This is episode 113, we’re wrapping up the series with the final days of South West Africa as the country became Namibia.
I’ll talk about the SADF’s departure later in this episode. First we need to go over the events in early April 1989 that almost put paid to the peace agreement. As you heard la…
South African Border Wars
by Desmond Latham
Much has been written about the South African Border war which is also known as the Namibian War of Independence. While the fighting was ostensibly about Namibia, most of the significant battles were fought inside Namibia’s northern neighbour, Angola. South Africa’s 23 year border war has been almost forgotten as the Cold War ebbed away and bygones were swept under the political carpet. South African politicians, particularly the ANC and the National Party, decided during negotiations to end years of conflict that the Truth and Reconciliation commission would focus on the internal struggle inside South Africa. For most conscripts in the South African Defence Force, the SADF, they completed matric and then were drafted into the military. For SWAPO or UNITA or the MPLA army FAPLA it was a similar experience but defined largely by a political awakening and usually linked to information spread through villages and in towns. This was a young person’s war which most wars are – after al
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So here we are, the sound of peace settled over Ovamboland, it was the end of 1988.
The South Africans were actually in a much better position than it appeared. Yes, they were losing Namibia, and were going to also lose their vital strategic port of Walvis Bay.
Still, UNITA was left out of the d…
This is episode 111, in cricket the number is known as Nelson, it’s unlucky for the batting side, and players are expected to stand on one leg as the bowler launches his ball.
It’s perhaps symbolic that we get to episode 111 at precisely the moment that the South Africans agree to peace after 23 y…
When we left off last episode, the Cubans and Angolans were gearing up to face another invasion by 61 Mech and 4SAI, Operation Excite as it was to become known. But for once, the Cubans had decided that they’d seize the initiative and were about to launch a two pronged assault towards the South Afri…
We left off last week hearing that the Cuban 50th Division had been moved towards the SWA Border, a clear message to Pretoria that Fidel Castro was no longer going to tolerate the losses that he and FAPLA had endured in southern Angola.
All this as the South Africans, Cubans, Angolans, Americans a…
This is episode 108, it’s the 23rd June 1988 and the south Africans, Cubans, Angolans, Americans and Russians had gathered in Cairo for negotiations over the future of Namibia
and the Cubans were seething.
American Secretary of State for African Affairs Chester Crocker opened up the meeting by pr…
Operation Hooper had ended in failure for the SADF and back in Pretoria, it was time to reassess the political and military situation.
What had been achieved after 23 years of war - fighting ostensibly to stop SWAPO from seizing control of Namibia but really a war to buffer the apartheid state fro…
More than two decades of conflict in Ovamboland and southern Angola had worn down South African military domination - tactical superiority was no longer certain.
The initial approach which had been innovative and inspirational, fast, seat of the pants and smart, had slumped into attritional raging…
The Third Battle of the Tumpo Triangle was about to begin - the date - 23rd March 1988.
The weary 61 Mechanised battalion had withdrawn, the men exhausted after 4 months of shifting about and fighting FAPLA, while their equipment was in worse shape.
By 13th March the tattered 20 Brigade of which…
Last episode we heard about the failed first battle of the Tumpo Triangle, officially known as Tumpo one which took place on February 25th 1988.
You know that things aren’t going well when battles are numbered, and there would be three attempts at overrunning FAPLA in its defensive positions east …
It was D-Day for the next attack across the open ground east of the Tumpo Triangle, just outside Cuito Cuanavale in southern Angola. The town was now regarded as a moral prerequisite rather than strategic necessity, Luanda’s position here was no surrender, while in Pretoria, the political leadership…
The South Africans were attacking FAPLA’s 59 Brigade, but had run into an ambush - Cubans operating Soviet tanks had laid up waiting for 4SAI to cut across their hull down positions.
These were the T55s of the 3rd Battalion — the commanders and the gunners were Cuban, while the drivers were Angola…
It’s the second week of January 1988 and FAPLAs 21st, 59th and 25th Brigades had taken up the front line in what was to be a three layered defenses ahead of the Tumpo Triangle, where two roads joined just north of the Tumpo River.
That was aeast of Cuito Cuanavale.
Behind these three Brigades, 16…
D-Day for the renewed attack on FAPLA’s 21 Brigade was reset from January 5th to January 13th 1988 - a Friday, for those who suffered from triskaidekaphobia - a fear of Friday the 13th, it merely served to increase their worries.
4 SAI was now being led by Commandant Jan Malan who replaced Leon Ma…
We’re approaching the date of Operation Hooper, but first a bit of bad news for the SADF regarding disease. The heavy rains through November and December of 1987 had created a perfect breeding ground for the flies and mosquitoes that carried hepatitis and malaria.
This was impacting the morale let…
When we left off last episode it was the end of Operation Moduler, and Cuban Leader Fidel Castro had begun to consider a negotiated solution to the Namibian and Angolan war.
There was a side-show planned before the next major op in Angola. The SADF top brass had finally decided to try and cut off …
We’re wrapping up Operation Moduler this episode and throwing forward to the next assault on Cuito Cuanavale which was to fixate the South African political leadership at a time when the Cold War was melting away.
This was to have a direct effect on the satellite wars such as those in Angola.
As…
FAPLAs 21 and 25 Brigades were manoeuvring around the western edge of the 1370 meter high Viposto high ground which lay south of the Hube and Chambinga Rivers before dawn on the 16th November 1987- and those rivers flowed in an almost direct east to west direction.
That meant the Angolan Brigades …
We’re into the final phase of Operation Moduler in November 1987, and the SADF was lining up FAPLAs 16 Brigade after giving them a bloody nose on the 9th.
Combat Group Bravo was going to draw FAPLAs attention between the Mianei and Vimpula Rivers, south east of Cuito Cuanavale, but that was a dive…
Episode 94 – South African and Russian tanks go toe-to-toe at the Chambinga river in southern Angola
It’s early morning November 9th 1987 and the SADF was advancing towards FAPLAs 16th Brigade based at the source of the Chambinga River. The Angolan brigade had received orders to shift eastwards, and the units were about to move when the SADF launched their attack. The first sign of the impending as…