Dan Pienaar

Major General Daniel Hermanus Pienaar (27 August 1893 – 19 December 1942) was a South African World War II military commander known for his caution and insubordination during the North African Campaign.

Early life and career He was born in Ladybrand, Orange Free State and in his youth grew up in Natal. His family members had fought against the British during the Second Boer War. On 10 March 1942, he was promoted to Major-General GOC 1st South African Infantry Division, which he led in the Battle of Gazala, the retreat to Egypt, the defence of El Alamein and the Second Battle of El Alamein. and twice mentioned in dispatches for his service in North Africa. He was recorded by the press after El Alamein as saying, "Rommel will not get to Alexandria, he will not get the Canal, and he will never dine in Cairo - unless as a tourist." his brigade withdrew from Taieb El Esem and was then slow to move north to relieve the 2nd New Zealand Division, who were then partly overrun and forced to retreat. Historians have argued these actions qualify as insubordination by Pienaar, who is thought to have been reluctant to commit his troops after the loss of the 5th South African Brigade, fabricating or exaggerating reports of enemy attacks as justification for actions. However, despite incurring the anger of senior commanders at the time, he was not formally disciplined.

On 21 June 1942, the 2nd South African Infantry Division, with 4th and 6th brigades under command, surrendered at the fall of Tobruk.

On the other hand, Ronald Lewin, who took part in the entire campaign, writes: "what is striking . . . is how often the British would squander a complete armoured brigade in some useless assault on a fixed position." Pienaar simply did not buy into the "Up Guards and at 'em!" approach of the British, which led to the decimation of the Commonwealth and Indian divisions that bore the brunt of so much of the fighting in the Desert War. "You know the three things I hate in this world—British lords, British generals and these bloody Guards!" he told Brigadier E. P. Hartshorn. regarding the loss of Tobruk in 1942. Churchill wrote in volume 4 of his memoirs, The Hinge of Fate, "The burden of blame falls upon the [British] High Command rather than on [the fortress commander, South African] General [Hendrik] Klopper and still less on his troops."

On 20 November 1942 he was appointed Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) "in recognition of the supreme gallantry and magnificent achievements of British and Dominion Troops and their Commanders in the present operations in the Middle East". Awards

Death and legacy Memorial to Maj-Gen Dan Pienaar at the South African War Museum, Johannesburg In 1942, Major General Pienaar was killed in an air crash in Kenya on his way back to South Africa. The plane crash occurred early Saturday morning in Kavirondo Gulf at Lake Victoria killing him and eleven South African officers and men, including Colonel Frederick Theron, Lt. Col. Eric Vickers Frykberg and Lt. Col. Eric Loftus Mackenzie. The plane crashed from the airfield at Kisumu when a combination of pilot fatigue and an electrical fault in the undercarriage which could not be raised, resulted in a loss of speed and failure to maintain height and it flew into the water. He was survived by his wife Norma and his children: Nelia, Barry and Fay.

Pienaar was one of South Africa's most charismatic and popular military commanders. An infantry regiment, the exhibition hall at the South African National Museum of Military History and a suburb of his home town, Bloemfontein, were later named after him.

Sam Brewer, war correspondent for the Chicago Tribune, wrote in an obituary that Pienaar was "acknowledged by all the military authorities...as one of the best fighting leaders the British have found in this war. He was every inch a soldier and a man, and on top of that had a quality not always found in a tough general—he was loved like a father by his men. . . . More than once he had hard words with higher authorities when he thought insufficient attention was being paid to the safety and comfort of the footsloggers who were bearing the brunt of the fight. Two points struck everybody who met Dan Pienaar—first his disregard for personal danger; second his solicitude for his men."

Numerous streets throughout South Africa have been named after him, including: Aliwal North, Port Elizabeth and Queenstown in the Eastern Cape; Nelspruit, Middelburg and Volksrust in Mpumalanga; Bloemfontein and Ladybrand in the Free State; Thaba Tshwane military base in Pretoria, Centurion East, Florida North and Florida Hills in Gauteng; Stellenbosch in the Western Cape;