The South African Army was formed in 1912. It had five regular mounted regiments and a small artillery section. Conscription was also introduced in 1912 and half of the European males aged 16 to 25 were drafted by lots into the Active Citizen Force (ACF). On the outbreak of the First World War, General Luis Botha, the president of South Africa, immediately offered to send troops to invade German South-West Africa. Afrikaner opposition to this move provoked a major Boer Revolt. This was defeated by the middle of 1915 but in the elections of that year, Botha's National Party, only narrowly held on to power. Led by General Jan Smuts, over 146,000 men served in South African units during the war. This included 43,000 in German South-West Africa and 30,000 on the Western Front. It is estimated that about 3,000 South Africans joined the Royal Flying Corps. Total South African casualties during the war reached 18,600 with over 6,600 being killed. http://www.oldandsold.com/articles26/world-war-one-17.shtml
Hi Annie, Australia never had conscription in ww1 unlike a lot of countries. The government tried to bring it in but the voters said NO. John
The South African Mounted Rifles were modelled on the great imperial tradition of the rural paramilitary mounted police with such illustrious predecessors as the Royal Irish Constabulary, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the Royal Victoria Police. Each of the five SAMR regiments had an organic horse artillery battery with police powers under the Police Act and military powers under the Defence Act. Urban policing was undertaken by city foot police. By the 1920s the old South African Police had absorbed both the rural and urban forces with the exception of eg the Durban Borough Police. The British (and American) concept of numerous individual police forces was not favoured. The post 1994 South African Police Service was intentionally given a non-military structure. Towns and cities had developed forces for the enforcement of traffic laws and these grew into urban police forces with full powers but separate from the SAPS.
