The South African 3rd Infantry Division was an

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and marine i ...

division Division or divider may refer to: Mathematics *Division (mathematics), the inverse of multiplication *Division algorithm, a method for computing the result of mathematical division Military *Division (military), a formation typically consisting ...

of the

South African Army The South African Army is the principal land warfare force of South Africa, a part of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF), along with the South African Air Force, South African Navy and South African Military Health Service. ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

History

This division was formed in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

on 23 October 1940 with its headquarters in

Pretoria Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa. Pretoria straddles the Apies River and extends ...

. The 3rd Infantry Division as a whole did not go into combat, but its 7th Motorized brigade group participated in the 1942 Invasion of Madagascar. The division organised and trained the South African home defence forces, performed garrison duties and trained and supplied replacements for the 1st and 2nd Divisions deployed to East Africa and later to the Western Desert. The division was based in Pretoria until 1942, whereafter the division then moved to Ermelo in the Eastern

Transvaal Transvaal is a historical geographic term associated with land north of (''i.e.'', beyond) the Vaal River in South Africa. A number of states and administrative divisions have carried the name Transvaal. * South African Republic (1856–1902; af, ...

, although its constituent units were deployed as far as the then

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 1 ...

. On 4 April 1942 the division was redesignated the South African 3rd Armoured Division. This division was disbanded on 17 May 1943, without ever having been deployed. However, one of the division's constituent units, the 7th Motorised Brigade, did take part in the invasion of Madagascar.

Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

Hermanus Botha was the commander of the division from 23 August 1940 until its redesignation.

Order of battle

On formation in October 1940, the Division was structured as follows: *Division Troops **6th Light Field Brigade, SAA **8th, 9th, 10th Field Companies, SAEC? **17th Divisional Field Park Company, SAEC? *

7th South African Infantry Brigade 7 (seven) is the natural number following 6 and preceding 8. It is the only prime number preceding a cube. As an early prime number in the series of positive integers, the number seven has greatly symbolic associations in religion, mythology, ...

(Raised 11 July 1940 at Premier Mine) **1st

Pretoria Regiment The Pretoria Armour Regiment (formerly the Pretoria Regiment) is a reserve armoured regiment of the South African Army. History Origin The regiment was formed in Pretoria on 1 July 1913 as the 12th Infantry (Pretoria Regiment) – a unit of t ...

**1st

Witwatersrand Rifles The Bambatha Rifles (formerly the Witwatersrand Rifles) is a reserve mechanised infantry regiment of the South African Army. History Origin The Witwatersrand Rifles (often familiarly known as the "Wits Rifles or the Wit Rifles") was formed by ...

Regiment de la Rey The General de la Rey Regiment (formerly Regiment de la Rey) is an reserve infantry regiment of the South African Army. Formation The Regiment de la Rey was established in 1934 as one of the new Afrikaans language Citizen Force units of the ...

8th South African Infantry Brigade 8 (eight) is the natural number following 7 and preceding 9. In mathematics 8 is: * a composite number, its proper divisors being , , and . It is twice 4 or four times 2. * a power of two, being 2 (two cubed), and is the first number of t ...

(Raised 1 July 1940 in East London. Disbanded November 1940.) **The

Cape Town Highlanders The Cape Town Highlanders is a reserve mechanised infantry regiment of the South African Army. History Origins Descendants of Scottish immigrants to South Africa raised the Cape Town Highlanders in 1885. On 24 April of the same year, their se ...

Prince Alfred's Guard A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...

**The

First City Regiment The Chief Makhanda Regiment (formerly known as the First City) is a reserve air assault infantry regiment of the South African Army. History Colony Frontier The regiment was formed from the First City Volunteers (FCV) of Grahamstown that were ...

* 9th South African Infantry Brigade (Raised 15 July 1940 at Premier Mine) ** Regiment President Steyn (Until 22 Nov 40) **Die Middelandse Regiment **

Regiment Westelike Provinsie The General Jan Smuts Regiment (formerly ) is a reserve mechanised infantry regiment of the South African Army. History Origin Regiment Westelike Provinsie (RWP), was one of eight Afrikaner-oriented Traditional Citizen Force infantry uni ...

(Until 1 Sep 40) **2nd Pretoria Regiment (From Sep - Oct 40) **2nd

Transvaal Scottish Transvaal is a historical geographic term associated with land north of (''i.e.'', beyond) the Vaal River in South Africa. A number of states and administrative divisions have carried the name Transvaal. * South African Republic (1856–1902; af, ...

(From 4 Sep - 21 Nov 40) **2nd Royal Natal Carbineers (From 9 Sep - 3 Oct 40) **1st Regiment Botha (From Sep - Nov 40) **1st

Pretoria Highlanders The Pretoria Highlanders Regiment was a regiment of the South African Army. As a reserve unit, it had a status roughly equivalent to that of a British Army Reserve or United States Army National Guard unit. Though the regiment was disbanded, ...

(From Nov 40) **The

(From 6 Nov 40) **2nd

Natal Mounted Rifles NATAL or Natal may refer to: Places * Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, a city in Brazil * Natal, South Africa (disambiguation), a region in South Africa ** Natalia Republic, a former country (1839–1843) ** Colony of Natal, a former British colony ( ...

(From 23 Nov 40) *

10th South African Infantry Brigade 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1 ...

(Raised July 1940. Replaced 8th Bde in Nov 40.) **The

Kimberley Regiment The Kimberley Regiment is an infantry regiment of the South African Army. As a reserve unit, it has a status roughly equivalent to that of a British Army Reserve or United States Army National Guard unit. History Volunteer Forces on the Diamon ...

**2nd

**The First City Regiment *

11th South African Infantry Brigade 11 (eleven) is the natural number following 10 and preceding 12. It is the first repdigit. In English, it is the smallest positive integer whose name has three syllables. Name "Eleven" derives from the Old English ', which is first attested i ...

(Raised July 1940. Disbanded October 1940.) **2nd Witwatersrand Rifles **1st South-West African Infantry Battalion **2nd

Imperial Light Horse Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imperial, Nebraska * Imperial, Pennsylvania * Imperial, Texas ...

* 12th South African Infantry Brigade (Raised July 1940. Disbanded September 1940.) **2nd Royal Natal Carbineers **2nd Pretoria Regiment **2nd

Rand Light Infantry The Rand Light Infantry (RLI) is an infantry regiment of the South African Army. As a reserve unit, it has a status roughly equivalent to that of a British Army Reserve unit or United States Army National Guard unit. History Origin The history ...

Citations

{{SA Army Units South African World War II divisions Infantry divisions of South Africa Military units and formations of South Africa in World War II Military units and formations established in 1940 Military units and formations of the British Empire in World War II Military units and formations disestablished in 1942