Orange Free State 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. ...

, active from to . Its headquarters was at

Bloemfontein Bloemfontein, ( ; , "fountain of flowers") also known as Bloem, is one of South Africa's three capital cities and the capital of the Free State (province), Free State province. It serves as the country's judicial capital, along with legisla ...

, seemingly for a period at the Tempe airfield, later to become the Tempe Military Base.

History

Origin

Union Defence Force Military Districts

The command was originally Military District No. 4, formed in 1926. In 19331934 it became Orange Free State Command, and then may have become Central Command around 1939.The Officers commanding the new Commands were usually Brigadiers all units in those areas fell under them as far as training, housing, administration , discipline and counter insurgency was concerned.

Dan Pienaar Major General Daniel Hermanus Pienaar (27 August 1893 – 19 December 1942) was a South African World War II military commander. Early life and career He was born in Ladybrand, Orange Free State and in his youth grew up in Natal. His family ...

served as officer commanding from 4 January 1935 to January 1937, before being transferred to take command of the Roberts' Heights and Transvaal Command at

Voortrekkerhoogte 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 ...

which he commanded from 17 October 1938 to May 1940. On 3 September 1939 the command included the 4th Infantry Brigade (including Regiment President Steyn, RLW,

Regiment de Wet Chief Albert Luthuli Regiment (formerly Regiment De Wet) is a reserve infantry battalion of the South African Army. History Origins Regiment de Wet was one of six Afrikaans-speaking Citizen Force regiments established as part of the expansion ...

, and 4 Field Company SAEC, a pioneer battalion, and an artillery regiment, the Orange Free State Field Artillery (''O.V.S. Veld Artillerie'' in

Afrikaans Afrikaans (, ) is a West Germanic language that evolved in the Dutch Cape Colony from the Dutch vernacular of Holland proper (i.e., the Hollandic dialect) used by Dutch, French, and German settlers and their enslaved people. Afrikaans gra ...

). The OVSVA may have later become the Orange Free State Artillery, and later, in turn, 6 Field Regiment

South African Artillery South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþaz ...

In 1959 the Command was renamed back to Orange Free State Command. Later Brig Pieter Grobbelaar commanded. In April 1978

44 Parachute Brigade 44 may refer to: * 44 (number) * one of the years 44 BC, AD 44, 1944, 2044 Military *44M Tas, a Hungarian medium/heavy tank design of World War II *44M Tas Rohamlöveg, a Hungarian tank destroyer design of World War II, derived from the 44M Tas ta ...

was formed within its command boundaries and Brigadier M. J. du Plessis, OC OFS Command, took over as the brigade commander.

SADF

In 1984 the command was reported to include: * 2 Field Engineer Regiment SAEC (

Bethlehem, Free State Bethlehem is a town in the eastern Free State province of South Africa that is situated on the Liebenbergs river (also called Liebenbergs Vlei) along a fertile valley just north of the Rooiberg Mountains on the N5 road. It is the fastest growin ...

) * 17 Field Squadron SAEC (

) * 35 Engineering Supplementary Unit (

Kroonstad Kroonstad (Afrikaans directly translated "Crown City") is the third largest city in the Free State (after Bloemfontein and Welkom) and lies two hours' drive on the N1 from Gauteng. Maokeng is an area within Kroonstad, and is occasionally used ...

) * Tank Squadron, 1 Special Service Battalion (Bloemfontein) * 1 South African Infantry (Bloemfontein) * 1 Parachute Battalion (Bloemfontein) *

3 Military Hospital 3 (three) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious or cultural significance in many societie ...

(Bloemfontein) SADF Orange Free State Command Support Structure

Around 1991

was subordinated to OFS Command. McGill Alexander writes that: "… The status of being an independent formation consequently disappeared, and from being directly under command of Chief of the Army 4 Parachute Brigadefell into the position of having three bosses: the Officer Commanding Rapid Deployment Force for conventional operations and exercises, Director of Operations at Army HQ for routine and unscheduled deployments inside the country and the Officer Commanding OFS Command for everything else." Brigadier

Reginald Otto Lieutenant General Reginald Otto (9 July 1943 – 5 July 2022) was a South African military commander, who held the post of Chief of the South African Army. Military career He joined the South African Army in 1964 after completing his schoo ...

served as officer commanding OFS Command, and later became

Chief of the South African Army Chief may refer to: Title or rank Military and law enforcement * Chief master sergeant, the ninth, and highest, enlisted rank in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force * Chief of police, the head of a police department * Chief of the boa ...

. On 7 October 1999, the acting General Officer Commanding OFS Command, Brigadier General Hans Heinze, denied the existence of racial tensions at Tempe Military Base.

Groups and Commando Units

SADF era Free State Command Commando Structure

Group 24 (Kroonstad)

* Frankfort Commando * Heilbron Commando * Hoopstad Commando * Koppies Commando * Kroonstad Commando * Lindley Commando * Parys Commando * Sasol Commando * Sasolburg Commando * Senekal Commando * Virginia Commando * Vrede Commando

Group 25 (Bethlehem)

* Bethlehem Commando * Harrismith Commando * Reitz Commando

Group 26

* Jacobsdal Commando * Phillipolis Commando * Winburg Commando * Zastron Commando

Group 34 (Welkom)

* Bothaville Commando * Bultfontein Commando * Odendaalsrus Commando * Sanrivier Commando, Henneman * Theunissen Commando * Goldfields Commando

Group 35 (Bloemfontein)

* Bloemfontein City Commando * Bloemfontein District Commando * Brandfort Commando * Edenburg Commando * Ficksburg Commando *

Rouxville Commando Rouxville 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 With the Orange Free State Republic Rouxvi ...

* Smithfield Commando * University OFS Commando * Wepener Commando * Fouriesburg Commando

Group 36 (Ladybrand)

* Caledon River Commando * Fauriesmith Commando * Ladybrand Commando * Senekal Commando

Leadership

http://m24arg02.naspers.com/argief/berigte/dieburger/1995/07/07/6/18.html

References

{{SA Army Units Commands of the South African Army Disbanded military units and formations in Bloemfontein Military units and formations established in the 1930s Military units and formations disestablished in the 1990s