The Natal Mounted Rifles is an armour

Armour

Armour or armor is protective covering used to prevent damage from being inflicted to an object, individual or a vehicle through use of direct contact weapons or projectiles, usually during combat, or from damage caused by a potentially dangerous environment or action...

ed 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 Armour Formation and is based in the city of Durban

Durban

Durban is the largest city in the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal and the third largest city in South Africa. It forms part of the eThekwini metropolitan municipality. Durban is famous for being the busiest port in South Africa. It is also seen as one of the major centres of tourism...

.

Formation

In May 1868 the Regimental Committee of the Durban Mounted Rifles presided by Captain WH Addison held a meeting to discuss the forming of the Natal Mounted Rifles. The formation of the regiment would entail the amalgamation of four Volunteer Units; Royal D’urban Rangers (1854), Victoria Mounted Rifles (1862), Alexander Mounted Rifles (1865) and Durban Mounted Rifles(1873).

Anglo Boer War

The regiment was re-activated in Durban

Durban

Durban is the largest city in the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal and the third largest city in South Africa. It forms part of the eThekwini metropolitan municipality. Durban is famous for being the busiest port in South Africa. It is also seen as one of the major centres of tourism...

 during February and March 1901 for service in the South African War

Boer War

The Boer Wars were two wars fought between the British Empire and the two independent Boer republics, the Oranje Vrijstaat and the Republiek van Transvaal ....

. It was originally called the 2nd Natal Volunteer Composite Regiment but the name was soon changed to Natal Mounted Infantry. The unit was armed and equipped by the Natal Volunteer Department and horsed by the Imperial Remount Department. The first depot was at Dundee

Dundee

Dundee is the fourth-largest city in Scotland and the 39th most populous settlement in the United Kingdom. It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firth of Tay, which feeds into the North Sea...

, but, on the unit changing its name, this was transferred to Newcastle

Newcastle, Saint Kitts and Nevis

Newcastle is a village on the northern coast of the island of Nevis in Saint Kitts and Nevis. It is the capital of Saint James Windward Parish. The village is just to the east of the Nevis airport, and in fact much of the village had to be moved over when the runway of the airport was extended a...

.

World War II

On 1 July 1913 the Regiment was re-amalgamated with the Border Mounted Rifles, renamed the 3rd Mounted Rifles (Natal Mounted Rifles) and transferred to the Active Citizen Force of the Union Defence Force

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...

. In 1932 the Regiment's name was simplified to The Natal Mounted Rifles and in 1934 it was converted to infantry

Infantry

Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...

.

In addition to the campaigns in which its various constituent units fought in before the Regiment's formation, the Natal Mounted Rifles served in the Second Anglo-Boer War (1899 - 1902), the Zulu Rebellion (1906 - 1907), World War I

World War I

World 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...

 (specifically in South-West Africa from 1914 to 1915), World War II

World War II

World 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...

 (See 1st SA Infantry Division and South Africa's post-war internal conflicts and "Border War".

Symbols

• Regimental motto
  Motto
  A motto is a phrase meant to formally summarize the general motivation or intention of a social group or organization. A motto may be in any language, but Latin is the most used. The local language is usual in the mottoes of governments...
  
  : "Just and frank" (from 1888 to 1913) and "Rough but ready" (from 1913 onwards).

Battle honours

• South Africa 1879
• South Africa 1899-1902
  • Defence of Ladysmith
    Siege of Ladysmith
    The Siege of Ladysmith was a protracted engagement in the Second Boer War, taking place between 30 October 1899 and 28 February 1900 at Ladysmith, Natal.-Background:...
    
    
• Natal 1906
• South-West Africa 1914-1915
  • Gibeon
• East Africa 1940-1941
  • Dadaba
• Western Desert 1941-1943 (See 1st SA Infantry Division)
  • Gazala
  • Best Post
  • Alamein Defence
  • El Alamein
    El Alamein
    El Alamein is a town in the northern Matrouh Governorate of Egypt. Located on the Mediterranean Sea, it lies west of Alexandria and northwest of Cairo. As of 2007, it has a local population of 7,397 inhabitants.- Climate :...
    
    
• Italy 1944-1945
  • The Tiber
    Tiber
    The Tiber is the third-longest river in Italy, rising in the Apennine Mountains in Emilia-Romagna and flowing through Umbria and Lazio to the Tyrrhenian Sea. It drains a basin estimated at...
    
    
  • Celleno
  • Florence
    Florence
    Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
    
    
  • The Greve
  • Gothic Line
    Gothic Line
    The Gothic Line formed Field Marshal Albert Kesselring's last major line of defence in the final stages of World War II along the summits of the Apennines during the fighting retreat of German forces in Italy against the Allied Armies in Italy commanded by General Sir Harold Alexander.Adolf Hitler...
    
    
  • Po Valley