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HCSC/SCSC/22
Oct 21 Freetown

REVIEW OF THE BOOK “INTO THE JAWS OF DEATH” BY COLONEL MIKE SNOOK

INTRODUCTION

1. From the earliest screeches on stones and bone to the language of computers and the
internet, writing has evolved and offered humanity the opportunity to reflect on our emotions and
development. The drastic change in rate of development can be linked to many different factors
including the art of writing.

2. The book ‘Into the Jaws of Death’: British Military Blunders 1879-1900 was written by Col.
Mike Snook. Mike draws on his professional expertise as a soldier and his lifelong study of military
history to bring back to life the dramatic campaigns fought by the British Army. The book focuses
on the great battles--Isandlwana, Majuba Hill, Colenso, and Spion Kop, among them that went
badly awry for the British. In doing so, the author exposes the sometimes embarrassing causes of
British defeat and offers new insights into the characters of some of Victoria's most notable military
commanders.

3. The purpose of this paper is to conduct a descriptive and critical analysis of the book: “Into
the Jaws of Death”. Therefore, this paper will cover: Summary of the book, Author’s Purpose,
Identify the Main Themes and Arguments, Identify the Author’s Assumptions, Discuss the Author’s
Success, Strength and Weaknesses, Identify Issues for further discussion, Others issues that affect
the book’s quality and relevant to present-day context.

AIM

4. This paper aimed to give the reader a concise summary of issues of the book with the view
to making recommendation.

SUMMARY OF THE BOOK

5. The book ‘Into the Jaws of Death’ is an expert analysis of certain set of conflicts and battles
in the high Victorian age by Mike Snook. He delivers a detailed analysis of some of the better as
well as lesser known conflicts of that time. The political background for each battle is set forth,
followed by the leaders who commanded the troops, an analysis of the opposing British and native
armies. The book is divided into 4 distinct eras: The Afghan War of 1879, the First Boer War of
1880-1881the enthralling tale of the Mahdist Revolt in the Sudan and the Second Boer War of
1899.

7. The Afghan War of 1879: This is also known as Anglo-Afghan wars (1839-42, 1878-80
and 1919) in which Great Britain from it base in India, sought to extend it control over neighboring
Afghanistan and to oppose Russia influence. The British Army occupied Kabul and recognized an
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arch rival’s son as the Emir. The British triumph was very short after installing the Emir and it
follow the assassination of the British Governor in Kabul. There were two divisions of the British
Army in India and Bengal and other mercenaries from the local tribes. The Emirate of Afghanistan
had no standing army, instead under the Afghan feudal system, the tribal chiefs contributed fighters.
There were fierce battle between the occupiers and defenders and the British suffered severe losses
which resulted to the decimation of the invaders.

9. The First Boer War of 1880-1881: The trigger for the war came when a Boer named Piet
Bezuidenhout refused to pay an illegally inflated tax. Government officials seized his wagon and
attempted to auction it off to pay the tax on 11 November. Hundred armed Boers disrupted the
auction, assaulted the presiding sheriff, and reclaimed the wagon. The first shots of the war were
fired when this group fought back against government troops who were sent after them. This led to
the action at Bronkhorstspruit on 20 December 1880, where the Boers ambushed and destroyed a
British Army convoy. From 22 December 1880 to 6 January 1881, British army garrisons all over
the Transvaal became besieged. Although generally called a war, the actual engagements were of a
relatively minor nature considering the few men involved on both sides and the short duration of the
combat, lasting some ten weeks.

10. Mahdist Revolt in the Sudan: The revolution of 1891-1898 was an Islamic revolt against
the Egyptian government in the Sudan. The British who were occupying Egypt moved it force of
8,500 men to Sudan to suppress the revolt. The commander was Col William Hicks, with artillery
and early machine guns, invaded Sudan to suppress the rebellion. Hicks's expedition advance
through the harsh desert conditions, Mahdists eventually surrounded and annihilated them with
firepower at the Battle of Shaykan. The British then decided to pull out of Sudan and in early 1884.
Around the same time, Sudanese leader Osman Digna led a rebellion against Egyptian rule in the
eastern region of Suakin. A British column pushed back the rebels at the hard fought battles of El
Teb and Tamai but then was ordered to withdraw. A British relief expedition led by Garnet
Wellesley failed to break through to Khartoum in January 1885.

11. The Second Boer War of 1899-1902: The conflict broke out in 1899 after the failure of the
Bloemfontein Conference when Boer irregulars and militia attacked colonial settlements in nearby
British colonies. In response to these developments, increased numbers of British Army soldiers
were brought to Southern Africa, and mounted largely unsuccessful attacks against the Boers.
The Boer guerrilla campaign proved difficult for the British to defeat, due in part to British
unfamiliarity with guerrilla tactics and extensive support for the guerrillas among the civilian
population in the Boer Republics. Few combatants on either side were killed in action, with most
casualties coming via disease.

12. The mediocre to abysmal leadership of many of the British commanders during the period of
1879-1902 led to several deaths and defeats. The failures have resulted in a widespread, if perhaps
temporary collapse of morale among the troops at the time. The one great British military failure of
the era, the annihilation of 1300+ British and colonial regiments at the hands of 20,000+ Zulus at
the Battle of Isandlwana, is but lightly touched on in the preface of the book.

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AUTHOR’S PURPOSE

13. In a meticulously researched military history, the author’s exposes the true and sometimes
embarrassing causes of the British Forces blunders. He outlines that political meddling, military
incompetency, overstretched resources and petty jealousy all played their part in their defeat. Above
all else, however, these are dramatic and perceptive accounts of mere mortal men struggling to deal
with the often overpowering dynamics and horrors of the 19th century warfare on the fringes of
empire.

MAIN THEMES AND ARGUMENTS

14. The main themes and arguments of the book are conflict, courage, death and duty. The
book illustrate vividly how the urge to conquer and consolidate empires lead to continuous fighting
with indigenes. As a result of the expansion of the British Empire, they were met with indigenes
that displayed high courage in spite of low training and resources. The British Forces suffered
severe death toll in all their battles but they also show courage in the difficult times. As a call of
duty, both soldier of the British Empire and various indigenes fought decisively.

AUTHORS ASSUMPTIONS

15. The book brings together fifteen chapters, covering extensively the various wars fought by
the British Empire over the period of 1870-1902. The novel is based on the British Military
blunders covering the period stated. The author assumes that colonial expansionism couple with
incompetency of the military leaders, political interference and logistical problem contributed
immensely to their defeats.

STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES

16. The authors of the book is an experts and academics in the field of military operation,
therefore provides expert view on the subject matter.
17. The book was generally perceived very well, but there are some examples of it being
described as too strong for the audience, but this is a matter of personal opinion. The book is very
colorful in its language and imagery, and this can be pretty contrasting with the harsh subject matter
of war. The poetic description makes the book one of the best. However, the photograph on the
cover page evokes strong emotional reactions and suffering of British Soldier in their quest of
expansionism. The soldier’ faces on the photo are turned away from the viewers to make them
invincible. The cover of the book is unattractive.

ISSUE FOR FURTHER DISCUSSIONS

18. Since 1879-1902, the assumption of the British Forces to defeat native force was proven
wrong in most of the war fought in this period. This is very clear in the Ukraine–Russia conflict.
Annexing Ukraine’s sovereign four regions in this millennium will attract many opposing factions.
Russia has not learnt from the losses of expansionism as the British and French. Valdimir Putin is
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almost directing the conduct of the war and directly changing career general that have served more
than 30 years. Also, like the British forces, Russia military incompetency and logistic problem will
severally turn the tide of the war.

ISSUES THAT AFFECT THE BOOK’S QUALITY

19. Images, such as painting and photographs are intensely visually striking and evoke strong
emotions in those who view them. The book is very strong and it likely that people of civilian
orientation may not like such book.

RELEVANCE TO PRESENT DAY

20. This book’s content is still relevant to present day as analyses drawn, shows bad leadership,
miss calculation in planning a war can cause grave consequences as demonstrated in the case of the
British Military. Even though, they had more equipment that the resisting military, yet they could
not withstand the resisting side due to poor plan, bad leadership and lack of support from home
country.

RECOMMENDATIONS

21. The following are recommended:

a. Military officers at strategic level should read the book for their professional development and
accurate planning.
b. The author should in his next publication, try to outline details into the driving power
that aid the resisting force to withstand the British.
CONCLUSION

22. How can a great military such as the British military fall so low into the hands of a lesser
army? Winner a war depends on concurrent activities, Anticipation with through calculation of the
enemy’s strength, disposition and routine. Knowledge of the enemy’s overall composition,
supported with efficient drills and good leadership. British military suffered grate loss as a result of
poor leadership, calculation and lack of adequate required support. This is a lesson learnt for all war
strategists.

MK BASSIE
Maj
Student

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