General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

Pieter Grobbelaar, (16 September 1908 – 22 June 1988) was a South African military commander. He served as Army Chief of Staff from 1953 to 1958, and Commandant General of the South African Defence Force from 1961 to 1965.

Military career

Grobbelaar joined the

South African Army The South African Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of South Africa, a part of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF), along with the South African Air Force, South African Navy and South African Military Health Servi ...

as a part-time Citizen Force soldier in 1929 and became a full-time Permanent Force member in 1933. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Grobbelaar commanded the 7th Reconnaissance Battalion as a lieutenant colonel, and was second-in-command of the 12th Motorised Brigade, 6th Armoured Division during the

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. After the war, Grobbelaar served as Officer Commanding

Orange Free State Command Orange Free State Command was a command of the South African Army, active from to . Its headquarters was at Bloemfontein, seemingly for a period at the Tempe airfield, later to become the Tempe Military Base. History Origin Union Defence Fo ...

Northern Transvaal Command Northern Transvaal Command was a command of the South African Army. It was active from 1959 to mid 2000 when it was disestablished. Formerly it was named Northern Command from 1946 to 1959. History Origins Union Defence Force Military Districts ...

and the

South African Military College South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both west and east. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþaz' ...

. Grobbelaar served as Army Chief of Staff from 1953 to 1958, as Inspector-General from 1958 to 1959, as Deputy Commandant-General from 1959 to 1960, and as Commandant General of the South African Defence Force from 1961 to 1965.

Awards and decorations

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References

, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Grobbelaar, Pieter 1908 births 1988 deaths Afrikaner people South African people of Danish descent South African people of Dutch descent South African people of German descent Companions of the Distinguished Service Order South African military personnel of World War II Chiefs of the South African Army Graduates of the Staff College, Camberley