Army Order of Battle - Apartheid Era
During the Apartheid Era, the official fourfold mission of the SADF included defense of the Republic; prevention or suppression of internal disorder; preserva. tion and maintenance of life, health, property, and essential public services; and assistance to the South African Police in the performance of police duties when required. Although it was not specified in the national Defense Act, the government unofficially extended this manifold mission of its armed forces to support of the West in the cold war and defense of the southern hemisphere. Because the Republic was no longer sure which was its greatest enemy-world communism, internal rebellion, or threats by external African nationalism-it dealt with the dilemma by combining the three into one; all threats to the Republic were seen as part of an international Communist conspiracy against the West. The task of the army and the air force was to take action to maintain internal security as soon as any disturbance reached a degree where the police were unable to control it. The navy was charged with maintaining maritime security against any invading force. The Commandos were expected to respond to infiltration efforts, sabotage, and insurrection.
In early 1970 the strength of the standing army totaled nearly 30,000 men. An additional 60,000 trained members of the Citizen Force were available to augment regular units if necessary. Part of the increase in military appropriations for fiscal 1970 included funds for mobilization of a large number of reservists. Together, the two component forces of the army comprised more than fifty major units, including at least forty infantry battalions. Several of these units were trained and organized as parachute battalions. The entire army was decentralized and located in the vicinity of major urban centers throughout the country. A number of the army's combat units were fast-striking shock elements known as Mobile Watches, equipped with tanks, rocket launchers, and antitank weapons. A new combat group formed in 1966 to provide further coordinated mobility and firepower was known as the Joint Combat Forces. An elite unit, this task force was manned by some of the army's best trained troops, equipped with the most modern weapons available, and assured of adequate air support. The army claimed the ability to airlift 500 men of the task force to any spot in the country within ninety minutes.
In terms of the Defence Amendment Act (Act 103 of 1982) all white male citizens are liable to military service at the age of 18, and they remain liable for service until age 55. There are two intakes every year, one in February and one in August, and the majority of these new conscripts are allocated to the SA Army, the largest of the four arms of the service. They are allocated to various bases and installations with their first ten weeks being devoted to basic training. This is followed by specialist instruction appropriate to the trainees' particular corps or unit. After six to eleven months training they are posted to operational and other units and headquarters for the rest of their initial service of two years. These conscript soldiers undergoing their initial two years military service were known as national servicemen, and counted as part of the Army's Full-time Force.
The liability of nonwhites for military service was decided by Parliament and was usually determined by the needs of the SADF. During World War II large numbers of Coloured males were employed in administrative units behind the front lines, and Africans were used as laborers in military units. All nonwhites served in a noncombatant role and were unarmed. After the war all Africans were released from duty, but a modest number of Coloureds were retained as the Cape Corps Auxiliary Service.
In 1963 the auxiliary service for Coloureds was replaced by the Coloured Corps, which continued to serve with units of the Permanent Force in early 1970. Corps personnel remained unarmed noncombatants and served in roles such as drivers, quartermaster personnel, clerks, and stretcher bearers. In 1965 Coloured recuits were accepted in the navy on a permanent basis. The first hundred volunteers received basic training at the Coloured Corps training center at Eerste River and then received further practical instruction at Simonstown. Serving under white officers, these Coloured recuits were expected eventually to man small vessels such as minesweepers. Others would serve as drivers and mess personnel.
There was a large complement of non-white soldiers serving in the SA Army as volunteers, and their service conditions and career opportunities are the same as those of their white comrades-in-arms. Coloured soldiers served in most of the corps of the Army. Their service in the Army dated back to the First World War. There are at present two coloured infantry units based in the Cape, where volunteers serve for a minimum period of two years. A third coloured infantry unit, based at Midlands near Kimberley, will begin training in 1990. After basic training they were mainly used in the counter-insurgency role.
There are also a number of black area units, such as the famous 32 Battalion, which had fought with distinction against SWAPO in Namibia, and moved to its new base at Pomfret in the Northern Cape during the first half of 1989. Black soldiers are assigned to the various corps and undergo relevant training at the various corps schools. Those with the necessary qualification (minimum matric) are also given the opportunity to qualify themselves as officers. A notable feature of the Black units is the adult education centres established there in co-operation with the Deparment of Education and Training.
In 1969 the SADF embarked on concentrated training of its army forces for unconventional warfare. Five special antiterrorist training camps were established at strategic sites for training in camouflage, tracking, and ambush drill. Trainees were instructed in countermeasures against current guerrilla tactics. Army supporting units included corps of artillery, armor, engineers, signals, technical services, administrative services, and medical services. Other specialized units included a military police contingent and an aerial reconnaissance squdron. All combat units were equipped with modern armaments. The standard infantry weapon was a late model of the standard NATO automatic rifle. Armored equipment included over 200 heavy and medium tanks manufactured in the United Kingdom, the United States, and France. Several hundred armored cars, scout cars, and armored personnel carriers provided further mobility. Artillery weapons included 40-mm antiaircraft guns, 5.5-inch medium howitzers, 17-pound gun-howitzers, and a new mobile surface-to-air missile system of French design and South African manufacture. The aerial reconnaissance squadron, manned by qualified army pilots, had about thirty light observation planes. These aircraft were supplemented by roughly 250 private aircraft owned by members of Air Commando units. The many light aircraft flying clubs within the Republic also were organized on a standby emergency basis for spotting and guerrilla reconnaissance in support of the SADF.
The country was divided into eleven territorial army commands designated as Western Province, Eastern Province, Natal, Orange Free State, Western Transvaal, Northern Transvaal, Witwatersrand, North West Cape, South West Africa, South Western Districts, and Walvis Bay. Full-time force units and various training organizations were assigned to each command. Apart from individual unit and field training, the army provided specialized courses for members of the artillery corps at a missle test range. Other specialized corps members were trained at technical schools located at Voortrekkerhoogte and training depots throughout the SADF. Pilots for the reconnaissance squardron received flight training at the air force's central flying school, although some received jet aircraft training in France.
In terms of personnel strength and modern equipment, the army was the largest and most diversified in sub-Saharan Africa, but the bulk of its troops were not experienced professionals. Few had any combat experience apart from a limited number of officers who saw service during World War II. Some of the infantry units had engaged in antiguerrilla operations in Mozambique during the late 1960's, but the majority of army forces were largely untested in a combat environment.
The SA Army consisted of a Full-time and a Part-time Force. The Full-time Force is made up of a relatively small core of career soldiers called the Permanent Force which is augmented by national servicemen in their initial period of service. The Part-time Force, which constitutes the bulk of the Army's strength, consists of two elements, namely the Citizen Force and the Commando Force.
The Conventional Force comprised two divisions and one independent parachute brigade. Each division has three mechanized brigades. If circumstances require it, an additional full-time force brigade can be composed to operate either independently or with the part-time forces. Each brigade consisted of one tank regiment, two mechanized infantry battalions, an armoured car regiment, an artillery regiment, an engineer regiment, a field workshop and signals and maintenance units. The parachute brigade had three battalions and a light artillery regiment equipped with 120 mm mortars as well as the appropriate support units.
The Conventional Force was manned almost entirely by Citizen Force members, with Permanent Force members found mainly in the top command and staff posts and some key administrative posts. As its name and structure implies, this force was geared to wage conventional but highly mobile operations, often over long distances and on terrain with poorly developed roads and amenities. Its mechanized strength lies in the tough Ratel Infantry Combat Vehicle, the powerful Olifant tank, the agile Rooikat Armoured Car and the sophisticated G-5 and G-6 artillery systems, all of them backed up by a family of high-endurance logistic vehicles.
The Territorial Force operated within the ten regional Commands and one military area into which the RSA has been divided. These commands, with their headquarters shown in brackets, were: Western Province (Cape Town); Eastern Province (Port Elizabeth); Northern Cape (Kimberley); Orange Free State (Bloemfontein); Northern Transvaal (Pretoria); Witwatersrand (Johannesburg); Northwestern Command (Potchefstroom); Eastern Transvaal (Nelspruit); Natal (Durban), and Far North (Pietersburg). The Territorial Force also operates in the military area of Walvis Bay.
The Territorial Force was a mixture of area-bound militia units called Commandos, Citizen Force units and a number of training units with combat capability. Almost all of these units are equipped and trained as light infantry for their primary counter-insurgency role. This includes the prevention of terrorist infiltration into their area of responsibility and the regional protection of all sections of the population against acts of terrorism and sabotage.
The paramilitary part-time Commandos were organized territorially in the tradition of their citizen-soldier namesakes who fought in the Anglo-Boer War of 1899. The total force comprised over 200 separate units, each known individually as a commando, and had a collective personnel strength of more than 50,000 men. Although these units included a small number of conscripts among their ranks, most of the men were volunteers who had not previously served with the Permanent Force, the Citizen Force, or the reserves of either organization. A part-time militia trained in the use of combat infantry weapons and tactics, the Commandos' mission was limited to internal security duties, largely in support of the police (see ch. 26, Public Order and Internal Security).
Under a reorganization program in 1968, these forces were reformed as rural, urban, and industrial units. The size of each commando unit varied, depending on the nature and situation of the area to be defended. Some were made up of five platoons; others consisted of five companies of trainees who received an intensive course in counterinsurgency tactics after completing their basic training at the Commando School. Only the more experienced men defended vulnerable areas of strategic importance.
Most commandos had either a company or platoon of younger members organized as scouts for day and night reconnaissance. These units included snipers equipped with telescope-mounted rifles; dog handlers and trained German shepherd dogs; engineers trained in the use and deactivation of unconventional weapons; and mounted elements equipped with armored cars. Because many members had privately owned light aircraft, special air units known as air commandos had been organized to provide aerial reconnaissance support to the commandos' and army's units. The air commando organization comprised about twelve squadrons equipped with a total of approximately 250 light planes.
For the necessary mobility needed in counter insurgency operations, the Territorial Force units relied heavily on mine-protected vehicles such as the Buffel personnel carrier, helicopters, and, in some instances, even motorcycles and horses. A few units - e.g. 4 and 8 SA Infantry Battalion were equipped with Ratel Infantry Combat Vehicles and therefore classified as mechanized infantry and some Commands also had armoured car units for area patrol tasks.
The Commands were also responsible for relief operations during emergencies or after natural disasters. Another important task of the Commands is the upliftment of the local population in underdeveloped regions within their areas of responsibility. Two Commands, viz Far North and Eastern Transvaal, which were responsible for the protection of the greater part of the RSA's northern and eastern borders, are classified as operational sub-theatres. They are responsible for the protection of their respective areas against any external conventional threat. To this end, elements of the Conventional Force were placed under the Commands. There is also a third sub-theatre, viz the Western Sub-Theatre which is responsible for all operations in and from the western part of the RSA.
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