Natal Command was a Command of the South African Army. It was headquartered in Durban, South Africa. By the 1980s, it was responsible for the security of the region, forming the primary level of command for military operations in support of the Police. It also provided logistic, administrative and service support to units and formations operating in its area of responsibility.[2]
History
Origin
Union Defence Force
Under the Union Defence Force, South Africa was originally divided into 9 military districts. Lieutenant Colonel J. Daniel SAStC was Officer Commanding on 3 September 1939.[3] The command included the 1st South African Brigade at Pietermaritzburg with two battalions of the Royal Natal Carabineers and the Umvoti Mounted Rifles, the 7th South African Infantry Brigade (including the Natal Mounted Rifles), two batteries of the South African Permanent Garrison Artillery, and the Natal Field Artillery on 3 September 1939.[1][4]
From August 1974 84 Motorised Brigade was based at the Old Fort Road Military Base in Durban. While the brigade was part of 8th South African Armoured Division rather than Natal Command, its units were mostly located within the command's boundaries. These included the Durban Light Infantry (located nearby in their historic buildings within the Greyville Racecourse), the Durban Regiment, 84 Signal Unit SACS, 15 Maintenance Unit SAOSC,[6]19 Field Engineer Regiment SAEC, and Natal Field Artillery. Other units seemingly associated with the brigade included the First City Regiment and Regiment Port Natal, both infantry units.
SADF era Natal Command insignia
In the early 1980s, the command included headquarters at Durban, 5 South African Infantry Battalion at Ladysmith, 15 Maintenance Unit in Durban, and two Commandos, the Tugela Commando and the Umvoti Commando,[a] both based in Durban.[7] It seems reasonably clear that in the research for World Armies a number of units assigned to the command at the time were missed.
84 Motorised Brigade became 9 South African Division in 1992, and later 75 Brigade, before disbanding c. 1999 with the creation of the 'type' formations.
Groups and Commandos
SADF era Natal Command Commando structure
For Territorial forces a structure of "groups" was established during the 1980s. Each of these regional groups fell under the authority of a Command and exercised operational control over a number of units, mostly Commandos.
Natal Command had three Groups (originally four) under command.
SANDF director of facilities Brigadier General G Mngadi said the beach front property, formerly occupied by Headquarters Natal Command and later by the Joint Operations Division's eastern Joint Tactical Headquarters, “was leased by the National Department of Public Works for the South African Defence Force on a 99 year lease from the erstwhile Durban Corporation, now known as the Ethekweni Municipality.” Mngadi says that as a result of the consolidation of the facilities footprint in Durban, the facility had become superfluous and was returned to the city on October 16, 2009.[8]
^ abcd"South African Army 1939 - 1940" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 August 2014. Retrieved 12 January 2014.
^ ab"Unit Profiles: Natal Command". Warinangola.com. Retrieved 24 December 2014.
^ abc"Order of Battle Union of South Africa Union Defence Forces Natal Command Staff 3 September 1939". Retrieved 24 December 2014.[dead link]
^"Union Defence Forces of South African — Peacetime Administrative Organization Natal Command 3 September 1939". World War II Armed Forces — Orders of Battle and Organizations. Retrieved 24 December 2014.
^ abc"Senior Offisiere in Bevel - Senior Officers in Command". sadf.info. Retrieved 24 December 2014.
^"Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-12-27. Retrieved 2014-12-27.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
^John Keegan, World Armies, cited in Lt Cdr Carl T. Orbann USN, 'South African Defense Policy,' Thesis for the Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, CA., June 1984, 124.
^Engelbrecht, Leon (3 December 2009). "Old "Natal Command" site vacated". defenceweb.co.za. DefenceWeb. Retrieved 24 December 2014.
^ abAnonymous. Natal Command:A Brief History. Natal Command.
^Nöthling, C.J.; Meyers, E.M. (1982). "Leiers Deur die Jare (1912-1982)" (Online). Scientia Militaria: South African Journal of Military Studies (in Afrikaans). 12 (2). doi:10.5787/12-2-631. ISSN 2224-0020.
^Anonymous. Natal Command:The Military History of Natal 1486-1990. Unpublished manuscript.
^Anon. Natal Command in Focus. South African Army.
Bergh, Willem; Smith, William; Botha, Willem; Laing, Michael (June 1992). "THE PLACE OF NATAL COMMAND IN THE HISTORY OF WORLD SCIENCE". Military History Journal. 9 (1). The South African Military History Society. Retrieved 20 October 2014.
Bergh, Willem; Smith, William; Botha, Willem; Laing, Michael. "The Place of Natal Command in the History of World Science". Facts About Durban. Retrieved 20 October 2014.
"KZN A Photographic Record - Natal Command".
"MAGOOS BOMB MEANT FOR SECURITY PERSONNEL: TRC".
Hesom, Ross (2009). From Boys to Men: A Victim of Conscription. ISBN 9780981207902.
