South Africa's land forces, 1912-2012

Abstract

The South African (SA) Army’s history can be traced back to 1912, when South Africa’s first defence force was established. In this article a review is provided of the development and deployment of South Africa’s land forces in the course of a hundred years (1912-2012), with the emphasis on the role played by these land forces in the First World War (for example in the suppression of the Afrikaner rebellion, in the conquest of German South West Africa, the campaign in German East Africa, on the Western Front in  France  and  in  Belgium,  and  in  Palestine),  the  Second  World  War  (for  example  in  Abyssinia,  North  Africa, Madagascar, and in Italy), in the war in the north of South West Africa (Namibia) and in Angola (1966-1989),  as  well  as  in  the  efforts  to  keep  law  and  order  in  South  Africa  itself.  The  developments  in  transforming  the  Army  of  the  old  South  African  Defence  Force  (SADF),  together  with  other  armed  forces, into a new Army in the post-apartheid South African National Defence Force (SANDF), are also briefly discussed. Throughout, historiographical matters are mentioned by means of references, either in the text or in footnotes, to the most important available sources. For obvious reasons, this is merely a broad introduction to an extensive topic.