Seminarium: Krigföring i Afrika

Välkommen till ett öppet seminarium i samarbete med University of Calgary och Stellenbosch University.

Den här gången kommer fyra presentatörer från tre olika universitet att bidra med ny kunskap och nya militärhistoriska perspektiv på general Jan Smuts under första världskriget, Gold Coast-regementet under andra världskriget samt upprorsbekämpning i Angola och Kongo.

Följ seminariet online

Seminariet ges på Zoom: https://fhs-se.zoom.us/j/61891667947?pwd=q9slHvwgDm8dYntBa8oXCZk7nX6eTz.1

Meeting ID: 61891667947
Passcode: 905197

Fyra föreläsningar på olika teman

A South African in London: Jan Smuts in the First World War

Antonio Garcia, PhD Research Fellow, Stellenbosch University Faculty of Military Science; and Open University Tutor, Faculty of Business and Law.

The talk addresses Jan Smuts’ role in David Lloyd George’s War Cabinet during the First World War where he quickly established himself as a trusted troubleshooter. Called upon to address strategic crises, Smuts played a key role in shaping imperial policy and military coordination. He balanced the wider demands of the British Empire with a constant awareness of South Africa’s interests. His ability to tackle complex problems and navigate both imperial strategy and national
priorities made him an influential figure at the heart of wartime decision-making.

The Role of the Gold Coast Brigade in the East African Campaign of the Second World War 1940–1941

Abdul-Rahim Mutawakilu, Doctoral Student, History, Faculty of Arts, University of Calgary.

Originating in the nineteenth century, the Gold Coast Regiment (GCR) initially focused on internal security and protecting the colony against external aggression. Following its operations in the First World War, it was expanded, reorganized and retooled in the late 1930s. When the Second World War began in September 1939, the GCR was upgraded to a brigade and deployed to East Africa in June 1940. In collaboration with other British Imperial forces, the Gold Coast Brigade played a significant role in defeating Italian troops through operations including the El
Wak Raid, the Juba River Crossing, and the Battle of Wadera. These operations helped thwart Benito Mussolini’s expansionist designs and secure Britain’s key sea routes via the Red Sea and the Suez Canal.

Belgium and counterinsurgency in post-independence Congo

Johan Massart, Doctoral Student, Department of Conflict Studies (COST), Royal Military Academy Brussels.

Belgium’s relationship with its former colony, Congo, has long been marked by complexity, and the sixties offer two opposite examples of Belgian involvement in counterinsurgency. Shortly after Congolese independence, Belgium supported the secessionist province of Katanga, providing military advisers who trained and fought in 1960 and 1961 alongside the Katangese Gendarmerie. Their actions included counterinsurgency operations against Balubakat rebels in
the north, who opposed Katanga’s breakaway government. A few years later, in 1964, the Congolese central government itself called for assistance against the Simba rebellion in the east. Belgium helped by building mixed mobile columns to confront the insurgents and intensified its involvement with a major paradrop in Stanleyville and Paulis in November 1964.

Operation Bombay 1968–1969

Evert Kleynhans, Associate Professor, Department of Military History, Stellenbosch University.

Between 1968 and 1969, Operation Bombay served as a clandestine South African military effort to provide direct air support for Portuguese counterinsurgency operations in southeastern Angola. Driven by the strategic need to block SWAPO infiltrations into South West Africa, the SADF deployed South African Air Force assets to bolster resource-constrained Portuguese forces. Despite accounting for 1,100 flying hours, the mission was deemed a strategic and tactical failure due to poor ground results and high civilian casualties. Nevertheless, this intervention formed part of the foundational relationship for the subsequent secret ALCORA
military alliance that was formalised in 1970.