113 Battalion

January 2015 113 Battalion SADF 113 Battalion emblem.png 200 113 Battalion emblem 1980–1994 South Africa 1928 South Africa 1981 Motorised infantry South African Army Infantry Corps Phalaborwa Servamus We Serve Buffel APC, Samil 20 200px Company level insignia thumb|SA Motorised Infantry beret bar SA Motorised Infantry beret bar circa 1992 113 Battalion was a motorised infantry unit of the South African Army. History Origin of the black battalions By the late 1970s the South African government had abandoned its opposition to arming black soldiers.http://sabctrc.saha.org.za/reports/volume2/chapter5/subsection9.htm Truth Commission - Special Report - TRC Final Report - Volume 2, Section 1, Chapter In early 1979, the government approved a plan to form a number of regional African battalions, each with a particular ethnic identity, which would serve in their homeland or under regional SADF commands. thumb|right|300px|Location of the 100 Battalions in relation to their respective homelands Development of the Gazankulu Defence Force This led to the formation of 113 Battalion for the Tsongas tribe. It is believed that the original intention was for this battalion to form the basis of a future Gazankulu Defence Force. 113 Battalion was raised in 1980 at Phalaborwa in the then Eastern Transvaal.Nöthling C. J. Steyn L. The Role of Non-Whites in the South African Defence Force Scientia Militaria: South African Journal of Military Studies 1986 16 2 10.5787/16-2-457 4754 https://scientiamilitaria.journals.ac.za/pub/article/view/457/484 free Troops for 113 SA Battalion were recruited from the self-governing territory of Gazankulu. Higher Command 113 Battalion resorted under the command of Group 13.Matloa Abbey Oupa February 2015 The formation of the SANDF: Integration experiences of former Transkei, Bophuthatswana, Venda and Ciskei Defence Force Members https://uir.unisa.ac.za/bitstream/handle/10500/18829/dissertation_Matloa_AO.pdf University of South Africa 64 soldiers from 113 Battalion was transferred to 116 Battalion when that unit was expanded. thumb|center|140px|SADF Group 13 emblem Disbandment 113 Battalion was later absorbed into 7 South African Infantry Battalion to form a single battalion in the new SANDF. Insignia thumb|center|600px|113 Battalion insignia Notes Peled, A. A question of Loyalty Military Manpower Policy in Multiethinic States, Cornell University Press, 1998, 0-8014-3239-1 Chapter 2: South Africa: From Exclusion to Inclusion References 2 South Africa Category:Infantry battalions of South Africa Category:Military units and formations of South Africa in the Border War Category:Military units and formations established in 1980 Category:Military units and formations disestablished in 1994