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Soutpansberg Military Area
The Soutpansberg Military Area (SMA) Headquarters was situated in Messina in the Northern Province of South Africa. The size of the area for which the SMA was responsible for was approximately . History After the independence of Zimbabwe and its subsequent close relations with liberation organisations in South Africa, a security threat from the north was expected. A militarised zone known as the Soutpansberg Military Area was therefore effected and bordered two international borders, those of Botswana and Zimbabwe. The length of borderline for which the Military Area was responsible was approximately shared with Botswana and approximately shared with Zimbabwe. Some parts of the affected area allowed commercial farmers to continue to operate, while others areas, particularly to the east of Messina, were depopulated and became a military exclusive zone called the ''Madimbo corridor''. Barriers Along the borderline with Zimbabwe, starting at the Sand River just east of Messina ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Messina
Messina (, also , ) is a harbour city and the capital of the Italian Metropolitan City of Messina. It is the third largest city on the island of Sicily, and the 13th largest city in Italy, with a population of more than 219,000 inhabitants in the city proper and about 650,000 in the Metropolitan City. It is located near the northeast corner of Sicily, at the Strait of Messina and it is an important access terminal to Calabria region, Villa San Giovanni, Reggio Calabria on the mainland. According to Eurostat the FUA of the metropolitan area of Messina has, in 2014, 277,584 inhabitants. The city's main resources are its seaports (commercial and military shipyards), cruise tourism, commerce, and agriculture (wine production and cultivating lemons, oranges, mandarin oranges, and olives). The city has been a Roman Catholic Archdiocese and Archimandrite seat since 1548 and is home to a locally important international fair. The city has the University of Messina, founded in 1548 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Northern Sotho
Northern Sotho, or as an endonym, is a Sotho-Tswana language spoken in the northeastern provinces of South Africa. It is sometimes referred to as or , its main dialect, through synecdoche. According to the South African National Census of 2011, it is the first language of over 4.6 million (9.1%) people, making it the 5th most spoken language in South Africa. The Sepedi language is spoken most commonly in Mpumalanga, Gauteng and the Limpopo provinces. Name The Northern Sotho written language was based largely on the Sepedi dialect. Missionaries studied this dialect the most closely and first developed the orthography in 1860 by Alexander Merensky, Grutzner and Gerlachshoop. This subsequently provided a common writing system for 20 or more varieties of the Sotho-Tswana languages spoken in the former Transvaal, and also helped lead to "Sepedi" being used as the umbrella term for the entire language family. However, there are objections to this synecdoche by other Northern ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Commands Of The South African Army
Command may refer to: Computing * Command (computing), a statement in a computer language * COMMAND.COM, the default operating system shell and command-line interpreter for DOS * Command key, a modifier key on Apple Macintosh computer keyboards * Command pattern, a software design pattern in which objects represent actions * Voice command, in speech recognition Military * Military command (instruction) or military order * Command responsibility, the doctrine of hierarchical accountability in cases of war crimes * Command (military formation), an organizational unit * Command and control, the exercise of authority in a military organization * Command hierarchy, a group of people dedicated to carrying out orders "from the top" Music * ''Command'' (album), a 2009 album by Client * Command Records, a record label Sports * Command (baseball), the ability of a pitcher to throw a pitch where he intends to * Kansas City Command, a former professional arena football team * Comma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Soutpansberg Commando
Soutpansberg Commando was a light infantry regiment of the South African Army. It formed part of the South African Army Infantry Formation as well as the South African Territorial Reserve. History Origin This unit can trace its origins as part of the Waterberg Commando to just before the Anglo Boer War as the Transvaal Republic became more nervous of its British adversaries in Bechaunaland and Rhodesia. Operations With the Zuid Afrikaanse Republiek The Waterberg Commando gathered at Nylstroom on 11 October 1899. After receiving news of the outbreak of war, this Commando proceeded to the confluence of the Limpopo and Palala rivers to join with the Soutpansberg Commando, cross into Bechaunaland and destroy railway infrastructure. With the UDF By 1902 all Commando remnants were under British military control and disarmed. By 1912, however previous Commando members could join shooting associations. By 1940, such commandos were under control of the National Reserve of Volunteers ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Limpopo Commando
Limpopo Commando was a light infantry regiment of the South African Army. It formed part of the South African Army Infantry Formation as well as the South African Territorial Reserve. History Origin Operations With the SADF Limpopo Commando initially resorted under Far North Command, but with the development of the Soutpansberg Military Area was transferred to that Command. Limpopo Commando was responsible for the stretch from Pontdrift east up to the nature reserve west of Messina. This unit was also involved in area force protection, search and cordones as well as stock theft control assistance to the local police. With the SANDF =Disbandment= This unit, along with all other Commando units was disbanded after a decision by South African President Thabo Mbeki to disband all Commando Units. The Commando system was phased out between 2003 and 2008 "because of the role it played in the apartheid era", according to the Minister of Safety and Security Charles Nqakula. Unit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Casspir
The Casspir is a Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicle that has been in use in South Africa since the 1980s. It is a four-wheeled, four-wheel drive vehicle, used for transport of troops. It can hold a crew of two, plus 12 additional soldiers and associated equipment. The Casspir was unique in design when launched, providing for passive mine defence. The main armoured steel body of the vehicle is raised high above the ground, so when a mine is detonated, the explosion is less likely to damage the crew compartment and kill the occupants. The cross-section of the hull is V-shaped (V-hull), directing the force of the explosion outwards, further protecting the occupants. The vehicle also offers crew protection from small arms fire. The capabilities of the Casspir were the basis of the outline capabilities required by the U.S. Marines' for their Mine Resistant Ambush Protected or MRAP vehicle project. Design history The name 'Casspir' is an anagram of the abbreviations of the cust ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
SADF 116 Battalion 907 Special Service Company
The South African Defence Force (SADF) (Afrikaans: ''Suid-Afrikaanse Weermag'') comprised the armed forces of South Africa from 1957 until 1994. Shortly before the state reconstituted itself as a republic in 1961, the former Union Defence Force was officially succeeded by the SADF, which was established by the Defence Act (No. 44) of 1957. The SADF, in turn, was superseded by the South African National Defence Force in 1994. Mission and structure The SADF was organised to perform a dual mission: to counter possible insurgency in all forms, and to maintain a conventional military arm which could defend the republic's borders, making retaliatory strikes as necessary. As the military expanded during the 1970s, the SADF general staff was organised into six sections—finance, intelligence, logistics, operations, personnel, and planning; uniquely, the South African Medical Service (SAMS) was made co-equal with the South African Army, the South African Navy and the South African ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
South-West Africa Territorial Force
The South West Africa Territorial Force (SWATF) was an auxiliary arm of the South African Defence Force (SADF) and comprised the armed forces of South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1977 to 1989. It emerged as a product of South Africa's political control of the territory which was granted to the former as a League of Nations mandate following World War I. History and background From 1966 until 1989, South African security forces waged a long and bitter counterinsurgency conflict against indigenous nationalists in what was then South West Africa, represented by the Marxist South West African People's Organisation (SWAPO) and its military wing, the People's Liberation Army of Namibia (PLAN). As the guerrilla war intensified, however, it became clear that the local civilian police alone were not enough to cope with SWAPO/PLAN incursions and escalating unrest. Consequently, military units were deployed for the first time; 60,000 South African combat troops were engaged in South W ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
116 Battalion
116 Battalion was a motorised infantry unit of the South African Army. History Origin of the black battalions By the late 1970s the South African government had abandoned its opposition to arming black soldiers. By early 1979, the government approved a plan to form a number of regional African battalions, each with a particular ethnic identity, which would serve under regional SADF commands. 116 Battalion was raised in 1986 as an original platoon of only 14 men but expanded quickly. The first personnel consisted of former Rhodesian soldiers who had moved to South Africa and were mustered by the Intelligence Corps. The Battalion was then based in Messina. 64 Tsonga soldiers from 113 Battalion was also integrated in the newly formed Battalion. Recruitment was also done from the Lebowa Homeland to finally bring the Battalion up to strength. Higher Command 116 Battalion initially resorted under Far North Command and finally with the Soutpansberg Military Area. Special Service Co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
South West Africa
South West Africa ( af, Suidwes-Afrika; german: Südwestafrika; nl, Zuidwest-Afrika) was a territory under South African administration from 1915 to 1990, after which it became modern-day Namibia. It bordered Angola (Portuguese colony before 1975), Botswana ( Bechuanaland before 1966), South Africa, and Zambia (Northern Rhodesia before 1964). Previously the German colony of South West Africa from 1884–1915, it was made a League of Nations mandate of the Union of South Africa following Germany's defeat in the First World War. Although the mandate was abolished by the United Nations in 1966, South African control over the territory continued despite its illegality under international law. The territory was administered directly by the South African government from 1915 to 1978, when the Turnhalle Constitutional Conference laid the groundwork for semi-autonomous rule. During an interim period between 1978 and 1985, South Africa gradually granted South West Africa a limited for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Limpopo
Limpopo is the northernmost province of South Africa. It is named after the Limpopo River, which forms the province's western and northern borders. The capital and largest city in the province is Polokwane, while the provincial legislature is situated in Lebowakgomo. The province is made up of 3 former homelands of Lebowa, Gazankulu and Venda and the former parts of the Transvaal province. The Limpopo province was established as one of the new nine provinces after South Africa's first democratic election on the 27th of April 1994. The province's name was first "Northern Transvaal", later changed to "Northern Province" on the 28th of June 1995, together with two other provinces. The name was later changed again in 2002 to the Limpopo province. Limpopo is made up of 3 main ethnic groups namely; Pedi people, Tsonga and Venda people. Traditional leaders and chiefs still form a strong backbone of the province's political landscape. Established in terms of the Limpopo House of Tr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
32 Battalion (South Africa)
32 Battalion (sometimes nicknamed '' Buffalo Battalion'', ''Three-two battalion'' or pt, Os Terríveis for ''The Terrible Ones'') was a light infantry battalion of the South African Army founded in 1975, composed of black and white commissioned and enlisted personnel. It was disbanded on 26 March 1993. History Military refugees After the victory of the ''Movimento Popular de Libertação de Angola'' (MPLA) in the Angolan War of Independence in 1975, many troops of its main rival, the ''Frente Nacional de Libertação de Angola'' (National Liberation Front of Angola, FNLA), found refuge in the then South African-controlled South West Africa. Formation of Bravo Group From these troops, Colonel Jan Breytenbach together with Commandant Sybie van der Spuy formed a unit that was initially known as Bravo Group but later renamed 32 Battalion. Initially, Bravo Group consisted of two infantry companies, a mortar platoon, an anti-tank section and a machine gun platoon, but ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
