Lieutenant-General Christiaan ('Matie') Ludolph de Wet du Toit DSO (born 23 September 1901, date of death 14 August 1982) was a South African military commander. He joined the South African Army

South African Army

The South African Army is the army of South Africa, first formed after the Union of South Africa was created in 1910.The South African military evolved within the tradition of frontier warfare fought by commando forces, reinforced by the Afrikaners' historical distrust of large standing armies...

 as an artilleryman in 1924, and during World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 he commanded divisional artillery in East Africa

East Africa

East Africa or Eastern Africa is the easterly region of the African continent, variably defined by geography or geopolitics. In the UN scheme of geographic regions, 19 territories constitute Eastern Africa:...

 and North Africa

North Africa

North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, linked by the Sahara to Sub-Saharan Africa. Geopolitically, the United Nations definition of Northern Africa includes eight countries or territories; Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia, and...

, before commanding an infantry brigade and an armoured brigade.

He served as Director-General of Land Forces, i.e. head of the army, from 1948 to 1950, and as Chief of the General Staff, i.e. head of the Union Defence Forces

South African National Defence Force

The South African National Defence Force is the armed forces of South Africa. The military as it exists today was created in 1994, following South Africa's first post-apartheid national elections and the adoption of a new constitution...

, from 1950 to 1956.

See also

• List of South African military chiefs
• South African Army
  South African Army
  The South African Army is the army of South Africa, first formed after the Union of South Africa was created in 1910.The South African military evolved within the tradition of frontier warfare fought by commando forces, reinforced by the Afrikaners' historical distrust of large standing armies...