ABSTRACT
South African cavalry officer. General "Japie" Van Deventer was born on 18 July 1874 in Ficksburg, South Africa. He led mounted riflemen against the British in the Boer War. In 1914, as a colonel, he led a South African brigade against the Germans in Southwest Africa. Adept at fast-paced movements, Van Deventer was promoted to brigadier general, and his brigade was transferred to the German East African front in 1915, where he and his men came to be feared by their German opponents.
