List of wars involving South Africa

This is a list of wars involving the Union of South Africa and its successor, the Republic of South Africa.

Conflict	South Africa and allies	Opponents	Results	Prime Minister (1912–94) President (1994–)	Losses
World War I (1914–1918)	Allied Powers: France United Kingdom and Empire: Australia Canada Ceylon Egypt Newfoundland New Zealand India South Africa Russia Italy (from 1915) United States (from 1917) Japan and others ...	Central Powers: Germany Austria-Hungary Ottoman Empire Bulgaria (from 1915) and others ...	Victory Partition of the Ottoman Empire, dissolution of Austria-Hungary, transfer of German colonies and territories to other countries Formation of new countries in Europe and the Middle East, such as Poland, Yugoslavia, Weimar Germany, Soviet Russia and Soviet Union, Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia, Austria, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Turkey, Hejaz, and Yemen	Louis Botha	9,726 dead
Maritz Rebellion (1914–1915)	British Empire Union of South Africa	South African Republic Supported by: German Empire	Government victory Rebellion suppressed South Africa occupies German South West Africa Rise of the National Party		9,726 dead
Russian Civil War (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) Allied withdrawal from Russia Defeat of the White Movement		Unknown
Rand Rebellion (1921–1922)	Union of South AfricaSouth Africa	South African Communist Party	Government victory Rebellion suppressed	Jan Smuts	153 dead (both sides)
Bondelswarts Rebellion (1922)	South Africa South West Africa	Bondelswarts	Government victory Rebellion suppressed		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 Collapse of the German Reich Fall of Japanese and Italian Empires Creation of the United Nations Emergence of the United States and the Soviet Union as superpowers Beginning of the Cold War		6,840 dead 1,841 missing 14,589 prisoners
Greek Civil War (1944–1945)	Cairo Government United Kingdom South Africa	ELAS	Victory Treaty of Varkiza		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 The Korean Armistice Agreement North Korean invasion of South Korea repelled UN invasion of North Korea repelled Chinese invasion of South Korea repelled Korean Demilitarized Zone established Little territorial change at the 38th parallel border	D. F. Malan	34 dead 9 prisoners
Rhodesian Bush War (1965–1979)	Rhodesia (1964–1979) Zimbabwe Rhodesia (1979) Portugal (1964–1974) South Africa (from 1967)	ZANU (ZANLA) ZAPU (ZIPRA) Mozambique ANC (MK) Zambia	Stalemate Lancaster House Agreement End to armed hostilities Free elections with ZANU and ZAPU participation Formation of Zimbabwe Rhodesia disestablished; Zimbabwe gains internationally recognised independence in its place.	B. J. Vorster	Unknown
Mozambican Civil War (1978–1985)	RENAMO Zimbabwe Rhodesia South Africa	FRELIMO ANC	Stalemate (limited involvement) Non-aggression pact (Nkomati Accord)	P. W. Botha	Unknown
South African Border War (1966–1989)	South Africa Portugal UNITA FNLA	SWAPO SWANU MPLA Cuba ANC Zambia	Stalemate Withdrawal of foreign forces from Angola Namibian independence from South African rule		2,038 dead
Natal Civil War (1987–1994)	IFP	ANC	Stalemate Violence subsided following 1994 elections		Unknown
Operation Boleas (1998)	South Africa Botswana	LDF rebels	Victory Suspected coup d'état in Lesotho quelled	Nelson Mandela	11 dead
Battle of Bangui (2013)	South Africa Central African Republic	Séléka	Disputed François Bozizé successfully escorted to safety,Rebel advance towards South African base repelled	Jacob Zuma	15 dead
M23 Rebellion (2012-2013)	Democratic Republic of the Congo MONUSCO Force Intervention Brigade South Africa Tanzania Malawi	March 23 Movement Alleged support: Uganda Rwanda	Victory M23 disarms and demobilises		None
ADF Insurgency (2014–present)	DR Congo Uganda South Africa Tanzania Malawi	ADF	Ongoing UNF Intervention Brigade intervention from 2014		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	Cyril Ramaphosa	1