[Gutenberg 41511] • Mafeking: A Diary of a Siege

The siege of Mafeking still stands as one of the British Military’s high achievements, especially during the depths of the badly handled Boer War. The successful defence and relief were a shot in the arm for the British public which had become all too used to defeats and reverses in South Africa. Leading the heroic defence of Mafeking was the Colonel Baden-Powell, whose ingenious new methods of keeping the defence going - such as an armoured train, a salvaged cannon, fake barbed wire - were to become part of his legend.

Enduring the siege with Baden-Powell was the correspondent for the Morning Chronicle, F.D Baillie, a late major in the 4th Queen’s Own Hussars; who wrote a day-by-day account of the siege from behind the defences.

This edition benefits from numerous illustrations from the newspaper clippings of the time.