A chronicle of the military campaign to put down the 1896 rebellion which the Africans of Mashonaland staged against Cecil Rhodes's settlers. The Matabele Rebellion, which broke out in March, 1896, had by June of that year spread to Mashonaland. The initial stages were marked by the brutal murder of hundreds of white settlers on lonely farms and mines and the withdrawal of the small communities into laager. The first task of such forces as could be mustered was to escort civilians to the safety of the laagers, and to undertake punitive measures. The Matabele Relief Force, under Col. Plumer, subsequently went into action inMatabeleland. During July a force of mounted infantry originally sent from Aldershot under Col. Alderson to serve in Matabeleland, arrived in Mashonaland via Beira, the Portuguese East African port. This book is an account of the five-month campaign conducted by Alderson, who played a major role in the subjugation of the Mashona rebels. The rebellion was finally ended in the October of 1897. Alderson's work, which is supported by maps, illustrations and statistical data, is valuable for its details on engagements which have perhaps been ovedramatic and more publicised incidents of the period.

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