The evolution of resistance and counterinsurgency in the South African state, 1899-1948

Abstract

The idea of counterinsurgency, and for that matter irregular warfare, along with its accompanying terminology, occupies a contested space in South African history. This is the argument put forward by Deane-Peter Baker and Mark O’Neil, who posit that the people of South Africa suffered at the hands of counterinsurgent forces throughout the colonial period and well into the twentieth century. This is framed in the political context of fighting for change, where various cultural groups in South Africa successfully utilised irregular or guerrilla tactics in their protracted resistance against colonial encroachment and subjugation. Some major examples, among others, in this regard include: the Khoikhoi–Dutch Wars (1659–1677), the British operations against the Xhosa during the Cape Frontier Wars (1779–1879), the subjugation of the South African interior following the Great Trek (1836c.1876), the Anglo-Zulu War (1879), the First Anglo-Boer War (1880– 1881), the Second Anglo-Boer War (1899–1902), and the broader liberation struggle in South Africa that occurred throughout most of the twentieth century up until the advent of democracy in 1994. The negative connotations associated with counterinsurgent forces in South Africa, who found themselves on the wrong side of history, are directly associated with colonialism and their oppression and subjugation of the people. This perhaps helps to explain the evident gap in the South African historiography in research related to this contested topic. In general, interest in South African counterinsurgency directly correlates with the duration of the so-called Border War (1966–1989) in Namibia. During this period, the South African Defence Force’s (SADF) counterinsurgency operations were primarily directed against the South West Africa People’s Organisation (SWAPO) and its People’s Liberation Army of Namibia (PLAN). The SADF also gradually became involved in several cross-border operations