At the front. A general’s account of South Africa’s border war

At the Front covers the years before and during the protracted border war and is the account of General Jannie Geldenhuys.
23561
978-1-86842-331-6
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29,95 € *

Title: At the front
Subtitle: A general’s account of South Africa’s border war
Author: Jannie Geldenhuys
Genre: War memoirs
Publisher: Jonathan Ball
Cape Town, South Africa 2009
ISBN 9781868423316 / ISBN 978-1-86842-331-6
Softcover, 15 x 23 cm, 288 pages, several b/w photos

About: At the front. A general’s account of South Africa’s border war

At the Front is General Jannie Geldenhuys' story of war and peace in southern Africa. It is the story of a soldier, a strategist, a diplomat and a sportsman. It takes us through negotiations, threats, and the war in South West Africa and Angola. Geldenhuys introduces us to international politicians, ordinary soldiers, friends and foes, and traces the roles they played in the war and also in times of tentative peace. The author shares his first-hand experiences of important operations and explodes the myth of Cuito Cuanavale by providing facts and figures about the loss of life and equipment on both sides. He also reveals the surprising facts about the costs and other implications of the war for southern Africa, making Geldenhuys' story both of military and historical importance. This book is far more than a general's account of a war. Geldenhuys' years of experience make it possible for him to provide insights into developments inside present-day South Africa. At the Front presents a world where one meets friction de guerre and discovers the strange intertwined nature of war and peace, success and failure, good and bad luck, chance and fate, winning and losing. General Jannie Geldenhuys tells a compelling story that radiates graciousness, compassion and an indomitable sense of humour.

Content: At the front. A general’s account of South Africa’s border war

PREFACE
MAPS
1. THE END AND THE BEGINNING
The ABC of war and peace - fortune and misfortune
2. FIRST STEPS TO KNOWLEDGE
Style is good, but it's better to win
3. MORE STEPS TO KNOWLEDGE
An open mind means wings on your ankles
4. A LAND BETWEEN TWO DESERTS
Till the rains come
5. A NEW ERA OF WAR
'Commandant doesn't really understand the situation'
6. SOUTH WESTERS MUST DECIDE FOR THEMSELVES
Brother against brother
7. SOUTH WEST - A WINNING APPROACH
Time does not take sides
8. KATIMA MULILO AND NGANA
Days of sadness and days of good cheer
9. SMOKESHELL
TifBes and postal pigeons
10. CORRESPONDENTS AND SPIES
Fish-eagles and crocodiles
11. THE BEGINNING OF A NEW DECADE
'The South African Government has been shocked'
12. INFORMATION AND DISINFORMATION
The 'massacred village' that never was
13. PROBLEMS AND CHALLENGES
Peace talks and missiles
14. THE END OF A DECADEAt the front
Sampie's shocked out of his wits
15. TWELVE MONTHS THAT TRANSFORMED A CONTINENT
Cuito Cuanavale - the myth
16. IN THE WAKE OF THE WAR
Tinfoil and phoney mines
17. THE UNITED STATES - A COMMON ENEMY
Nuances with finesse
18. A TRAGIC FIASCO
Flagrant contravention of the Geneva Protocol
19. OFFICE POLITICIANS AND SENIOR GENERALS
So much information and so little knowledge
20. REVOLUTIONARY POLITICS
Perceptions and misperceptions - the 'pig in the middle'
21. THE END OF THE STORY
Ancient history and peace syndromes
22. THAT WAS HOW IT WAS
Terries and Vorster's dogs
ANNEXURE A: sadf members who died in service 1962-1994
ANNEXURE B: Chronological index of important events in the Cold War in South-Western Africa 1975-1990
INDEX OF OPERATIONS
REFERENCES
SELECTED INDEX OF PERSONS' NAMES