South African Commando System
Encyclopedia
The South African Commando System is a voluntary, part-time force of the South African Army
. but serves under the South African Police Service
.
Each community is divided up into smaller more manageable sections called cells. Each cell comprises a number of farmers and or households, depending on the size of the area and dispersion of the area’s inhabitants. Cell members are in contact with each other by means of telephone or a radio system which serves as a backup communication system in the event of the telephone lines being out of order. Alternative communication systems are therefore a vital element of the protection plan of any cell. The cell members have a communication link with their cell leader (who is elected by the members) who, in turns, has a communication link with the local police station. This ensures quick reaction by the police in the event of an attack. The cell leader can notify the local Commando if a stronger force is required.
This process of communication is time-consuming and, therefore, the members of a cell should be able to protect themselves and rely on support from neighbours and other members of the cell to ensure immediate response in an emergency. For this reason a cell must plan for certain contingencies before they happen. The local Commando will assist the cells with drawing up contingency plans.
The early Boer Commando
system was a conscriptive
service designed to provide a quickly-trained fighting force.
Commandos were a product of the First Boer War
during which the fiercely independent Boers had no regular army. When danger threatened, all the men in a district would form a militia organised into military units called commandos and would elect officers. Being civilian militia, each man wore what they wished, usually everyday neutral or earthtone khaki
farming clothes such as a jacket, trousers and slouch hat. Each man brought his own weapon, usually a hunting rifle, and his own horses. The average Boer citizens who made up their commandos were farmers who had spent almost all their working life in the saddle, and because they had to depend on both their horse and their rifle for almost all of their meat, they were skilled hunters and expert marksmen. Most of the Boers had single-shot breech loading rifle such as the Westley Richards
, the Martini-Henry
, or the Remington Rolling Block
. Only a few had repeaters like the Winchester
or the Swiss Vetterli. As hunters they had learned to fire from cover, from a prone position and to make the first shot count, knowing that if they missed the game would be long gone. At community gatherings, target shooting was a major sport and competitions used targets such as hens eggs perched on posts 100 yards away. The commandos became expert light cavalry
, making use of every scrap of cover, from which they could pour an accurate and destructive fire at the British with their breech loading rifles which could be rapidly aimed, fired, and reloaded.
After the declaration of peace in 1902, the commandos were disbanded. They did reform themselves in clandestine "shooting clubs". In 1912, the commandos were reformed as an Active Citizen Force
in the Union Defence Force
. This system was in operation until in February 2003, President Mbeki announced the disbanding of the commando system over six years, to be replaced by 'specialised police units'. The Democratic Alliance has stated that this action is a 'total disaster'.
It's spokesman, Armiston Watson said that "the disbanding of the rural commandos (announced by the government in 2003) was an irresponsible political move which now leaves all farmers and farm workers defenceless and easy targets for criminals."
Agri SA Chairman Kiewiet Ferreira, a farmer in the central Free State Province town of Harrismith
said: "We need commandos, and we see them as one of the backbones of the rural protection plan, without a doubt" He also pointed out that, in 1998, former President
Nelson Mandela
included the commandos in a rural security plan, and "encouraged farmers, especially white farmers, to join the commandos and help in rural protection".
"If you [take into account] how many operations commandos have been involved in, under the police - more than 50,000 operations in 2001 and 37,000 operations in 2002 (most of them road-blockades, foot patrols, vehicle patrols, farm visits, manning of observation posts) - that's nearly 90,000 operations in two years," Ferreira said.
each commando was attached to a town, after which it was named (e.g. Bloemfontein
Commando). Each town was responsible for a district, divided into wards. The Commando was commanded by a Kommandant and each ward by a Veldkornet or fieldcornet - equavilent of a senior NCO rank.
The Veldkornet was responsible not only for calling up the burghers, but also for policing his ward, collecting taxes, issuing firearms and other material in times of war. Theoretically, a ward was divided into corporalships. A corporalship was usually made up of about 20 burghers. Sometimes entire families filled a corporalship.
The Veldkornet was responsible to the Kommandant, who in turn was responsible to a General. In theory, a General was responsible for four commandos. He in turn was Responsible to the Commander-in-Chief (CIC) of the Republic. In the Transvaal
, the CIC was called the Commandant-General
and in the Free State the Hoofdkommandant or Chief Commandant. The CIC was responsible to the President.
Other auxiliary ranks were created in war time, such as Vleiskorporaal ("meat corporal"), responsible for issuing rations.
The retirement age of members of the commandos is 65 though it can be extended to 75 years.
In a document called: Ploughing in Resources - The Investigation of Farm Attacks it says:
Charles Nqakula
.http://allafrica.com/stories/200805290408.html
The last commando unit, that at Harrismith in the Free State, was disbanded in March 2008. At their peak 186 of these units, ranging in size from a company to a battalion, existed.
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...
. but serves under the South African Police Service
South African Police Service
The South African Police Service is the national police force of the Republic of South Africa. Its 1116 police stations in South Africa are divided according to the provincial borders, and a Provincial Commissioner is appointed in each province...
.
Mission
Commandos are responsible for the safeguarding and protection of a specific community (both rural or urban). Commando services are usually referred to as area protection, a system which involves the whole community. The participants in the Commando system do not have military commitments outside of the areas they serve, and are responsible for the safety and security of their own communities.Each community is divided up into smaller more manageable sections called cells. Each cell comprises a number of farmers and or households, depending on the size of the area and dispersion of the area’s inhabitants. Cell members are in contact with each other by means of telephone or a radio system which serves as a backup communication system in the event of the telephone lines being out of order. Alternative communication systems are therefore a vital element of the protection plan of any cell. The cell members have a communication link with their cell leader (who is elected by the members) who, in turns, has a communication link with the local police station. This ensures quick reaction by the police in the event of an attack. The cell leader can notify the local Commando if a stronger force is required.
This process of communication is time-consuming and, therefore, the members of a cell should be able to protect themselves and rely on support from neighbours and other members of the cell to ensure immediate response in an emergency. For this reason a cell must plan for certain contingencies before they happen. The local Commando will assist the cells with drawing up contingency plans.
History
The Commando system has existed since the 1770s.The early Boer Commando
Boer Commando
The Boer commando was the basic unit of organisation of the militia of the Boer people of South Africa. The term came into English usage during the Second Boer War.-History:...
system was a conscriptive
Conscription
Conscription is the compulsory enlistment of people in some sort of national service, most often military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and continues in some countries to the present day under various names...
service designed to provide a quickly-trained fighting force.
First Boer War
The First Boer War also known as the First Anglo-Boer War or the Transvaal War, was fought from 16 December 1880 until 23 March 1881-1877 annexation:...
during which the fiercely independent Boers had no regular army. When danger threatened, all the men in a district would form a militia organised into military units called commandos and would elect officers. Being civilian militia, each man wore what they wished, usually everyday neutral or earthtone khaki
Khaki
This article is about the fabric. For the color, see Khaki . Kaki, another name for the persimmon, is often misspelled "Khaki".Khaki is a type of fabric or the color of such fabric...
farming clothes such as a jacket, trousers and slouch hat. Each man brought his own weapon, usually a hunting rifle, and his own horses. The average Boer citizens who made up their commandos were farmers who had spent almost all their working life in the saddle, and because they had to depend on both their horse and their rifle for almost all of their meat, they were skilled hunters and expert marksmen. Most of the Boers had single-shot breech loading rifle such as the Westley Richards
Westley Richards
Westley Richards is one of the oldest surviving traditional English gunmakers. It was founded in 1812 by William Westley Richards. Their inventions included the Anson & Deeley boxlock action and the Droplock, which equals in status James Purdey's self opening and Holland & Holland's removable...
, the Martini-Henry
Martini-Henry
The Martini-Henry was a breech-loading single-shot lever-actuated rifle adopted by the British, combining an action worked on by Friedrich von Martini , with the rifled barrel designed by Scotsman Alexander Henry...
, or the Remington Rolling Block
Remington Rolling Block
The Remington Rolling Block rifle was a breech-loading rifle produced in the late 19th century by E. Remington and Sons...
. Only a few had repeaters like the Winchester
Winchester rifle
In common usage, Winchester rifle usually means any of the lever-action rifles manufactured by the Winchester Repeating Arms Company, though the company has also manufactured many rifles of other action types...
or the Swiss Vetterli. As hunters they had learned to fire from cover, from a prone position and to make the first shot count, knowing that if they missed the game would be long gone. At community gatherings, target shooting was a major sport and competitions used targets such as hens eggs perched on posts 100 yards away. The commandos became expert light cavalry
Light cavalry
Light cavalry refers to lightly armed and lightly armored troops mounted on horses, as opposed to heavy cavalry, where the riders are heavily armored...
, making use of every scrap of cover, from which they could pour an accurate and destructive fire at the British with their breech loading rifles which could be rapidly aimed, fired, and reloaded.
After the declaration of peace in 1902, the commandos were disbanded. They did reform themselves in clandestine "shooting clubs". In 1912, the commandos were reformed as an Active Citizen Force
Citizen Force
The Citizen Force was the name of the general military reserve force of several British Commonwealth countries.-Australian:Since the Federation of Australia in 1901, the reserve military force has been known by many names, including the Citizens Forces, the Citizen Military Forces, the Militia and,...
in the Union Defence Force
Union Defence Force
The Union Defence Force may refer to a former or current military organization:* the South African Army from 1912 to 1957* the military of the United Arab Emirates...
. This system was in operation until in February 2003, President Mbeki announced the disbanding of the commando system over six years, to be replaced by 'specialised police units'. The Democratic Alliance has stated that this action is a 'total disaster'.
It's spokesman, Armiston Watson said that "the disbanding of the rural commandos (announced by the government in 2003) was an irresponsible political move which now leaves all farmers and farm workers defenceless and easy targets for criminals."
Agri SA Chairman Kiewiet Ferreira, a farmer in the central Free State Province town of Harrismith
Harrismith
Harrismith, named after Sir Harry Smith, is a large town in the Free State province of South Africa, situated on the N3 highway approximately midway between Johannesburg, about 300 km north-east, and Durban. The town is at the junction with the N5 highway, which continues west towards the...
said: "We need commandos, and we see them as one of the backbones of the rural protection plan, without a doubt" He also pointed out that, in 1998, former President
President of South Africa
The President of the Republic of South Africa is the head of state and head of government under South Africa's Constitution. From 1961 to 1994, the head of state was called the State President....
Nelson Mandela
Nelson Mandela
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999, and was the first South African president to be elected in a fully representative democratic election. Before his presidency, Mandela was an anti-apartheid activist, and the leader of Umkhonto we Sizwe, the armed wing...
included the commandos in a rural security plan, and "encouraged farmers, especially white farmers, to join the commandos and help in rural protection".
"If you [take into account] how many operations commandos have been involved in, under the police - more than 50,000 operations in 2001 and 37,000 operations in 2002 (most of them road-blockades, foot patrols, vehicle patrols, farm visits, manning of observation posts) - that's nearly 90,000 operations in two years," Ferreira said.
Structure
At least during the Second Boer WarSecond Boer War
The Second Boer War was fought from 11 October 1899 until 31 May 1902 between the British Empire and the Afrikaans-speaking Dutch settlers of two independent Boer republics, the South African Republic and the Orange Free State...
each commando was attached to a town, after which it was named (e.g. Bloemfontein
Bloemfontein
Bloemfontein is the capital city of the Free State Province of South Africa; and, as the judicial capital of the nation, one of South Africa's three national capitals – the other two being Cape Town, the legislative capital, and Pretoria, the administrative capital.Bloemfontein is popularly and...
Commando). Each town was responsible for a district, divided into wards. The Commando was commanded by a Kommandant and each ward by a Veldkornet or fieldcornet - equavilent of a senior NCO rank.
The Veldkornet was responsible not only for calling up the burghers, but also for policing his ward, collecting taxes, issuing firearms and other material in times of war. Theoretically, a ward was divided into corporalships. A corporalship was usually made up of about 20 burghers. Sometimes entire families filled a corporalship.
The Veldkornet was responsible to the Kommandant, who in turn was responsible to a General. In theory, a General was responsible for four commandos. He in turn was Responsible to the Commander-in-Chief (CIC) of the Republic. In the Transvaal
South African Republic
The South African Republic , often informally known as the Transvaal Republic, was an independent Boer-ruled country in Southern Africa during the second half of the 19th century. Not to be confused with the present-day Republic of South Africa, it occupied the area later known as the South African...
, the CIC was called the Commandant-General
Commandant-General
Commandant-General is a rank in several counties and is generally equivalent to that of Commandant.-Italy:Comandante generale , in Fascist Italy's MVSN, was the title of the head of the Blackshirts, held by Benito Mussolini from 1922 to 1943.Nowadays, is the title held by the commander of the...
and in the Free State the Hoofdkommandant or Chief Commandant. The CIC was responsible to the President.
Other auxiliary ranks were created in war time, such as Vleiskorporaal ("meat corporal"), responsible for issuing rations.
"The farmer-commandos receive a few weekends of training as army reservists and are each given an assault rifle. When they respond to an incident, the police do, too. But the police force is stretched thin in farm areas, trying to cover vast areas with few officers or vehicles. The farmers often get there much sooner."
The retirement age of members of the commandos is 65 though it can be extended to 75 years.
In a document called: Ploughing in Resources - The Investigation of Farm Attacks it says:
Group Headquarters about 2005
- Group 1 HQ - Kelvin GSB Youngsfield SA Army Infantry Formation 10 x Commandos
- Group 2 HQ - Oudtshoorn GSB Oudtshoorn SA Army Infantry Formation 8 x Commandos
- Group 6 HQ - Port Elizabeth GSB Port Elizabeth SA Army Infantry Formation 15 x Commandos
- Group 9 HQ - Pietermarizburg GSB Durban SA Army Infantry Formation 5 x Commandos
- Group 10 HQ - Montclair GSB Durban SA Army Infantry Formation 5 x Commandos
- Group 12 HQ - Ermelo GSB Nelspruit SA Army Infantry Formation 11 x Commandos
- Group 14 HQ - Pietersburg GSB Pietersburg SA Army Infantry Formation 7 x Commandos
- Group 15 HQ - Thaba Tshwane GSB Thaba Tshwane SA Army Infantry Formation 6 x Commandos
- Group 16 HQ - Marievale GSB Johannesburg SA Army Infantry Formation 8 x Commandos
- Group 18 HQ - Doornkop GSB Johannesburg SA Army Infantry Formation 11 x Commandos
- Group 20 HQ - Mnabatho GSB Potchefstroom SA Army Infantry Formation 9 x Commandos
- Group 22 HQ - Diskobolos GSB Kimberley SA Army Infantry Formation 10 x Commandos
- Group 23 HQ - Upington GSB Lohathla SA Army Infantry Formation 7 x Commandos
- Group 24 HQ - Kroonstad GSB Kroonstad SA Army Infantry Formation 17 x Commandos
- Group 27 HQ - Eshowe GSB Ladysmith SA Army Infantry Formation 5 x Commandos
- Group 30 HQ - Potchefstroom GSB Potchefstroom SA Army Infantry Formation 12 x Commandos
- Group 33 HQ - Nelspruit GSB Nelspruit SA Army Infantry Formation 8 x Commandos
- Group 36 HQ - Tempe GSB Bloemfontein SA Army Infantry Formation 16 x Commandos
- Group 46 HQ - Umtata GSB Port Elizabeth SA Army Infantry Formation 7 x Commandos
Disbandment
The number of individual commandos varied according to different sources, but it is estimated that there were between 50,000 and 70,000. However, this system was phased out between 2003 and 2008 “because of the role it played in the apartheid era”, according to the Minister of Safety and SecuritySouth African Ministry of Safety and Security
The Department of Police is one of the departments of the South African government. It oversees the South African Police Service and the Independent Complaints Directorate...
Charles Nqakula
Charles Nqakula
Charles Nqakula is a South African politician who has been Minister of Defence since September 2008. He was Minister of Safety and Security from May 2002 to September 2008. Tipped as a contender for the future presidency of South Africa, he is concurrently national chairperson of the South African...
.http://allafrica.com/stories/200805290408.html
The last commando unit, that at Harrismith in the Free State, was disbanded in March 2008. At their peak 186 of these units, ranging in size from a company to a battalion, existed.
Weaponry
From the early days up until the present, the commandos were issued with firearms by the government of the day. The burghers were obliged to keep these firearms serviceable and ready at all times.See also
- South African National Defence ForceSouth African National Defence ForceThe 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...
- Citizen ForceCitizen ForceThe Citizen Force was the name of the general military reserve force of several British Commonwealth countries.-Australian:Since the Federation of Australia in 1901, the reserve military force has been known by many names, including the Citizens Forces, the Citizen Military Forces, the Militia and,...
- Permanent ForcePermanent ForceThe Permanent Force was an integral part of both the South African Defence Force and the South West Africa Territorial Force and other British Commonwealth militaries. It consisted of all the full time volunteers, volunteers of auxiliaries and national servicemen....
- South African farm attacks