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Northern Transvaal Command
Northern Transvaal Command
	Command insignia
Active	1959–2000
Country	Republic of South Africa
Branch	South African Army
Type	Command (military formation)
Headquarters	Pretoria, South Africa
Commanders
Notable; commanders	Pieter Grobbelaar

Northern Transvaal Command was a command of the South African Army. It was active from 1959 to mid 2000 when it was disestablished.^{[citation needed]} Formerly it was named Northern Command from 1946 to 1959.

History

Origins

Union Defence Force Military Districts

The command's origins may date to the formations of Military districts, No 5 and 6 in 1926, which then became Transvaal Command in 1934.^{[citation needed]} Thereafter there were several quick name changes: Roberts Heights & Transvaal Command c. 1936; Voortrekkerhoogte & Transvaal Command 1939, and then Transvaal Command c. 1940. Later the command became Northern Command in 1946; Northern Transvaal Command in 1959. In 1939 Roberts' Heights and Transvaal Command, with its headquarters at Roberts' Heights (now Thaba Tshwane), contained 6th Infantry Brigade, 1 Field Survey Squadron SAEC, the artillery depot, parts of the Special Service Battalion, elements of the Permanent Garrison Artillery, and the Artillery School.^[1]

Its headquarters was in Pretoria, and within its command boundaries, it contained a number of important Active Citizen Force field formations, notably 81 Armoured Brigade (part of 8th South African Armoured Division). Depending upon the command boundaries, it may also have included 72 Motorised Brigade with its headquarters at Johannesburg and 73 Motorised Brigade with its headquarters in the Johannesburg suburb of Kensington.

Under the SADF

In the early 1980s it became clear that the sheer size of Northern Transvaal Command's territory made command and control as well as logistical functions extremely difficult.^[2] These as well as other security considerations led to the decision to subdivide Northern Transvaal Command into three Commands in 1984: Northern Transvaal Command (Pretoria); Eastern Transvaal Command, probably covering what later became the Eastern Transvaal (Nelspruit); and Far North Command (Pietersburg) (commanded in succession by Charles Lloyd and, from February 1987, Georg Meiring).^[3] The two new Commands were regarded as theatres and as such also had responsibility for conventional operations (and units) within their areas. For example, Far North Command had 73 Motorised Brigade within its area.

Amalgamation with Witwatersrand Command into Gauteng Command

Groups and Commandos

Group 15 (Voortrekkerhoogte)

Leadership

Leadership of Northern Transvaal Command
From	Commanding Officers	To
29 December 2024	Col? Pieter Grobbelaar SSA DSO	29 December 2024
c. 1950	Col Booysie van der Riet SM MC^[4]^: 98	29 December 2024
1 January 1964	Col. S.'Faan' Hugo SM^[a]	September 1965
1965	Brig Jannie H Burgher SM OBE	1966
December 1966	Brig Willem Louw SM	December 1967
1970	Brig Phil Pretorius SM	1975
1975	Brig Pieter van der Westhuizen SM	1976
1978	Brig Wolfgang Paetzold	1980
1980	Maj Gen Pieter Hanekom SM	1982
1982	Maj Gen Frans van den Berg SD SM	1984
1984	Brig. J.P.M. 'Hans' Moller SD^[b]^[5]	1988
1988	Brig Gert Opperman SD SM MMM^[6]	1993
1993	Brig Anton van Graan	1994
1994	Brig Wouter Lombard	1995
7 April 1995	Brig Hennie Schultz SM MMM	31 December 1995
1 January 1996	Maj Gen Hennie Schultz SM MMM	29 December 2024
From	Command Sgts Major	To

Notes

^ Officer in Command of Northern Transvaal Command on Friday 2 October 1964, during Annual Cadet Inspection and Review of Pretoria Boys High School.
^ late SACMP (20 October 1988)

References

^ Niehorster^{[citation needed]}
^ "A Short History of the South African Army". rhodesia.nl. From: South African Defence Force Review 1991. 1991. Retrieved 19 December 2014.
^ Hamann, 'Days of the Generals,' p.62, for Meiring assumption-of-command date. For a contemporary view on Far North Command, see discussion in James Roherty, 'State Security in South Africa: Civil-Military Relations Under P.W. Botha,' 1992, 98–100.
^ 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.
^ "SACMP Corps History 1946-1988". Archived from the original on 2020-09-22. Retrieved 2014-12-21.
^ "Gert Opperman – Who's Who SA". Retrieved 26 January 2015.