Natal Field Artillery
Encyclopedia
The Natal Field Artillery (usually abbreviated as NFA) is an artillery
regiment
of the South African Army
. As a reserve unit, it has a status roughly equivalent to that of a British Territorial Army or United States
Army National Guard
unit. It is part of the South African Army Artillery Formation.
, and later became a unit in its own right.
The regiment took part in numerous military actions, including:
From 1913 to 1926, the NFA was designated the 7th Citizen Battery (NFA). From 1926 to 1932, it was the 2nd Citizen Battery (NFA). During World War II it was the 2nd Field Regiment (NFA).
From 1960 to 1968, the regiment was affiliated to the University of Natal
, and was called the Natal University Regiment.
Artillery
Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...
regiment
Regiment
A regiment is a major tactical military unit, composed of variable numbers of batteries, squadrons or battalions, commanded by a colonel or lieutenant colonel...
of the South African Army
South African Army
The South African Army is the army of South Africa, first formed after the Union of South Africa was created in 1910.The South African military evolved within the tradition of frontier warfare fought by commando forces, reinforced by the Afrikaners' historical distrust of large standing armies...
. As a reserve unit, it has a status roughly equivalent to that of a British Territorial Army or United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Army National Guard
Army National Guard
Established under Title 10 and Title 32 of the U.S. Code, the Army National Guard is part of the National Guard and is divided up into subordinate units stationed in each of the 50 states, three territories and the District of Columbia operating under their respective governors...
unit. It is part of the South African Army Artillery Formation.
History
The Natal Field Artillery was raised in 1862 as part of the Durban Volunteer GuardDurban Light Infantry
The Durban Light Infantry Regiment is a Mechanised infantry regiment of the South African Army. As a reserve unit, it has a status roughly equivalent to that of a British Territorial Army unit or United States Army Reserve Unit unit.-Formation and Name:...
, and later became a unit in its own right.
The regiment took part in numerous military actions, including:
- the Second Anglo-Boer War
- the South African invasion of German South-West AfricaGerman South-West AfricaGerman South West Africa was a colony of Germany from 1884 until 1915, when it was taken over by South Africa and administered as South West Africa, finally becoming Namibia in 1990...
during World War IWorld War IWorld War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918... - World War IIWorld War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, when the regiment formed part of the South African 2nd Infantry DivisionSouth African 2nd Infantry DivisionThe South African 2nd Infantry Division was an infantry division of the army of the Union of South Africa during World War II. The Division was formed on 23 October 1940 and served in the Western Desert Campaign and was captured by German and Italian forces at Tobruk on 21 June 1942...
and was captured during the fall of TobrukTobrukTobruk or Tubruq is a city, seaport, and peninsula on Libya's eastern Mediterranean coast, near the border with Egypt. It is the capital of the Butnan District and has a population of 120,000 ....
.
From 1913 to 1926, the NFA was designated the 7th Citizen Battery (NFA). From 1926 to 1932, it was the 2nd Citizen Battery (NFA). During World War II it was the 2nd Field Regiment (NFA).
From 1960 to 1968, the regiment was affiliated to the University of Natal
University of Natal
The University of Natal was a university in Natal, and later KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa, that is now part of the University of KwaZulu-Natal. It was founded in 1910 as the Natal University College in Pietermaritzburg, and expanded to include a campus in Durban in 1931. In 1947, the university...
, and was called the Natal University Regiment.
Battle honours
Although artillery units in the South African Army do not usually receive battle honours, the NFA was awarded the honour- South-West Africa 1915