Tell-all book takes you straight to the battle lines

“There are some things that you can never forget, and watching, as if in slow motion, a bomb coming towards you and somehow ducking just in time, is one memory that has never left my mind,” said David Mannall, the author of Battle on the Lomba 1987.

The 46-year-old writer, who now calls the UK his home, returned to South Africa for a short stint to launch his book. “My mother was diagnosed with motor neuron disease and died a few months later. Watching her go through that reminded me of the guy I was before and after the war, and I realised that I was now willing to address what had happened and how brave we had been,” said David.

Before the book was even a thought in his mind, her struggle with the disease inspired him to write a blog called A Month with Mom, looking back at his army past, and the people that read it really enjoyed what he wrote. He took his mind back to moments that were deeply emotional and he admitted that he found himself weeping at his PC as he typed.

“Soon other veterans started reading my blog, and the feedback said that my writing had started to help them overcome some of their demons and that I should compile my writing into a book – something I never thought I would do,” said David.

The historical battle lasted eight hours, and he said that during the build-up to the battle he and his men were nervous. When the bullets began to fly, he perceived the noise more like a symphony and he focused on his objective: kill or be killed. “What I would like readers to take from this book is a sense of understanding as to what their spouse, child, or father went through, as this is a story about war and how it damages people,” said David.

It has been hailed by his military counterparts as a captivating read with beautiful twists and turns, without once losing the thread. It is a profound story of the life in the military as told by the young South African national serviceman, David Mannall, who served during the South African border war.

In the book he gives a vivid account of one of the fiercest mechanised battles of contemporary warfare in Africa, the Battle of the Lomba River on 3 October, 1987. “This was the battle that turned the deliberate onslaught of an overwhelming Angolan-Cuban conventional coalition force at the height of the Cold War and sent the enemy reeling. Our young national servicemen were warriors,” said David.

The book is available for order online at www.davidmannall.com or at www.amazon.com for between R350 and R450 (depending on exchange rates).