Welcome back. As promised in our reveal of Wargame: Red Dragon - Nation Pack: South Africa, every two weeks we’ll be highlighting an exciting new aspect of our upcoming expansion.
Today, we are looking at the “boots on the ground” of SADF during the Border War and the mainstay of any army: the all-important Infantry.
Keep reading to find out more.
Historical Context
The Border War took place during the 70s and 80s. It pitted the South African Defense Force and local allies UNITA against several different guerilla groups in Namibia and Angola. These guerillas were in turn backed by communist-regimes, including the Soviet Union, but chiefly the Cuban armed forces. What began as an asymmetric conflict turned increasingly into something much larger, with Border War cumulating in the largest Cold War tank engagement on the African continent with the 1988 Battle of Cuito Cuanavale.
The area that saw the biggest amount of fighting was sparsely populated, with only a limited infrastructure network in place. The landscape was bush and savanna. This kind of harsh terrain favored quick-moving units, which became the SADF’s specialization over time, with the South African arsenal almost wholly made up of mobile wheeled (compared to tracked) vehicles.
Likewise, infantry forces, including quick reaction formations, light infantry, and special forces, were used significantly during the Border War. The SADF relied heavily on its infantry to patrol the South West African frontiers against guerilla raids. With a porous border, frequent ambushes on the supply lines in Namibia occurred. The combat in the latter part of the 80s turned into an evolving set of bigger, conventional engagements, with the SADF infantry fighting alongside armored units against equally heavily equipped guerrilla and Cuban forces.
The SADF’s infantry force of the 80s was built on a large citizen force, with about 90% of its manpower part-time reservists or local militias (the infamous Commando-system). The army was divided into a core of volunteers, supported by conscripts performing a one-year (later extended to a two-year) national service.
Boots on the ground
Wargame: Red Dragon - Nation Pack: South Africa allows you to take command of a wide variety of new SADF infantry units. The South African grunts were called Bokkop, which is an Afrikaans slang term that signifies “Buck head.” This has further significance as the springbok, an antelope native to Southern Africa, was (and is) the national animal of the country.
Bokkop soldiers wore the trademark Nutria brown-beige fatigues, most commonly known in the army as Browns, while their main weapon was the Vektor R1 (a license-produced FN FAL) battle rifle. This gun was later changed to the Vektor R4 (licensed variant of the Israeli Galil) assault rifle. The timeless Bren LMG could also be found, which was later replaced with the FN MAG or the indigenous Vektor SS-77.
SADF squads were frequently equipped with captured Soviet RPG-7. Later on, this anti-tank weapon was replaced by the South African-made Denel FT5, an anti-tank rocket launcher inspired by the French LRAC F1 and APILAS.
Heavy Equipment
Regarding heavier infantry weapons, the SADF never developed its own ATGM or MANPADS during the Cold War. Instead, it relied on imported or captured stocks. This included the French-German MILAN missile in the 70s, which replaced the old M40A1 RCL as an anti-tank weapon.
While not having to fear enemy air forces during the early stages of the Border War, the skies were heavily contested in the final years, with the South Africans at times losing air superiority. Captured Strela MANPADs, as well as Stinger missiles delivered by the CIA, provided a level of protection from air attacks.
One indigenous South African design was the RO-107 Inflict, an improvised weapon that proved quite effective in a fire support role. It was made from a single 107mm tube of a captured Chinese Type 63 107mm MRLS. Cumbersome to haul around, especially in combat, it still found use by the SADF airborne troops as a man-portable piece of pocket artillery.
While regular Bokkop soldiers either walk or travel in trucks or light Casspir APCs, their Mechbat comrades in arms (mechanized infantry equivalent) ride to battle in the Ratel IFV.
Kommandos and Special Forces
Of course, the SADF wouldn’t be the fighting force it was without the presence of the infamous Kommando militia. That’s right: the present-day concept of commandos (elite light forces or special forces) stems from the old use of Afrikaner-manned units, employed during the First and Second Boer War (1899-1902) against the British. These bands consisted of volunteer militia acting as fast-moving but lightly armed guerilla units. The SADF kept using the militia-style commando system, with Kommandos mainly employed in much the same way as contemporary British Territorials. Some volunteered for service in the conflict zone during the Border War[i/] where they were used in limited numbers.
Many of the special forces employed by the SADF were created or commanded by the same man, Colonel Jan Breytenbach. These included the airborne Parabat and their specialized Para Pathfinder recon forces. These were light SADF shock troops. Better trained than their average grunt, these units made extensive use of Puma and Alouette helicopters during combat operations.
The South African Special Forces (SASF) were better known as Recces. These elite operatives were given access to almost any weapons available in the SADF arsenal, including domestic, secretly imported despite the UN embargo, or even captured from the enemy.
Although segregated due to the white-led South Africa government and its infamous [i]apartheid policy, Black and Coloured (a multiracial ethnic group from South Africa) soldiers were found in various SADF units. In the early stages of the Border War, skilled local bushmen were recruited by the South Africans as Trackers to locate and engage enemy combatants.
One of the more infamous mixed-race SADF units was the 32 Battalion, aka the Buffalo Battalion. This light infantry formation was formed from Portuguese-speaking anti-communist Angolans and white South African NCOs and officers. It was stationed in Angola itself, forming a buffer between the communist-backed guerilla groups and South Africa. This contingent was also a foreign legion of sorts, featuring among its ranks Australian, American, Portuguese, and former-Rhodesian volunteers. Initially equipped with old Portuguese weaponry, such as the G3 and HK 21, it later made use of “liberated” AKM and RPD weapons, allowing the battalion’s troops to operate for long periods behind enemy lines using captured materiel.
What will the South Africa Nation Pack bring?
Wargame: Red Dragon - Nation Pack: South Africa will feature:
- Close to 90 new SADF units, including 20 brand-new vehicle models, as well as many new variants. All feature new Afrikaans and South African-accented English voice-overs, aie boet!
- These include the ubiquitous Casspir and Ratel APCs (in numerous variants, from IFV, recon, command, mortar, and even SAM), the Rooikat wheeled tank (including variants and prototypes), Elan (license-produced French AML), Cactus (French Crotale), the only tracked Olifant MBT, many armed variants of locally made SAMIL trucks (Ystervark and Bosvark SPAAG, Valkiri and Bateleur MLRS), to the iconic G6 Renoster self-propelled howitzer.
- The Air Force includes old Buccaneer, Vampire and Impala as close-air support, and several French Mirage variants and the locally modified Cheetah as fighter and multirole aircraft. Furthermore, you will find the Atlas Carver prototype, the first full South African prototype plane design that never left the drawing board.
- Helicopters include the French Alouette III, Puma, Super Frelon and their locally produced versions and prototypes such as the K-Car, Oryx and XTP-1 Beta. You’ll also will be able to deploy South Africa’s very own attack helicopter design, the badass-looking Rooivalk.
- Infantry will include Bokkop regular riflemen, Parabat paratroopers, SASF special forces, and many more units such as militia, recon, MANPADS, engineers, etc. You will also find Portuguese-speaking Angolian UNITA squads, as well as SADF’s own 32 Battalion (the Buffalos), as veteran light infantry formation.
- SADF weaponry features imported or locally built R1 and R4 rifles, SS-77 and Mini-SS MG, LRAC and APILAS LAW, but also the more original HK-21, FT5, Inflict and, of course, the iconic Y2 grenade-launcher and NTW-20.
What happens next?
That’s it for today’s post. We’ll be back in two weeks with more new details on Wargame: Red Dragon - Nation Pack: South Africa!
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