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| 4 August 1914 (in support of Britain) |
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| Self-governing dominion within the British empire (1907) |
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| Louis Botha: prime minister, 1910-19 |
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| An expeditionary force of 50,000 men was raised to invade German South West Africa (present-day Namibia) in 1914. A total of 146,000 white South Africans served in the army during the war, while a further 13,000 joined the British armed forces. 85,000 black South Africans served in labour battalions. |
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| Britain had fought the Boer settlers in South Africa in two wars (1880-1, 1899-1902), so in 1914 many Afrikaaners sympathised with Germany. While Botha was raising an expedition to invade German South West Africa, pro-German Boers raised a rebellion against British authority. This was not fully suppressed until early 1915 and only then could the invasion of South West Africa be fully launched. |
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| 6,600 dead, 12,000 wounded |
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