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Heilbron Commando was a light infantry regiment of the South African Army. It formed part of the South African Army Infantry Formation as well as the South African Territorial Reserve.

• History

• Origin

• Operations

• Unit Insignia

• Leadership

• References

• See also

This Commando was involved in the following:

• The battle of Rietfonteincite-ref-1[1] took place on 24 October 1899 between six commandos of the Free State Army commanded by General A Piet Cronje and a British Flying Column dispatched from Ladysmith under the command of Sir George White.

The Free State forces consisted of the following commandos:

• Harrismith Commando,

• Kroonstad Commando,

• Winburg Commando,

• Bethlehem Commando,

• Vrede Commando and

• Heilbron Commando.

• The battle of Magersfontein that occurred on 11 December 1899.

By 1902 all Commando remnants were under British military control and disarmed.

By 1912, however previous Commando members could join shooting associations.

By 1940, such commandos were under control of the National Reserve of Volunteers.

These commandos were formally reactivated by 1948.

During this era, the unit was mainly used for area force protection, police assistance and stock theft control.

This unit resorted under the command of Group 24.

This unit, along with all other Commando units was disbanded after a decision by South African President Thabo Mbeki to disband all Commando Units.cite-ref-2[2]cite-ref-3[3] The Commando system was phased out between 2003 and 2008 "because of the role it played in the apartheid era", according to the Minister of Safety and Security Charles Nqakula.cite-ref-4[4]

| From | Honorary Colonels | To |

|---|---|---|

| From | Commanding Officers | To |

| From | Regimental Sergeants Major | To |

• Commandant Lukas Steenkamp 1900

cite-note-11. ↑ "South African Military History Society - Journal - WITNESS TO RIETFONTEIN 24 October 1899 - Part One". samilitaryhistory.org. Retrieved 25 October 2021.

cite-note-22. ↑ citerefcol-l-b-van-stade-senior-staff-officer-rationalisation-sandf1997Col L B van Stade, Senior Staff Officer Rationalisation, SANDF (1997). "Rationalisation in the SANDF: The Next Challenge". Institute for Security Studies. Archived from the original on 16 March 2016. Retrieved 5 March 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

cite-note-33. ↑ "About the Commando system". Archived from the original on 6 December 2007. Retrieved 17 January 2008.

cite-note-44. ↑ citerefde-langede Lange, Deon. "South Africa: Commandos Were 'Hostile to New SA'". Cape Argus. Retrieved 5 March 2015.

• South African Commando System