South African 32 Battalion

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32 Battalion (sometimes nicknamed Buffalo Battalion or Os Terriveis - Portuguese for The Terrible Ones) was an infantry battalion of the pre-1994 South African Army.

Founded in 1975 by Colonel Jan Breytenbach, the controversial "mercenary" battalion was considered to be one of the premier units of the old South African Defence Force (SADF). It was also the most decorated unit during the South African Border War, with a total of fourteen Honoris Crux medals for bravery awarded to members of this unit.

1 History
2 In fiction
3 See also
4 External links

[edit] History

After the victory of the Movimento Popular de Libertaçâo de Angola (MPLA) in the Angolan Civil War in 1975, many troops of its main rival, the Frente Naçional de Libertaçâo de Angola (FNLA), found refuge in the then South African-controlled South-West Africa.

From these troops, Colonel Breytenbach formed a unit that was initially known as Bravo Group but later renamed 32 Battalion. Initially, Bravo Group consisted of two infantry companies, a mortar platoon, an anti-tank section and a machine gun platoon, but 32 Battalion was expanded to 6 infantry companies, a recce wing, and a support company consisting of a 81mm mortars, anti-tank and machine gun sections.

Unlike other SADF units, 32 Battalion was mainly deployed in southern Angola, acting as a buffer between the SADF's regular forces and its enemies. The unit was also used to assist the anti-communist movement of UNITA. Although it was mainly used as a counter-insurgency force it was eventually also used as a semi-conventional force, especially during the later phases of the war - particularly at the Battle of Cuito Cuanavale. As such, its involvement in the Angolan/Namibian border war was greater than that of any other unit of the SADF and it is claimed that they caused more enemy casualties than any other SADF unit.

The battalion primarily consisted of black Angolan soldiers and non-commissioned officers (NCOs) led by white South African officers and NCOs, although there was also a number of officers from countries such as the United Kingdom, Rhodesia, Portugal and the United States in the unit, especially in its early stages.

After Namibian independence in 1989, the unit was withdrawn to South Africa where it was used in the counter-insurgency role and later also in the South African townships. As one of the results of the negotiations between the National Party and the African National Congress, the unit was disbanded in March 1993 and retired to Pomfret, South Africa.^[1] At the end of its era in Namibia, the unit had developed into a Battle Group equipped with Ratel 90 anti tank, 127mm Valkiri multiple rocket launchers and 20mm AA weapons.