Northern Transvaal 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
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. ...
. It was active from 1959 to mid 2000 when it was disestablished. Formerly it was named Northern Command from 1946 to 1959.
History
Origins
Union Defence Force Military Districts
The command's origins may date to the formations of Military districts, No 5 and 6 in 1926, which then became Transvaal Command in 1934. Thereafter there were several quick name changes: Roberts Heights & Transvaal Command ; Voortrekkerhoogte & Transvaal Command 1939, and then Transvaal Command . Later the command became Northern Command in 1946; Northern Transvaal Command in 1959. In 1939 Roberts' Heights and Transvaal Command, with its headquarters at Roberts' Heights (now
Thaba Tshwane
Thaba Tshwane is a military base (or military area) in Pretoria, South Africa.
Units and facilities
The oldest building in the complex is the South African Garrison Institute, what is now known as the Army College. Lord Kitchener laid the corn ...
), contained
6th Infantry Brigade, 1 Field Survey Squadron SAEC, the artillery depot, parts of the
Special Service Battalion
The Special Service Battalion (SSB) is a South African military unit formed on 1 May 1933 under the patronage of Oswald Pirow, Minister of Defence. The object was to give training to youths, between the ages of 17 and 23, who, in the wake of t ...
, elements of the Permanent Garrison Artillery, and the Artillery School.
Its headquarters was 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 ...
, and within its command boundaries, it contained a number of important
Active Citizen Force
The South African Army is the principal Army, 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 Servi ...
field formations, notably
81 Armoured Brigade (part of
8th South African Armoured Division). Depending upon the command boundaries, it may also have included
72 Motorised Brigade with its headquarters at
Johannesburg
Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...
and
73 Motorised Brigade with its headquarters in the Johannesburg suburb of Kensington.
Under the SADF
In the early 1980s it became clear that the sheer size of Northern Transvaal Command's territory made command and control as well as logistical functions extremely difficult. These as well as other security considerations led to the decision to subdivide Northern Transvaal Command into three Commands in 1984: Northern Transvaal Command (Pretoria);
Eastern Transvaal Command
Eastern may refer to:
Transportation
*China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai
* Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways
*Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991
*Eastern Air L ...
, probably covering what later became the
Eastern Transvaal
Mpumalanga () is a province of South Africa. The name means "East", or literally "The Place Where the Sun Rises" in the Swazi, Xhosa, Ndebele and Zulu languages. Mpumalanga lies in eastern South Africa, bordering Eswatini and Mozambique. It ...
(
Nelspruit
Mbombela (also known as Nelspruit) is a city in northeastern South Africa. It is the capital of the Mpumalanga province. Located on the Crocodile River (Mpumalanga), Crocodile River, Mbombela lies about by road west of the Mozambique border, ea ...
); and
Far North Command (
) (commanded in succession by
Charles Lloyd and, from February 1987,
Georg Meiring
General Georg Meiring (born 18 October 1939) is a South African military commander. He served as Chief of the Army (1990–93) and Chief of the South African National Defence Force (1993–98).
Military career
After obtaining a Master of Sci ...
).
[Hamann, 'Days of the Generals,' p.62, for Meiring assumption-of-command date. For a contemporary view on Far North Command, see discussion in James Roherty, 'State Security in South Africa: Civil-Military Relations Under P.W. Botha,' 1992, 98–100.] The two new Commands were regarded as theatres and as such also had responsibility for conventional operations (and units) within their areas. For example,
Far North Command had
73 Motorised Brigade within its area.
Amalgamation with Witwatersrand Command into Gauteng Command
Groups and Commandos
Group 15 (Voortrekkerhoogte)
*
Broederstroom Commando
*
Bronkhorstspruit Commando
*
Hercules Commando
*
Hillcrest Commando
*
Irene Commando
*
Moot Commando
*
Munitoria Commando
*
Pretoria East Commando
*
Quaggapoort Commando
*
Schanskop Commando
*
Wonderboom Commando
Leadership
Notes
References
{{SA Army Units
Commands of the South African Army
Disbanded military units and formations in Pretoria
Military units and formations established in 1959
Military units and formations disestablished in 2000