In 1913, the regiment's two ‘wings’ became known as the First and Second Mounted Rifles (Natal Carbineers) and in 1934 they re-assumed the name 1st and 2nd Natal Carbineers.
The following year, they became theRoyal Natal Carbineers, a title which remained in use until the country became a republic in 1961.
The regiment has been active since 1994 in internal duties in support of the police as well as border protection. They have also contributed to external peace-keeping missions to inter aliaMONUSCO in theDRC.
In August 2019, 52 Reserve Force units had their names changed to reflect the diverse military history of South Africa.[1] The Natal Carbineers became theIngobamakhosi Carbineers, and have 3 years to design and implement new regimental insignia.[2] The new name was decided on to reflect the merging of two proud military traditions.Ingobamakhosi[a] which was a Zulu Regiment in the 19th century andCarbineers to reflect the horse-borne, carbine bearing soldiers[b] that formed the regiment. A loose translation of the new name could be "The King's Own Carbineers"[c].
The Natal Carbineers Regimental Colour. Once a new insignia has been approved, these Colours will be laid up and a new Colour will be designed for the Ingobamakhosi Carbineers Regimental Colour
Since its inception, the Natal Carbineers[d] have participated in every campaign in KwaZulu-Natal. Their baptism of fire came during the Langalibalele Rebellion in 1873 where they suffered their first casualties in action in the Drakensberg. Subsequently, during the Anglo-Zulu War, the Carbineers suffered minor losses[5] at the Battle of Isandlwana on 22 January 1879.[6][7]
The Natal Carbineers participated in theinvasion ofZululand in January 1879, and on 22 January, 23 members of the Regiment perished in the famousbattle of Isandlwana.[5] The unit was subsequently relegated togarrison duties at Landman's Drift on the Mzinyathi, orBuffalo River.[7]
In September 1899, the Natal Carbineers weremobilised for active service in theBritish campaign to subdue theBoer republics of theTransvaal andOrange Free State. The Regiment served until October 1900, when the Natal Volunteer Forces were demobilized. Some men continued their service in the Volunteer Composite Regiment until the end of thewar in May 1902.[7]
Ladysmith, KwaZulu-Natal: From 2 November 1899 until 28 February 1900, the bulk of the Natal Carbineers wasbesieged inLadysmith, and played a prominent part in that famousengagement. The most prominent military action was the attack by Colonial Forces on theBoerartillery emplacement atGun Hill on the night of 7–8 December 1899. The Regiment lost heavily from the diseases that ravaged the garrison. A solitarysquadron of the Natal Carbineers, theEstcourt-Weenen Squadron, avoided thesiege of Ladysmith, and instead participated in therelief operations ofSir Redvers Buller as part ofHubert Gough's Composite Regiment. This squadron's most notable military action of this period was the disastrousbattle of Colenso on 15 December 1899, when four men were killed. These were their most serious losses for any one action during theAnglo-Boer War.[7]
The Natal Carbineers saw extensive service in theNatal (or Bambatha) Uprising of 1906. From February to July 1906, the Regiment participated in the numerous sweeps and drives through the mountainous terrain of Zululand, as the Natal Colonial forces sought to trap and destroy the elusive ‘rebel’warriors. The Carbineers were present at the decisive battle at Mhome Gorge on 10 June, where the back of the uprising was broken.[7]
The Natal Carbineers, then known as the 1st and 2nd Mounted Rifles, were mobilized on 23 August 1914. Both wings saw service inGerman South-West Africa, while the 2nd Battalion was also involved in the suppression of the short-lived Afrikaner Rebellion of 1914.
Gibeon: The climactic battle of theSouth Africancampaign in German South-West Africa was fought atGibeon Station on 25 April 1915. The Carbineers lost two men killed in the engagement.[7]
El Wak: The first major engagement of theEast African campaign for the Carbineers was fought on 16 December 1940 at the Italian border post ofEl Wak, on the northern Kenyan frontier with Italian Somaliland. The Regiment lost its firstWorld War II casualty,Sergeant Athol Paton, in this otherwise successful clash.[7][8]
The Juba:The Juba River was the Italian Army's major defensive line inSomaliland. Several actions were fought during January and February 1941, at Gobwen and Giumbo, but the period is best remembered for the disastrous ambush on 22 February of a Carbineer patrol at Gelib. Twelve men lost their lives.[7]
Kombolcha: The engagement atKombolcha in Ethiopia on 22 April 1941 followed the occupation of the capital city,Addis Ababa in March. The fighting at Kombolcha was distinguished by a daring nocturnal route march to successfully outflank Italian mountain-top positions. The battle honour awards refer to the general period 17 to 25 April.[7]
Amba Alagi: Italian resistance inEast Africa was finally crushed when the mountain fortress ofAmba Alagi, betweenDessie andAsmara, was successfully stormed by British andCommonwealth forces that included the 1st Royal Natal Carbineers. The Italians surrendered on 17 May 1941, and this battle honour refers to the period from 11 to 19 April.[9][7]
Following the fall of Italian East Africa in May 1941, the1st South African Brigade was dispatched toNorth Africa to confront the jointItalian-German forces in the see-saw offensives acrossEgypt andLibya. The Carbineers earned numerous individualbattle honours between June 1941 and January 1943 when it sailed home for a well-earned leave.[7]
Sidi Rezegh: The 1st Royal Natal Carbineers played a small part in the disastrous battles in the vicinity ofSidi Rezegh in Libya during late November 1941, between the 19th and 23rd. These actions formed part ofOperation Crusader, the British forces of November–December 1941, intended to relieve the firstsiege of Tobruk.[7]
Taieb el Essem: The Carbineers were a component of the 1st Brigade force that held a defensive box south of Sidi Rezegh. On 24–25 November 1941 this force repelled a heavy Germanarmouredassault.[7]
Bir Sciafsciuf: This minor engagement in November 1941 pitted a small Carbineer component against an enemy convoy in the vicinity of Sidi Rezegh.[7]
Gazala: TheGazala Line, to the west ofTobruk, established in early 1942, was a series of connected strong-points intended to blunt a German thrust towards Egypt. Carbineers formed part of the garrison of this line from March to June 1942, when they were forced to retreat after a German breakthrough and the fall of Tobruk.[7] The major highlight of the Gazala sojourn was the patrol on 5 June where SergeantQuentin Smythe was awarded theVictoria Cross.
Point 204: This little-known clash occurred in the Alem Hamza area of the Gazala Line on 5 June 1942. The single company involved suffered heavy casualties in an engagement with Italian troops. Among the six killed was H.P. Masterton-Smith, the 1931Comrades Marathon winner.[7]
El Alamein defence: Following the breaching of the Gazala Line and the fall of Tobruk, British and Commonwealth forces retired toEl Alamein, not far fromAlexandria. Here a comprehensive series of defences were prepared. In July 1942 the Carbineers played its part in denying the Germans the breakthrough that they needed to attain victory in this theatre.[7]
Qattara: On 26–27 July 1942 a detachment of the Carbineers was involved in this subsidiary action in the Alamein defensive battles of July 1942.[7]
El Alamein (2nd battle): The Carbineers played a small but eventful part in the huge and decisiveSecond Battle of El Alamein in October–November 1942. The Carbineer participation was confined mainly to the initial phase launched on 23 October.[7]
The 1st Royal Natal Carbineers landed atTaranto, Italy, on 20 April 1944, just in time for the latter phases of the battles forCassino. From there the Regiment fought its way up the Italian boot, throughRome, until final victory in May 1945.[7]
Cassino: The task ofbreaching the GermanGustav Line, straddling southern Italy, was dominated by the mountain position of Cassino, under assault since January 1944. The Carbineers entered thefray in May, and it was on the night of the 9th–10th of that month that the Regiment's first casualty in Italy,Corporal J.S.P. Airey, was killed. The Carbineers were active on the Cassino line for several weeks until 21 May. This battle honour refers to the general period of 11 to 18 May 1944.[7]
Paliano: Two companies of the Carbineers were involved in this action alongRoute 6 during the advance from Cassino to Rome, as German forces fought severalrearguard actions.[7]
Bagno Regio: Bagno Regio was a hilltop village north of Rome, and on the night of 12 – 13 June 1944, elements of the Carbineers scaled a precipitous rock face to effect its capture.[7]
Città della Pieve: This action occurred during the period 16 – 19 June 1944 on theAllied advance north of Rome. Two companies of the Carbineers lost eight men killed.[7]
Florence: Following the fall of Rome on 5 June 1944, German resistance stiffened in the vicinity ofFlorence, and during June there were several sharp actions, such as those at Bagno Regio andChiusi. The battle honour covers the period from 17 July to 10 August. This activity was followed by a period of rest during August.[7]
The Greve: The action at the Greve, a river north of Rome, was fought over the period 24 July to 2 August.[7]
Gothic Line was another of the German defensive lines that straddled the boot of Italy as theAllied armies pushed northwards from Rome in mid-to late-1944. TheGothic Line Carbineer battles fought in the effort to breach it, and thereafter, have entered the Regiment's hall-of-fame: Monte Vigese, Monte Stanco, Monte Pezza and others.[7]
Monte Vigese: Monte Vigese was a seemingly impregnable rocky eminence occupied by entrenched German forces. On 6 October, however, in driving rain and poor visibility, ‘A’ Company, under Major Peter Francis, performed the virtually impossible and drove the defenders off.[7]
Monte Stanco: On 10 October, at Monte Stanco, the Carbineers suffered one of their few reverses of the Italian campaign, when they were compelled to abandon this hard-won feature. Captain Jacko Edmonds earned theAmericanSilver Star forgallantry for his part in this action.[7]
Monte Pezza: Monte Pezza was the next peak in the Gothic Line to be tackled by the 1st Royal Natal Carbineers, on 17 October.[7]
Po Valley: Following a long and hard winter in the snow-boundApennine Mountains, the campaign to drive the Germans out of the rest of Italy, the fighting entered thePo Valley, and the Carbineers once again played a significant part in operations from 19 to 30 April 1945.[7]
The Natal Carbineers saw service in acounter-insurgency capacity in northernNamibia (South-West Africa) for three months from August 1976, and thereafter in numerous modular deployments over the next decade.[10][7]
^Ingobamakhosi could also be translated as "Benders/Humblers of Kings
^TheIngobamamakhosi, have not participated in any campaigns or battles that have been awarded Battle Honours. All the Battle Honours were awarded prior to amalgamation in 1994
^"Natal Carbineers"(PDF). Ladysmith Municipality Heritage Commemorative Brochure. 2 July 2011. Archived fromthe original(PDF) on 7 April 2014. Retrieved1 June 2012.
South Africa
