ISBN 0-9628324-5-6
405 pages

Introduction; maps; photos; sidebars; Index.

   Even among students of the Second World War, it's not uncommon to find people who believe the war in Africa comprised nothing more than Erwin Rommel's campaigns in Libya, Egypt, and Tunisia.
   Richard E. Osborne dispels that myth with a thick reference book about the full extent of the war on the African continent, in the surrounding waters, and even in neighboring areas such as Saudi Arabia and Brazil. Although billed as the story of the war in "colonial Africa," the author's scope includes nations as more-or-less independent as Egypt, Abyssinia/Ethiopia, Liberia, and South Africa. It is true, however, that the book, as described in the Introduction, "...tells two stories at the same time. The first is the history and involvement of the entire continent of Africa during World War II, and the second is the history of the beginning stages of the process of de-colonization...."
   To tell those two stories, there is not one or even two narrative threads. In fact, there is no extended narrative at all. Instead, Osborne provides an episodic approach, almost encyclopedic, with a kaleidoscope of information from all over the continent, and the information organized into hundreds of individual chunks. To begin with, the book is divided into twenty-one chapters.

The First East African War (1935-36): Fascism's First Victim—Ethiopia

The Last Years of Peace in Colonial Africa (1936-39): A Rigid and Structured Colonial System

German Claims in Colonial Africa: "Return Our Colonies"—A. Hitler

Europe Goes to War: Africa Goes to War (September 1939-June 1940): Two Continents Aflame

Fighting Spreads to North and East Africa (June-August 1940): White Man against White Man, Black Man against Black Man

Elsewhere in Africa (June-August 1940): The Virus of War Spreads

The French Civil War in Africa (August 1940-January 1941): The Vichy French vs. the Free French

All Africa (August 1940-January 1941): The Other Conflicts in Africa

The Second East African War (January-July 1941): Fascism's First Major Defeat

The War in North Africa and Related Issues (January-August 1941): The Apex of Hostilities in Africa

Elsewhere in Africa (January-August 1941): Still More Conflicts in Africa

All over the Continent (September-December 1941): Issues Aplenty

War and More War in Africa (January-September 1942): See-saw Battles in North Africa and an Allied Victory in Madagascar

Elsewhere in Africa (January-September 1942): After Three Years of War

From Madagascar through "Torch" (September 1942-May 1943): The End of Fighting in Africa

Elsewhere in Africa (September 1942-May 1943): Wartime Conditions Continue

Africa as Staging Area (June-December 1943): On to Sicily and Italy

"Over There" (January-June 1944): Africans Fight in Europe and Asia

War Abroad, Prosperity and Politics at Home (July-December 1944): The Stirring of African Nationalism

Victory Attained in Europe (January-June 1945): Postwar Problems in Sight

Peace Returns to Africa—Temporarily (July-December 1945): The "Giants" and the "Pygmies"

   Each chapter in turn consists of a series of topics with as little as a brief paragraph of text or as much as a couple of pages, plus photos, maps, contemporary political cartoons and posters, and sidebars with related information sprinkled liberally throughout. In Chapter 12, for example, topics include:

Uranium Ore, $1.60 a pound
The Situation in North Africa
The British Strike
In the Mediterranean
Back in Libya
December 1-13, 1941: A Dynamic Two Weeks
At Sea Again
On to El Agheila Again
End of the Fighting in East Africa
Trouble in French Somaliland
Back at Gondar
Near Mutiny of the 25th KAR
Allied Administration of East Africa
Eritrea—?
Ring around Djibouti
"Greater Somalia"
Ethiopia in Political Limbo
Saudi Arabia Moved Closer to the Allies
French Africa
A Boost to Nationalism
Egypt Supports the Allies—Somewhat
The Weygand Controversy
The "Shoot on Sight" Order
Sea War Off West Africa
The French Take Advantage
Brazil Takes Action in the South Atlantic
Dakar Again
Sea War in the Indian Ocean and Red Sea
Let's Divide Eurasia!
More Air Routes
In South Africa
Elsewhere
The "Arcadia Conference"

   Some of the sidebars in this chapter include "The 'Black Code'," "Happy Birthday Irwin," and "Money from the Sky." Photos include, among others, Italian General Nasi in captivity, downtown Gondar in 1941, survivors of the Atlantis on the deck of U-126, and KAR troops. The only map in this particular chapter displays the locations of Allied merchant ships sunk by U-boats in the Atlantic between March and December 1941.
   While better-known events—such as Rommel's campaigns and the Torch landings—receive relatively little attention—lesser-known material—such as the campaign on Madagascar, the armed forces of Liberia, Polish officers and Italian weapons in Sierra Leone, and the Shinkolobwe uranium mine in the Belgian Congo—make up the bulk of the book. Here's an example of a fairly typical topic from one of the chapters.

PORTUGUESE AFRICA

   Portugal and her colonial empire had been economically sound for about twelve years—during the worst of the Depression—and the country's Premier and dictator, Antonio Salazar, wanted to keep it that way. Most of all, he wanted to stay out of the war, and toward this end he followed a strict line of neutrality, but well edged with pragmatism. Beginning in 1940, he doubled the size of Portugal's 40,000-man army and sent many of the new soldiers to the colonies, especially the Azores and Cape Verde Islands. This was a warning to both the Allies and Axis to keep their hands off these strategic islands. To help finance this military expansion, a temporary defense tax was imposed on all the colonies.
   To increase solidarity with her colonies, a large colonial congress was held in Lisbon in July 1940 with delegates from all Portuguese colonies. The topics of discussion, of course, centered on mutual efforts to maintain Portugal's neutrality, security, and well being in time of war. The problems of each colony were addressed by the congress and matters of economic interest, such as public health, anthropology, and other social issues were stressed.
   During the early years of the war the Portuguese colonies prospered in varying degrees. Mozambique, though, became by far the most prosperous colony. Over the years it had become an economic satellite of South Africa, and since the economy was booming in that country the economy in Mozambique tagged along. Almost everything the colony produced was readily purchased by South Africa or others. Mozambique's ports were very busy exporting raw materials and ores from all over southern Africa. The colony was so prosperous that Lisbon saw fit to impose, for the first time, an income tax on the colony's residents.
   The Portuguese had traditionally discouraged Mozambique natives from leaving the colony, but with the manpower shortages that developed in South Africa and the Rhodesians [sic], especially in the mines, this policy was waved [sic]. In fact, some natives were conscripted as export laborers. Thousands of Mozambique natives, therefore, went to work outside of their home colony and, as expected, sent a large portion of their earnings home.
   The Portuguese expected no military problems in Mozambique so the standing colonial army of 2400 men was not substantially increased.
   Portugal's other African colonies, Angola, Portuguese Guinea, Sao Tomas and Principe Islands were prospering too, but none compared with Mozambique.

   The sidebars are similarly illuminating of small but interesting points. In one of them, for example, Osborne explains that the Duke of Aosta's wife was also the daughter of the King of Belgium. Likewise, the photographic illustrations include fresh and unusual images such as the Liberian army on parade, Governor-General Armand Annet of Madagascar, KAR units in action, French African troops interned in Switzerland, and Algerians working on German submarine pens in France.
   Although the overall tone of the writing tends to be a bit amateurish and without too much depth, World War II in Colonial Africa makes up for it in breadth by bringing together a great deal of obscure information about many unusual topics. Unfortunately, there are no footnotes, no bibliography, and no hints about where all this information came from. Nonetheless, Osborne's book makes a good resource for Africa during the war years and is recommended for anyone with an interest in this part of the globe during World War II.
   Available from online booksellers, local bookshops, or directly from the distributor, Seven Hills.
   Thanks to Seven Hills Book Distributors for providing this review copy.