Research Articles (Military History)
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Browsing Research Articles (Military History) by Author "Kleynhans, Evert Philippus"
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- ItemThe "apostles of terror" : South Africa, the East African campaign, and the Battle of El Wak(Historical Association of South Africa, 2018-11) Kleynhans, Evert PhilippusShortly after the outbreak of the Second World War, the Union Defence Force (UDF) had to undergo a rapid transformation from an ageing defence force to one that could project offensive power across Africa. The formation of the 1st South African Division (1st SA Div) during 1940, and the subsequent deployment of South African troops to the East African theatre, afforded the UDF the opportunity to test its military capabilities under operational conditions against the Italian threat in Ethiopia (then Abyssinia) and Somalia (then Italian Somaliland). It had been 21 years since the Union of South Africa was last in a state of war, and the UDF’s first battle in East Africa is a prime tool by which to measure concepts such as force design, military innovation and the operational employment of forces, to name but a few. The Battle of El Wak was not only the UDF’s initial battle in the East African campaign, but also South Africa’s first battle during the Second World War. By drawing from primary archival material and secondary sources, the article concludes that the Battle of El Wak had a definite impact on the entire South African campaign in East Africa.
- ItemA critical analysis of the impact of water on the South African campaign in German South West Africa, 1914-1915(Historical Association of South Africa, 2016) Kleynhans, Evert PhilippusThe South African campaign in German South West Africa (GSWA) during the First World War depended largely on the access, availability and control of all water sources in the operational area. The Union Defence Force (UDF) appreciated the strategic nature of water before the invasion of GSWA in 1914, because it was well known that there were no permanent water sources along the routes of advance into the country. Fears about the possibility of German sabotage and poisoning of the available water remained a constant concern for the South African defence planners throughout the campaign, and adequate water supplies that were fit for both human and animal consumption became a strategic military concern. This meant that the Defence Force had to adopt a number of measures to meet the growing demand for water. Boreholes were sunk across the operational area and in addition, fresh water was transported across the Kalahari Desert by motor vehicles and via shipping from Cape Town. To some extent, the provision of safe drinking water dictated the pace of the South African campaign in GSWA.
- ItemDeneys Reitz and the First World War : an Introduction to the Department of Defence Archival Holdings(Stellenbosch University, Faculty of Military Science (Military Academy), 2016) Kleynhans, Evert PhilippusThe historical sources detailing South Africa’s participation in the First World War are vast, and range from official publications to regimental histories, private diaries and first-hand accounts. The Department of Defence (DOD) Documentation Centre is the custodian of all military archival material generated since the inception of the Department on 1 July 1912. Nonetheless, the material in the repository remains underutilised, despite the number of researchers who have worked or those who are now working on the military history of the Union Defence Force (UDF) during the Afrikaner Rebellion, as well as the campaigns fought in German South West Africa (GSWA), German East Africa (GEA), the Middle East and Europe. The centennial commemoration of the First World War gave rise to an increase in both professional and amateur military historical research, and a resurgence in First World War studies globally. A large number of researchers are expected to consult the First World War material at the Documentation Centre. An increase in interest in a variety of themes relating to South Africa and South African participation in the war is already detected. This article reports on a review of the Documentation Centre’s First World War holdings in relation to South Africa’s participation in the war by using Deneys Reitz, of Commando fame as a lens to illustrate the range of information available to researchers.
- ItemGood hunting : German submarine offensives and South African countermeasures off the South African coast during the Second World War, 1942-1945(Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Military Science (Military Academy), 2016) Kleynhans, Evert PhilippusBy the latter half of 1942, the High Command of the German U-boats (BdU) realised that the ‘sinking results’ of the North Atlantic had decreased immensely. The successes of the Allied anti-submarine operations in the North Atlantic precluded the successful employment of the German submarines in said waters. It was realised that the ‘sinking potential’ of the Cape Town–Freetown convoy route, in terms of tonnage, had increased exponentially by the latter half of 1942. This sudden increase was a direct result of the successful German submarine operations in the North Atlantic during 1939–1942. The first German submarine offensive in South African waters during 1942, Operation Eisbär, was aimed at striking a devastating blow to shipping off the South African coast. By the end of December 1942, an estimated 310 864 tons of shipping had been sunk through Operation Eisbär and the first U-cruiser operation alone. The success of Operation Eisbär led to a further two German submarine offensives being launched by the BdU in South African waters during the remainder of the Second World War, with a number of opportunistic attacks also made by submarines travelling to the Far East. This article has three specific aims. First, to discuss the Union Defence Force’s (UDF) threat perception and operational readiness in terms of the maritime defence of its coast, and the merchant shipping that rounded it, over the period September 1939 to October 1942. Second, to explain the nature and extent of the German submarine operations in South African waters[i]between October 1942 and February 1945. Last, the South African and Allied counter-measures to the German submarine threat off the South African coast will be discussed. By drawing from a myriad of primary archival sources, private and official correspondence, and a host of secondary sources, the background, nature, successes and failures of the German submarine operations, and the South African counter-measures are elucidated.
- ItemLegislative disconnect or institutional gatekeeping? challenges of researching South Africa's military past(Stellenbosch University, Faculty of Military Science (Military Academy), 2020) Kleynhans, Evert Philippus ; Gordon, WillThe Department of Defence Archive in Pretoria is the repository of all military documents generated by the Union Defence Force, the South African Defence Force and the South African National Defence Force. This makes it the foremost source of primary information for researchers of South African military history. However, an almost total ban on access to archival documents from 1 January 1970 onwards complicates research into later periods. In fact, anyone researching post-1970 military-related topics has to apply for access to archival documents through the Promotion of Access to Information Act. The traditional weapon in the armoury of the historian – the systematic trawling of archives – is thereby negated, while the methodology of post-1970 historical research differs significantly from commonly accepted historical practices. Finding aids, the only access route to classified information in this analogue archive, offer only the briefest descriptions of the content of files, and researchers need almost esoteric intuition to identify documents that are even remotely relevant to their research. Additionally, a fee is payable for declassification, and the process can take several months to complete. This review article reports on the theoretical workings of the Promotion of Access to Information Act, and uses an actual research example as a case study to illustrate the practical implications of conducting research at the Department of Defence Archive in South Africa based on classified military documentation.
- ItemOmega, oor en uit : die storie van ’n opstandige troep - François Verster(Stellenbosch University, Faculty of Military Science (Military Academy), 2019) Kleynhans, Evert PhilippusWar narratives are in essence categorised as a distinct literary kind of its own. In his masterpiece The soldier’s tale: Bearing witness to modern war, Samuel Hynes argues that mankind is generally curious about war. Hynes contends that it is often easier to respond to one man and his ‘war’, than to try to comprehend the overwhelming statistics associated with modern wars – especially in terms of the overwhelming numbers of soldiers, battles and casualties. For Hynes, it was important to “understand what war was like, and how it feels, we must … seek the reality in the personal witness of the men who were there”. As such, the recording of the personal narratives of soldiers are extremely important. These narratives, however, can be subdivided into two broad categories depending on differing needs – the need to report and the need to remember. Accounts that fall into the reporting category generally comprise letters, diaries and journals that are kept as the war unfolds. The value of these sources is varied, but in essence, they offer immediacy and directness in recording the personal experience of war. The second category comprises memoirs. Memoirs are indeed much more reflective in nature, in that they are written years after the actual experience of war. Moreover, memoirs give a selective overview of “what the young self did, what happened to him, what changed him”.