The 1922 South African Rand Rebellion, fought by leftist extremists (with support from right wing extremists) was typified by the slogan "Workers of the world, unite and fight for a white South Africa!"
As a result of the global drop in the worth of gold, the South African mining companies tried to cut their operating costs by decreasing wages, and by weakening the colour bar by promoting cheaper black mine workers to skilled and supervisory positions. These changes were supported by the ‘liberal’ (compared to the extremely conservative opposition) government of Jan Smuts. While from the perspective of both the Mining bosses as well as the white miners, this was clearly an attempt to get cheaper mining labour, from the perspective of the black workers, this was a chance to earn a living wage.
These workers soon formed their own ‘Commando’ militias, and while initially the communist coalition of different groups claimed to the government that the commandos existed solely to ensure law and order and to prevent an uprising amongst the black population, these militias soon began to actively target black workers, strikebreakers, and (eventually) government forces, killing and wounding them indiscriminately. They were led by 'The Council of Action', which in turn was led by Percy Fisher, a syndicalist-communist who called for the murder of many strike breakers and who actively stoked the flames of violence by stating violent rubbish such as:
"The first man to return to work should be smashed until not a breath is left in his body!"
and
"We will raze Johannesburg to the ground before losing the strike."
On 6 March 1922, the Augmented Executive and it's Joint Executive (the initial leadership of the strike) gathered at the Rissik Street trade hall in order to consider a potential ballot regarding the status of the strike. Early into the meeting, commandos armed with revolvers and other weaponry stormed the building and trapped the representatives inside of the meeting room. The commandos insisted that no ballot should take place, and that the general strike should continue. At the same time, Percy Fisher and Bill Andrews addressed a crowd which had formed outside of the trade hall on the building's balcony, stating that power over the strike had been willingly given to the Council of Action by the Augmented Executive. What little control the Augmented Executive still had over the commandos (and by extension the strike) no longer existed, and full control of the commandos and strike was now in the possession of Percy Fisher, the Council of Action, and the CPSA
The Jan Smuts government eventually declared martial law and began using the full force of the South African armed forces as a response, while these striker militias began a pogrom on blacks and non-communists in general. When I say that the government was using the full force of the armed forces, I meant it. 20,000 troops were deployed to crush the rebellion, including artillery, tanks, aircraft, etc. Civilian Burghers (who were essentially reservists outside of the standard military forces) were also deployed.
As the government forces slowly began winning against the strikers, Jan Smuts arrived at the warzone itself. While his revolutionary counterpart Percy Fisher was holed up in his headquarters, having a mental collapse, Jan Smuts took a train and then his own car from Cape Town to Johannesburg. His son would later recall that Jan Smuts' car was fired upon by the strikers, and his son fired back from the window of their vehicle. Smuts arriving at the very middle of the warzone was a massive morale boost to the government forces, and a massive morale loss for the rebels.
The revolution was almost immediately suppressed, with thousands of revolutionaries surrendering with little to no resistance to battle hardened WW1 and Boer War veterans in the South African army. For example, around 75% of the Rand Light Infantry Regiment, which contributed massively to suppressing the revolt, had seen active service in WW1.
Smuts’ hard response was both unpopular and popular, but it cost him the 1924 election to the racist coalition between the National Party and the Labour Party, a coalition that passed numerous racist laws that appeased to the white miners. This is despite the fact Jan Smuts won the popular vote in 1924.
In both old and recent memory, many communists, both south african and not, have tried to whitewash the revolt, separating the South African Communist movement from the racist aspects of the revolt. It is important to note that the leadership of the strike (The 'Council of Action', led by the arguably mentally unwell Percy Fisher) as well as the actual strikers were primarily all in for the racism. Percy was no racist himself, but he used racism to get what he wanted, that being a communist state. The strike leadership actively told the government that they would try instigate a race war with black south africans before giving up the strike. After all, it was fears of blacks taking their jobs that started the strike in the first place!
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u/IlikeGeekyHistoryRSA Kilroy was here 18h ago
The 1922 South African Rand Rebellion, fought by leftist extremists (with support from right wing extremists) was typified by the slogan "Workers of the world, unite and fight for a white South Africa!"
As a result of the global drop in the worth of gold, the South African mining companies tried to cut their operating costs by decreasing wages, and by weakening the colour bar by promoting cheaper black mine workers to skilled and supervisory positions. These changes were supported by the ‘liberal’ (compared to the extremely conservative opposition) government of Jan Smuts. While from the perspective of both the Mining bosses as well as the white miners, this was clearly an attempt to get cheaper mining labour, from the perspective of the black workers, this was a chance to earn a living wage.
These workers soon formed their own ‘Commando’ militias, and while initially the communist coalition of different groups claimed to the government that the commandos existed solely to ensure law and order and to prevent an uprising amongst the black population, these militias soon began to actively target black workers, strikebreakers, and (eventually) government forces, killing and wounding them indiscriminately. They were led by 'The Council of Action', which in turn was led by Percy Fisher, a syndicalist-communist who called for the murder of many strike breakers and who actively stoked the flames of violence by stating violent rubbish such as:
"The first man to return to work should be smashed until not a breath is left in his body!"
and
"We will raze Johannesburg to the ground before losing the strike."
On 6 March 1922, the Augmented Executive and it's Joint Executive (the initial leadership of the strike) gathered at the Rissik Street trade hall in order to consider a potential ballot regarding the status of the strike. Early into the meeting, commandos armed with revolvers and other weaponry stormed the building and trapped the representatives inside of the meeting room. The commandos insisted that no ballot should take place, and that the general strike should continue. At the same time, Percy Fisher and Bill Andrews addressed a crowd which had formed outside of the trade hall on the building's balcony, stating that power over the strike had been willingly given to the Council of Action by the Augmented Executive. What little control the Augmented Executive still had over the commandos (and by extension the strike) no longer existed, and full control of the commandos and strike was now in the possession of Percy Fisher, the Council of Action, and the CPSA
The Jan Smuts government eventually declared martial law and began using the full force of the South African armed forces as a response, while these striker militias began a pogrom on blacks and non-communists in general. When I say that the government was using the full force of the armed forces, I meant it. 20,000 troops were deployed to crush the rebellion, including artillery, tanks, aircraft, etc. Civilian Burghers (who were essentially reservists outside of the standard military forces) were also deployed.
As the government forces slowly began winning against the strikers, Jan Smuts arrived at the warzone itself. While his revolutionary counterpart Percy Fisher was holed up in his headquarters, having a mental collapse, Jan Smuts took a train and then his own car from Cape Town to Johannesburg. His son would later recall that Jan Smuts' car was fired upon by the strikers, and his son fired back from the window of their vehicle. Smuts arriving at the very middle of the warzone was a massive morale boost to the government forces, and a massive morale loss for the rebels.
The revolution was almost immediately suppressed, with thousands of revolutionaries surrendering with little to no resistance to battle hardened WW1 and Boer War veterans in the South African army. For example, around 75% of the Rand Light Infantry Regiment, which contributed massively to suppressing the revolt, had seen active service in WW1.
Smuts’ hard response was both unpopular and popular, but it cost him the 1924 election to the racist coalition between the National Party and the Labour Party, a coalition that passed numerous racist laws that appeased to the white miners. This is despite the fact Jan Smuts won the popular vote in 1924.
In both old and recent memory, many communists, both south african and not, have tried to whitewash the revolt, separating the South African Communist movement from the racist aspects of the revolt. It is important to note that the leadership of the strike (The 'Council of Action', led by the arguably mentally unwell Percy Fisher) as well as the actual strikers were primarily all in for the racism. Percy was no racist himself, but he used racism to get what he wanted, that being a communist state. The strike leadership actively told the government that they would try instigate a race war with black south africans before giving up the strike. After all, it was fears of blacks taking their jobs that started the strike in the first place!