113 Battalion
113 Battalion | |
---|---|
![]() 113 Battalion emblem | |
Active | 1980–1994 |
Country | ![]() |
Branch | ![]() |
Type | Motorised infantry |
Part of | South African Army Infantry Corps |
Garrison/HQ | Phalaborwa |
Motto(s) | Servamus We Serve |
Equipment | Buffel APC, Samil 20 |
Insignia | |
Company level insignia | ![]() |
SA Motorised Infantry beret bar circa 1992 | ![]() SA Motorised Infantry beret bar |
113 Battalion was a motorised infantry unit of the South African Army.
History[]
Origin of the black battalions[]
By the late 1970s the South African government had abandoned its opposition to arming black soldiers.[1]
In early 1979, the government approved a plan to form a number of regional African battalions, each with a particular ethnic identity, which would serve in their homeland or under regional SADF commands.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3e/Location_of_the_100_Battalions_in_relation_to_their_homelands_ver_2.png/300px-Location_of_the_100_Battalions_in_relation_to_their_homelands_ver_2.png)
Development of the Gazankulu Defence Force[]
This led to the formation of 113 Battalion for the Tsongas tribe. It is believed that the original intention was for this battalion to form the basis of a future Gazankulu Defence Force.
113 Battalion was raised in 1980 at Phalaborwa in the then Eastern Transvaal.[2] Troops for 113 SA Battalion were recruited from the self-governing territory of Gazankulu.
Higher Command[]
113 Battalion resorted under the command of Group 13.[3] 64 soldiers from 113 Battalion was transferred to 116 Battalion when that unit was expanded.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/36/SADF_Group_13_emblem.png/140px-SADF_Group_13_emblem.png)
Disbandment[]
113 Battalion was later absorbed into 7 South African Infantry Battalion to form a single battalion in the new SANDF.
Insignia[]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4a/SADF_era_113_Battalion_insignia_ver_3.jpg/600px-SADF_era_113_Battalion_insignia_ver_3.jpg)
Leadership[]
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Notes[]
Peled, A. A question of Loyalty Military Manpower Policy in Multiethinic States, Cornell University Press, 1998, ISBN 0-8014-3239-1 Chapter 2: South Africa: From Exclusion to Inclusion
References[]
- Infantry battalions of South Africa
- Military units and formations of South Africa in the Border War
- Military units and formations established in 1980
- Military units and formations disestablished in 1994