What a catalogue of incompetence, bravery, derring-do.... There are heroes aplenty in this rarely told story, ranging from the settlers who joined up, the King's African Rifles, Indian troops, to the porters who carried huge loads long distances to keep the armies in the field and the medical officers who battled sickness and disease in order to keep the fighting men alive. The German general, von Lettow-Vorbeck, avoided full scale confrontation and led British armies much, much bigger - and much better equipped - a merry dance around East Africa, not finally surrendering until a fortnight after the Armistice. The war in Africa may not have had the numbers, pitched battles or deaths of the Western Front, but it did matter to the Allies and to the Germans. Holding down large numbers of Allied troops that could have been used elsewhere, and showing that native troops could defeat white troops, it became almost a colonial nightmare for the Allies, with the conflicting ambitions of Portugal, Belgium and Britain colliding with each other as much as fighting the Germans. A fascinating read that sheds light on a 'forgotten' part of WW1.