Draft:Storm-chasers

The Storm chasers was the military wing of the Ox-wagon Sentinel. They wanted to thwart South Africa's involvement in the Second World War through sabotage and assassinations.

Foundation and purpose

The Storm chasers were founded in August 1940 as the stormtroopers of the Afrikaner Folk following the example of the Sturmabteilung of the Nazis. It was a protest action against the government's support for Britain in the war. The aim was to carry out a coup d'état in South Africa at the moment when the Germans began to gain the upper hand in the war and then a republic would be proclaimed. The government would be taken over by force and therefore the Storm chasers had to be well organized and disciplined. Training and the gathering of war supplies took place on the farm Biddulphsberg. Riots would be unleashed so that the Smuts government would have to keep large numbers of soldiers in the country to maintain domestic stability and would therefore have few soldiers available to send abroad.

Performance

The Storm chasers actively opposed the government's war effort with incidents of sabotage with homemade incendiary bombs and hand grenades. On 31 January 1941, a clash that lasted two days broke out at the Johannesburg City Hall between the Storm chasers and soldiers. Buildings were set on fire and tear gas was thrown. The Storm chasers were armed with sticks, bicycle chains, pipes, clubs and knives. In contrast, the soldiers were poorly armed. Several policemen even joined the Storm chasers. At the end of January 1942, telegraph, telephone and power lines were sabotaged. The Storm chasers dealt harshly with their members who committed treason. A Member of Parliament was even kidnapped and assaulted. The government detained OB members and Storm chasers without trial. A consequence of this was that the Stormc chasers assisted certain prisoners to escape. Robberies were carried out to meet the needs of the families of the captured members.

Members

Among the most famous members were B.J. Vorster, Johannes van der Walt and Robey Leibbrandt. Anna Neethling-Pohl was a strong supporter of their cause.

Slogan

The slogan of the Storm chasers was

“

if I turn around, shoot me

if I fall, avenge me
if I storm, follow me.

”

Bibliography

Blake, Albert: Robey Leibbrandt - 'n lewe van fanatisme. Johannesburg: Jonathan Ball, 2019. ISBN 9781868429783
Strydom, Hans: Vir Volk en Führer. Robey Leibbrandt & Operasie Weissdorn. Johannesburg: Jonathan Ball Uitgewers, 1983. ISBN 0-86850-052-6
Terblanche, H.O.: John Vorster - OB-generaal en Afrikanervegeter. Roodepoort: CUM-boeke, 1983. ISBN 0-86984-413-X
van der Schyff, P.F. en Badenhorst, J.J.: Vuurtjie in die droë gras. dspace.nwu.ac.za
Visser, George Cloete: OB - Traitors or Patriots? Johannesburg: MacMillan, 1976. ISBN 0-86954-030-0
www.afrikanergeskiedenis.co.za
www.biddulphsberg.com
www.leibbrandt.com
www.scielo.org.za