Conflict
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South Africa and allies
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Opponents
|
Results
|
Prime Minister (1912–94) President (1994–)
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Losses
|
World War I (1914–1918 A.D.)
|
France United Kingdom
Russia Italy United States Serbia Montenegro Belgium Japan China Romania Portugal Brazil Hejaz Greece Armenia Nejd and Hasa Siam
|
Germany Austria-Hungary Ottoman Empire Bulgaria Transvaal
|
Victory
|
|
|
Maritz Rebellion (1914–1915)
|
South Africa
|
South African Republic
|
Government victory
|
Russian Civil War[2] (1918–1920)
|
White Movement United Kingdom United States France Japan Italy China Canada Australia India South Africa Czechoslovakia Poland Greece Romania Yugoslavia Estonia
|
Russian SFSR Far Eastern Republic Latvian SSR Ukrainian SSR Commune of Estonia Mongolian Communists
|
Defeat (limited involvement)[2]
- Allied withdrawal from Russia
- Defeat of the White Movement
|
Unknown
|
Rand Rebellion (1921–1922)
|
South Africa
|
CPSA
|
Government victory
|
|
|
Bondelswarts Rebellion (1922)
|
South Africa
|
Bondelswarts
|
Government victory
|
100 dead, 468 wounded (Bondelswarts)
|
World War II (1939–1945)
|
Soviet Union United States United Kingdom China France Poland Yugoslavia Greece Netherlands Belgium Luxembourg Denmark Norway Czechoslovakia Canada Australia New Zealand India South Africa Philippines Ethiopia Brazil Mexico Mongolia
|
Germany Japan Italy Romania Hungary Bulgaria Slovakia Croatia Finland Thailand Iraq
|
Victory
|
6,840 dead 1,841 missing 14,589 prisoners
|
Greek Civil War (1944–1945)[4]
|
Cairo Government United Kingdom South Africa
|
ELAS
|
Victory
|
None
|
Korean War (1950–1953)
|
South Korea United States United Kingdom Canada Turkey Australia Ethiopia Philippines New Zealand Thailand Greece France Colombia Belgium South Africa Netherlands Luxembourg
|
North Korea China Soviet Union
|
Stalemate
|
|
|
Rhodesian Bush War (1965–1979)
|
Rhodesia South Africa
|
ZANU FRELIMO ZAPU ANC
|
Stalemate
|
|
Unknown
|
Mozambican Civil War (1979–1985)[6]
|
RENAMO Zimbabwe Rhodesia South Africa
|
FRELIMO ANC
|
Stalemate (limited involvement)
|
|
Unknown
|
South African Border War (1966–1989)[7]
|
South Africa Portugal UNITA FNLA
|
SWAPO SWANU MPLA Cuba ANC Zambia
|
Stalemate
- Withdrawal of foreign forces from Angola
- Namibian independence from South African rule
|
|
Natal Civil War (1987–1994)[9]
|
IFP
|
ANC
|
Stalemate[9]
|
Unknown
|
Operation Boleas (1998)
|
South Africa Botswana
|
LDF rebels
|
Victory
- Suspected coup d'état in Lesotho quelled
|
|
|
Battle of Bangui (2013)
|
South Africa Central African Republic
|
Séléka
|
Disputed[11]
- François Bozizé successfully escorted to safety,Rebel advance towards South African base repelled
|
|
|
M23 Rebellion (2013)
|
DR Congo South Africa Tanzania Malawi
|
M23
|
Victory
- M23 rebels surrender, disarm and demobilize
|
None
|
ADF Insurgency (2014–present)
|
DR Congo Uganda South Africa Tanzania Malawi
|
ADF
|
Ongoing
|
1 dead
|
Insurgency in Cabo Delgado (2017–present)
|
SADC South Africa Mozambique Tanzania Angola Botswana Rwanda Malawi Lesotho
|
Ansar al-Sunna Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
|
Ongoing
- involvement of South African Special forces from July 2021
|
|
|