Jan Dirk Breytenbach (born 14 July 1932) is a retired career

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

n Special Forces military officer and author of military books. He is best known as the first commander of 1 Reconnaissance Commando, South Africa's first special-forces unit. In his long career, he served in the Suez Crisis, the

Biafran War The Nigerian Civil War (6 July 1967 – 15 January 1970), also known as the Nigerian–Biafran War or the Biafran War, was a civil war fought between Nigeria and the Republic of Biafra, a secessionist state which had declared its independence ...

, the

South African Border War The South African Border War, also known as the Namibian War of Independence, and sometimes denoted in South Africa as the Angolan Bush War, was a largely asymmetric conflict that occurred in Namibia (then South West Africa), Zambia, and Ango ...

, and the

Angolan Civil War The Angolan Civil War ( pt, Guerra Civil Angolana) was a civil war in Angola, beginning in 1975 and continuing, with interludes, until 2002. The war immediately began after Angola became independent from Portugal in November 1975. The war was ...

, and attained the rank of colonel before his retirement.

Military career

Breytenbach attended the Army Gymnasium in 1950, and was awarded the Sword of Peace in 1953 and joined the Royal Navy

Fleet Air Arm The Fleet Air Arm (FAA) is one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy and is responsible for the delivery of naval air power both from land and at sea. The Fleet Air Arm operates the F-35 Lightning II for maritime strike, the AW159 Wil ...

after serving in the Armoured Corps and saw service in the Suez Crisis in 1956. He rejoined the South African Defence Force in 1961 and soon after completed one of 1 Parachute Battalion's courses.

Fritz Loots Major General Frederich ('Fritz') Wilhelm Loots (19172008) was a general in the South African Defence Force (SADF). He was founder of the South African Special Forces The South African Special Forces Brigade, colloquially known as the Re ...

commissioned him to organise 1 Reconnaissance Commando in 1971. In 1975 Breytenbach led

Operation Savannah Operation Savanna (or Operation Savannah) was the first insertion of SOE trained Free French paratroops into German-occupied France during World War II. This SOE mission, requested by the Air Ministry, was to ambush and kill as many pilots as ...

, the SADF's covert intervention in the

. The remnants of this group became the elite 32 Battalion, or "Buffalo Battalion". He attended Staff College in 1977 and was promoted to colonel. In 1978, led the SADF air assault on Cassinga, and has continued to the present day to contest opposing versions of the event in the press.http://etd.uwc.ac.za/xmlui/bitstream/handle/11394/1711/Shigwedha_PHD_2011.pdf He became senior staff officer for operations at Northern Transvaal Command and commanded 44 Parachute Brigade from 24 September 1980 to 31 December 1982. He founded the SADF Guerilla school, which he commanded until his retirement. Breytenbach retired from the military in 1987, and has written a number of books since then. He is the brother of South African poet and writer

Breyten Breytenbach Breyten Breytenbach (; born 16 September 1939) is a South African writer, poet and painter known for his opposition to apartheid, and consequent imprisonment by the South African government. He is informally considered as the national poet lau ...

and of war correspondent/photographer Cloete Breytenbach. During the 1980s, Breyten and Jan Breytenbach held strongly opposing political viewpoints, so with his brother opting for a more left-wing approach, this influential family effectively covered the political spectrum.

Awards and decorations

* * * * * * * * * * * Naval General Service Medal 1915 BAR

Naval General Service Medal (United Kingdom)

Books by Jan Breytenbach

* * * * * * *

References

External links

The Silent War – Book on SA Special Forces History32 Battalion WebsiteSA Army Website.
* ttp://www.recce.co.za/ South African Special Forces League* {{DEFAULTSORT:Breytenbach, Jan Living people Afrikaner people South African people of German descent South African Army officers 1932 births Place of birth missing (living people) South African writers South African military personnel of the Border War Fleet Air Arm personnel

Military career

Awards and decorations

Books by Jan Breytenbach

See also

References

External links