An estimated 40,000 brave men were killed defending the shores of South Africa from the terror of Belgian colonization. Those brave souls who lost their lives shall be remembered forever in the hearts and minds of Afrikaaners everywhere. Today, Prime Minister Johannes van Rensburg has launched an official enquiry to investigate what went wrong during the 3rd Boer War which resulted in so many South Africans needlessly losing their lives.
South Africa mourns for her losses.
"Casualties, while they did occur, were kept to a minimum during the offensive expansion period." The Prime Minister explained "Problems however began to occur after victory over the Kenyans had been confirmed. We must now look into who is responsible for the lack of oversight which led to the Belgian invasion and the deaths of over 40,000 good honest men; including the entire 2nd Corps."
Some sections of the Government point the finger at Gryshemde Commander and Armament Minister Oswald Pirow. They argue that the Gryshemde should have deployed forces to Cabinda and Boma earlier to prevent the Belgian invasion from ever occurring. Leaving these key port cities open allowed the Belgians easy access.
Armament Minister Oswald Pirow
"The responsibility does not fall on me" argued Oswald Pirow "I have long requested that the Gryshemde be reinforced. We have limited men at our disposal and my requests for more troops fell on deaf ears."
There are others who blame Chief of the Army C. de Weenburg du Toit. It was he who ignored calls to reinforce the Gryshemde and devised the entire strategy for the 3rd Boer War. While the expansion and absorption of Bechuanaland, Nyasaland, Kenya, the Congo and Tanganyika as well as both North and South Rhodesia into South Africa was a success the Chief of the Army had failed to plan a post-war defensive strategy.
The news that the Belgians had landed in Cabinda was a huge blow as the entire military (bar the Gryshemde) were busy stationed in Kenya on the other side of the continent. By the time that forces based in the East had arrived the Belgians had captured a huge swathe of territory reclaiming most of the Congo and parts of Angola.
There is no doubt that C. de Weenburg du Toit must take the blame for the disastrous "Battle of Cabinda". Under the Chief of the Army's guidance the 2nd Corps boarded a ship in Angola and began an aquatic invasion of the Belgian occupied province of Cabinda. The plan was simply to cut Belgian supply lines and surround the forces in Boma. The 2nd Corps landed successfully in Cabinda but found themselves surrounded and easily defeated by the superior Belgians. The entire 2nd Corps was lost in the biggest defeat ever suffered by South African forces.
Smuts returns from exile in Guinea
It was at this point the government made the controversial decision to bring Jan Smuts back from exile to replace du Toit as Chief of the Army. This proved to be a crucial decision and under the guidance of Smuts the South African military was eventually able to surround the Belgians and force their 108,000 troops from the continent. While Jan Smuts will take most of the credit for such a resounding victory, were his predecessor had failed we cannot under estimate the effect Adolf Hitler had on the battle when the Nazis conquered the Belgian homeland.
No comments:
Post a Comment