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South Africa
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Khoikhoi–Dutch Wars
Anglo–Dutch rivalry
Xhosa Wars
Ndwandwe–Zulu War
Anglo–Zulu War
First Anglo–Boer War
Second Anglo–Boer War
South African Wars (1879–1915)
First World War
Second World War
Korean War
Border War

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The military history of South Africa chronicles a vast time period and complex events from the dawn of history until the present time. It covers civil wars and wars of aggression and of self-defence both within South Africa and against it. It includes the history of battles fought in the territories of modern South Africa in neighbouring territories, in both world wars and in modern international conflicts.
Khoikhoi-Dutch Wars

The arrival of the permanent settlements of the Dutch East India Company at the Cape of Good Hope in 1652 brought them face to face with the local people, such as the Khoikhoi (called Hottentots by the Dutch), the San (Bushmen) and some Bantu peoples of South Africa. While the Dutch traded with the Khoikhoi, nevertheless serious disputes broke out over land ownership and livestock. This resulted in attacks and counter-attacks by both sides which were known as the Khoikhoi-Dutch Wars. The First Khoikhoi-Dutch War took place in 1659, the second in 1673 and the third in 1674–1677.[1]
Anglo-Dutch rivalry

Castle of Good Hope
During 1664, tensions between England and the Netherlands rose with rumours of war being imminent – that same year, Commander Zacharius Wagenaer was instructed to build a pentagonal castle out of stone at . On 26 April 1679, the five bastions were built. The Castle of Good Hope is a fortification which was built on the original coastline of Table Bay and now, because of land reclamation, seems nearer the centre of Cape Town, South Africa. Built by the VOC between 1666 and 1679, the Castle is the oldest building in South Africa. The Castle acted as local headquarters for the South African Army in the Western Cape, but today houses the Castle Military Museum and ceremonial facilities for the traditional Cape Regiments.[2]
Battle of Muizenberg
The Battle of Muizenberg was a small but significant battle for the future destiny of South Africa which took place at Muizenberg (near Cape Town), South Africa in 1795; it led to the capture of the Cape Colony by the United Kingdom. A fleet of seven Royal Navy ships – five third-rates, Monarch (74), Victorious (74), Arrogant (74), America (64) and Stately (64), with the 16-gun sloops Echo and Rattlesnake – under Vice-Admiral Elphinstone anchored in Simon's Bay at the Cape of Good Hope in June 1795, having left England on 1 March. Their commander suggested to the Dutch governor that he place the Cape Colony under the protection of the British monarch – in effect, that he hand the colony over to Britain – which was refused. Simon's Town was occupied on 14 June by a force of 350 Royal Marines and 450 men of the 78th Highlanders, before the defenders could burn the town. Following skirmishes on 1 and 2 September, a final general attempt to recapture the camp was prepared by the Dutch for the 3rd, but at this point the British reinforcements arrived and the Dutch withdrew. A British advance on Cape Town, with the new reinforcements, began on the 14th; on the 16th, the colony capitulated.[3]:300[4]:301[5]:302
The British assumed control of the Cape of Good Hope for the next seven years. The Cape was returned to the restored Dutch government (known as the Batavian Government) in 1804. In 1806 the British returned and after again defeating the Dutch at the Battle of Blaauwberg, stayed in control for more than 100 years.
Xhosa wars

The Xhosa Wars (also known as the Kaffir Wars or Cape Frontier Wars) were a series of nine wars between parts of the Xhosa people, and European settlers with their Xhosa allies, from 1779 and 1879 in what is now the Eastern Cape in South Africa. The wars were responsible for the Xhosa people's loss of most of their land, and the incorporation of its people into European-controlled territories.[6]

Ndwandwe-Zulu War
The Ndwandwe-Zulu War of 1817–1819 was a war fought between the expanding Zulu kingdom and the Ndwandwe tribe in South Africa. Shaka revolutionised traditional ways of fighting by introducing the assegai, a spear with a short shaft and broad blade, used as a close-quarters stabbing weapon. (Under Shaka's rule, losing an assegai was punishable by death. So it was never thrown like a javelin.) He also organised warriors into disciplined units known as Impis that fought in close formation behind large cowhide shields. In the Battle of Gqokli Hill in 1819, his troops and tactics prevailed over the superior numbers of the Ndwandwe people, who failed to destroy the Zulu in their first encounter.[7]
The Ndwandwe and the Zulus met again in combat at the Battle of Mhlatuze River in 1820. The Zulu tactics again prevailed, pressing their attack when the Ndwandwe army was divided during the crossing of the Mhlatuze River. Zulu warriors arrived at the Ndwande King Zwide's headquarters near present-day Nongoma before news of the defeat, and approached the camp singing Ndwandwe victory songs to gain entry. Zwide fled with some of his offspring including Madzanga. Most of the Ndwandwe abandoned their lands and migrated north and eastward. This was the start of the Mfecane, a catastrophic, bloody migration of many different tribes in the area, initially escaping the Zulus, but themselves causing their own havoc after adopting Zulu tactics in war. Shaka was the ultimate victor, and his (more peaceful) descendants still live today throughout Zululand, with customs and a way of life that can be easily traced to Shaka's day.
Mfecane

Mfecane (Zulu), also known as the Difaqane or Lifaqane (Sesotho), is an African expression which means something like "the crushing" or "scattering". It describes a period of widespread chaos and disturbance in southern Africa during the period between 1815 and about 1835.[8]
The Mfecane resulted from the rise to power of Shaka, the Zulu king and military leader who conquered the Nguni peoples between the Tugela and Pongola rivers in the beginning of the 19th century, and created a militaristic kingdom in the region. The Mfecane also led to the formation and consolidation of other groups – such as the Matabele, the Mfengu and the Makololo – and the creation of states such as the modern Lesotho.[9]
Battles between Voortrekkers and Zulus

The Battle of Italeni in what is now KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, in early 1838, between the Voortrekkers and the Zulus during the period of the Great Trek, resulted in the Zulu armies repulsing the Voortrekkers. On 9 April, near the Babanango Mountain Range a large Zulu impi (army) appeared, consisting of approximately 8,000 warriors. The Voortrekker commandos returned to their camp on 12 April. Boer general Piet Uys formed a raiding party of fifteen volunteers (including his son, Dirkie Uys.) During subsequent fighting Uys, his son, the Malan brothers as well as five of the volunteers were killed, and the Voortrekkers were forced to retreat. It has been speculated that, without the lessons learnt as a result of the Battle of Italeni – such as fighting from the shelter of ox-wagons whenever possible and choosing the place of battle rather than being enticed into unfavourable terrain – the Voortrekkers would not have succeeded in finally beating the Zulus at the Battle of Blood River eight months later.[10]
The Battle of Blood River (Afrikaans: Slag van Bloedrivier) was fought on 16 December 1838 on the banks of the Blood River (Bloedrivier) in what is today KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. In the aftermath of the Weenen massacre, a group of about 470 Voortrekkers, led by Andries Pretorius, defended a laager (circle of ox wagons) against Zulu impis, ruled by King Dingane and led by Dambuza (Nzobo) and Ndlela kaSompisi, numbering between 10 and 20 thousand. The Zulus repeatedly and unsuccessfully attacked the laager, until Pretorius ordered a group of horse riders to leave the encampment and engage the Zulus. Partly due to the fact that the Voortrekkers used rifles and at least one light cannon against the Zulus' spears, as well as the good location and motivation of the Voortrekkers, only three Voortrekkers were wounded and none perished; that contrasted against the more than 3,000 Zulu warriors who died.[11] The Voortrekkers credited God as the reason why they had won the battle as they had made a covenant asking for protection beforehand.[12]
The Anglo-Zulu War

The Anglo-Zulu War was fought in 1879 between Britain and the Zulus, and signalled the end of the Zulus as an independent nation. It was precipitated by Sir Bartle Frere High Commissioner for Southern Africa who manufactured a casus belli and prepared an invasion without the approval of Her Majesty's government.
At the Battle of Isandlwana (22 January 1879), the Zulu overwhelmed and wiped out 1,400 British soldiers. This battle is considered to be one of the greatest disasters in British colonial history. Isandlwana forced the policy makers in London to rally to the support of the pro-war contingent in the Natal government and commit whatever resources were needed to defeat the Zulu. The first invasion of Zululand ended with the catastrophe of Isandlwana where, along with heavy casualties, the main centre column lost all supplies, transport and ammunition and the British would be forced to halt their advances elsewhere while a new invasion was prepared. At Rorke's Drift (22–23 January 1879) 139 British soldiers successfully defended the station against an intense assault by four to five thousand Zulu warriors.
The Battle of Intombe was fought on 12 March 1879, between British and Zulu forces. The Siege of Eshowe took place during a three-pronged attack on the Impis of Cetshwayo at Ulundi. The Battle of Gingindlovu (uMgungundlovu) was fought between a British relief column sent to break the Siege of Eshowe and the Impis of Cetshwayo on 2 April 1879. The battle restored the British commanders' confidence in their army and their ability to defeat Zulu. With the last resistance removed, they were able to advance and relieve Eshowe. The Battle of Hlobane was a total disaster for the British; 15 officers and 110 men were killed, a further 8 wounded and 100 native soldiers died. The Battle of Kambula took place in 1879 when a Zulu army attacked the British camp at Kambula, resulting in a massive Zulu defeat. The Battle of Ulundi took place at the Zulu capital of Ulundi on 4 July 1879 and proved to be the decisive battle that finally broke the military power of the Zulu nation.
Boer Wars
First Anglo-Boer War

The First Boer War, also known as the First Anglo-Boer War or the Transvaal War, was fought from 16 December 1880 until 23 March 1881 and was the first clash between the British and the South African Republic (Z.A.R.) Boers. It was precipitated by Sir Theophilus Shepstone, who annexed the South African Republic (Transvaal Republic) for the British in 1877. The British consolidated their power over most of the colonies of South Africa in 1879 after the Anglo-Zulu War, and attempted to impose an unpopular system of confederation on the region. The Boers protested, and in December 1880 they revolted.
The battles of Bronkhorstspruit, Laing's Nek, Schuinshoogte, and Majuba Hill proved disastrous for the British where they found themselves outmaneuvered and outperformed by the highly mobile and skilled Boer marksmen. With the British commander-in-chief of Natal, George Pomeroy Colley, killed at Majuba, and British garrisons under siege across the entire Transvaal, the British were unwilling to further involve themselves in a war which was already seen as lost. As a result, William Gladstone's British government signed a truce on 6 March, and in the final peace treaty on 23 March 1881, gave the Boers self-government in the South African Republic (Transvaal) under a theoretical British oversight.
Jameson Raid

The Jameson Raid (29 December 1895 – 2 January 1896) was a raid on Paul Kruger's Transvaal Republic carried out by Leander Starr Jameson and his Rhodesian and Bechuanaland policemen over the New Year weekend of 1895–96. It was intended to trigger an uprising by the primarily British expatriate workers (known as Uitlanders, or in English "Foreigners") in the Transvaal but failed to do so.  Though the raid was ineffective and no uprising took place, it did much to bring about the Second Boer War and the Second Matabele War.
The affair brought Anglo-Boer relations to a dangerous low, and the ill feeling was heightened by the "Kruger telegram" from the German Emperor, Kaiser Wilhelm II. It congratulated Paul Kruger for defeating the raid, as well as appearing to recognise the Boer republic and offer support. The emperor was already perceived as anti-British, and a naval arms race had started between Germany and Britain. Consequently, the telegram alarmed and angered the British.
Second Anglo-Boer War

The Second Boer War, also known as the Second Anglo-Boer War, the Second Freedom War (Afrikaans) and referred to as the South African War in modern times took place from 11 October 1899 – 31 May 1902. The war was fought between Great Britain and the two independent Boer republics of the Orange Free State and the South African Republic (referred to as the Transvaal by the British). After a protracted hard-fought war, the two independent republics lost and were absorbed into the British Empire.
In all, the war had cost around 75,000 lives – 22,000 British soldiers (7,792 battle casualties, the rest through disease), 6,000–7,000 Boer Commandos, 20,000–28,000 Boer civilians, mostly women and children due to disease in concentration camps, and an estimated 20,000 black Africans, Boer allies, who died in their own separate concentration camps. The last of the Boer forces surrendered in May 1902 and the war ended with the Treaty of Vereeniging in the same month. The war resulted in the creation of the Transvaal Colony which in 1910 was incorporated into the Union of South Africa. The treaty ended the existence of the South African Republic and the Orange Free State as Boer republics and placed them within the British Empire.
The Boers referred to the two wars as the Freedom Wars. Those Boers who wanted to continue the fight were known as "bitter-einders" (or irreconcilables) and at the end of the war a number like Deneys Reitz chose exile rather than sign an undertaking that they would abide by the peace terms. Over the following decade, many returned to South Africa and never signed the undertaking. Some, like Reitz, eventually reconciled themselves to the new status quo, but others waited for a suitable opportunity to restart the old quarrel. At the start of World War I the bitter-einders and their allies took part in a revolt known as the Maritz Rebellion.
World War I

Bonds with the British Empire

The Union of South Africa, which came into being in 1910, tied closely to the British Empire, joined Great Britain and the allies against the German Empire. Both Prime Minister Louis Botha and Defence Minister Jan Smuts, both former Second Boer War generals who had fought against the British then, but who now became active and respected members of the Imperial War Cabinet. (See Jan Smuts during World War I.)
The Union Defence Force was part of significant military operations against Germany. In spite of Boer resistance at home, the Afrikaner-led government of Louis Botha unhestitatingly joined the side of the Allies of World War I and fought alongside its armies. The South African Government agreed to the withdrawal of British Army units so that they were free to join the European war, and laid plans to invade German South-West Africa. Elements of the South African army refused to fight against the Germans and along with other opponents of the Government rose in open revolt. The government declared martial law on 14 October 1914, and forces loyal to the government under the command of General Louis Botha and Jan Smuts proceeded to destroy the Maritz Rebellion. The leading Boer rebels got off lightly with terms of imprisonment of six and seven years and heavy fines. (See World War I and the Maritz Rebellion.)
Military action against Germany during World War I
The Union Defence Force saw action in a number of places:
It dispatched its army to German South-West Africa, later known as South West Africa, and now known as Namibia. The South Africans expelled German forces and gained control of the former German colony. (See German South-West Africa in World War I.)
A military expedition under General Jan Smuts was dispatched to German East Africa (later known as Tanganyika) and now known as Tanzania. The objective was to fight German forces in that colony and to try to capture the elusive German General von Lettow-Vorbeck. Ultimately, Lettow-Vorbeck fought his tiny force out of German East Africa into Mozambique then Northern Rhodesia, where he accepted a cease-fire three days after the end of the war (see East African Campaign (World War I)).
1st South African Brigade troops were shipped to France to fight on the Western Front. The most costly battle that the South African forces on the Western Front fought in was the Battle of Delville Wood in 1916. (See South African Army in World War I and South African Overseas Expeditionary Force.)
South Africans also saw action with the Cape Corps as part of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force in Palestine. (See Cape Corps 1915–1991)
Military contributions and casualties in World War I
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. An estimated 3,000 South Africans also joined the Royal Flying Corps. The total South African casualties during the war was about 18,600 with over 12,452 killed – more than 4,600 in the European theatre alone.
The Commonwealth War Graves commission has records of 9457 known South African War dead during World War I.

There is no question that South Africa greatly assisted the Allies, and Great Britain in particular, in capturing the two German colonies of German South West Africa and German East Africa as well as in battles in Western Europe and the Middle East. South Africa's ports and harbours, such as at Cape Town, Durban, and Simon's Town, were also important rest-stops, refuelling-stations, and served as strategic assets to the British Royal Navy during the war, helping to keep the vital sea lanes to the British Raj open.
World War II

Political choices at outbreak of war
On the eve of World War II the Union of South Africa found itself in a unique political and military quandary. While it was closely allied with Great Britain, being a co-equal Dominion under the 1931 Statute of Westminster with its head of state being the British king, the South African Prime Minister on 1 September 1939 was none other than Barry Hertzog the leader of the pro-Afrikaner anti-British National party that had joined in a unity government as the United Party.
Hertzog's problem was that South Africa was constitutionally obligated to support Great Britain against Nazi Germany. The Polish-British Common Defence Pact obligated Britain, and in turn its dominions, to help Poland if attacked by the Nazis. After Hitler's forces attacked Poland in the morning of 1 September 1939, Britain declared war on Germany within a few days. A short but furious debate unfolded in South Africa, especially in the halls of power in the Parliament of South Africa, that pitted those who sought to enter the war on Britain's side, led by the pro-Allied pro-British Afrikaner and former Prime Minister Jan Smuts and General against then-current Prime Minister Barry Hertzog who wished to keep South Africa "neutral", if not pro-Axis.
Declaration of war against the Axis
On 4 September 1939, the United Party caucus refused to accept Hertzog's stance of neutrality in World War II and deposed him in favour of Smuts. Upon becoming Prime Minister of South Africa, Smuts declared South Africa officially at war with Germany and the Axis. Smuts immediately set about fortifying South Africa against any possible German sea invasion because of South Africa's global strategic importance controlling the long sea route around the Cape of Good Hope.
Smuts took severe action against the pro-Nazi South African Ossewabrandwag movement (they were caught committing acts of sabotage) and jailed its leaders for the duration of the war. (One of them, John Vorster, was to become future Prime Minister of South Africa.) (See Jan Smuts during World War II.)
Prime Minister and Field Marshal Smuts

Prime Minister Jan Smuts was the only important non-British general whose advice was constantly sought by Britain's war-time Prime Minister Winston Churchill. Smuts was invited to the Imperial War Cabinet in 1939 as the most senior South African in favour of war.  On 28 May 1941, Smuts was appointed a Field Marshal of the British Army, becoming the first South African to hold that rank. Ultimately, Smuts would pay a steep political price for his closeness to the British establishment, to the King, and to Churchill which had made Smuts very unpopular among the conservative nationalistic Afrikaners, leading to his eventual downfall, whereas most English-speaking whites and a minority of liberal Afrikaners in South Africa remained loyal to him. (See Jan Smuts during World War II.)
Military contributions in World War II

South Africa and its military forces contributed in many theatres of war. South Africa's contribution consisted mainly of supplying troops, airmen and material for the North African campaign (the Desert War) and the Italian Campaign as well as to Allied ships that docked at its crucial ports adjoining the Atlantic Ocean and Indian Ocean that converge at the tip of Southern Africa. Numerous volunteers also flew for the Royal Air Force. (See: South African Army in World War II; South African Air Force in World War II; South African Navy in World War II.)
The South African Army and Air Force played a major role in defeating the Italian forces of Benito Mussolini during the 1940/1941 East African Campaign. The converted Junkers Ju 86s of 12 Squadron, South African Air Force, carried out the first bombing raid of the campaign on a concentration of tanks at Moyale at 8am on 11 June 1940, mere hours after Italy's declaration of war.[13]:37
Another important victory that the South Africans participated in was the capture of Malagasy (now known as Madagascar) from the control of the Vichy French. British troops aided by South African soldiers, staged their attack from South Africa, landing on the strategic island on 4 May 1942[14]:387 to preclude its seizure by the Japanese.
The South African 1st Infantry Division took part in several actions in East Africa (1940) and North Africa (1941 and 1942), including the Battle of El Alamein, before being withdrawn to South Africa.
The South African 2nd 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.
The South African 3rd 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. However, one of this division's constituent brigades – 7 SA Motorised Brigade – did take part in the invasion of Madagascar in 1942.
The South African 6th Armoured Division fought in numerous actions in Italy from 1944 to 1945.
The South African Air Force SAAF made a significant contribution to the air war in East Africa, North Africa, Sicily, Italy, the Balkans and even as far east as bombing missions aimed at the Romanian oilfields in Ploiești,[15]:331 supply missions in support of the Warsaw uprising[15]:246 and reconnaissance missions ahead of the Russian advances in the Lvov-Cracow area.[15]:242
Numerous South African airmen also volunteered service to the RAF, some serving with distinction.
South Africa contributed to the war effort against Japan, supplying men and manning ships in naval engagements against the Japanese.[16]
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 "coloureds" and Asians), nearly 9,000 were killed in action.
The Commonwealth War Graves Commission has records of 11,023 known South African war dead during World War II.[17]
However, not all South Africans supported the war effort.  The Anglo-Boer war had ended only thirty five years earlier and to some, siding with the "enemy" was considered disloyal and unpatriotic.  These sentiments gave rise to "The Ossewabrandwag" ("Oxwagon Sentinel"), originally created as a cultural organisation on the Centenary of the Great Trek becoming more militant and openly opposing South African entry into the war on side of the British. The organisation created a paramilitary group called Stormjaers ('storm chasers'), modelled on the Nazi SA or Sturmabteilung ("Storm Division") and which was linked to the German Intelligence (Abwehr) and the German Foreign Office (Dienstelle Ribbentrop) via Dr. Luitpold Werz – the former German Consul in Pretoria.  The Stormjaers carried out a number of sabotage attacks against the Smuts government and actively tried to intimidate and discourage volunteers from joining the army recruitment programs.[18]
Korean War

In the Korean War, the 2 Squadron ("The Flying Cheetahs") took part as South Africa's contribution. It won many American decorations, including the honour of a United States Presidential Unit Citation in 1952:
2 Sqn had a long and distinguished record of service in Korea flying F-51D Mustangs and later F-86F Sabres. Their role was mainly flying ground attack and interdiction missions as one of the squadrons making up the USAF's 18th Fighter Bomber Wing.
During the war the squadron flew a grand total of 12 067 sorties for a loss of 34 pilots and two other ranks. Aircraft losses amounted to 74 out of 97 Mustangs and four out of 22 Sabres. Pilots and men of the squadron received a total of 797 medals including 2 Silver Stars – the highest award to non-American nationals – 3 Legions of Merit, 55 Distinguished Flying Crosses and 40 Bronze Stars. 8 pilots became POW's. Casualties: 20 KIA 16 WIA.[19]
Some sources[20] list 35 deaths from 2 Squadron.
Simonstown Agreement

The Simonstown Agreement was a naval co-operation agreement between the United Kingdom and South Africa signed 30 June 1955.  Under the agreement, the Royal Navy gave up its naval base at Simonstown, South Africa, and transferred command of the South African Navy to the government of South Africa.  In return, South Africa promised the use of the Simonstown base to Royal Navy ships.
South Africa and Israel

U.S. Intelligence believed that Israel participated in South African nuclear research projects and supplied advanced non-nuclear weapons technology to South Africa during the 1970s, while South Africa was developing its own atomic bombs.[21][22][23]
According to David Albright, writing for the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, "Faced with sanctions, South Africa began to organize clandestine procurement networks in Europe and the United States, and it began a long, secret collaboration with Israel." although he goes on to say "A common question is whether Israel provided South Africa with weapons design assistance, although available evidence argues against significant cooperation."[24] According to the Nuclear Threat Initiative, in 1977 Israel traded 30grams of tritium in exchange for 50 tons of South African uranium and in the mid-80s assisted with the development of the RSA-3 ballistic missile.[25] Also in 1977, according to foreign press reports, it was suspected that South Africa signed a pact with Israel that included the transfer of military technology and the manufacture of at least six atom bombs.[26]
Chris McGreal has claimed that "Israel provided expertise and technology that was central to South Africa's development of its nuclear bombs".[27] In 2000, Dieter Gerhardt, Soviet spy and a former commodore in the South African Navy, claimed that Israel agreed in 1974 to arm eight Jericho II missiles with "special warheads" for South Africa.[28]
South African undercover activity abroad
On 4 October 1966, the Kingdom of Lesotho attained full independence, governed by a constitutional monarchy. In 1973, an appointed Interim National Assembly was established. With an overwhelming progovernment majority, it was largely the instrument of the BNP, led by Prime Minister Jonathan. South Africa had virtually closed the country's land borders because of Lesotho support of cross-border operations of the African National Congress (ANC). Moreover, South Africa publicly threatened to pursue more direct action against Lesotho if the Jonathan government did not root out the ANC presence in the country. This internal and external opposition to the government combined to produce violence and internal disorder in Lesotho that eventually led to a military takeover in 1986.
In 1981, the Seychelles experienced a failed coup attempt by Mike Hoare and a team of mercenaries. An international commission, appointed by the UN Security Council in 1982, concluded that South African defence agencies had been involved in the attempted takeover, including supplying weapons and ammunition. See History of Seychelles.
The South African army, and especially its air force, was actively involved in aiding Ian Smith's predominantly white Rhodesian government and security forces in Zimbabwe against Marxist insurgents led by the Patriotic Front.
South Africa and weapons of mass destruction

South African Border War

Between 1966 and 1989, South Africa waged a long and bitter counter-insurgency campaign against the People's Liberation Army of Namibia (PLAN) in South-West Africa. PLAN was backed by the Soviet Union and a number of Warsaw Pact member states, as well as several sympathetic, newly independent African governments.[29] It also received considerable combat support from the People's Armed Forces of Liberation of Angola (FAPLA) and a sizeable contingent of Cuban military advisors.[30] In response, South Africa underwent a massive military expansion to combat the PLAN threat, which included the formation of several elite special forces units such as Koevoet, 32 Battalion, and the Reconnaissance Commando Regiment.[31] South African troops raided neighbouring states to strike at PLAN forward operating bases, which occasionally entailed clashes with FAPLA[32] and the Zambian Defence Force.[33] This largely undeclared conflict became known as the South African Border War during the late 1970s.[34]
SADF expeditionary forces targeted guerrilla bases, refugees, and rural infrastructure in Angola and Zambia, depending initially on border raids, patrols, and air strikes to keep PLAN at bay.[35] This was eventually extended to a permanent SADF military presence throughout southern Angola, with the objective of forcing PLAN bases to relocate further and further north.[34] While this strategy was successful, it resulted in the parallel expansion of FAPLA, with Soviet assistance, to meet what Luanda perceived as a direct South African threat to Angolan sovereignty.[35] FAPLA and the SADF clashed continuously between 1981 and 1984, and again from 1987 to 1988, culminating in the Battle of Cuito Cuanavale.[32]
The South African Border War was closely linked to the Angolan Civil War. South African expeditionary units had openly invaded Angola in 1975 during Operation Savannah, an ill-fated attempt to support two rival Angolan factions, the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) and the National Liberation Front of Angola (FNLA), during the civil war. The SADF was forced to withdraw under overwhelming pressure from thousands of Cuban combat troops.[36] When South Africa began intensifying its campaign against PLAN in the 1980s, it reasserted its alliance with UNITA and took the opportunity to bolster that movement with training and captured PLAN weaponry.[37]
The Battle of Cuito Cuanavale proved to be a major turning point for both conflicts, as it resulted in the Angolan Tripartite Accord, in which Cuba pledged to withdraw its troops from Angola while South Africa withdrew from South-West Africa.[38] South-West Africa received independence as the Republic of Namibia in 1990.[39]
Production of military equipment by South Africa

South Africa has produced a variety of significant weapons, vehicles and planes for its own uses as well as for international export. Some have been established weapons produced under licence and in other instances South Africa has innovated and manufactured its own weapons and vehicles. The predominant manufacturer of weapons is Denel.
During the 1960s and 1970s, Armscor produced a great deal of South Africa's armament as South Africa was under UN sanctions. It was during this time that Armscor contracted with Gerald Bull's Space Research Corporation for advanced 155mm howitzer designs, which it eventually produced, used, and exported to countries such as Iraq.
Internal guerrilla activity during apartheid

Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, it was common for anti-apartheid political movements to form military wings, such as Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK), which was created by the African National Congress, and the Azanian People's Liberation Army (APLA) of the Pan-Africanist Congress.[40] These functioned as de facto guerrilla armies, carrying out acts of sabotage and waging a limited rural insurgency.[41] The guerrillas occasionally clashed with each other as their respective political organs jockeyed for internal influence.[42]
Though fought on a much smaller scale than the South African Border War, the SADF's operations against MK and APLA mirrored several important aspects of that conflict. Much like PLAN, for example, MK often sought sanctuary in states adjacent to South Africa's borders.[35] The SADF retaliated with targeted assassinations of MK personnel on foreign soil, and a combination of air strikes and special forces raids on MK bases in Zambia, Mozambique, Botswana, and Lesotho.[35]
Both MK and APLA were disbanded and integrated with the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) following the abolition of apartheid.[43]
Modern Afrikaner separatist militias
The Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging (AWB) – "Afrikaner Resistance Movement" – was formed in 1973 in Heidelberg, Transvaal, a town southeast of Johannesburg. It is a political and paramilitary group in South Africa and was under the leadership of Eugène Terre'Blanche. They are committed to the restoration of an independent Afrikaner republic or "Boerestaat" within South Africa. In their heyday, the period of transition in the early 1990s, they received much publicity both in South Africa and abroad as an extremist white supremacist group.
During the Negotiations to end apartheid in South Africa, the AWB stormed the venue, the Kempton Park World Trade Centre, breaking through the glass front of the building with an armoured car.  The invaders took over the main conference hall, threatening delegates and painting slogans on the walls and left again after a short period.
In 1994, before the advent of majority rule, the AWB again gained international notoriety in its attempt to defend the dictatorial government of Lucas Mangope in the homeland of Bophuthatswana, who opposed the upcoming elections and the dissolution of "his" homeland. The AWB, along with a contingent of about 90 Afrikaner Volksfront militiamen entered the capital of Mmabatho on 10 and 11 March.
Terre'Blanche was sentenced for the attempted murder of security guard, Paul Motshabi, but he only served three years. In June 2004, he was released from prison. Terre'blanche claimed that while in prison, he re-discovered God and has dropped some of his more violent and racist policies. He preached reconciliation as 'prescribed by God' in his later years. Terre'Blanche was murdered on his farm on 3 April 2010.
Present military: South African National Defence Force

The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) is the name of the present-day armed forces of South Africa. The military as it exists today was created in 1994, following South Africa's first post-apartheid national elections and the adoption of a new constitution. It replaced the South African Defence Force (SADF), and included personnel and equipment from the SADF and the former Homelands forces (Transkei, Venda, Bophuthatswana, and Ciskei), as well as personnel from the former guerrilla forces of some of the political parties involved in South Africa, such as the African National Congress's Umkhonto we Sizwe, the Pan Africanist Congress's APLA and the Self-Protection Units of the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP).
As of 2004, the integration process was considered complete, with the integrated personnel having been incorporated into a slightly modified structure very similar to that of the SADF, with the latter's structure and equipment for the most part being retained.
The commander of the SANDF is appointed by the President from one of the armed services. The current commander is General Solly Shoke. He in turn is accountable to the Minister of Defence, currently Nosiviwe Noluthando Mapisa-Nqakula.
Some of the Traditional South African Regiments have been serving the country for over a hundred and fifty years under various iterations of political systems and different governments.
Arms Deal

The South African Department of Defence's Strategic Defence Acquisition (known as the Arms Deal) aimed to modernise its defence equipment, which included the purchase of corvettes, submarines, light utility helicopters, lead-in fighter trainers and advanced light fighter aircraft. This saw the SANDF being provided with modern equipment.
Peacekeeping
Recent peacekeeping actions on the behalf of the South African military include the South African intervention in Lesotho in order to restore the democratically elected government after a coup, as well as extensive contributions to the United Nations peacekeeping operations in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Burundi. An operation to Sudan has recently begun and is scheduled to be increased to Brigade strength.
Issues that face the SANDF include a severe shortage of pilots and naval combat officers, due to the replacement of white officers from the former SADF with appointments from the old liberation forces and emigration.  The loss of trained personnel and the decommissioning of much needed equipment due to funding issues, high HIV-rates amongst personnel and the fact that SANDF infantry soldiers are some of the oldest in the world, all raise questions regarding the current fighting efficiency of the SANDF. Some of these issues are being addressed with the introduction of the Military Skills Development (MSD) programme, as well as aggressive recruitment and training by the Reserve Force Regiments.
Recently, the SANDF has been involved in combat in both the Central African Republic (Bangui) as well as in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (FIB)). The performance of the SANDF soldiers in combat in these two theatres has gone a long way towards silencing critics of the combat effectiveness of the actual soldiers but has refocused the debate on that of the political leadership as well as the procurement and recruitment issues that still abound.
Four armed services make up the forces of the SANDF:
South African Air Force
South African Army
South African Military Health Service
South African Navy
See also
List of wars involving South Africa
British logistics in the Boer War
List of conflicts in Africa
Permanent Force
South African Air Force
South African Air Force Museum
South African Army
South African Defence Force (1957–1994)
South African National Museum of Military History
South African National Defence Force (1994–present)
South African Navy
South African Police Service
South African resistance to war

Sources
 ( 2009-11-01)

What is the deadliest armed conflict in South Africa's history?


This is a list of military aircraft currently in service with the Armed Forces of the United Kingdom.
Royal Air Force

RAF Battle of Britain Memorial Flight

Fleet Air Arm

Royal Navy Historic Flight

Army Air Corps

UK Military Flying Training System
The contractors providing the new UK Military Flying Training System will eventually operate 38 fixed wing aircraft and 32 helicopters on the military register, but the aircraft are initially civilian-registered.

Empire Test Pilots' School

Ministry of Defence
As well as the military services a number of defence contractors operate military aircraft on behalf of or leased from the Ministry of Defence.

See also
British Armed Forces
List of aircraft of the Royal Air Force
Future of the Royal Air Force
Notes

 (gov.uk)
 (dasa.mod.uk)

List of active United Kingdom military aircraft

How many planes does the Royal Air Force have?


In phonetics and phonology, articulation is the movement of the tongue, lips, jaw, and other speech organs (the articulators) in ways that make speech sounds.
Sound is produced simply by expelling air from the lungs.  However, to vary the sound quality in a way useful for speaking, two speech organs normally move towards each other to contact each other to create an obstruction that shapes the air in a particular fashion. The point of maximum obstruction is called the place of articulation, and the way the obstruction forms and releases is the manner of articulation.  For example, when making a p sound, the lips come together tightly, blocking the air momentarily and causing a buildup of air pressure. The lips then release suddenly, causing a burst of sound.  The place of articulation of this sound is therefore called bilabial, and the manner is called stop (also known as a plosive).
Articulation can be shown with magnetic resonance imaging to demonstrate how the tongue, lips and jaw move and the rise and fall of the soft palate. Such movement alters resonant properties of the vocal tract, and imposes a "time-varying formant structure" onto the speech signal.[1] The study of articulation in making speech is called articulatory phonetics.
Place of articulation

Places of articulation
Labial
Bilabial
Labial–velar
Labial–coronal
Labiodental
Bidental
Coronal
Linguolabial
Interdental
Dental
Denti-alveolar
Alveolar
Coronal–velar
Postalveolar
Palato-alveolar
Retroflex
Dorsal
Postalveolar
Alveolo-palatal
Palatal
Labial–palatal
Velar
Uvular
Uvular–epiglottal
Laryngeal (Guttural)
Pharyngeal/Epiglottal
Glottal
Tongue shape
Apical
Subapical
Laminal
Sulcal
Domed
Secondary articulation
Labialization (Rounding)
Palatalization
Labio-palatalization
Velarization
Uvularization
Pharyngealization
See also
Articulatory phonetics
Coarticulation
Double articulation
Glottalization
Manner of articulationvt

An obstruction is necessarily formed when two articulators come close together.  Generally, one is moving (the active articulator), and the other is stationary (the passive articulator).  As a result, what is normally termed the "place of articulation" is actually a combination of a place of active articulation and a place of passive articulation.  For example, the English f sound is labiodental—a shorthand way of saying that the active articulator is the lower lip, which moves up (along with the jaw in general) to contact the upper teeth.  The lower lip can also be the active articulator for other places of articulation (e.g. bilabial, where it contacts the upper lip, as in English p).  Likewise, the upper teeth can be the passive articulator for other places of articulation (e.g. dental, where the tongue contacts the upper teeth, as in the English th sound).
The places of articulation used in English are:
Bilabial: Both lips come together, as in p, b or m
Labiodental: Lower lip contacts upper teeth, as in f or v
Dental: Tongue tip or tongue blade (part just behind the tip) contacts upper teeth, as in the two th sounds (e.g. thin vs. this)
Alveolar: Tongue tip contacts the alveolar ridge (the gums just behind the teeth), as in t, d, n, or l; or tongue blade contacts the alveolar ridge, as in s or z
Postalveolar: Tongue blade contacts the postalveolar region behind the alveolar ridge, as in sh, ch, zh, or j; or tongue tip contacts the postalveolar region, as in r
Palatal: Middle of tongue approaches or contacts the hard palate, as in y
Velar: Back of tongue contacts the soft palate (or "velum"), as in k, g or ng
Labiovelar: Back of tongue approaches the soft palate and lips also come close to each other, as in w
Laryngeal: No obstruction anywhere but in the vocal cords down in the throat, as in h
The place of articulation is clearest for consonants, where there is generally a significant amount of obstruction.  For vowels, part of the tongue moves closer to the roof of the mouth, but there is still enough of a gap that it is difficult to precisely specify the location of maximum obstruction.  As a result, vowels are normally described by height and frontness of the tongue (as well as amount of rounding of the lips) rather than by a specific place of articulation.  For example, the vowel in the first syllable of father is a low back unrounded vowel; the vowel in tooth is a high back rounded vowel, and the vowel in men is a low-mid front unrounded vowel.
Sometimes there can be more than one obstruction (although rarely more than two).  There are two kinds of double obstruction: Either both obstructions block the air flow in equal amounts, or one obstruction blocks the air flow more than the other.  The former type, a doubly articulated consonant, does not occur in English.  The latter type, however, is more common and does occur in English; w is one example.  With w, the place of greatest obstruction, called the primary articulation, occurs at the soft palate; the rounding of the lips causes less blockage, and is called the secondary articulation.  Another example in English is the qu of words such as quit, with the same primary and secondary articulations, but a complete blockage of the air at the soft palate rather than only a restriction of the flow (a difference in manner of articulation; see below). (Note that the sound of qu is normally analyzed as a sequence of k plus w, but both parts are actually pronounced at the same time.)
Manner of articulation

Manners of articulation
Obstruent
Stop
Affricate
Fricative
Strident
Sibilant
Sonorant
Nasal
Approximant
Semivowel
Vowel
Vibrant
Flap/tap
Trill
Liquid
Rhotic
Lateral
Occlusive
Continuant
Airstreams
Egressive
Ingressive
Ejective
Implosive
Lingual (clicks)
Linguo-pulmonic
Linguo-ejective
Percussive
See also
Articulatory phonetics
Aspirated consonant
No audible release
Phonation
Place of articulation
Voice
Voicelessnessvt

"Manner of articulation" refers in general to characteristics of the speech organs other than the location of the obstruction(s).  There are multiple parameters involved here, and different types of each.  The manners of articulation used in English are:
1. Degree of stricture: How much blockage occurs at the primary articulation (the place of greatest obstruction).  The types in English are:
Stop: Complete blockage followed by sudden release, as in t, d, p, b, k, g.  The blockage of air causes air pressure to build up; when released, the air bursts out, giving these sounds their characteristic sharp quality.
Fricative: Incomplete blockage but still close enough to cause significant airflow turbulence, as in f, v, s, z, sh, zh and both th sounds.  The turbulence causes the characteristic noisiness of fricatives.
Affricate: Complete blockage followed by a gradual release, resulting in a combination of stop + fricative, as in ch and j.
Approximant: Incomplete blockage and far enough apart that airflow is smooth, as in r, y, w, and h.
2. Alternative air flow: The air travels a path other than down the center of the mouth:
Nasal: Complete blockage of air out the mouth but air can freely flow out the nose, as in m, n, ng.
Lateral: Complete blockage of air by the center of the tongue but air can flow out the sides of the tongue, as in L Consonant .
3. Dynamic movement of the tongue:
Flap: Very brief complete blockage of air, in a way that doesn't cause any pressure buildup or release burst, as in the American English pronunciation of t and d between vowels.
Trill: Multiple brief complete blockages in a row, caused by the active articulator (e.g. the tongue) vibrating.  A trilled r is well known in Spanish and also occurs as the normal pronunciation of r by some Scottish English speakers.
Approximants, nasals, laterals, flaps, and trills are often grouped together as sonorants or resonants (which also includes vowels); all of them have in common the fact that there is smooth airflow throughout the consonant, and they are nearly always voiced (see below).
Voicing and aspiration

Voicing: How closely the vocal cords are placed together.  In English there are only two possibilities, voiced and unvoiced.  Voicing is caused by the vocal cords held close by each other, so that air passing through them makes them vibrate.  All normally spoken vowels are voiced, as are all other sonorants except h, as well as some of the remaining sounds (b, d, g, v, z, zh, j, and the th sound in this).  All the rest are voiceless sounds, with the vocal cords held far enough apart that there is no vibration; however, there is still a certain amount of audible friction, as in the sound h.  Voiceless sounds are not very prominent unless there is some turbulence, as in the stops, fricatives, and affricates; this is why sonorants in general only occur voiced. The exception is during whispering, when all sounds pronounced are voiceless.
See also
Airstream mechanism
Human voice
Index of phonetics articles
Phonation
Place of articulation
Relative articulation
Source–filter model of speech production
Vocal tract
Notes


Periods, eras, and *movements of
Western classical music
Early period
 Medieval era c. 500–1400 Renaissance era c. 1400–1600
Common practice period
 Baroque era c. 1600–1760 Classical era c. 1730–1820 Romantic era c. 1780–1910
20th-century and early 21st-century period
 Modernist era c. 1890–1950* Impressionist movement c. 1890–1925* Expressionist c. 1908–1925 Postmodern era/Contemporary c. 1930–present* Minimalist movement c. 1965–presentvt
Romantic music is a period of Western classical music that began in the late 18th or early 19th century. It is related to Romanticism, the Western artistic and literary movement that arose in the second half of the 18th century, and Romantic music in particular dominated the Romantic movement in Germany.
In the Romantic period, music became more explicitly expressive and programmatic, dealing with the literary, artistic, and philosophical themes of the time. Famous early Romantic composers include Beethoven (whose works span both this period and the preceding Classical period), Schubert, Schumann, Chopin, Mendelssohn, Bellini, and Berlioz. The late 19th century saw a dramatic expansion in the size of the orchestra and in the dynamic range and diversity of instruments used in this ensemble. Also, public concerts became a key part of urban middle class society, in contrast to earlier periods, when concerts were mainly paid for by and performed for aristocrats. Famous composers from the second half of the century include Bruckner, Johann Strauss II, Brahms, Liszt, Tchaikovsky, Dvořák, Verdi, and Wagner. Between 1890 and 1910, a third wave of composers including Mahler, Richard Strauss, Puccini, and Sibelius built on the work of middle Romantic composers to create even more complex– and often much longer– musical works. A prominent mark of late-19th-century music is its nationalistic fervor, as exemplified by such figures as Dvořák, Sibelius, and Grieg. Other prominent late-century figures include Saint-Saëns, Fauré, Rachmaninoff and Franck.
Background

The Romantic movement was an artistic, literary, and intellectual movement that originated in the second half of the 18th century in Europe and strengthened in reaction to the Industrial Revolution (Encyclopædia Britannica n.d.). In part, it was a revolt against social and political norms of the Age of Enlightenment and a reaction against the scientific rationalization of nature (Casey 2008). It was embodied most strongly in the visual arts, music, and literature, but had a major impact on historiography (Levin 1959, ) and education (Gutek 1995, 220–54), and was in turn influenced by developments in natural history (Nichols 2005, 308–309).
One of the first significant applications of the term to music was in 1789, in the Mémoires by the Frenchman André Grétry, but it was E.T.A. Hoffmann who really established the principles of musical romanticism, in a lengthy review of Ludwig van Beethoven's Fifth Symphony published in 1810, and in an 1813 article on Beethoven's instrumental music. In the first of these essays Hoffmann traced the beginnings of musical Romanticism to the later works of Haydn and Mozart. It was Hoffmann's fusion of ideas already associated with the term "Romantic", used in opposition to the restraint and formality of Classical models, that elevated music, and especially instrumental music, to a position of pre-eminence in Romanticism as the art most suited to the expression of emotions. It was also through the writings of Hoffmann and other German authors that German music was brought to the centre of musical Romanticism (Samson 2001).
Traits
Characteristics often attributed to Romanticism:
a new preoccupation with and surrender to Nature;
a fascination with the past, particularly the Middle Ages and legends of medieval chivalry;
a turn towards the mystic and supernatural, both religious and merely spooky;
a longing for the infinite;
mysterious connotations of remoteness, the unusual and fabulous, the strange and surprising;
a focus on the nocturnal, the ghostly, the frightful, and terrifying;
fantastic seeing and spiritual experiences;
a new attention given to national identity;
emphasis on extreme subjectivism;
interest in the autobiographical;
discontent with musical formulas and conventions.
Such lists, however, proliferated over time, resulting in a "chaos of antithetical phenomena", criticized for their superficiality and for signifying so many different things that there came to be no central meaning. The attributes have also been criticized for being too vague. For example, features of the "ghostly and supernatural" could apply equally to Mozart's Don Giovanni from 1787 and Stravinsky's The Rake's Progress from 1951 (Kravitt 1992, 93–95).
In music there is a relatively clear dividing line in musical structure and form following the death of Beethoven. Whether one counts Beethoven as a 'romantic' composer or not, the breadth and power of his work gave rise to a feeling that the classical sonata form and, indeed, the structure of the symphony, sonata and string quartet had been exhausted. Schumann, Schubert, Berlioz and other early-Romantic composers tended to look in alternative directions. Some characteristics of Romantic music include:
The use of new or previously not so common musical structures like the song cycle, nocturne, concert etude, arabesque and rhapsody, alongside the traditional classical genres. Programme music became somewhat more common;
A harmonic structure based on movement from tonic to subdominant or alternative keys rather than the traditional dominant, and use of more elaborate harmonic progressions (Wagner and Liszt are known for their experimental progressions);
A greater emphasis on melody to sustain musical interest. The classical period often used short, even fragmentary, thematic material while the Romantic period tended to make greater use of longer, more fully defined and more satisfying themes;
The use of a wider range of dynamics, for example from ppp to fff, supported by large orchestration;
Using a larger tonal range (exp. using the lowest and highest notes of the piano);
Trends of the 19th century
Non-musical influences
Events and changes in society such as ideas, attitudes, discoveries, inventions, and historical events often affect music. For example, the Industrial Revolution was in full effect by the late 18th century and early 19th century. This event had a profound effect on music: there were major improvements in the mechanical valves and keys that most woodwinds and brass instruments depend on. The new and innovative instruments could be played with greater ease and they were more reliable (Schmidt-Jones and Jones 2004, 3).
Another development that had an effect on music was the rise of the middle class.  Composers before this period lived on the patronage of the aristocracy. Many times their audience was small, composed mostly of the upper class and individuals who were knowledgeable about music (Schmidt-Jones and Jones 2004, 3). The Romantic composers, on the other hand, often wrote for public concerts and festivals, with large audiences of paying customers, who had not necessarily had any music lessons (Schmidt-Jones and Jones 2004, 3).  Composers of the Romantic Era, like Elgar, showed the world that there should be "no segregation of musical tastes" (Young 1967, 525) and that the "purpose was to write music that was to be heard" (Young 1967, 527).
Nationalism

During the Romantic period, music often took on a much more nationalistic purpose. For example, Jean Sibelius' Finlandia has been interpreted to represent the rising nation of Finland, which would someday gain independence from Russian control (Child 2006). Frédéric Chopin was one of the first composers to incorporate nationalistic elements into his compositions. Joseph Machlis states, "Poland's struggle for freedom from tsarist rule aroused the national poet in Poland. … Examples of musical nationalism abound in the output of the romantic era. The folk idiom is prominent in the Mazurkas of Chopin" (Machlis 1963, 149–50). His mazurkas and polonaises are particularly notable for their use of nationalistic rhythms. Moreover, "During World War II the Nazis forbade the playing of … Chopin's Polonaises in Warsaw because of the powerful symbolism residing in these works" (Machlis 1963, 150). Other composers, such as Bedřich Smetana, wrote pieces that musically described their homelands; in particular, Smetana's Vltava is a symphonic poem about the Moldau River in the modern-day Czech Republic  and the second in a cycle of six nationalistic symphonic poems collectively titled Má vlast (My Homeland) (Grunfeld 1974, 112–13). Smetana also composed eight nationalist operas, all of which remain in the repertory. They established him as the first Czech nationalist composer as well as the most important Czech opera composer of the generation who came to prominence in the 1860s (Ottlová, Tyrrell, and Pospíšil 2001).
See also

History of music
List of Romantic-era composers
Neoromanticism (music)

Further reading

When was the Romantic period in classical music?