With Rimington

A series of letters written by an officer serving in a mounted colonial guide corps offers a firsthand account of campaigning in South Africa during the war at the turn of the century. He records marches, reconnaissance, and engagements such as sieges, set-piece fights, reliefs of besieged towns, surrenders, and long treks, interspersed with vivid camp scenes and notebook snapshots. The narrator sketches colonial soldiers' character and self-reliance, the rhythms of fatigue and endurance, practical military detail, and candid reflections on controversial measures and the war's justification, moving from dramatic opening actions into later monotony and routine skirmishing.