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Battle Of Sandfontein
The Battle of Sandfontein was fought between the Union Defence Force of South Africa and the German Empire on 26 September 1914 at Sandfontein, during the first stage of the South West Africa Campaign of World War I. It ended in a German victory. Background The outbreak of World War I led to the transfer of the British Imperial garrison from South Africa to France. Expecting the war to finish quickly, many South Africans also departed for Europe, aiming to take part in the combat. The Union Defence Force took the responsibility of independently protecting South Africa from a possible German offensive. In the meantime, prime minister Louis Botha found himself in the middle of a confrontation between pro-British loyalists supporting full involvement in the war and Afrikaner nationalists advocating neutrality. German colonial troops in South West Africa numbered 140 officers, 2,000 regulars, and 2,500 reservists organized into eight mounted companies, a single camel corp, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
South West Africa Campaign
The South West Africa campaign was the conquest and occupation of German South West Africa by forces from the Union of South Africa acting on behalf of the British imperial government at the beginning of the First World War. The South African Prime Minister Louis Botha took the unusual move of leading his troops into battle as commander-in-chief, to the frustration of his cabinet. Background The outbreak of hostilities in Europe in August 1914 had been anticipated and government officials of South Africa were aware of the significance of their common border with the German colony. Prime Minister Louis Botha informed London that South Africa could defend itself and that the Imperial Garrison might depart for France; when the British government asked Botha whether his forces would invade German South West Africa, the reply was yes. South African troops were mobilised along the border between the two countries under the command of General Henry Lukin and Lieutenant-Colonel ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kalahari Desert
The Kalahari Desert is a large semiarid climate, semiarid sandy savanna in Southern Africa covering including much of Botswana as well as parts of Namibia and South Africa. It is not to be confused with the Angolan, Namibian, and South African Namib coastal desert, whose name is of Khoekhoe language, Khoekhoegowab origin and means "vast place". Etymology ''Kalahari'' is derived from the Tswana language, Tswana word ''Kgala'', meaning "the great thirst", or ''Kgalagadi'', meaning "a waterless place"; the Kalahari has vast areas covered by red sand without any permanent surface water. History The Kalahari Desert was not always a dry desert. The fossil flora and fauna from Gcwihaba, Gcwihaba Cave in Botswana indicates that the region was much wetter and cooler at least from 30 to 11 thousand Before Present, especially after 17,500 BP. Geography Drainage of the desert is by dry black valleys, seasonally inundated pans, and the large salt pan (geology), salt pans of the Mak ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Warmbad, Namibia
Warmbad (Afrikaans and German language, German for ''Warm Bath'', Khoekhoe language, Nama: , Aixa-aibes) is a settlement located in the ǁKaras Region of southern Namibia. It is situated south of Karasburg at the Homs River, close to the border with South Africa, and belongs to the Karasburg Constituency, Karasburg electoral constituency. First occupied by traders, hunters, and missionaries of different congregations, the hot springs from which the settlement's name is derived were first exploited at the beginning of the 20th century and are now being developed into a tourist attraction. , uranium was discovered in the area. Climatically, Warmbad lies between the coastal desert and the Karoo. Winter frost occurs and very little rainfall (annual average: ). The mean medial temperature lies between 12 and 15 degrees. History Pre-colonial period Warmbad was first named in 1760 by Reconnaissance, scout Jacobus Coetzee, the first documented European to cross the Orange River, Oranj ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Manie Maritz
Manie Maritz (26 July 1876 – 20 December 1940), also known as Gerrit Maritz, was a Boer officer during the Second Boer War. He was also a participant in the Herero and Nama genocide and later a leading participant in the pro-German Maritz rebellion in 1914. In the 1930s, Maritz became an outspoken Nazi sympathizer and supporter of Nazi Germany. Early years Maritz was born in Kimberley, Northern Cape then in the British colony of the Cape of Good Hope, and as such, was a British subject. He was christened Salomon Gerhardus Maritz. When he turned 19 he went to Johannesburg and was employed as a cab driver by his uncle. During the Jameson Raid he volunteered as a guard of the Johannesburg fort. This entitled him to become a citizen of the Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek (ZAR). This, in turn, permitted him to join the Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek Politie (ZARP), the police force in Johannesburg.Maritz, Manie, My lewe en strewe, published by the author in 1939. Second Boer War Maritz ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tim Lukin
Major-General Sir Henry Timson Lukin (24 May 1860 – 15 December 1925) was a South African military commander. He fought in the Anglo-Zulu War (1879) and the Basutoland Gun War (1880–1881), the Bechuanaland Campaign (1897), and the Anglo-Boer War when he was in command of the artillery during the defence of Wepener for which action he was awarded a Distinguished Service Order. From 1900 to 1901 he commanded the Cape Mounted Riflemen, from 1904 to 1912 he was Commandant-General of the Cape Colonial Forces and in 1912 Inspector-General of the Permanent Force of the Union of South Africa. Brig Gen Lukin transferred to the new Union Defence Forces in 1912 as Inspector-General of the Permanent Force. He commanded a formation in the German South West Africa Campaign (1914–1915), and commanded the 1st South African Infantry Brigade of the South African Overseas Expeditionary Force in Egypt (1916) and France (1916), at Delville Wood before being promoted to a divisional com ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Upington
Upington () is a town founded in 1873 and located in the Northern Cape province of South Africa, on the banks of the Orange River. The town was originally called Olijvenhoutsdrift ('Olive wood drift'), due to the abundance of olive wood trees in the area, but later renamed after Sir Thomas Upington, Attorney-General and then Prime Minister of the Cape. It originated as a mission station established in 1871 and run by Reverend Christiaan Schröder. The mission station now houses the Kalahari Orange Museum. The museum is also the home of a donkey statue, which recognises the enormous contribution that this animal made to the development of the region during the pioneering days of the 19th century. The elevation of Upington is 2,742 feet (835 metres). It is the closest large centre to the Augrabies Falls (arguably the greatest of South African waterfalls) and the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park. The landscape is very arid but the soil is fertile and crops such as fruit are grown in i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Port Nolloth
Port Nolloth is a town and seaport in the Namaqualand region on the northwestern coast of South Africa, northwest of Springbok. It is the seat of the Richtersveld Local Municipality. The port was previously a transshipment point for copper from the Okiep mines and diamonds from the Namaqua coast. Since the 1970s, the main seagoing activities have been fishing and small-vessel tourism. Today the town is a commercial hub with several holiday homes and a caravan park at the adjacent McDougalls Bay. It is also a gateway to the Richtersveld National Park, located to the north along the Orange River. History The bay where the port is located was known by the indigenous Nama people as ''Aukwatowa'' ('Where the water took away the old man'). Its location was marked by Portuguese explorer Bartolomeu Dias on his voyage around the Cape of Good Hope in 1487. It was the last landfall he sighted before a wild storm blew his ship off course and out to sea for 30 days. The land surrounding ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Swakopmund
Swakopmund ("Mouth of the Swakop River, Swakop") is a city on the coast of western Namibia, west of the Namibian capital Windhoek via the B2 road (Namibia), B2 main road. It is the capital of the Erongo Region, Erongo administrative district. It has 75,921 inhabitants. The city is situated at the edge of the Namib Desert and is the fourth largest population centre in Namibia. Swakopmund is a popular beach resort and characterized by 19th century German colonial architecture. The city was founded in 1892 as the main harbour for German South West Africa. Buildings in the city include the Altes Gefängnis, Swakopmund, Altes Gefängnis, a prison designed by Heinrich Bause in 1909. The Woermannhaus, built in 1906 with a prominent tower (Damara tower), is now a public library. Attractions in Swakopmund include the Swakopmund Museum, the National Marine Aquarium of Namibia, the Crystal Gallery. Activities like quad biking, camel rides, sky diving, paragliding, and desert day trips ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
