The South African 1st Infantry Brigade was an infantry brigade of the army of the Union of South Africa during World Wars I and II. During World War I, the brigade served as a British formation in Egypt and on the Western Front, most famously the Battle of Delville Wood. It was reactivated at the start of the Second World War as a South African formation and served in East Africa and the Western Desert; the brigade disbanded on 1 January 1943.
World War I When the First World War broke out in 1914, the South African government chose to join the war on the side of the Allies. General Louis Botha, the then prime minister, faced widespread Afrikaner opposition to fighting alongside Great Britain so soon after the Second Boer War and had to put down a revolt by some of the more militant elements before he could mobilise and deploy troops as an expeditionary force (some 67,000 troops) to invade German South-West Africa (now Namibia).
The South African Union Defence Act of 1914 prohibited the deployment of South African troops beyond the borders of the South Africa and its immediate neighbouring territories. To send troops to Europe to support the Commonwealth in World War I, Generals Botha and Smuts created the South African Overseas Expeditionary Force. However, because of the limitations of the Defence Act, they issued a General Order (Order 672 of 1915) which stated that "The South African Overseas Expeditionary Force will [sic] be Imperial and have the status of regular British Troops." "Status" was meant to imply administrative purposes, as Britain was paying for the maintenance of the force in the field for the sake of local political sensitivities. Regrettably, this Administrative Order later meant that the South African units which served as part of the Overseas Expeditionary Force were not, as South African units, entitled to retain Regimental Colours awarded to them for battles fought as "British" units.Digby p.416 The 1st Infantry Brigade Group was the first unit to be formed as a constituent part of the South African Overseas Expeditionary Force.
Mobilisation
The brigade was commanded by Brigadier General H.T. (Tim) Lukin and consisted of four regiments recruited from existing military units as well as amongst civilians. Regiments were raised in the four provinces of South Africa: The 1st South African Infantry Regiment was commanded by Lt Col F.S. Dawson with the regiment being raised from the Cape Province and known as The Cape of Good Hope Regiment. A Company (Western Province) was made up from men mostly from the Duke of Edinburgh's Rifles. B. Company was recruited from the Eastern Province and C Company was from Kimberley, with many of the men being ex Kimberley Regiment. D Company was recruited from Cape Town.Digby p. 18 The 2nd South African Infantry Regiment was commanded by Lt Col W.E.C. Tanner, this regiment was raised from Natal and Orange Free State. Many volunteers were from the Kaffrarian Rifles.Digby p. 19 It was known as the Natal and Orange Free State Regiment. The 3rd South African Infantry Regiment. Commander: Lt Col E.F. Thackeray and raised from Transvaal and Rhodesia. The regiment was generally known as The Transvaal and Rhodesia Regiment. B Company were mostly from the Witwatersrand Rifles while C Company were men from the Rand Light Infantry. The 4th SA Infantry Regiment was led by Lt Col F.A. Jones, DSO and became known as the South African Scottish Regiment. It was raised from the Cape Town Highlanders Regiment and the area of Cape Town (Alpha Company) while members of 1st Bn Transvaal Scottish Regiment made up most of Bravo Company. Charlie Company came from 2nd Bn Transvaal Scottish Regiment and recruits encouraged by the Caledonian Societies of Natal and Orange Free State made up Delta Company.
The brigade, numbering 160 officers and 5 648 other ranks, embarked for England from Cape Town and were quartered at Bordon in Hampshire, where, for the next two months, they underwent training.
North Africa
During December 1915 it was decided to send the South African brigade to Egypt, where the Senussi tribe led by Gaafer Pasha, was threatening to overrun the country. On 23 January 1916 the 2nd South African Infantry Regiment first saw action at Halaxin. Brig Gen Lukin's column of the Western Frontier Force comprised; 1st and 3rd South African Infantry Regiments, The Dorsetshire Yeomanry, the 1st/6th Royal Scots, a squadron of The Royal Buckinghamshire Yeomanry and the Nottinghamshire Battery of the Royal Horse Artillery. They marched along the coast and engaged the enemy at the Battle of Agagia on 26 February 1916. With the aid of the Dorsetshire Yeomanry's cavalry the Senussi were routed and Gaafer Pasha and his staff captured.Digby p.66 After successfully bringing this brief campaign to a close, Brig Gen Lukin and his brigade were transferred to France.
Western Front
The Somme Offensive
The Somme offensive opened on 1 July 1916 and was initially intended as a diversionary battle to draw German forces away from the French front at Verdun which was under severe pressure.Hart p.36 Allied Command hoped that the preliminary barrage would destroy the German trenches, exterminating the defenders and enabling the Allied infantry to occupy the German lines with minimal opposition. This initial bombardment failed to neutralise the German infantry and British suffered in excess of 54 000 casualties in the first day's fighting, of whom over 19 000 were killed.
The losses of 1 July 1916 were considerable and only countered partially by the successes achieved the same day in Gen Rawlinson's XIII Corps sector, and this was to dramatically influence the South African Brigade in the coming offensive. General Haig realised that he had to capitalise on the successes achieved on the right of the British line and he urged General Rawlinson to exploit this by securing Mametz Wood and the Contalmaison area to prepare for an attack on the German second line on the Longueval-Bazentin le Petit ridge. This attack would extend on the right to Longueval Village and Delville Wood. First, however, Bernafay Wood and Trones Wood, which were situated to the south of Longueval Village and Delville Wood, would have to be captured.
Longueval The plan called for the 9th (Scottish) Division (which included the 1st South African Infantry Brigade) to be brought forward from reserve to the new line extending from Montauban to the south of Trones Wood. After coming forward, the division was told to prepare for the second stage of the battle, an assault on Longueval scheduled for 7 July. In advancing to the start-line, the 2nd South African Infantry Regiment (at that time, the reserve battalion), relieved two battalions of the 27th Brigade in Bernafay Wood and incurred over 200 casualties in the process.
General Rawlinson decided on a night advance and dawn attack to take the village. The attacking force would consist of the 26th and 27th Brigades of the 9th Division, which would assault the village of Longueval at dawn on 14 July with the South African brigade remaining in reserve. As arranged, at dawn they stormed the German positions and fought their way into Longueval, where hard hand-to-hand fighting ensued. By 0805, the intensity of the fighting compelled Maj Gen W.T. Furse, (Commander of 9th Division), to order the 1st South African Infantry Regiment to advance from reserve in support of the 27th Brigade and by 1230, he instructed the remaining three South African regiments to take and hold Delville Wood as soon as the entire town of Longueval was in Allied hands.Hart p.284
At 1300, 12th Royal Scots had pushed through the northern half of Longueval Village but were forced back by a machine gun in the north west corner of Delville Wood. This part of the wood was to remain strongly held and defended by the Germans. Due to delays in preparing the regiments on the start line, as well as problems related to co-ordinating the artillery support, the South African attack was delayed to 06h00 the following morning, particularly as Longueval village had not yet been totally captured and holding the town was considered essential to the capture of Delville Wood.
Delville Wood
South Africans enter the Wood
The start of what was to become a legend of South African perseverance, loss and tragedy started at 0600 on 15 July 1916. The three remaining regiments of the South African brigade who were under the command of Lt Col William Tanner of the 2nd Regiment, advanced towards the wood with the 2nd and 3rd Regiments in the lead, followed by the 4th Regiment which was in support . The North West corner of the town and the wood was clearly strongly held by the Germans, but the positions in the rest of the wood were unclear, with the South Africans being uncertain as to who were friendly forces and who were enemy. Led by a guide from the 5th Camerons, the three regiments advanced from the junction of Montauban and Bazentin Roads through a portion of the south end of Longueval and across the fields to Buchanan Street trench. Tanner established his headquarters at Buchanan Street and sent the 3rd Regiment to the far side of the wood. Tanner's 2nd Regiment followed the 3rd Regiment but branched off to the north. C Company, 2nd Regiment manned the southern perimeter close to Longueval. (See Map).
Shelling was extremely heavy with severe losses. Medical orderlies were being called for everywhere, on all fronts the supply of stretchers soon ran out. In addition, on the eastern perimeter there was confusion as to whether the men moving about outside the wood were French or German. The destruction of a Lewis Gun from this area soon confirmed that the forces were German. By 1000 casualties were mounting, particularly amongst Vickers and Lewis gun sections and calls for artillery support were coming in from all three regiments. By noon, ammunition stocks were running seriously low, and by 1600 the Germans mounted a strong counter attacks on the left flank (2nd Regiment) but were repelled. As dusk fell, the South Africans manning the perimeters entrenched themselves, despite continuous enemy shelling and sniping.
The morning of 16 July, Brig Gen Lukin was ordered to support an attack by 11th Royal Scots (part of 27th Brigade) on the orchard situated in the northern sector of Longueval, between North Street and Flers Road. The 11th Royal Scots would attack along North Street, whilst B and C Companies of the 1st South African Infantry Regiment would attack northwards in the wood parallel to the Royal Scots. The combined attack was launched at 1000 and was met by machine gun and rifle fire. Both assaults failed and survivors scrambled back to their positions, to face a day of shelling and sniping (Refer Map). Later the morning, Brig Gen Lukin visited Lt Col F.S. Dawson (OC of 1st South African Infantry Regiment) in Longueval and Dawson stressed to the brigade commander that the men were exhausted. Lukin replied that there could be no relief for several days. German artillery continued to pound the South Africans in the wood for the remainder of the day and well into the night.
'Friendly-fire' incidents