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Auction: 1005 - Orders, Decorations, Campaign Medals & Militaria
Lot: 7

The Great War ´German South-West Africa´ D.S.O. Group of Nine to Lieutenant-Colonel J.P.S. Woods, 2nd South African Mounted Rifles (Natal Carbineers), Who Commanded His Regiment in the Only Major Campaign of the Great War Undertaken by a Dominion Without Imperial Support a) Distinguished Service Order, G.V.R., silver-gilt and enamel, with integral top riband bar b) Queen´s South Africa 1899-1902, four clasps, Tugela Heights, Relief of Ladysmith, Transvaal, Laing´s Nek (Lieut: J.P.S. Woods, Natal Carbnrs:) c) King´s South Africa 1901-02, two clasps (Capt: J.P.S. Woods Natal V. Comp. R.) d) 1914-15 Star (Lt-Col J.P.S. Wood 2nd M.R.) e) British War and Victory Medals (Lt. Col. J.P.S. Woods) f) Jubilee 1935 (Col. J.P.S. Woods, Retired.), contemporarily engraved in large serif capitals g) Colonial Auxiliary Forces Officers´ Decoration, G.V.R., silver (Hallmarks for London 1913) and silver-gilt, the reverse engraved ´Lt. Col. J.P.S. Woods 2nd. Mtd Rfls (Natal Carbs)´, with integral top riband bar h) Colonial Auxiliary Forces Long Service Medal, G.V.R. (Bt. Lt. Col. J.P.S. Woods Natal Carbs.), good very fine or better, together with the following related items: - A fine quality Silver Cigarette Case (Hallmarks for Birmingham 1913), the lid engraved ´Presented by the N.C.O.s & Men 2nd M.R. & Special Service South West Africa 1914-15 to Lt: Col: J.P.S. Woods 20th. July 1915.´ - Silver presentation Cup (Hallmarks for London 1910), for the Natal Colonial Forces Military Tournament 1911, for winning the Officers´ Tent Pegging competition - The recipient´s water bottle, in leather holder - The recipient´s Sword, this lacking scabbard (9) Estimate £ 1,800-2,200 D.S.O. London Gazette 22.8.1918 Lt.-Col. John Phillip Symonds Woods (Active Citizen Force), 2nd Mounted Rifles (Natal Carbineers) ´For distinguished service in the Field and in connection with the campaign in German South-West Africa, 1914-15´ M.I.D. London Gazette 22.8.1918 Woods, Lt.-Col. J. P. S., 2nd Mounted Rifles (Natal Carbineers) ´For distinguished service in the Field and in connection with the campaign in German South-West Africa, 1914-15´ Lieutenant-Colonel John Phillip Symonds Woods, D.S.O., born 1874, the son of Mr. William Tipping Woods; served with the Natal Carbineers as part of the Natal Volunteer Composite Regiment during the Boer War; Lieutenant, 1901; Captain, 1902; appointed Lieutenant-Colonel Commanding, 2nd South African Mounted Rifles, German South West Africa, 1914. German South-West Africa The German South-West Africa Campaign 1914-15 was the only major campaign of the Great War undertaken by a Dominion without Imperial support, other than in the form of the provision of Royal Navy protection. The objectives of the Campaign were the capture of the ports of Lüderitz Bay and Swakopmund and the silencing of all radio transmitters, especially the powerful one in Windhoek which was capable of sending signals to Germany. For the Union Defence Forces, this type of operation was entirely new, but a land attack from the south was a logistical nightmare. The campaign would entail crossing a desert barrier before the more hospitable inland highlands could be reached. With military transport beyond the ports and railheads still dependent on animal traction, the pace of the campaign would be determined by the ability of the South African logistical apparatus to bring water to the forward troops and the provision of water would depend on how quickly railway lines could be constructed or repaired. On the 26th September 1914, the German outpost at Grasplatz was captured. However, the enemy believed that, with their aid, the desert would destroy the South African Forces. The main challenge for the Allied forces lay in rebuilding the railway so that water could be supplied to the front line troops in preparation for the final attack on the enemy stronghold at Aus. On the 22nd March 1915 Lieutenant-Colonel Wood´s Mounted Rifles were brought forward to Garub in preparation for the attack. On the night of 28th March, the wireless transmitter went silent, further evidence of the imminent abandonment of Aus by the Germans. The last Germans departed on the night of 30th March, and Aus, its formidable defences abandoned, was entered without opposition. The Germans then retreated northwards and the scene was set for a prolonged pursuit. The pursuit along the railway lines continued for the next three months, until on the 1st July 1915 the South Africans finally caught up with the Germans at Otavi before the enemy could properly deploy their 3,400 men, 36 Artillery guns, and 22 machine-guns against 3,200 South Africans and eight Artillery guns. After a brief confrontation the Germans were forced to abandon their positions, formally surrendering on the 9th July, 1915.

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£3,000