They will bolster the city's struggling police force for three months, patrolling on foot and in vehicles through districts identified as criminal hotspots.
Soldiers have been used in similar missions in Cape Town before but violence has peaked in recent months in the sprawling townships of the Cape Flats area, one of the most violent places in South Africa.
General Solly Shoke, chief of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF), said the military "will deploy a battalion with support elements during the operation."
The size of the deployment was not revealed nor the start date, expected to be within days.
Neighbourhoods including Bonteheuwel, Delft, Hanover Park and Philippi East have been plagued by gang-related violence, with the much-criticised police force unable to impose order.
Police Minister Bheki Cele said the "intense deployment" of the military would last three months.
"We believe that by the time that time comes, we would have normalised the situation and we'll sustain that through normal policing," he said.
General Solly Shoke bio snippet: Shoke received his education at Orlando High School, Alexandra Township,[2] in Johannesburg. Other academic qualifications include a Diploma in Human Resources Management from Damelin, a Certificate in Defence Management from the University of the Witwatersrand and a Certificate in Personnel Management from IPM. Shoke joined Umkhonto we Sizwe, the military wing of the African National Congress (ANC), in the 1970s. In the 1980s he served as field commander during the liberation struggle against the South African government. He obtained his military training in Angola and completed the Brigade Commanders Course in the USSR. He became part of the underground leadership of Operation Vula in 1988. Between 1993 and 1994, Shoke followed an Intermediate Staff Course in Zimbabwe. In 1994 he was appointed as Director Personnel Planning of the South African Army.[2]
In 1998, Shoke commanded the South African Development Community forces during Operation Boleas in Lesotho. He was the Director Personnel Acquisition from January 1999 to October 2000, when he was promoted to the rank of major general as the Chief Director Human Resources Support.[3] He was promoted to Chief of the Army in 2004,[4] and became Chief of the South African National Defence Force in May 2011.[5]