Doctoral Degrees (Military History)

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Browsing Doctoral Degrees (Military History) by Subject "Soldiers -- World War,1939-1945 – Personnel narratives"

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    The wartime experiences of the men of the 2nd South African Infantry Division, 1940 – 1945
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2023-12-15) Scherman, Jean-Pierre; Van der Waag, Ian Joseph; Kleynhans, Evert; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Military Sciences. School for Security and Africa Studies. Military History.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The 2nd South African Infantry Division (2nd SA Inf Div) has long been considered the “lost” division in the history of South Africa’s Second World War. Unlike the other divisions raised by the Union Defence Force (UDF) during the war, the 2nd SA Inf Div’s combat record only stretched for approximately a year before the divisional headquarters and two infantry brigades were captured at Tobruk in North Africa in June 1942. Their short combat service, and the stigma of defeat, which clung to them even after the war’s end, meant a unique war experience – and an experience very different from other Springbok soldiers. Established on 23 October 1940, at Voortrekkerhoogte, the division had an authorised personnel strength of 21 315 service personnel, comprised solely of volunteers, who had signed the Africa Oath, whereby they consented to fight anywhere in Africa. After a year of training in the Union, the division embarked at Durban for the deserts of North Africa, where they experienced boredom and excitement as they constructed defences around El Alamein and were “blooded” during Operation Crusader. Their desert adventure ended suddenly with the capture of 10 722 members of the division at Tobruk. Initially held in prisoner of war (POW) camps in Africa and Italy, the Italian armistice in September 1943 provided the opportunity for many of the men to escape; the remainder were transported over the Alps to spend the remainder of the war as prisoners in Germany. Utilising the ‘New Military History’ approach, whereby the focus of a study shifts from the viewpoint of high-ranking men to that of the ordinary soldier on the ground, this dissertation examines the war-time experiences, from enlistment to demobilisation and memory, of these lost Springboks. Making use of their diaries, letters, notebooks, sketches, biographies, autobiographies, and stories, their war-time experiences are used to examine the formation, training, deployment, combat, and incarceration of the bulk of the men of the 2nd SA Inf Div. For the first time, the history of a South African infantry division has been studied in this manner - using the lived experiences of its men. Moreover, with sixty percent of all South Africa’s Second World War POWs originating from this division, this study provides further insight into the whole South African POW experience, including various divisional escape and evade narratives. This dissertation explains the network established by the UDF to aid escaping POWs, and the complex mission established to get the men home. Now, after more than eighty years, their voices have been rediscovered and examined, and an important gap in South Africa’s military historiography of the Second World War is filled.