SAClips

The SADF increased the number of South African recruited black units from the early 1980s onwards. 21 Battalion served as the nucleus for the numerous other units that emerged out of all the various ethnic groups in the country. The most prominent unit may have been 121 Bn comprised of Zulus and located at Matubatuba in KwaZulu/Natal. The troops, unlike most of their Namibian counterparts, also served in the townships during the riots. This resulted in many soldiers being killed when on leave e.g. thrown from trains, their houses burned, their families attacked and sometimes injured or killed by UDF (later ANC) supporters. As "Apartheid soldiers", these men have basically been ignored by history, although black soldiers served both as NCOs and officers, attending Infantry School alongside white and coloured candidates from 1987 onwards.