Seventeen wickets fell on the opening day of play at The Oval as England bowled South Africa out for 118 and then raced into a 36-run lead at the close of play.
The decisive Third Test finally got underway on its third day after the first day was washed out and Friday's action was postponed following the death of The Queen.
The Oval played a memorable tribute to the late monarch, holding a minute's silence before a spine-tingling rendition of 'God Save The King' - the first time an England international sporting team had sung it since King Charles III came to the throne.
It appeared to have a particularly motivating impact on the home side too as they ripped into South Africa right from the start, taking five wickets in the opening 10 overs.
South Africa captain Dean Elgar fell for just one run and fellow opener Sarel Erwee was dismissed for a duck - the first two of six Proteas batsmen to fail to make it to double figures.
At 36-6, Khaya Zondo and Marco Jansen briefly halted the flow, but their resistance was soon broken by Ollie Robinson - the pick of the bowlers with five wickets.
Stuart Broad mopped up the tail to end with four wickets for the day, with South Africa skittled out for just 118 in 36.2 overs - the shortest opening innings ever seen at The Oval.
It was a perfect start for an England side looking to force a result from the three-day Test, and they maintained that aggressive approach with the bat.
That naturally came with more risk, though, and South Africa duly made regular progress with the ball themselves, Alex Lees being bowled for 13 off six balls.
Fellow opener Zak Crawley adopted a more cautious approach and was eventually caught lbw having made only five runs from 34 deliveries.
Ollie Pope fired 13 fours on his way to 67 from 77 balls, but he was the only one to make a significant score, with Joe Root the next-highest scorer with 23.
Jansen - South Africa's top performer with the bat - was also the standout bowler for the Proteas to end the day with figures of 4-34.
Bad light eventually stopped play with Ben Foakes and Robinson at the crease and England on 154-7 from 33.4 overs, 36 runs ahead going into day four.
