THE SOUTH AFRICAN ARMED FORCES AND THEIR LINK WITH THE UNITED KINGDOM AND COMMONWEALTH OF NATIONS 1910-1961

Abstract

The Point of Departure: The Military Transfer Concept
A cursory examination of the literature now available on the South African Defence Force would suggest that such literature contains an embarrassment of riches. A more careful scrutiny, however, suggests that. in terms of nominal measurement. it can be grouped into fairly discrete categories covering the first (1880-1881) and second (1899-1902) Anglo-Boer Wars, World Wars I and II, the Korean conflict. and the growth of the South African Defence Force as a natural complement to the world isolation engendered by the pursuit of the policy of apartheid. The last category is more appropriately considered as part of the civil-military and foreign policy history of the Republic of South Africa because of the severance of the Commonwealth tie in 1961 and the declaration of the arms embargo against the Republic in 1963.