Transcript
Introduction
Although he was still a very young man, Churchill was no stranger to situations of great personal peril. He had already taken part in four wars on three different continents and had come close to death in each one. He had felt bullets whistling by his head in Cuba and saw his friends hack to death in British India. Although he had tried again and again in war after war to win glory, Churchill had returned home every time without the medals that mattered, no more distinguished or famous than he had been when he set out.
The Boer War he believed was his best chance to change that, to prove that he was not just a son of a famous man. He was special, even extraordinary, and he was meant not just to fight for his country, but one day to lead it. Although he believed this without question, he still had to convince everyone else. The one scenario that Churchill had not envisioned was crossing enemy territory alone without companions or provisions of any kind. He didn't have a weapon, a map, a compass or even any food. He didn't speak the language. Beyond the Vegas of outlines, he didn't even have a plan, just the unshakable conviction that he was destined for greatness.