List of wars involving South Africa

This is a list of wars involving the Union of South Africa and its successor, the Republic of South Africa.

Conflict South Africa
and allies
Opponents Results Prime Minister (1912–94)
President (1994–)
Losses
World War I
(1914–1918 A.D.)
 France
British Empire United Kingdom

Russia Russia
 Italy
 United States
 Serbia
 Montenegro
 Belgium
 Japan
 China
 Romania
 Portugal
 Brazil
Hejaz
 Greece
Armenia Armenia
Saudi Arabia Nejd and Hasa
Thailand Siam

 Germany
 Austria-Hungary
 Ottoman Empire
 Bulgaria
Transvaal
Victory
9,726 dead[1]
Maritz Rebellion
(1914–1915)
South Africa South Africa  South African Republic Government victory
  • Rebellion suppressed
Russian Civil War[2]
(1918–1920)
Russia White Movement
United Kingdom United Kingdom
 United States
France France
 Japan
 Italy
 China
 Canada
 Australia
 India
South Africa 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 South Africa CPSA Government victory
  • Rebellion suppressed
153 dead[3]
(both sides)
Bondelswarts Rebellion
(1922)
South Africa South Africa Bondelswarts Government victory
  • Rebellion suppressed
100 dead, 468 wounded (Bondelswarts)
World War II
(1939–1945)
 Soviet Union
 United States
 United Kingdom
 China
France France
Poland Poland
 Yugoslavia
 Greece
 Netherlands
 Belgium
 Luxembourg
 Denmark
 Norway
 Czechoslovakia
 Canada
 Australia
 New Zealand
 India
 South Africa
Philippines
Ethiopian Empire Ethiopia
Brazil Brazil
 Mexico
Mongolian People's Republic 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]
Kingdom of Greece Cairo Government
 United Kingdom
South Africa South Africa
Greece ELAS Victory
None
Korean War
(1950–1953)
 South Korea
 United States
 United Kingdom
 Canada
 Turkey
 Australia
Ethiopian Empire Ethiopia
 Philippines
 New Zealand
Thailand
Greece
 France
 Colombia
 Belgium
South Africa South Africa
 Netherlands
 Luxembourg
 North Korea
 China
 Soviet Union
Stalemate
34 dead[5]
9 prisoners
Rhodesian Bush War
(1965–1979)
 Rhodesia
 South Africa
ZANU
Mozambique FRELIMO
ZAPU
ANC
Stalemate
Unknown
Mozambican Civil War
(1979–1985)[6]
RENAMO
 Zimbabwe Rhodesia
 South Africa
Mozambique 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
2,038 dead[8]
Natal Civil War
(1987–1994)[9]
IFP ANC Stalemate[9]
Unknown
Operation Boleas
(1998)
 South Africa
 Botswana
Lesotho LDF rebels Victory
  • Suspected coup d'état in Lesotho quelled
11 dead[10]
Battle of Bangui
(2013)
 South Africa
 Central African Republic
Central African Republic Séléka Disputed[11]
  • François Bozizé successfully escorted to safety,Rebel advance towards South African base repelled
15 dead[12]
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
  1. ^ Commonwealth War Graves Commission Annual Report 2013–2014 Archived 2015-11-04 at the Wayback Machine, page 48. Figures include identified burials and those commemorated by name on memorials.
  2. ^ a b Scientia Militaria: South African Journal of Military Studies, Vol 15, Nr 4, 1985, pp. 46-48. Accessed January 24, 2016.
  3. ^ Bendix, S. (2001) Industrial Relations in South Africa. Claremont: Juta. p. 59
  4. ^ See Air operations during the Greek Civil War#South African Air Force
  5. ^ "Casualties of Korean War" (in Korean). Ministry of National Defense of Republic of Korea. Archived from the original on 2013-01-20. Retrieved 14 February 2007.
  6. ^ South Africa agreed to withdraw its support for RENAMO in 1984. However, South Africa only withdrew from the Mozambican Civil War in 1985. For more information, see War and Society: The Militarisation of South Africa, edited by Jacklyn Cock and Laurie Nathan, pp.104-115
  7. ^ Note: South Africa was already involved in combating SWAPO insurgents in 1966, but intervention in Angola started in 1975 with Operation Savannah.
  8. ^ "SA Roll of Honour: List of Wars". Justdone.co.za. Retrieved 15 January 2013.
  9. ^ a b Taylor, Rupert. "Justice denied: political violence in Kwazulu‐Natal after 1994." African Affairs 101, no. 405 (2002): 473-508.
  10. ^ "'A fractious lot': Anatomy of (another) coup in Lesotho". Daily Maverick. 3 July 2015.
  11. ^ References:
    • Helmoed Römer Heitman. [1]
  12. ^ "CAR battle claims another SANDF soldier". Enca. South Africa.
  13. ^ "Remains of SA soldier killed in Mozambique handed over to family". africanews.