. Mutambara invites the reader to view the Rhodesian bush war through the eyes of a guerrilla commander, experience the trials and tribulations of a freedom fighter, the satisfaction of working among the masses, and the joyous celebration of achieving freedom and independence. He outlines the psyche of those who engage in revolutionary armed struggle and why, even when exposed to extreme hardship and continual assault by a superior military adversary, they remain committed to their cause. This book also takes a different view of Mugabe, reviled by most Western governments and yet who remains immensely popular among his people.

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Join 'The terrible ones' on clandestine operations, in conventional warfare during the harsh bush war that raged through Southern Angola in the 1980's. The conflict ended with the last major battle of the Cold War, one of the largest battles of the latter part of the 20th century. This title presents an eyewitness account by a South African Defense Force (SADF) Signals officer, Marius Scheepers, who served in arguably the most formidable battle unit that ever existed in the history of the South African Defense Force: 32 Battalion. It describes how members lived and fought in the bush during 1983 under the most difficult conditions. Being the Signals officer of 32 battalion, Scheepers was privy to all major command decisions of the time. Although he focuses primarily on operations during the year 1983, including Operation Snoek en Dolfyn, he includes concise descriptions of all other major operations that took place inside Angola between 1966 and 1988. This includes Operation Askari (1983/4) and the decisive battle at Cuito Cuanavale in 1987/88. Extensive appendices include 32 Battalion sitreps, radio-code cards, SADF radio equipment used by 32 Battalion and details on SADF, SAAF and SWAPO.

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Based on the author's diaries, From Addis to the Aosta Valley is the account of Keith Ford's service in the Second World War from 1940-1945.

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Battles of the Anglo-Boer War series provides an accessible guide to some of the major campaigns, battles and battlefields of this historic conflict in KwaZulu-Natal. The books are written for the general reader as well as for historians seeking fresh insights into the events leading up to, during and after the battles. The text is supported by contemporary accounts and photographs, some of which have never previously been published. Maps show in detail the routes and dispositions of the opposing forces for each battle.After almost two weeks of continuous fighting in the Colenso region, General Buller finally broke through, in the rugged Thukela Heights area, to relieve Ladysmith. The Boers fought back heroically but they were eventually overwhelmed by the numerical superiority of the British forces.

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* A rollicking biography of Dr Leander Starr Jameson; hero, rogue and rascal of Empire and the man who inspired Kipling to write this masterpiece, If This famous poem by Rudyard Kipling is said to be based on the life of Jameson, and the suffering he endured as a result of the 1896 raid that he and his Rhodesian and Bechuanaland policemen carried out on Paul Kruger's Transvaal Republic. In this engaging biography in the style of Wilbur Smith-meets-Louis l'Amour, Ash recounts the life of this colonial statesman known as 'Dr Jim' or simply 'The Doctor'. He was an enigmatic man. When he died The Times estimated that his astonishing personal sway over his followers was equalled only by that of Parnell, the Irish patriot. Although probably most known for his role in 'The Jameson Raid', Jameson still had a successful political life. He died on 26 November 1917 in London. His body was laid in a vault at Kensal Green Cemetery where it remained until the end of the First World War. Ian Colvin (1923) writes that Jameson's body was then ...carried to Rhodesia and on 22 May 1920, laid in a grave cut in the granite on the top of the mountain which Rhodes had called 'The View of the World', close beside the grave of his friend. A"

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The 1969 republican constitution of the Rhodesia was intended to secure recognition for Ian Smith's 1965 UDI. Given the evasion by significant nations of the trade sanctions imposed by the UN, the gamble was that this de facto recognition would become de jure.

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A kaleidoscope of human-interest stories exposing long-kept secrets, mysteries and heroics for the first time. Wars always generate stories and everybody loves a story. Rob Milne has compiled this selection of Anglo-Boer War stories from all over South Africa and recounts them in a book that saddens, mystifies, but most of all entertains. There's the devotion of the English fiancee who for 60 years sent a sprig of heather to the Lake Chrissie Post Office for her beloved's grave, the tale of the lone Boer sniper who held off the entire Guards Brigade for more than a day after the battle of Bergendal, the sighting of UFOs near Pretoria at the beginning of the war and the story of how an unfortunate British soldier ended up being buried under a toilet on a railway station. Read about Sergeant Woodward's two graves in Heidelberg and the ghosts of the British officers that still haunt the Elands River Valley. During the past 12 years since the publication of the first edition, Milne has relentlessly followed up on his stories; but sometimes the stories have followed him ...with unexpected results! There's a photo of the ghosts of the Bergendal farm girl and her British soldier lover who appeared in broad daylight on the battlefield while Milne was investigating the story in 2011. There's the unnamed Welshman who found the long-lost British paymaster's gold 60 years after the military train was ambushed and looted near Greylingstad. Learn the truth of how Churchill and his fellow officers received the daily war news in Morse code while they were prisoners of war at the State Model School in Pretoria, why Prime Minister Botha was sued after the war for stealing the 'Kruger Millions' when entrusted to his care as Commandant-General during the retreat to the Mozambican border. And there's the love story, 'The Legend of the Flowers', about Martha, a Boer girl, and a British soldier, George, which unfolded in Ventersdorp and how Martha involved the author in her story from beyond the grave. A unique and delightfully refreshing read.

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At the outbreak of the Second Anglo-Boer War on 11 October 1899, approximately 25,000 Boers invaded the British colony of Natal from the Zuid Afrikaansche Republiek and the Orange Free State. The colony was the scene of some of the most important battles of the war, as well as the Siege of Ladysmith which lasted for 118 days. In addition to maps and details of the locations of the various sites, this guide provides a brief insight into the most significant battles and events in the area. Information is also given about concentration camps, hospitals, memorials and graves, together with clear directions to places listed in the text. The maps have been specially drawn for this publication and many of the photographs were published for the first time in the first edition of this book.

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The South African Air Force (SAAF), formed on 1 February 1920, is the second oldest air force in the Commonwealth. The air arm played a major role in securing victory for the Allies during the Second World War, in the 1948/49 Berlin Airlift, and in Korea in the 1950s. The SAAF assisted Rhodesia in the 1960s and '70s, made a major contribution to the 'Border' or 'Bush' war in South West Africa and Angola, participated in the transition to a new democracy in South Africa and continuously supports South African peace missions in Africa. It has also assisted in countless relief and rescue missions in southern Africa throughout this entire period. However, the SAAF is not just about aircraft and ordnance; it is made up of people and it is in this compilation that these people, airmen and ground crew alike, find their voice. These are their stories, all told in the first person by the actual participants as unvarnished, unabbreviated and intensely immediate and personal recollections. Through their stories of heroism, duty, adventure and tragedy, the reader will follow the history of the SAAF from 1939 to the present day. To complement the stories, the final chapter includes a collection of squadron pub songs from the Second World War, Korea and the Border War.

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