Information AboutTransvaalse Staatsartillerie |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT TRANSVAALSE STAATSARTILLERIE | |
| south african army | |
| military units and formations of south africa | |
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HISTORY The first attempt by the South African Republic (''Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek'' or ''ZAR'') to form a professional full-time artillery unit was ''Batterij Dingaan'' ( Dingaan Battery ), which could be seen as the forerunner of the Transvaalse Staatsartillerie. It should be noted that the use of artillery pieces was not completely foreign to the Boer s and that they had used the few that they had to great effect during some battles that occurred during the Great Trek . However, prior to the formation of ''Batterij Dingaan'', all artillery units of the ZAR were part-time volunteers, organised under its Commando system. In 1874 , President Thomas Francois Burgers purchased some artillery pieces for the intended permanent artillery corps of the ZAR in Europe and also recruited a number of European officers in order to assist in the organisation and development of this corps, due to the lack of adequately trained and experienced artillery officers in the ZAR. However, after the British annexation of the ZAR on 12 April 1877 , ''Batterij Dingaan'' was disbanded. The members of the battery, most of who were not citizens of the ZAR, joined the three British volunteer corps, which had been created in order to assist the Garrison with the defence of Pretoria . Shortly after the British occupation of the ZAR ended in 1881 , the executive council of the ZAR mandated the formation of the ''Artillerie Korps van de Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek'' (Artillery Corps of the South African Republic). During the same year the executive council also mandated the formation of the ''Transvaalsche Rijdende Politie Korps'' ( Transvaal Mounted Police Corps). This police force was amalgamated with the artillery corps in 1882 under the name of ''Transvaalsche Artillerie Corps'' (Transvaal Artillery Corps). However, this amalgamation was found to be unfeasible and the artillery and policing functions were subsequently separated again. The artillery formation was named the ''Staatsartillerie van de Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek'' (State Artillery of the South African Republic) and had a strictly military function and structure. Batteries of the Staatsartillerie went on to serve in the Malaboch War (1894) and the Mahoeba War (1894 - 1895). After the Jameson Raid , the government of the ZAR decided to build a Fort around the prison in Johannesburg as well as forts to defend Pretoria . In order to man these forts, the formation of a separate ''Vesting Artillerie'' (Fortress Artillery) was proposed. In 1898 , despite some resistance to this idea (mainly because of the cost), the Volksraad approved increasing the manpower of the Staatsartillerie by 100 men in order to form the ''Corps Vesting Artillerie'' (Fortress Artillery Corps). This Corps was organised as an arm of the Staatsartillerie. By 1999 the Fortress Artillery Corps had grown to a unit with 9 officers and and 148 men. At this time, the Staatsartillerie was under the overall command of a Lieutenant-colonel and was subdivided into several units, including:
(The commanding officer of the Staatsartillerie was the sole person to hold the rank of lieutenant-colonel in the armed forces of the South African Republic. It was also the highest rank after the ZAR's Commandant-General .) As one of only two professional military units of the ZAR (the other being the South African Republic Police or ZARPs), the Transvaalse Staatsartillerie went on to provide sterling service during the Second Anglo-Boer War . REGIMENTAL SYMBOLS BATTLE HONOURS As an artillery unit the Transvaalse Staatsartillerie did not receive any battle honours. |
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