Hendrik Klopper
Hendrik Balzazar Klopper, was a South African military commander. He commanded the 3rd Infantry Brigade and 2nd Infantry Division during the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War, was Army Chief of Staff from 1950 to 1953, and Commandant General of the Union Defence Force from 1956 until his retirement in 1958.Military career
Klopper joined the South African Army in 1924.During the Second World War, he commanded the 3rd Infantry Brigade in the North African Campaign, for which he was awarded the Distinguished Service Order. He then briefly commanded 2nd Infantry Division. As fortress commander, Klopper was forced to surrender Tobruk and its garrison to Axis forces on 21 June 1942. He escaped from captivity in 1943 and was exonerated by a 1942 Court of Inquiry into the Tobruk disaster.Klopper was Officer Commanding the South African Army College from 1944 to 1945, before being appointed in command of Northern Command in 1945.Post-war
Klopper served as Army Chief of Staff from 1951 to 1953, as Inspector-General from 1953 to 1956, and as Commandant General of the Union Defence Force from 1956 to 1958.
