Monsoon Victory. By Gerald Hanley. (Collins. 10s. 6d.)
CAPTAIN HANLEY was well qualified to act as a war correspondent
with the irth East African Division in Burma. Service with the Royal Irish Fusiliers had given him a soldier's outlook, and his ex- perience with the • Somaliland Gendarmerie helped him to know the Africans. In this book he tells the story of the part played by the Division in the counter-attack down the Khabaw valley after the desperate Japanese attack on India had failed in 1944. The operation involved the pursuit of a beaten but still dangerous foe through difficult country in the most trying climatic conditions. The monsoon and the terrain were enemies as serious as the Japs, but they were enemies with which the East Africans were well fitted to deal. From this book and from conversation with officers returned from Burma one gets the impression that the Africans were excellent as pioneer troops, undaunted by wretched conditions and with great reserves of endurance. Captain Hanley tells his story well. Not only does he paint a vivid picture of all that is implied in the word "jungle," but he is able to raise for discussion a subject in which he is obviously deeply interested, the effect of military training on the future of the East African
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