Before 1957, the
Union of South Africa had relied on small standing cadres for defence, expanding during wartime through the use of white conscripts. During the
Second World War the Union Defence Force initially fielded only 3,353 full-time soldiers, with another 14,631 active in reserve roles. These troops were not prepared to fight in Europe proper, as they had hitherto been trained only in basic
light infantry tactics and bush warfare. After 1957, the new South African Defence Force was faced with a post-war upsurge in
African nationalism, and forced to expand its resources accordingly. In 1963 its total strength stood at around 25,000 men. South Africa responded by developing a powerful domestic arms industry, capable of producing quality hardware, including
jet fighters,
drones,
guided missiles,
armoured cars,
multiple rocket launchers, and
small arms. SADF units fought in the
Angolan Civil War during
Operation Savannah and were also active alongside
Rhodesian Security Forces during the
Rhodesian Bush War. Although both campaigns were strategically unsuccessful, it was clearly proven that South Africa's military was immeasurably superior in strength and sophistication than all her African neighbours combined. Shortly after Botha took office, the SADF numbered some 83,400 men (including 53,100 conscripts and 5,400 non-whites): one
armoured brigade, one
mechanised infantry brigade, four motorised brigades,
one parachute brigade, a
special reconnaissance regiment, one Marine brigade, twenty artillery regiments, supporting specialist units, a balanced air force, and a navy adequate for coastal protection in all. Namibia's
South West African Territorial Force, and four (Bophuthatswana, Ciskei, Transkei, and Venda)
Bantustan militaries. ,
Omusati,
Namibia. During Botha's term, the SADF began focusing on taking a more aggressive stance to the ongoing war against communist-supported liberation and anti-
Apartheid movements in South Africa and Namibia (then
South West Africa) and targeting neighboring countries that offered them support. This was partially justified as a new structure intended to turn back a "total onslaught" on the republic from abroad. The post-colonial rise of newly independent black governments on the administration's doorstep created a perceived menace to the existing structure, and Pretoria's occupation of Namibia threatened to bring it into direct confrontation with the world community. On the ground, militant guerrilla movements such as the
African National Congress (ANC),
South West African People's Organisation (SWAPO) and the
Pan Africanist Congress of Azania (PAC) challenged South Africa with force of arms. Military aircraft and special forces units deployed across
Zimbabwe,
Botswana,
Lesotho, and
Zambia to attack suspected insurgent bases. 30,000 South African military personnel were posted on the Namibian border by late 1985, frequently crossing the frontier to battle SWAPO groups operating from southern
Angola. SWAPO's
MPLA allies, with the
backing of the
Cuban military, were often unable to protect them. Most high-profile terrorist attacks were foiled or offered negative publicity from a normally sympathetic international stage. By the fall of apartheid in 1991, the SADF was an uneven reflection of both the strengths and weaknesses of South Africa's white society at large. It employed many personnel with developed technical skills; thus, the military could more easily maintain and operate sophisticated hardware than black African forces drawn from underdeveloped regions. Commanders deferred to civilian supervisors and normally could not aspire to political power. The SADF's technical performance had also improved greatly, owing largely to realistic and efficient training procedures. White soldiers were for the most part reasonably motivated; conscripts had a sense of defending their own country rather than some far-off foreign venture. Commissioned officers generally accepted in principle recruits of all colours, placed an emphasis on technical efficiency, and preferred to fight a foreign rather than domestic enemy despite extensive preparation for both.
Integration As apartheid ended in
1994, the SADF was transformed into the SANDF, the
South African National Defence Force. ==Organisation==