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Standerton Commando
Standerton Commando
	Standerton Commando emblem
Country	South Africa
Allegiance	Union of South Africa; Republic of South Africa; Republic of South Africa;
Branch	South African Army; South African Army;
Type	Infantry
Role	Light Infantry
Size	One Battalion
Part of	South African Infantry Corps; Army Territorial Reserve
Garrison/HQ	Standerton

Standerton Commando was a light infantry regiment of the South African Army. It formed part of the South African Army Infantry Formation as well as the South African Territorial Reserve.

History

Origin

Operations

With the UDF

The Rand Rebellion Benoni

Members of the Standerton Commando took part in the crackdown on the 1922 Miners Strike.^[1]^[2] At 05:00 on 12 March 1922, the Union Defence Force (UDF) attacked Benoni. The objective was to defeat striking commandos at a steel factory and then move into the rest of the town.

The Government forces commenced their attack at 11:00 and immediately came under heavy fire. The attack on the steel factory was supported by artillery fire from two positions, which contributed to the striker commandos being dislodged. The attack then continued along Main Reef Road.

Commandant. P. Botha and a portion of the Standerton East Commando joined the fight at 16:00. The attack was called off at 17:00 in order to reorganize and consolidate positions before dark. Ammunition and arms arrived later that night and was distributed.

The reinforcements consisted of the rest of the Standerton East Commando, the Blesbokspruit Commando (Standerton), the Heidelberg Commando, the Hoogveld Commando (Heidelberg), the Roodekoppe Commando (Standerton), and the Standerton West Commando.

The attack continued on 13 March. The operation went according to plan and the besieged police and Permanent Force were relieved. An instruction was subsequently issued to arrest all male residents of Benoni.^[3]

With the SADF

During this era, the unit was mainly used for area force protection, search and cordones as well as stock theft control assistance to the local police.

With the SANDF

Disbandment

This unit, along with all other Commando units was disbanded after a decision by South African President Thabo Mbeki to disband all Commando Units.^[4]^[5] The Commando system was phased out between 2003 and 2008 "because of the role it played in the apartheid era", according to the Minister of Safety and Security Charles Nqakula.^[6]

Unit Insignia

Leadership

Leadership
From	Honorary Colonels	To
From	Commanding Officers	To
1920	Commandant. P. Botha	nd
From	Regimental Sergeants Major	To

References

^ Warwick, Rodney (15 March 2012). "White-on-white violence: The 1922 Rand Revolution - OPINION". Politicsweb.
^ Hirson, Baruch (October 1993). "The General Strike of 1922" (PDF). Searchlight South Africa. 3 (3): 63–94. Retrieved 20 October 2022 – via SAHistory.org.za.
^ Fokkens, Andries Marius (December 2006). The role and application of the Union Defence Force in the suppression of internal unrest, 1912-1945 (Masters Degree (Military History) thesis). Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University.
^ Col L B van Stade, Senior Staff Officer Rationalisation, SANDF (1997). "Rationalisation in the SANDF: The Next Challenge". Institute for Security Studies. Archived from the original on 16 March 2016. Retrieved 5 March 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^ "About the Commando system". Retrieved 17 January 2008.
^ de Lange, Deon. "South Africa: Commandos Were 'Hostile to New SA'". Cape Argus. Retrieved 5 March 2015.