Assegais, Drums and Dragoons. A Military and Social History of the Cape, by Willem Steenkamp.

Assegais, Drums and Dragoons. A Military and Social History of the Cape, by Willem Steenkamp. ISBN 9781868424795 / ISBN 978-1-86842-479-5

Willem Steenkamp's book 'Assegais, Drums and Dragoons: A Military and Social History of the Cape' is about the genesis of the South African foot soldier of today without whom an army cannot ring the gong of victory. He did not spring up full-grown out of the ground. He grew to what he is today through an evolutionary process that took several centuries.’

Willem Steenkamp  

Foreword to Assegais, Drums and Dragoons. A Military and Social History of the Cape, by Willem Steenkamp.

This book stemmed from a request to the author by the South African Infantry Association that he write an informal history of the South African infantryman of all races through all the eras of this country. The association's requirements were not onerous, but they were very much to the point. Firstly, the book must be neither a learned treatise on warfare nor a military history textbook. Instead, it must be as readable as possible for both the dedicated military specialist and anybody else, whether of military background or not, who has an interest in the subject, particularly South Africa's soldiers and ex-soldiers themselves. Secondly, it must not be a hagiography but an attempt to tell the South African infantry story through the ages, without fear or favour. Thirdly, it must tell the story of events, not the exploits of individual regiments, except where this is necessary. The end result, so it was hoped, would be a narrative, told in an entertaining but instructive way, of South African infantrymen of all races and nations throughout the recorded social history of our country, and in the context of that history. That was the original intention. Not long after undertaking this task, however, it was apparent that the story of how the South African infantry soldier came to be was more complicated than it appeared, and that to compress the entire story into one volume would be a fruitless exercise. If it was to serve any real purpose it must start by illuminating a largely lightless corner in South African military historical writing -the period between the 16th century, when parts of what is now South Africa first connected with the outside world, and the beginning of the 19th century, the opening years of what might be called the pre-modern era. During that period a basic footprint was trodden into the sub-continent's soil as a symbiosis began to take place between indigenous warriors and soldiers trained in European doctrine which was to reach full flower in the 19th century. What this book is about, therefore, is the genesis of the South African foot soldier of today - that small, usually dirty, frequently over-tired and often hungry figure - without whom an army cannot ring the gong of victory and in warfare there is no second prize. He did not spring up full-grown out of the ground at the wave of some magician's wand. He grew to what he is today through an evolutionary process, both social and military, that took several centuries. The book has another aim, which is to foster the respect that real fighting soldiers often conceive for one another after they have laid down their arms, a respect that transcends differences of race, religion and belief that politicians, propagandists and others seek to keep alive to serve their own base purposes. They have yet to learn that if you unfairly denigrate your former enemy, you denigrate yourself in the process as well. It is definitely not the final word on the subject, because there is a great deal that South African military historians have yet to unearth, about both the distant and the recent past. So this book must be seen for what it is, the starting point of a process, and it is hoped that it will serve as a reference work for future military authors delving into the many aspects of our military heritage which remain largely or totally untouched.

This is an excerpt from the book: Assegais, Drums and Dragoons. A Military and Social History of the Cape, by Willem Steenkamp.

Title: Assegais, Drums and Dragoons
Subtitle: A Military & Social History of the Cape
Author: Willem Steenkamp
Publisher: Jonathan Ball Publishers
Johannesburg & Cape Town, South Africa 2012
ISBN 9781868424795 / ISBN 978-1-86842-479-5
Hardcover, 16x23 cm, 376 pages, several b/w and colour illustrations