At the Front is the memoir of the legendary General Jannie Geldenhuys – a soldier, strategist, diplomat and a sportsman.

It takes us through negotiations, threats and major operations of the Border War in South West Africa (today Namibia) and Angola in the late 1970s and 1980s. Geldenhuys introduces us to international politicians, ordinary soldiers, friends and foes and traces the roles they played in the war.

He shares his first-hand experiences of important operations such as Operation Smokeshell and debunks a few commonly held beliefs about the battles around Cuito Cuanavale towards the end of the war by providing facts and figures about the loss of life and equipment on both sides. He also reveals the surprising facts about the costs and other implications of the war for southern Africa, making Geldenhuys’ story both of military and historical importance.

This book is far more than a general’s account of a war. At the Front presents a world where one meets friction de guerre and discovers the strange intertwined nature of war and peace, success and failure, good and bad luck, chance and fate, winning and losing. General Jannie Geldenhuys tells a compelling story that radiates graciousness, compassion and an indomitable sense of humour.