Review: Defence of Duffer's Drift

After finishing All You Need is Kill, I found out that the theme of repeating a battle until you get it right is hardly new. Back in 1904, then-Captain Sir Ernest Dunlop Swinton published The Defence of Duffer's Drift based on his experience in the Boer War.

In it, a young British lieutenant in charge of a 50-soldier detachment is sent to block a larger Boer force moving south. Through a series of six "dreams," he recounts the various solutions he tries until he finally gets things right.

In the first dream, he is assured by his higher headquarters that the Boer force is a long way off. He pitches tents on top of the hill, lets local Boer farmers into the camp to sell goods, lets his sentries light fires, and focuses on organization rather than a tactical defense. The Boers sneak in during the night and ambush them, killing 10 and wounding 21.

In the second dream, he has his men dig a shallow trench and they prevent local Boer men from entering the camp. Nevertheless, he is attacked in the late night -- the Boer force had been informed of the detachment's location by the local population. Despite the light of daybreak, the Boer positions behind shrubs were more effective than the British positions behind the low trenches. They lose 24 killed.

In the third dream, he sends out a force to bring in all the local men, puts an observer at the top of the hill, and digs orderly trenches where he can get a better field of fire. However, this time the Boer convoy is informed by the local women. Rather than rush headlong into the trap, they place their artillery on the top of a nearby hill and fire on the British from long range.

In the fourth dream, he brings in all the locals and makes sure to dig the trench deep and thin. Yet the turned-over earth has marked his position from far away -- the Boers go around his trenches and attack him from the rear and sides. Given the trenches' nice, straight lines, the Boers are able to shoot along the whole line. The detachment suffers 25 killed and 17 wounded.

In the fifth dream, he decides to occupy the local village to surprise the Boer force. However, while he has gained concealment, he has lost the ability to fire on the Boers as they pass by. While they defend against the Boer's advance party, the main force slips by. Though he suffers fewer losses than the Boers, it is a hollow victory -- he has failed his real mission.

Finally, he decides to use the zig-zagged dry river bed as natural cover while posting a rear guard at the top of the hill. He places multiple firing points along the river bed to mislead the Boers about his actual numbers. After the first day, he places sandbags with helmets at certain positions as a ruse, and holds out until reinforcements arrive. Though he suffers 11 killed and 15 more wounded, he has accomplished his mission.

Dunlop specifies 22 lessons for the small unit commander, from the insightful "there is no front or rear for a small unit" to the controversial "use forced local labor to help build your defenses." Many lessons still hold true today.

Despite this, and the fact that the Kindle version is free, the Kindle version of The Defence of Duffer's Drift is not perfect. First, it doesn't have the map found in the printed version (though you can get one from Wikipedia).

Also, some vocabulary is difficult to understand, either by context or the Kindle dictionary. Given that the book is over 100 years old, the author is British, and the war took place in Africa, this should be expected, but it can be off-putting to the unprepared.