Conflict |
South Africa and allies |
Opponents |
Results |
Prime Minister (1912–94) President (1994–) |
Losses |
World War I (1914–1918 A.D.) |
France United Kingdom
Russia Italy United States Serbia Montenegro Belgium Japan China Romania Portugal Brazil Hejaz Greece Armenia Nejd and Hasa Siam |
Germany Austria-Hungary Ottoman Empire Bulgaria Transvaal |
Victory
|
|
|
Maritz Rebellion (1914–1915) |
South Africa |
South African Republic |
Government victory
|
Russian Civil War[2] (1918–1920) |
White Movement United Kingdom United States France Japan Italy China Canada Australia India South Africa Czechoslovakia Poland Greece Romania Yugoslavia Estonia |
Russian SFSR Far Eastern Republic Latvian SSR Ukrainian SSR Commune of Estonia Mongolian Communists |
Defeat (limited involvement)[2]
- Allied withdrawal from Russia
- Defeat of the White Movement
|
Unknown |
Rand Rebellion (1921–1922) |
South Africa |
CPSA |
Government victory
|
|
|
Bondelswarts Rebellion (1922) |
South Africa
|
Bondelswarts |
Government victory
|
100 dead, 468 wounded (Bondelswarts) |
World War II (1939–1945) |
Soviet Union United States United Kingdom China France Poland Yugoslavia Greece Netherlands Belgium Luxembourg Denmark Norway Czechoslovakia Canada Australia New Zealand India South Africa Philippines Ethiopia Brazil Mexico Mongolia |
Germany Japan Italy Romania Hungary Bulgaria Slovakia Croatia Finland Thailand Iraq |
Victory
|
6,840 dead 1,841 missing 14,589 prisoners |
Greek Civil War (1944–1945)[4] |
Cairo Government United Kingdom South Africa |
ELAS |
Victory
|
None |
Korean War (1950–1953) |
South Korea United States United Kingdom Canada Turkey Australia Ethiopia Philippines New Zealand Thailand Greece France Colombia Belgium South Africa Netherlands Luxembourg |
North Korea China Soviet Union |
Stalemate
|
|
|
Rhodesian Bush War (1965–1979) |
Rhodesia South Africa |
ZANU FRELIMO ZAPU ANC |
Stalemate
|
|
Unknown |
Mozambican Civil War (1979–1985)[6] |
RENAMO Zimbabwe Rhodesia South Africa |
FRELIMO ANC |
Stalemate (limited involvement)
|
|
Unknown |
South African Border War (1966–1989)[7] |
South Africa Portugal UNITA FNLA |
SWAPO SWANU MPLA Cuba ANC Zambia |
Stalemate
- Withdrawal of foreign forces from Angola
- Namibian independence from South African rule
|
|
Natal Civil War (1987–1994)[9] |
IFP |
ANC |
Stalemate[9]
|
Unknown |
Operation Boleas (1998) |
South Africa Botswana |
LDF rebels |
Victory
- Suspected coup d'état in Lesotho quelled
|
|
|
Battle of Bangui (2013) |
South Africa Central African Republic |
Séléka |
Disputed[11]
- François Bozizé successfully escorted to safety,Rebel advance towards South African base repelled
|
|
|
M23 Rebellion (2013) |
DR Congo South Africa Tanzania Malawi |
M23 |
Victory
- M23 rebels surrender, disarm and demobilize
|
None |
ADF Insurgency (2014–present) |
DR Congo Uganda South Africa Tanzania Malawi |
ADF |
Ongoing
|
1 dead |
Insurgency in Cabo Delgado (2017–present) |
SADC South Africa Mozambique Tanzania Angola Botswana Rwanda Malawi Lesotho
|
Ansar al-Sunna Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant |
Ongoing
- involvement of South African Special forces from July 2021
|
|
|