5th South African Infantry Brigade Active 13 Aug 1940 – 24 Nov 1941 Disbanded Destroyed by Axis forces at Sidi Rezegh: 24 Nov 1941. Country South Africa Allegiance Union of South Africa Branch South African Army Type Infantry Size Brigade Engagements
East African Campaign North African Campaign
Commander November 1941 Brigadier Bertram Frank Armstrong
Military unit
East African campaign World War II
Western Desert Campaign
1940
1941
1st Bardia Tobruk (capture) Mechili Beda Fomm Kufra Giarabub Sonnenblume Tobruk (siege)
Brevity Skorpion Battleaxe Crusader 1942
Gazala
Bir Hakeim Tobruk (re-capture) Mersa Matruh 1st Alamein
Alam Halfa Agreement 2nd Alamein
El Agheila Associated articles
The 5th South African Infantry Brigade was an infantry brigade of the army of the Union of South Africa during World War II . The Brigade formed part of the South African 1st Infantry Division and was formed on 13 August 1940. It served in East Africa and the Western Desert and was disbanded on 1 January 1943.
Order of battle [ ] East Africa [ ] Officer Commanding: Brigadier [nb 1] [1]
1st South African Irish Regiment
2nd Regiment Botha
3rd Transvaal Scottish Regiment
No. 1 S.A. Armoured Car Company
5th Field Company, SA Corps of Engineers
11th Field Ambulance, SA Medical Corps
No. 3 Mobile General Workshops, SA Technical Services Corps
1 Brigade Signals Company, SA Corps of Signals Western Desert [ ] The 5th Brigade was almost totally wiped out by the German 15th Panzer and Italian Ariete Divisions at Sidi Rezegh on 23 November 1941.[2]
Notes [ ]
^ Armstrong was captured at Sidi Rezegh on 23 or 24 November 1941 and was flown directly from North Africa to Germany for interrogation. Matthews, D. Capt. With the 5th South African Infantry Brigade at Sidi Rezegh. South African Military History Journal – Vol 10 No 6.
Citations [ ]
^ Orpen Appendix B
^ Agar-Hamilton Pg253
Bibliography [ ] Agar-Hamilton, J.A.I. & Turner, L.F.C. The Sidi Rezeg Battles: 1941. 1957, Oxford University Press, Cape Town.
Orpen, N. East Africa and the Abyssinian Campaigns: South African Forces World War II: Volume I . 1968, Purnell, Cape Town.
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