Louis Botha's War by Adam Cruise

Author:Adam Cruise
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: A mere twelve years after fighting the British in the Anglo-Boer War, Louis Botha went to war again – this time on Britain’s side. As prime minister of the Union of South Africa at the outbreak of the Great War, Botha agreed to lead his country on a campaign against the Germans across the border in South-West Africa. But first he would have to deal with a revolt from fellow Afrikaners who would rather take up arms against him than side with the old enemy. Louis Botha’s War is the story of how a former Boer War general crushed a rebellion and rallied his country’s first united army to fight a better-equipped enemy in harsh conditions. It is a tale of thirsty men and horses trekking over miles of barren desert; German aviators flying above in rickety aeroplanes; the unusual presence of a prime minister’s wife on the field of battle; and a fabled gold-filled safe at the bottom of a lake. Adam Cruise recreates these fascinating events from journals, memoirs and documents, and describes how the remote battle sites look today. He also explores the effects of Botha’s campaign, which determined the relationship between South Africa and its northern protectorate until well into the twentieth century. This is an absorbing chronicle of the exploits of a remarkable man who has been strangely forgotten by history, but whom Winston Churchill described as the greatest general he had ever known.
ISBN: 978-1-77022-753-8
Publisher: Penguin Random House South Africa
Published: 2015-01-19T16:00:00+00:00

8

Northern Force

FROM THE START, Botha believed the shortest and most direct route to Windhoek was from Swakopmund, just north of Walvis Bay. Against the general consensus of both the Germans and the previous South African command, therefore, he reasoned that the best way to capture the capital would be an attack from Swakopmund, not from the south.1 Before Botha assumed command, the only plans for Swakopmund involved rendering the seaport inoperable as a supply depot for the German navy, an objective that had been achieved in September 1914.

Although the Germans had evacuated the town, the Schütztruppe maintained an observation station at a small outpost called Nonidas, on the high dunes slightly west of Swakopmund. They also had a garrison or two guarding each of the possible routes out of town: one on the railway line at Rössing Station and another along the Swakop River at the Goanikontes oasis.2 Each was about thirty kilometres inland. These garrisons were simply precautionary measures, as the Germans were not expecting a significant attack from Swakopmund. Franke thought that even if the South Africans were bold enough to attempt such a thing, it would be nothing more than a diversion from the main thrust in the south.3 It was generally accepted that a primary attack from Swakopmund was virtually impossible. As with Lüderitz, the attacking forces would have to land by ship directly from Cape Town; and in this case, first at Walvis Bay, as Swakopmund was too small to handle invasion forces of any size. The troops would then have to march up the bleak coast for about ten kilometres to Swakopmund before attempting to traverse the 100-kilometre wide Namib Desert in an endeavour to reach Windhoek.

Swakopmund itself was not an ideal base from which to launch an offensive. Water was by far the biggest problem, as was an adequate supply of fodder for horses and mules. Colonel Skinner, who Botha had sent to secure Swakopmund for the troops’ arrival, reported that the town’s own water supply was limited and brackish at best. It would take time for man and beast to become accustomed to it before they could even begin thinking of marching inland. In addition, Skinner felt that their best route out of town, the railway track, could be easily defended by the Germans, who would no doubt destroy it in stages as the South Africans advanced. This would slow down the advance to a virtual halt.

It was precisely for these reasons that Botha decided to launch his main attack from Swakopmund. He was obeying one of the oldest military maxims – do the unexpected. The Germans ought to have known that when it came to Botha’s military acumen, they should obey the corollary – expect the unexpected. In fact, they remained unconvinced even when the Nonidas observation post reported troop ships docking at Walvis Bay on 10 February, disgorging men and horses into blunt-nosed barges that ploughed their way up the coast to Swakopmund and landed on the beaches in front of the town.

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