Facing internal rebellion and the threat posed by German troops on South Africa’s borders, Prime Minister Louis Botha and his deputy, Jan Smuts, led the Union Defence Force during the First World War. This first-of-a-kind volume investigates the wartime roles of these two legendary yet divisive historical figures.

Both men commanded in the field. The army they commanded gained resilience, experience and battle-hardiness, adapting to the conditions of the campaigns and the demands of the tasks. South Africa’s campaigns were complex and divergent, starting with the invasion of neighbouring German South West Africa, moving to East Africa, Egypt, Palestine and the devasting fighting at Delville Wood in France.

Behind Botha’s charming façade and Smuts’s stoic machine, were two very human, imperfect men. Together they provide a wonderful lens through which to examine the potent forces of the early 20th -century world and the country they hoped to forge. Myopic compatriots had constrained their plans, but it was the outbreak of war in 1914 that offered the most significant opportunities and brought the most adverse challenges.

They fought insurmountable odds and achieved great victories, at home and abroad, but also made startling errors and, ultimately, in classical fashion risked being crushed by the weight of the world they tried to create.