Combat at High Altitude: The South African Experience in East Africa, 1941

Abstract

Mountainous terrain has distinctly influenced combat operations throughout history. Warfare at high altitude often takes place in extreme weather conditions and over difficult terrain, which is largely considered to be inaccessible, inhospitable, and at times lacking any apparent strategic or operational value. As a result, combat operations at high altitudes are traditionally infantry affairs. The South African deployment to East Africa during the Second World War was for the most part characterised by highly mobile operations, across deserts and scrubland, where infantry, armour and artillery deployed in a mutually supportive role. The penultimate battles of the East African campaign were, however, fought in extremely severe terrain, where the South African troops would experience the harsh realities of mountain warfare for the first time during the war. This article broadly investigates the exigencies of mountain warfare, and critically reflects on the South African wartime experience of mountain warfare in East Africa.