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This is thehistory of South Africa from 1905 to 1948.

TheUnion of South Africa was tied closely to theBritish Empire, and automatically joined with Great Britain and the allies against theGerman Empire. Both Prime MinisterLouis Botha and Defence MinisterJan Smuts were formerSecond Boer War generals who had fought against the British, but then became active and respected members of theImperial War Cabinet.

South Africa was part of significant military operations against Germany. In spite of Boer resistance at home, the Afrikaner-led government ofLouis Botha unhesitatingly joined the side of theAllies of World War I and fought alongside its armies. The South African Government agreed to the withdrawal of British Army units so that they were free to join the European war, and had plans to invadeGerman South-West Africa. Elements of the South African army refused to fight against the Germans and along with other opponents of the Government rose in open revolt. The government declared martial law on 14 October 1914, and forces loyal to the government under the command of General Louis Botha and Jan Smuts proceeded to destroy theMaritz Rebellion. The leading Boer rebels got off lightly with terms of imprisonment of six and seven years and heavy fines. (SeeWorld War I and the Maritz Rebellion.)

The South AfricanUnion Defence Force saw action in a number of areas:

1. It dispatched its army toGerman South-West Africa (later known asSouth West Africa and now known asNamibia). The South Africans expelled German forces and gained control of the former German colony. (SeeSouth-West Africa Campaign.)
2. A military expedition under GeneralJan Smuts was dispatched toGerman East Africa (later known asTanganyika and now the mainland part ofTanzania). The objective was to fight German forces in that colony and to try to capture the elusive German Generalvon Lettow-Vorbeck. Ultimately, Lettow-Vorbeck fought his tiny force out of German East Africa intoMozambique and thenNorthern Rhodesia, where he accepted a cease-fire three days after the end of the war. (SeeEast African Campaign (World War I).)
3. 1st South African Brigade troops were shipped toFrance to fight on theWestern Front. The most costly battle that the South African forces on the Western Front fought in was theBattle of Delville Wood in 1916. (SeeSouth African Army in World War I.)
4. South Africans also saw action with theCape Corps as part of theEgyptian Expeditionary Force inPalestine. (SeeCape Corps 1915 - 1991)

With a population of roughly 6 million, between 1914–1918, over 250,000 South Africans of all races voluntarily served their country. Thousands more served in theBritish Army directly, with over 3,000 joining the BritishRoyal Flying Corps and over 100 volunteering for theRoyal Navy.^[1] It is likely that around 50% ofwhite men of military age served during the war. More than 146,000 whites, 83,000 black Africans and 2,500 Coloureds and Asians served in eitherGerman South-West Africa, East Africa, the Middle East, or on the Western Front in Europe. Suffering roughly 19,000 casualties, over 7,000 South Africans were killed, and nearly 12,000 were wounded during the course of the war.^[2] Eight South Africans won the Victoria Cross for gallantry, the Empire's highest and prestigious military medal. TheBattle of Delville Wood and the sinking of theSSMendi being the greatest single incidents of loss of life.

The assistance that South Africa gave the British Empire was significant. Two German African colonies were occupied, either by South Africa alone or with significant South African assistance. Manpower, from all races, helped Allied operations not just on the Western Front and Africa but also in theMiddle East against theOttoman Empire. South Africa's ports and harbours on the Home Front were a crucial strategic asset when conducting a war on a global scale. Providing important rest and refuelling stations, the Royal Navy could ensure vital sea lane connections to theBritish Raj, and the Far East stayed open.

Economically, South Africa supplied two-thirds ofgold production in theBritish Empire, with most of the remainder coming from Australia. At the start of the war,Bank of England officials in London worked with South Africa to block gold shipments toGermany, and force mine owners to sell only to theBritish Treasury, at prices set by the Treasury. This facilitated purchases of munitions and food in theUnited States and neutral countries.^[3]

On 4 September 1939, the United Party caucus refused to accept Hertzog's stance of neutrality inWorld War II. Hertzog resigned rather than accept the ruling and Smuts was elected in his stead. Upon becoming Prime Minister of South Africa, Smuts declared South Africa officially at war with Germany and the Axis. Smuts immediately set about fortifying South Africa against any possible German sea invasion because of South Africa's global strategic importance controlling the long sea route around theCape of Good Hope.

Smuts took severe action against the pro-German South AfricanOssewabrandwag movement (they were caught committing acts of sabotage) and interned its leaders for the duration of the war. (One of them,John Vorster, was to become future prime minister of South Africa.) (SeeJan Smuts during World War II.)

Prime MinisterJan Smuts was the only important non-British general whose advice was constantly sought by Britain's wartime Prime MinisterWinston Churchill. Smuts was invited to theImperial War Cabinet in1939 as the most senior South African in favour of war. On 28 May 1941, Smuts was appointed aField Marshal of theBritish Army, becoming the first South African to hold that rank. Ultimately, Smuts would pay a steep political price for his closeness to the British establishment, to the King, and to Churchill which had made Smuts very unpopular among the conservative nationalisticAfrikaners, leading to his eventual downfall, whereas mostEnglish-speaking whites and a minority of liberal Afrikaners in South Africa remained loyal to him. (SeeJan Smuts during World War II.)

South Africa and its military forces contributed in many theatres of war.South Africa's contribution consisted mainly of supplying troops, men and material for theNorth African campaign (the Desert War) and theItalian Campaign as well as to Allied ships that docked at its crucial ports adjoining theAtlantic Ocean andIndian Ocean that converge at the tip ofSouthern Africa. Numerous volunteers also flew for theRoyal Air Force. (See:South African Army in World War II;South African Air Force in World War II;South African Navy in World War II;South Africa's contribution in World War II.)

1. The South African Army andAir Force helped defeat the Italian army of the FascistBenito Mussolini that hadinvaded Abyssinia (now known asEthiopia) in 1935. During the 1941East African Campaign South African forces made important contribution to this early Allied victory.
2. Another important victory in which the South Africans participated, was the liberation ofMalagasy (now known asMadagascar) from the control of theVichy French who were allies of the Nazis. British troops aided by South African soldiers, staged their attack from South Africa, and occupied the strategic island in 1942 to preclude its seizure by the Japanese.
3. TheSouth African 1st Infantry Division took part in several actions in North Africa in 1941 and 1942, including theBattle of El Alamein, before being withdrawn to South Africa.
4. TheSouth African 2nd Infantry Division also took part in a number of actions in North Africa during 1942, but on 21 June 1942 two complete infantry brigades of the division as well as most of the supporting units were captured at the fall ofTobruk.
5. TheSouth African 3rd Infantry Division never took an active part in any battles but instead organised and trained the South African home defence forces, performed garrison duties and supplied replacements for the South African 1st Infantry Division and the South African 2nd Infantry Division. However, one of this division's constituent brigades -7 SA Motorised Brigade - did take part in the invasion ofMadagascar in 1942.
6. TheSouth African 6th Armoured Division fought in numerous actions inItaly from 1944 to 1945.
7. South Africa contributed to the war effort against Japan, supplying men and manning ships in naval engagements against the Japanese.^[4]

Of the 334,000 men who volunteered for the South African Armed Forces during the war (including some 211,000 whites, 77,000 blacks and 46,000 "coloureds" and Asians), nearly 9,000 were killed in action.

South Africa emerged from the Allied victory with its prestige and national honour enhanced as it had fought tirelessly for the Western Allies. South Africa's standing in the international community was rising, at a time when the Third World's struggle against colonialism had still not taken centre stage. In May1945, Prime Minister Smuts represented South Africa inSan Francisco at the drafting of theUnited Nations Charter. Just as he did in 1919, Smuts urged the delegates to create a powerful international body to preserve peace; he was determined that, unlike theLeague of Nations, theUnited Nations would have teeth. Smuts signed theParis Peace Treaty, resolving the peace in Europe, thus becoming the only signatory of both the treaty ending the First World War, and that ending the Second.

However, internal political struggles in the disgruntled and essentially impoverished Afrikaner community would soon come to the fore leading to Smuts' defeat at the polls in the1948 elections (in which only whites and coloureds could vote) at the hands of a resurgent National Party after the war. This began the road to South Africa's eventual isolation from a world that would no longer tolerate any forms of political discrimination or differentiation based on race only.

About the native land act of 1913 in South Africa

• Berger, Iris.South Africa in world history. Oxford University Press, 2009.
• Thompson, Leonard M.A history of South Africa (Yale University Press, 2001).
• Historicus Africanus, Der 1. Weltkrieg in Deutsch-Südwestafrika 1914–15, Volume 1, 2nd edition, Glanz & Gloria Verlag, Windhoek 2012,ISBN 978-99916-872-1-6
• Historicus Africanus, Der 1. Weltkrieg in Deutsch-Südwestafrika 1914–15, Volume 2, "Naulila", Glanz & Gloria Verlag, Windhoek 2012,ISBN 978-99916-872-3-0
• Historicus Africanus, Der 1. Weltkrieg in Deutsch-Südwestafrika 1914–15, Volume 3, "Kämpfe im Süden", Glanz & Gloria Verlag, Windhoek 2014,ISBN 978-99916-872-8-5

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