Natal Command was a
Command
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
* ...
of the
South African Army. It was headquartered in
Durban
Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...
,
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 ...
. By the 1980s, it was responsible for the security of the region, forming the primary level of command for military operations in support of the Police. It also provided logistic, administrative and service support to units and formations operating in its area of responsibility.
History
Origin
Union Defence Force
Under the Union Defence Force, South Africa was originally divided into 9 military districts. Lieutenant Colonel J. Daniel was Officer Commanding on 3 September 1939.
The command included the
1st South African Brigade
The South African 1st Infantry Brigade was an infantry brigade of the army of the Union of South Africa during World Wars I and II. During World War I, the Brigade served as a British formation in Egypt and on the Western Front, most famous ...
at
Pietermaritzburg with two battalions of the
Royal Natal Carabineers and the
Umvoti Mounted Rifles, the
7th South African Infantry Brigade (including the
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 ( ...
), two batteries of the
South African Permanent Garrison Artillery, and the
Natal Field Artillery
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 ...
on 3 September 1939.
Brigadiers
Harold Willmott and
Deon Ferreira
Lieutenant General Deon Ferreira (died 2002) was a South African Army officer. He served as Chief of Joint Operations before his retirement.
Early life
Military career
He served in the infantry corps and later with the rank of colonel c ...
served as officers commanding Natal Command after the Second World War.
SADF
From August 1974
84 Motorised Brigade was based at the Old Fort Road Military Base in Durban. While the brigade was part of
8th South African Armoured Division rather than Natal Command, its units were mostly located within the command's boundaries. These included the
Durban Light Infantry
The Durban Light Infantry is a Motorised Infantry regiment of the South African Army. It lost its status as a Mechanised infantry regiment in 2010 in line with the rationalisation of resources. As a reserve unit, it has a status roughly equival ...
(located nearby in their historic buildings within the Greyville Racecourse), the
Durban Regiment,
84 Signal Unit SACS,
15 Maintenance Unit SAOSC,
19 Field Engineer Regiment SAEC, and
Natal Field Artillery
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 ...
. Other units seemingly associated with the brigade included 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 ...
and
Regiment Port Natal
Regiment Port Natal was a motorised infantry regiment of the South African Army. It formed part of the South African Army Infantry Formation. As a reserve unit, it had a status roughly equivalent to that of a present-day British Army Reserve or Un ...
, both infantry units.
![SADF era Natal Command insignia](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/19/SADF_era_Natal_Command_insignia.jpg)
In the early 1980s, the command included headquarters at Durban,
5 South African Infantry Battalion at
Ladysmith Ladysmith may refer to:
* Ladysmith, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
* Ladysmith, British Columbia, Canada
* Ladysmith, Wisconsin, United States
* Ladysmith, New South Wales, Australia
* Ladysmith, Virginia, United States
* Ladysmith Island, Queenslan ...
,
15 Maintenance Unit in Durban, and two
Commandos
Royal Marines from 40 Commando on patrol in the Sangin">40_Commando.html" ;"title="Royal Marines from 40 Commando">Royal Marines from 40 Commando on patrol in the Sangin area of Afghanistan are pictured
A commando is a combatant, or operativ ...
, the
Tugela Commando and the
Umvoti Commando, both based in Durban. It seems reasonably clear that in the research for ''World Armies'' a number of units assigned to the command at the time were missed.
84 Motorised Brigade became
9 South African Division in 1992, and later 75 Brigade, before disbanding with the creation of the 'type' formations.
Groups and Commandos
![SADF era Natal Command Commando structure](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/22/SADF_era_Natal_Command_Commando_structure.jpg)
For Territorial forces a structure of "groups" was established during the 1980s. Each of these regional groups fell under the authority of a Command and exercised operational control over a number of units, mostly Commandos.
Natal Command had three Groups (originally four) under command.
Group 9 (Pietermaritzburg)
*
Midland Commando
*
Midmar Commando
*
Natalia Commando
*
Umkomaas Commando
*
Umvoti Commando
*
Weenan-Kliprivier Commando
*
Griqualand East Commando
Group 10 (Montclair)
*
Bluff Commando
*
Durban North Commando
*
Durban South Commando
*
Highway Commando
*
Oribi Commando
*
South Coast Commando
*
Umgeni Commando
Group 11 (Dundee)
*
Drakensberg Commando
*
Dundee and District Commando
Group 27 (Eshowe)
*
Insele Commando
*
Northern Natal Commando
*
Pongola Commando
*
Tugela Commando
*
Umkhombe Commando
SANDF
SANDF director of facilities Brigadier General G Mngadi said the beach front property, formerly occupied by Headquarters Natal Command and later by the Joint Operations Division's eastern Joint Tactical Headquarters, “was leased by the National Department of Public Works for the
South African Defence Force
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 F ...
on a 99 year lease from the erstwhile Durban Corporation, now known as the
Ethekweni Municipality.”
Mngadi says that as a result of the consolidation of the facilities footprint in Durban, the facility had become superfluous and was returned to the city on October 16, 2009.
Leadership
Notes
References
See also
*
South African Army Order of Battle 1940
External links
*
*
*
*
*
{{SA Army Units
Commands of the South African Army
Disbanded military units and formations in Durban
Military units and formations disestablished in the 1990s