Upon the outbreak of the Second World War, in September 1939, South Africans were deeply divided as to where their loyalties should lie...
With memories of the Boer Wars still fresh in many minds, a sizeable minority felt no allegiance to the Allies.
Others, however, sympathized with their wartime Prime Minister – then General Jan Smuts – who, though once a prominent Boer fighter himself, urged his citizens to enlist in defense of the British Empire.
(South Africa’s Wartime Prime Minister – Field Marshall Jan Smuts. Born into an Afrikaner farming family, on May 24th, 1870, Jan is said to have developed a keen interest in politics whilst studying at Stellenbosch University. During that time, he became a staunch advocate for Boer Independence, which, in 1899, he volunteered to fight for when the Second Boer War began. From 1900 onwards, he commanded what he transformed into an elite force of commandos, before relinquishing his command in 1902, to negotiate a peace settlement with Great Britain’s Field Marshal Horatio Kitchener. By establishing himself as a key figure in the movement for reconciliation with the British, he was able to play a leading role not just in the creation of the Union of South Africa, but also, in turning the Union into a loyal and dependable ally of the British Empire during the First and Second World Wars. At the war’s end, in 1945, he turned his attention to a cause that had long been close to his heart – namely, campaigning for the British to return Eretz Israel to the Jewish people. Thankfully, he lived just long enough to see that happen, for, only two years after Israel regained its independence, in 1948, Jan passed away, aged 80, in 1950.)
Among the more than 300,000 men who volunteered, was 23-year-old Quentin Smythe – a farmer by profession but, as he stated later, “a soldier by passion.”
Deployed with the 1st Battalion Royal Natal Carbineers to Italian East Africa, it was there, in the summer of 1940, Quentin became part of the spearhead that broke Mussolini's East African Italian Army, and compelled "Il Duce" to surrender all of his East African colonies.
(Here, Italian dictator, Benito Mussolini, can be seen celebrating the establishment of “Africa Orientale Italiana” (Italian East Africa) with King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy, and high-ranking generals of the King’s “Regio Esercito” (Royal Army), after their conquest of Ethiopia in 1936. Following the ultimate surrender of Italian East Africa to the British in January 1942, “il Duce” was quick to proclaim that his forces would “return and reconquer” his lost colonies. Contrary to his proclamation, however, the swift downfall of his short-lived East African Empire only served to mark the beginning of the end for Mussolini and his imperial dreams of a “Greater Italy”.)
From there, he was sent to North Africa, where, not long after General Erwin Rommel struck the British-held “Gazala Line”, in Libya, Quentin and his fellow Carbineers were ordered to “stand fast” in Gazala’s northern sector.
(Here, then Generaloberst (Colonel General), Erwin Rommel, can be seen coordinating his offensive on the British-held “Gazala Line” in Libya, 1942. Defended by some 110,000 men of the British Eighth Army, nearly 850 tanks, and just over 600 aircraft, the “Desert Fox” knew that breaking through the Gazala line would prove a formidable task for his 90,000 troops, their 560 or so tanks, and 540-supporting aircraft. In order to overcome his conspicuous disadvantage in manpower, he launched an audacious decoy attack in Quentin’s Northern Sector of the line; while at the same time, led his main force around its southern flank, where he hoped to encircle the British and their allies. Despite encountering fierce resistance, he ultimately forced the British to withdraw and, in so doing, succeeded in capturing his main objective: the strategic port city of Tobruk he’d abandoned in 1941. Although his victory is viewed by many as being, “Rommel’s greatest triumph”, it didn’t come without a huge price… All told, he lost more than 50,000 killed or wounded, along with nearly 115 of his panzers, which, as he later discovered, were irreplaceable assets in the face of British reinforcements and supplies that later arrived at El Alamein.)
When the “Desert Fox” attacked on June 5th, 1942, Quentin was knocked near unconscious by a blast of shrapnel and, as the fighting intensified, so too, his commanding officer was seriously wounded by a hail of gunfire.
And yet, both he and his surviving compatriots didn't just hold their own in the face of Rommel’s infantry and panzers but, in his capacity as their sergeant, he assumed command from his stricken superior, and rallied his comrades to launch a devastatingly effective counterattack.
On reaching a German strong point, Quentin and his unit succeeded in overrunning it; only then to find themselves pinned down by a machine gunner and his crew...
Although weak from blood loss caused by his earlier wound, the farmer-turned-soldier not only infiltrated the machine gun nest and captured its occupants single-handed; but, on then encountering a well-entrenched band of anti-tank men, he even initiated a one-man ambush against them, and forced the men to capitulate.
(Here, German gunners can be seen manning a 3.7cm Panzerabwehrkanone (Pak.) 36 anti-tank gun in the Western Desert, during General Rommel’s Gazala offensive in June 1942.)
As the remaining Germans turned on their heels and withdrew, he then signaled to his platoon to move up and join him; and, on then giving the order to affix bayonets, led them in hot pursuit.
In so doing, he made it impossible for the enemy to regroup, and thus, thwarted any hopes of a German breakthrough.
For his “conspicuous gallantry”, Quentin became the first of just five South Africans to be awarded the Victoria Cross during the Second World War, and, for his “courage and leadership”, went on to win a rare battlefield commission to the rank of captain.
(Quentin being presented with his Victoria Cross by then Lieutenant General Dan Pienaar on September 11th, 1942. Twice awarded Great Britain’s Distinguished Service Order for his “exemplary service” in North Africa – and subsequently appointed Companion of the Order of Bath in recognition of his “magnificent achievements” in the Middle East – sadly, General Pienaar was killed in a plane crash just three months after his meeting with Quentin.)
Not long after his passing, aged 81, on this day in 1997, one of his former Carbineers paid tribute to him by saying:
“Quentin was a quiet, modest man, who lived a humble yet fulfilling life…”
“Fishing, farming, and shooting were his recreations. Needless for me to say; he was particularly good at the last.”
(A photograph showing not just Quentin’s richly deserved Victoria Cross (far left) but also, the impressive array of medals he went on to win during his time on the frontline.)
Addendum:
Here, General Pienaar can be seen on film for the final time while presenting Quentin with his richly-deserved medal on the frontline:
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