"Spear of the Nation" was the name of the militant wing of the African National Congress (ANC), created in order to fight apartheid. It was created in part because of the Sharpeville Massacre of March 1960. Their first attack was on December 16th, 1961. They used guerilla tactics and lots of dynamite to inflict large damages on the radicalist and government troops they were at war with. I believe they even once derailed a train. They did not think of themselves as terrorists, but as freedom fighters. They were an underground organization but distributed many propaganda pamphlets that survive to today. They were fighting for democracy, and majority rule of South Africa. They fought especially for the black citizens who were ruled by the whites, mostly Dutch. The commander-in-chief was Nelson Mandela himself. Also known as Umkhonto we Sizwe.