The South African mobilisation of 1914 and the 1st invasion of German SW Africa
This talk by Ian van der Waag was delivered 'live' to an online audience. In this, Ian discusses the German South-West Africa campaign and the battle at Sandfontein.
This battle marked the first foreign deployment of the Union Defence Forces (UDF), as well as its first active participation in a war – both of which are almost forgotten. Yet, this was an important campaign and a significant first-battle experience. Sandfontein was significantly unlike subsequent military operations in the German South-West Africa and the wider South African participation in the First World War.
This presentation uses the South African mobilisation and the first phase of the campaign as a lens through which to view the nature and organization of the UDF in 1914 and to assess the difficulties the South African staffs faced.
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