David Brock Katz

Soldiering and history are two pursuits close to heart. The South African National Defence Force and the Saldanha Military Academy have facilitated both. Being a serving member of the Citizen Force in the South African Irish Regiment has provided an advantage when writing military history. Those who hail from the military have a keen sense of the culture and a firm grip on the inner working and mechanisms that make for comradeship and the ability to function under the most adverse and challenging situations. The way of the military can be a confusing mystery to civilians who have never served.The military is all about preparing for a situation that may never and most probably will never arise. It is one of the few professions where its practitioners will seldom find a chance to exercise their trade in a real life situation. Therefore, the study of history and battles long past, forms an integral and fundamental part of the soldier’s battle toolkit. It is through history that soldiers learn about what is possible, what can be avoided and how to act under a similar set of circumstances. (Although no two battles are ever fought under the same circumstances) In the absence of the real thing, history can provide important lessons of war. ​ South Africa is fortunate in having one of the finest military academies in the world. The Department of Military History resides at the Saldanha Military Academy and is part of the Faculty of Military Science which is a Faculty of Stellenbosch University. I was privileged to have Lt-Colonel (Prof) Ian van der Waag and Lt-Colonel (Prof) Deon Visser as my mentors and supervisors for my Masters thesis, completed in 2014. (Sidi Rezegh and Tobruk: two South African military disasters revisited 1941-1942). This qualification marked a lifestyle and a career turnaround from the Commerce degrees that I acquired at Wits University in the early 1980’s. The past 6 years has rendered my life as a Chartered Accountant a distant memory. Reinvention has been the most energizing experiences that I have undertaken and it’s a process that demands buy in from family, friends, regiment and supervisors. Self-belief, but more importantly, the belief that others have in me, has resulted in a good crop of academic publications and presentations from 2012 to 2016. (https://sun.academia.edu/DavidKatz) Dave Reisch of Stackpole books delivered the break that comes once in a lifetime by agreeing to publish my book, South Africans vs Rommel: The Untold Story of the Desert War in World War II. Stackpole was a long-standing family business in the United States that specialised in military publications. It has recently been acquired by Rowman and Littlefield, one of the largest academic publishers in America. Many years ago I remember being told that if you haven’t published your first book before age 30 you will never publish. In a world where 30 years of age is starting to look old, I hope that I have proved the naysayers wrong. Lots of passion, much dedication and a bit of luck can move mountains. As Napoleon said, I’m a great believer in luck. The harder I work, the more luck I have. (That may not have been Napoleon). In an effort to prove more of my luck, I have registered for my Doctorate with the topic, Jan Smuts and his First World War 1914-1918.