The Regiment

It is 1899 and Second Lieutenant Murdoch Mackinder has just been posted to Cape Town, South Africa with the Royal Western Dragoon Guards.  As a newly minted Lieutenant, Mackinder needs to earn the respect of his men, some of whom had served under his late father.

In Cape Town, Mackinder and his captain, Holt meet a young German by the name of Paul Reger.  He is a Prussian reservist, also in the cavalry, so the men hit it off well.  Because Kaiser Wilhelm is a grandson of Queen Victoria, Germany is regarded as a friendly nation and Reger has the opportunity to see Mackinder's troop drilling.  It isn't long after this that the Guards are sent north.

Murdoch's first skirmish with the Boers results in his horse being shot out from under him.  However, he stands firm in the face of fire.  Unfortunately in the next skirmish, his good friend, Captain Tom Holt is killed.  This creates a resolve in young Mackinder to kill Boers in return.  The following day, the British try to force a night crossing of the river where Holt was killed.  They are met by murderous fire from the Boers, who are entrenched.  The British are unable to move, and there seem to be no alternative plans.   Murdoch is disappointed with the British leadership.

After the mess near Kimberley, the British government decides to put Field Marshall Roberts in charge with General Kitchener as his chief of staff.  The cavalry was now reorgaised under the leadership of General Sir John French and Colonel Douglas Haig. By 1901, unable to complete the war against the Boers, Kitchener orders concentration camps to be established.  This forces the Boers into guerrilla warfare.

Following a skirmish where his horse is shot out from under him, Mackinder is taken prisoner.  The man leading the group which has taken him prisoner is his German friend, Paul Reger.  Fortunately a young woman helps him escape, but the way she is treated upon his return results in him distrusting his superior officers.  He is sent back to England where he returns to his old training grounds to teach the lessons learned to new recruits.

Changes were in the works for the army after the war.  Gone were the red uniforms in favour of khaki.  Machine guns were more prevalent, and volley shooting done away with.  New alliances were being formed, Germany was no longer the friend on Britain.  Unfortunately a training accident results in injuries to Mackinder.  He decides convalesce in South Africa to rid himself of some demons preying on his mind.

Having returned from South Africa, now Captain Mackinder, is sent with a troop to Somalia to aid in eliminating a mullah who was causing problems there.  That was not the only problem as heat stroke and insect borne diseases were common.  Mackinder is severely wounded in a skirmish and as a result invalided back to Britain to recover.  Shortly afterward Mackinder marries a young American girl by the name of Marylee.  When they return from their honeymoon, he discovers that he has been appointed major.

As Mackinder's family grows, so do tensions in Europe.  Tensions are also rising in Ireland over home rule, so the regiment is sent to Ireland as a show of force.  The assassination of the archduke of Austria would change things altogether.  When Germany invades France through Belgium, Britain declares war and Mackinder's regiment is ordered to Le Havre in France.

Author Christopher Nicole has written an excellent historical novel, which I couldn't put down.  It is well researched and presented.  I'm looking forward to the sequel.