(Under comd from 1000 hrs 26 Dec.), To contain and demonstrate against enemy forces along the gen line of perimeter defences from incl MARSA ER RAMLA 52423868—excl 51973860, in accordance with Operation Instruction No. The force was established on 1 July 1913. From 1941, the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Infantry Divisions of South African troops fought in North Africa, including the Battle of El Alamein. The South African Army maintains a wide variety of military equipment. South African Firefly of the 6th Armoured Division in Italy, 1944 The creation of a tank corps was con-substantial with equipment being received from the Allies, especially of US origin. Chief of the SA Army Force Preparation - Responsible for directing, orchestrating and controlling the combat readiness of SA Army Forces. The various Commando units, previously 'Skietverenigings', were later classified as Type A, B or C independent Commandos and continued as single-battalion or small independent units. 12 Jan 1942: South African 1st Division captured Sollum, Egypt. For any queries regarding military history, contact the Department of Defence Archives at the South African Military Records Centre via email at sandfdoc@mweb.co.za. [33] Each of these two headquarters are organised to provide four headquarters groups. It also played a key role in controlling sectarian political violence inside South Africa during the late 1980s and early 1990s. The Citizen Force, through the 7th and 8th Divisions, provided the conventional defence force. One Pl 4 Bde Sig Coy. After the capture of the rest of the division, 3rd South African Infantry Brigade and the 1st Field Regiment of the Cape Field Artillery became part of the South African 1st Infantry Division. (During the war, the army was led by General Smuts, who had rejoined the army from his position as Minister of Defence on the outbreak of the war.). 1st Army Tank Brigade under Brigadier Price 1.1. The division was also briefly active after the war from 1 July 1948 to 1 November 1949. Under comd from 1000 hrs 26 Dec. Three dets 14 S. A. Fd Amb. During the 1980s, the legal requirements for national service were to register for service at age sixteen and to report for duty when called up, which usually occurred at some time after a man's eighteenth birthday or on leaving school. [23] They consisted of a reconnaissance battalion, two anti-aircraft defence battalions (AA guns), two battalions of artillery (G-5s and G-6s), a battalion of 127 mm MRLs, an engineer battalion, two battalions of Olifant MBTs, two battalions mounted in Ratel ICVs, and finally two battalions mounted in Buffel APCs. The 6th South African Armoured Division fought in numerous actions in Italy from 1944 to 1945. Following the declaration of the Republic of South Africa in 1961, the "Royal" title was dropped from the names of army regiments like the Natal Carbineers and the Durban Light Infantry, and the Crown removed from regimental badges. Volker, WV. To attack BARDIA through perimeter defences as described in Para 6 (a) and in Operation Instruction No. The division was disbanded on 1 January 1943, for conversion into what would become the 6th South African Armoured Division. An early victim was the renowned Middellandse Regiment, which became Regiment Gideon Scheepers in 1954. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=2nd_Infantry_Division_(South_Africa)&oldid=1000786250, Military units and formations established in 1940, Military units and formations of South Africa in World War II, Military units and formations of the British Empire in World War II, Military units and formations disestablished in 1942, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, Clayden's Trench (Sollum): Jan 1942, Gazala: Jun 1942, Tobruk: Jun 1942, From 5 Sep 1941: Major General IP de Villiers and from 14 May 1942: Major General, 1 KAFF R. (under comd from 1000 hrs 25 Dec. 41). The U.S. Marine Corps suffered enormous casualties during the Pacific campaigns of World War II. After the narrow election victory by the NP in 1948, the government began the steady Afrikanerisation of the military; it expanded military service obligations and enforced conscription laws more strictly. [12] This developed from an attempt at affirmative action into a 'politically tinged purge'. L'Estrange VD): 10th Field Company, South African Engineering Corps, 7th South African Reconnaissance Battalion, 4th & 10th South African Field Companies, S A Engineers, Blake Group (a composite battalion ex 1 SA Div), South Africa: 23 October 1940 to 20 April 1941, 74 Brigade SADF and SANDF era (see 8th Armoured Division), 75 Brigade SADF and SANDF era (see 9th Division), This page was last edited on 16 January 2021, at 18:30. When World War I broke out in 1914, the South African government chose to join the war on the side of the Allies. Of the 334,000 men volunteered for full time service in the South African Army during the war (including some 211,000 whites, 77,000 blacks and 46,000 Cape Coloureds and Asians), about 9,000 were killed in action, though the Commonwealth War Graves Commission has records of 11,023 known South African war dead during World War II.[11]. [5]. M3 Stuarts were maintained for a long time in service (retired 1955) in resreve by 1961 but reactivated in 1962 for training (6th South African Division) until 1968. The requirements for national service changed several times during the 1980s and the early 1990s in response to national security needs, and they were suspended in 1993. The main South African Army Headquarters are located in Salvokop, Pretoria in the Dequar Road Complex along with 102 Field Workshop SAOSC, 17 Maintenance Unit and the South African Military Health Service Military Health Department. The South African Army maintains large bases in all 9 provinces of the country, mostly in or around major cities and towns:[35] By July 1987 the number of territorial commands was expanded to ten, and the Walvis Bay military area was often counted as an eleventh. In accordance with the Deloitte and Touche structure plan, the army was reorganised into single-branch 'formations': Existing and former administrative corps and branches of the South African Army can be seen at South African Army corps and branches. Comd. The remaining brigade was re-allocated to the South African 1st Infantry Division. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=South_African_Army&oldid=999494561#World_War_II, Use South African English from August 2012, All Wikipedia articles written in South African English, Articles with disputed statements from December 2014, Articles with unsourced statements from January 2015, Wikipedia articles incorporating text from the Library of Congress Country Studies, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, Senior Chief Warrant Officer Ncebakele Mtshatsheni. An estimated 3,000 South Africans also joined the Royal Flying Corps. The South African 2nd Infantry Division was an infantry division of the army of the Union of South Africa during World War II. Chief of the SA Army Force Structure - To structure the SA Army in order to provide the SA Army component of the Landward Defence Capability. In 1984 Northern Transvaal Command was subdivided and Eastern Transvaal Command (Nelspruit) and Far North Command (Pietersburg) formed. D.M.R. In the early 1980s, the Army was restructured in order to counter all forms of insurgency while at the same time maintaining a credible conventional force. Specialised training would have had to be carried out, as and when funds become available. The counterinsurgency forces were further divided into nine territorial commands, each of which was responsible to the Chief of the Army. Transvaal Horse Artillery, attached S.A.M.R. Poole (1st February 1943) Brigades: 11th South African Armoured Brigade: 13) of 1912 established a Union Defence Force (UDF) that included a Permanent Force (or standing army) of career soldiers, an Active Citizen Force of temporary c… This is often not the case. Unfortunately these changes had not been fully implemented when Rommel attacked on 26 May 1942, pushed the 8th Army back and captured Tobruk on 21 June. The Defence Act (No. Reservists generally underwent fifty days per year of active duty or training, after their initial period of service. Army signals in South Africa: the story of the South African Corps of Signals and its antecedents. The Mobile Field Force was 15 September 1939 to command any South African Divisions raised. To meet these requirements, the Army was subdivided into conventional and counterinsurgency forces. Southern Cape Command may have been disbanded, and Northern Cape Command established, in 1986. [3] National service obligations could be fulfilled by active-duty military service for two years and by serving in the reserves, generally for ten or twelve years. Principal among these armed groups was that of the ANC's Umkhonto we Sizwe, the AZAPO's Azanian People's Liberation Army and the PAC's Poqo. Parent unitComponents Parent unitComponents Parent unitComponentsDefence Headquarters Pretoria, Transvaal This page details the South African Army order of battle in 1940, before and after the formation of expeditionary forces. The last remaining regiment of the South Africa Mounted Riflemen was disbanded on 31 March 1926 and the number of military districts was reduced from 16 to six on 1 April 1926. However, one of this division's constituent brigades – 7th South African Infantry Battalion in Phalaborwa – did take part in the invasion of Madagascar in 1942. "South Africa's Land Forces, 1912-2012." During World War II the Division served in the East African Campaign from 1940 to 1941 and in the Western Desert Campaign (North African Campaign) from 1941 to 1942. In the early 1960s, the military threat by the South-West Africa People's Organisation (SWAPO) and its Communist backers in South West Africa prompted the South African government to increase military service obligations and to extend periods of active duty. The Corps’ unit and individual records provide a very detailed look at the service and sacrifice of Marines who served and came home, as well as those who served and died. Brigadier-General McGill Alexander took over as General Officer Commanding RJTF South in 2002, but in 2003 he was tasked to close down all the RJTFs. The SADF, numbering about 20,000 in 1958, would grow to almost 80,000 in the next two decades. The vast majority of army equipment is nearing the end of its service life, with some items (like the Olifant Main Battle Tank) dating from decades ago. 7th Division was disbanded on 1 April 1999 and all army battalions were assigned to 'type' formations, in accordance with the recommendations of the South African Defence Review 1998. About 334,000 men volunteered for full-time service in the South African Army during the war (including some 211,000 whites, … 12) of 1961 authorised the minister of defence to deploy Citizen Force troops and Commandos for "riot" control, often to quell anti-apartheid demonstrations, especially when it deteriorated into mob riots with loss of life. The 1st South African Infantry Division took part in several actions in East Africa in 1940, North Africa in 1941 and 1942, including the Second Battle of El Alamein, before being withdrawn to South Africa. 2010. [8] In 1933 the six military districts were redesignated Commands. Due to the restructuring of the Reserves, the exact number of reserves is difficult to ascertain. On 1 April 1997 Regiment Louw Wepener (Bethlehem), Regiment De Wet (Kroonstad) and Regiment Dan Pienaar (Bloemfontein) were absorbed into Regiment Bloemspruit. [16] It appears from Colonel Lionel Crook's book on 71 Brigade[17] that four of the six brigades were redesignations of 16th, 17th, 18th, and 19th Brigades. The 4th Regiment was called the South African Scottish and was raised from members of the Transvaal Scottish and the Cape Town Highlanders; they wore the Atholl Murray tartan. Concerns have been raised as to the operational capabilities of the army given the high proportion of the army's budget spent on salaries (around 80%) and low amounts budgeted for capital (5%) and operational (15%) capacity. By the end of the year 27,000 South Africans were serving in East Africa in the 1st South African Division or as part of the 11th and 12th (natives) African Divisions. 4th Permanent Force Artillery Battery S.A.M.R. By March 1942 the South African divisions in North Africa had been moved forward, the 1st SA Division holding part of the line at Gazala whilst the 2nd SA Division was defending the port of Tobruk. (Under comd from D.-1). Approximately 9 000 South African troops were killed during World War II. This additional, voluntary, service was recognised with the award of the Emblem for Voluntary Service (EVS) (now the Badge for Reserve Voluntary Service (BRVS)) for five years of voluntary service over and above the mandated commitment. On 13 August the 1st South African Division was formed. The 81st was composed of units from the Gambia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone and the Gold Coast (now Ghana), while the 82nd comprised further reinforcements from Nigeria and the Gold Coast. Nelson, 'South Africa: A Country Study,' U.S. Department of the Army Pamphlet 550-93, 1981 (also possibly is a 1971 edition). At Tobruk the Eight Army lost the 2nd South African division together with one Army tank brigade, one British and one Indian Infantry Brigade, which had to surrender.. During the period from November 1941 to August 1942 the British … Men of the 81st and 82nd West African Divisions served with great distinction against the Japanese in Burma, as part of the famous ‘Forgotten’ 14th Army. The South African National Defence Force has however started to remedy the situation with the procurement of 238 Patria AMV infantry fighting vehicles under the Hoefyster programme. 2nd Permanent Force Artillery Battery S.A.M.R. In a nutshell, the South African 6th Armoured Division, fighting at the crucible of the Italian campaign against Nazi German forces, spearheaded the Allied advance into Florence in August 1944. Divisions re-designated as Brigades and returned to 7 South African Infantry Division 74 Brigade. Signal units of the South African Corps of Signals and related signal services. Since the Defence Act of 1912, the South African Army has been comprised, in general terms, of three groupings. They can also carry out their mandate without the help of the Congolese Army. Det 16 Fd Amb. Many Army units are routinely placed under the nine joint operational-tactical headquarters that the SANDF Chief of Joint Operations supervises directly through Joint Operations Division (IISS 2013). 24 (Appx. There were several thousand other members in the Commandos. In addition, the war against the German and Askari forces in German East Africa also involved more than 20,000 South African troops; they fought under General Jan Smuts's command when he directed the British campaign against there in 1915. In 1973 the SADF also took over responsibility for the defence of South West Africa (today Namibia) from the South African Police. Pretoria: Veritas Books. Major-General H. E. de R. Wetherall, D.S.O., M.C, was appointed to command 1st African Division. 23 (Appx 'D'). With the declaration of war in September 1939, the South African Army numbered only 5,353 regulars,[10] with an additional 14,631 men of the Active Citizen Force (ACF) which gave peace time training to volunteers and in time of war would form the main body of the army. The headquarters of the two divisions were established on 1 August 1974, and 8th Armoured Division was active at its headquarters at Lord's Grounds, Durban, until at least 27 September 1992. The South African Army is the ground warfare branch of South African National Defence Force. Inspector General - Provides an internal audit service within the Army strategy. [27], Though non-white personnel did serve as unarmed labourers with the army in both World Wars, a number of non-whites were employed in segregated units during the Border War, and a number of units were completely desegregated, it was not until 1994 – when South Africa achieved full democracy – that the army as a whole was made open to all races. 'E'). (14) The army inventory comprised only two obsolete medium tanks, two obsolete armoured cars (15) and two armoured trains. On 19 August 1944, the 6th Division entered Florence, Italy and was active there until 1945. New legislation in 1922 re-established conscription for white males[7] over the age of 21 for four years of military training and service and re-constituted the Permanent Force. The first South African unit to reach Kenya arrived at Mombasa on 1 June 1940. To this end some 200 Centurion tanks were ordered, and the first were delivered in July 1952. Chief of the SA Army Corporate Services - Directing corporate resources, services and advice directed towards operationalising the SA Army strategy. 13) of 1912 established a Union Defence Force (UDF) that included a Permanent Force (or standing army) of career soldiers, an Active Citizen Force of temporary conscripts and volunteers as well as a Cadet organisation. In December 2010, it was reported that funding shortages were causing severe problems.[43]. The contribution to Ops Mistral, while starting in 2009, became a completely different tasking with the contingent sent in 2013 to the United Nations Force Intervention Brigade, a ~3000-strong intervention brigade that was authorised by the United Nations Security Council on 28 March 2013 through United Nations Security Council Resolution 2098. 74 Brigade SADF and SANDF era (see 8th Armoured Division), 75 Brigade SADF and SANDF era (see 9th Division), This page was last edited on 10 January 2021, at 13:32. The 3rd South African Infantry Division never took an active part in any battles but instead organised and trained the South African home defence forces, performed garrison duties and supplied replacements for the South African 1st Infantry Division and the South African 2nd Infantry Division. 1 (2013): 229–254. The 2nd South African Infantry Division also took part in a number of actions in North Africa during 1942, but on 21 June 1942 two complete infantry brigades of the division as well as most of the supporting units were captured at the fall of Tobruk. During World War II, the South African Army fought in the East African, North African and Italian campaigns. The division was formed on 23 October 1940 and served in the Western Desert Campaign and was captured (save for one brigade) by German and Italian forces at Tobruk on 21 June 1942. de Villiers), C and D Companies, Die Middelandse Regiment. More than 146,000 whites, 83,000 blacks and 2,500 people of mixed race ("Coloureds") and Asians served in South African military units during the war, including 43,000 in German South-West Africa and 30,000 on the Western Front. Clayden's Trench (Sollum): 11 January 1942 to 12 January 1942 3. Another tragic loss of life for the South African forces during the war was the Mendi sinking on 21 February 1917, when the troopship Mendi – while transporting 607 members of the South African Native Labour Corps from Britain to France – was struck and cut almost in half by another ship. WW2 Italy – 24th Guards Brigade and the 6th South African Armoured Division When the North Africa campaign ended in 1943, the Allied High Command took the decision to invade Italy, then ally of Nazi Germany in the Axis Pact. Det 4 S. A. Fd Coy (Under comd from 1000 hrs 26 Dec.). In many respects the plan was an attempt to undo the effects of the Deloitte and Touche-inspired force design that came into effect in 2001. Gen. C.F. Evered Poole, entered the war in Italy in April, 1943. [21] In 1989 the RLI became the conventional reserve for Far North Command. Most UDF conscripts underwent three months of Citizen Force training in their first year of service, and an additional three weeks of training each year for four years after that. 44 Royal Tank Regiment 1. both equipped with minesweeping Matilda tanks 1. They also carried out operations in support of UNITA rebels in Angola and against the Cuban troops that supported the Angolan government. [26] The new plan was to create two divisions and a special operations brigade to conduct mountain, jungle, airborne and amphibious operations. 8th (King's Royal Irish) Hussars(elements) 1.3. The supporting units included five batteries of heavy artillery, a field ambulance unit, a Royal Engineers signals company and a military hospital.[6]. [4] Difficulties with manning levels saw the disestablishment of 7 SA Division on 1 November 1967 and its replacement by the Army Task Force (HQ) and 16 Brigade. For the 1st South African Division, the war in North Africa had ended. From 1966 to 1989 the SADF, with its South West African Territorial Force auxiliary, fought the counter-insurgency South African Border War against SWAPO rebels in South-West Africa (Namibia). On 4 September, General Hertzog resigned and was replaced by General Smuts– and two days later, on 6 September South Africa declared war against Ger… The South African 1st Infantry Division took part in several actions in North Africa in 1941 and 1942, including the Battle of El Alamein, before being withdrawn to South Africa to be re-constituted as an armoured division. It is now becoming increasingly involved in peacekeeping efforts in southern Africa, often as part of wider African Union operations. Each Commando was responsible for the safeguarding and protection of a specific community (both rural or urban). 4th Hussars(elements) 1.2. The South African Army provided most of the Engineering and other Technical Units to this Campaign, and by April, 1941, its Forces in that Theatre of Battle already numbered 31,560 Troops. Prototy… This force consisted of members of the Permanent Force, Commandos, and a few selected Citizens Force units. In 1946 two Churchill AVREs, and in 1954 twenty-six Comet tanks, were ordered. The Defence Act (No. 8th South African Armoured Division’s Brigades were disbanded in 1992 and the Battalions and Regiments came to answer directly to the Divisional headquarters. The Army is composed of roughly 40,100 regular uniformed personnel, augmented by 12,300 reserve force personnel. Outside Universal Carriers, the bulk of the SADF units operating later in Italy with the 6th South African Armoured Division was provided by M4 Sherman medium tanks, M4/105s andM10 Wolverinetank hunters. The division capture of Bardia was part of the Libyan campaign against Rommel's Afrika Korps from November 1941 to January 1942. The South African 2nd Infantry Division was an infantry division of the army of the Union of South Africa during World War II. Siegfried Stander, Like the Wind, The Story of the SA Army, Saayman & Weber, Cape Town, 1985. [12] Regiment Gideon Scheepers became Regiment Groot Karoo, and three regiments named after famous Boer generals Regiment De La Rey (given its 13 World War 2 battle honours, the most celebrated of the 1934 battalions), Regiment Louw Wepener and Regiment De Wet were inexplicably renamed Regiment Wes-Transvaal, Regiment Oos-Vrystaat and Regiment Noord-Vrystaat. A works regiment was also to have been created, to help with the maintenance of army and Defence Force buildings and infrastructure. However the plan was not implemented, and appeared to stall until the issue of the 2014 South African Defence Review. In 1960 there was another wave of regimental name-changing. In addition the declaration of war on Germany had the support of only a narrow majority in the South African parliament and was far from universally popular. One of the problems to continuously face South Africa during the war was the shortage of available men. [22] Before the dissolution of the territorial commands General Derrick Mgwebi is also reported to have headed Mpumalanga Command. This brigade was renamed 2nd South African Infantry Brigade on 13 May 1940 and mobilized for service under 1st South African Infantry Division on 22 May 1940 at Premier Mine. During World War II the division served in East Africa from 1940 to 1941 and in the Western Desert Campaign from 1941 to 1942. As part of the post-war reorganisation, the Defence Rifle Associations were disbanded in 1948 and replaced by a new Commando organisation with a strength of 90,000 men. , Operation Cordite (Sudan), Operation Teutonic and Operation Bulisa (both in the Democratic Republic of the Congo), Operation Pristine (Ivory Coast), Operation Vimbezela (Central African Republic) and Operation Bongane (Uganda). South Africans also saw action with the Cape Corps in Palestine. On taking over responsibility for the Frontier area on 2 December 1941 the divisional order of battle, as part of the 8th Army was:[2]. [4] Two years later, it was decided to organise the Army's conventional force into two divisions under a corps headquarters. It is the first United Nations peacekeeping unit that has been specifically tasked to carry out offensive operations against armed rebel groups operating in the Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, specifically those that threaten the State authority and civilian security. List of South African Divisions in World War II, The South African Army Engineer Formation, South African Army Air Defence Artillery Formation, South African Overseas Expeditionary Force, 7th South African Infantry Battalion in Phalaborwa, United Nations Force Intervention Brigade, United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, African Capacity for Immediate Response to Crises, List of equipment of the South African Army, "Early Development of the South African Military", "A concise history of the South African Defence Force (1912-1987)", "South African forces in the British Army", "The Origin and Development of the South African Army", "The first two years of war: The development of the Union Defence Forces (UDF) September 1939 to September 1941", "The Multi Battalion Regiment: A Old Concept with a New Relevance", "A Short History of the South African Army", "Grosskopf recounts 1987 Wits command bombing - IOL News", "An Overview of the Changing South African Defence Force", http://www.iss.co.za/pubs/asr/SADR13/Sass.html, 17 October 2007: South African Army Restructuring A Critical Step, "The post-apartheid South African military: Transforming with the nation", "Department of Defence Annual Report 2018/19", "The SANDF's Real Challenge: It's become a Welfare n...", "African peacekeeping deployments show what the SANDF can do", "Department of Defence Annual Report FY11/12", "Fact file: The SA Air Defence Artillery", "Fact file: The SA Tactical Intelligence Corps", "SA Army Contact Us: Free State Province, South Africa", "SA Army Contact Us: Gauteng Province, South Africa", "SA Army Contact Us: Western Cape Province", "SA Army Contact Us: North West Province, South Africa", "SA Army Contact Us: KwaZulu Natal Province, South Africa", "Lack of funds harming South African Army", "Denel showcases a 21st Century R4 assault rifle at AAD", Minister of Defence and Military Veterans, School of Air Defence Artillery (South Africa), West Transvaal Command/North West Command. [5] The authorised strength of the ACF and Coast Garrison Force was 25,155 and by 31 December actual strength stood at 23,462. It was also decided to establish and maintain two complete army divisions in the UDF: namely 1 SA Infantry Division and 6 SA Armoured Division, consisting of 1, 2, 3, 12, and 13 (CF) Infantry Brigades and the (PF) 11th Armoured Brigade. Pre-war plans did not anticipate that the army would fight outside southern Africa and it was trained and equipped only for bush warfare. [3] The 1912 law also obligated all white males between seventeen and sixty years of age to serve in the military, but this was not strictly enforced as there were a large number of volunteers. By the end of the 1970s, the South African military was increasingly called upon to confront external threats and internal unrest which started escalating to armed confrontation between the South African state and the liberation forces. The 1st African Division took under its wing 1st East African Brigade and the Nigerian Brigade, while 2nd African Division took over 2nd East African Brigade and the Gold Coast Brigade, with 1st S.A. Infantry Brigade Group to be attached on arrival. 16 Light Anti-aircraft Regiment … The remaining brigade was re-allocated to the South African 1st Infantry Division. South Africans are seen in this historic image taking part in one of the most bitter battles of World War 2 – Monte Cassino. less B. C. & D. Coys and one pl A. Coy. Railhead Force (Lt. Col. G.E.L. On 21 June 1942 two complete infantry brigades of the division as well as most of the supporting units were captured at the fall of Tobruk. The third grouping was initially the Defence Rifle Associations, which later became the Commandos, a rural self-defence force. During the Rand strike of 1922, 14,000 members of the ACF and certain A class reservists were called up.[8]. The 1st South African Brigade consisted of four infantry battalions, representing men from all four provinces of the Union of South Africa as well as Rhodesia: the 1st Regiment was from the Cape Province, the 2nd Regiment was from Natal and the Orange Free State and the 3rd Regiment was from Transvaal and Rhodesia. When Neville Chamberlain declared war on 3 September 1939, the Union Defence Force consisted of 5,385 Permanent Force members, 14,631 Citizen Force members and 122,000 Commandos of which only 39,000 were considered suited for field deployment. In 1973 two new infantry units were established: 7 South African Infantry Battalion (Bourke's Luck) and 8 SA Infantry Battalion (Upington), as well as 11 Commando (Kimberley), which to a great extent took over the functions of the Danie Theron Combat School's training wing. Expenditure cuts saw the UDF as a whole reduced. With the release of that review in mid-2014 it appears possible that the 2006 planning may be reinvigorated. The Brigade HQ of the SA Field Artillery was also disbanded. Today the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) has racial quotas to make sure that White, Black, Coloured, and Indian South Africans are proportionately represented in the armed forces.[28].

south african divisions ww2 2021