Military history of South Africa during World War I

South Africa's participation in the First World War occurred automatically when the British Government declared war on Germany in August 1914. Due to her status as a Dominion within the British Empire, South Africa, whilst having significant levels of self-autonomy, did not have the legal power to exercise an independent foreign policy and was tied to the British declaration.

Union between the British colonies and former Boer republics in Southern Africa had occurred just four years earlier, and South Africa did yet not possess a singular national identity nor united population. The years of peace following the Second Boer War (1899-1902) had not healed the deep and traumatic ethnic divisions between English-speakers and Afrikaners, whilst non-white racial groups increasingly found legalised discrimination being used against them for the benefit of whites.

The declaration of war was met with a wide variety of public opinion. Predominantly, English-speaking whites of typically of British descent were largely enthusiastic and strongly backed the mother country, volunteering in their tens of thousands. A minority of pro-republican Afrikaners, outraged by British influence over South Africa affairs, staged an armed rebellion against the Government in an attempt to establish an independent South Africa outside of the British Empire. Black South Africans were largely apathetic to the declaration of war. Although barred by racial legislation from being allowed to carry weapons, many still joined the National Labour Service,^[1] with thousands being deployed to France as non-combatants. Whilst some saw it as a purely 'white man's war', others were convinced that loyalty to the British Crown would be rewarded, and that political and economic freedoms would be granted once the war had been won by a grateful government. The South African Native National Congress, the forerunner of the African National Congress, publicly announced the cessation of law action against the government, pledging complete national support for the war effort.

Between 1914 and 1918, over 250,000 South Africans of all races, from a population of 6 million, volunteered to serve the Allied cause. Thousands more enlisted in the British Army directly, with over 3,000 joining the British Royal Flying Corps. More than 146,000 Whites, 83,000 Blacks, and 2,500 Coloureds and Indians fought in either German South West Africa, East Africa, the Middle East, or in Europe on the Western Front. Over 7,000 South Africans were killed, and 12,000 wounded, with eight South Africans being awarded the Victoria Cross. Two events have since become part of the nation's consciousness, and are still commemorated today - the Battle of Delville Wood and the sinking of the troopship SS Mendi.