118 Battalion

January 2015 118 Battalion SADF 118 SA Battalion shoulder flash.jpg 200 118 Battalion emblem South Africa 1928 South Africa 1981 Motorised infantry South African Army Infantry Corps Lebowakgomo old fire station Northern Transvaal, Limpopo Province Bogale Buffel APC, Samil 20 Commandant M. Scheepers, Lt Col P de Vos Viljoen, Lt Col Steyn, Lt Col F Beukes OC 200px Company level insignia thumb|SA Motorised Infantry beret bar SA Motorised Infantry beret bar circa 1992 118 South African Infantry 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 within the SADF.Truth Commission - Special Report - TRC Final Report - Volume 2, Section 1, Chapter https://sabctrc.saha.org.za/reports/volume2/chapter5/subsection9.htm 2022-02-04 sabctrc.saha.org.za By 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. 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 thumb|right|300px|Location of the 100 Battalions in relation to their respective homelands Development of the Lebowa Defence Force Two additional Northern Sotho Battalions were established, the 117 and the 118. Troops for 118 SA Battalion were recruited from the self-governing territory of Lebowa. Higher Command 118 Battalion initially resorted under the command of Group 45 then Group 14 from Potgietersrus. This command was eventually changed to Group 29 with amalgamation. thumb|center|140px|SADF Group 14 emblem 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 Deployments 118 Battalion was utilised to patrol the Lebowa and parts of the Botswana border. At some stage the unit was also stationed at Mtubatuba in Kwa Zulu Natal for border patrols in that region. Disbandment 2006. Insignia thumb|center|600px|SADF era 118 Battalion insignia Notes References 2 South Africa Category:Infantry battalions of South Africa Category:Military units and formations of South Africa in the Border War