Ministry of Information First World War Official Collection Q15403

Lieutenant-General Sir Jacob Louis van Deventer KCB CMG DTD (18 July 1874 – 17 August 1922) was a South African

military commander The commanding officer (CO) or commander, or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually give ...

. Van Deventer was born in Ficksburg in the

Orange Free State The Orange Free State ( ; ) was an independent Boer-ruled sovereign republic under British suzerainty in Southern Africa during the second half of the 19th century, which ceased to exist after it was defeated and surrendered to the British Em ...

. He began his military career in the Transvaal republican forces in Pretoria on 21 February 1896, and fought in the

Anglo-Boer War The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic an ...

(1899–1902). He was physically a very big man standing almost 2 m tall. A serious wound at the end of the Anglo Boer War affected his ability to speak. Van Deventer was skilled at guerrilla tactics. He returned to military service in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, and commanded a Union Defence Forces formation in the

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 Afric ...

(1914–1915). In the German East Africa Campaign (1916–1918), he commanded a South African Overseas Expeditionary Force mounted brigade, then a division, and finally (1917–1918) all the British imperial forces in the region (though, allegedly, he could hardly speak English). He was knighted twice for his services. After the war, he was a part-time inspecting officer. He was made a Grand Officer of the Portuguese Military Order of Aviz in 1921. In 1922, he commanded a mounted brigade in operations to crush the Rand Revolt on the

Witwatersrand The Witwatersrand (, ; ; locally the Rand or, less commonly, the Reef) is a , north-facing scarp in South Africa. It consists of a hard, erosion-resistant quartzite metamorphic rock, over which several north-flowing rivers form waterfalls, w ...

. He married Maria Cornelia Snyman, born 5 May 1890. He died later in Pretoria in 1922.

References

* Van Deventer W.D Dr (1993) Van Deventer stamboom en Agtergrond * Nothling, C.J. (1994). ''Suid-Afrika in die Eerste Wereldoorlog''. 1874 births 1922 deaths Military personnel from the Free State (province) People from Ficksburg Afrikaner people Generals of World War I South African military personnel of World War I South African Republic military personnel of the Second Boer War South African Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath South African knights South African Army generals Orange Free State people {{SouthAfrica-mil-bio-stub