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The Battle at Indungo, 31 October 1987: an Sadf Military Venture Against Swapo in the Angolan Border War

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The Battle at Indungo, 31 October 1987: an Sadf Military Venture Against Swapo in the Angolan Border War THE BATTLE AT INDUNGO, 31 OCTOBER 1987: AN SADF MILITARY VENTURE AGAINST SWAPO IN THE ANGOLAN BORDER WAR by Marius Scheepers 91801682 A dissertation Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements of the degree Master of Social Sciences MScocSci History in the DEPARTMENT OF HISTORICAL AND HERITAGE STUDIES in the Faculty of Humanities at the UNIVERSITY OF PRETORIA Supervisor: Prof. F. F. Pretorius December 2019 2 I wish to express my sincere gratitude to Chris Snyman, Christo Roelofse and Johan Kruys for providing crucial insights and sharing their fascinating stories, which have made invaluable contributions by adding the lived experiences of participants in the conflict to the narrative. I am also grateful for the support and advice which Professor Fransjohan Pretorius provided unstintingly during my studies. I am also grateful for David Masters’ excellent contribution while overseeing the language editing of the work. Last but not least, I am grateful to my Heavenly Father for enabling me to write this book and the support and encouragement which I received from my loving wife, Caren, and my children, Darius and Clarisse. 3 Contents: CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION. 1. The aim of the study 2. Research methodology 3. Literature survey CHAPTER 2: THE LEADING ROLE PLAYERS IN THE ANGOLAN BORDER WAR 1. Introduction 2. Understanding SWAPO CHAPTER 3: INTERPRETING THE ANGOLAN BORDER WAR CHAPTER 4: THE PERIOD PRECEDING THE BATTLE AT INDUNGO 1. Introduction 2. Operations which preceded Operation Firewood: November 1986 to July 1987 (in the deep central areas of southern Angola) CHAPTER 5: THE PLANNING AND FIRST TWO PHASES OF THE BATTLE AT INDUNGO (OPERATION FIREWOOD), 30 SEPTEMBER TO 30 OCTOBER 1987 1. The SADF Task Force for Operation Firewood 2. Official planning for Operation Firewood 3. The first phase of Operation Firewood: 30 September to 26 October 1987 4. The second phase of Operation Firewood: 26 October to 30 October 1987 5. Air attacks by the SAAF and Operation Daffodil CHAPTER 6: THE THIRD PHASE OF OPERATION FIREWOOD: THE ATTACK ON 31 OCTOBER 1987 1. Towards the target 2. D-day for the attack at Indungo 4 3. H-hour for the attack at Indungo 4. Near disaster from the air 5. The injuries sustained by the Ratel 81-mm mortar team CHAPTER 7: THE ROLE WHICH THE COMPANIES OF 101 BATTALION PERFORMED DURING THE CARRYING OUT OF OPERATION FIREWOOD 1. Engagements in which 101 Battalion participated 2. The captured Buffalo 3. The withdrawal of the Task Force after the battle at Indungo 4. Orders for the redeployment of the Task Force 5. Casualties suffered by the SADF during the carrying out of Operation Firewood CHAPTER 8: CONCLUSION. 1. Appraisal of Operation Firewood 2. An analysis of the reasons for the high number of casualties which the Task Force suffered during the carrying out of Operation Firewood 3. How the Angolan Border War ended APPENDIX: Specific military operations by the SADF during the Angolan Border War: Dates of D-days or dates when major battles took place, code names of operations, and locations where battles took place. MAPS AND ILLUSTRATIONS BIBLIOGRAPHY Archival material Literature Journal articles Interviews 5 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1. The aim of the study The Angolan Border War was waged from 1966 to 1989 in southern Africa between the South African Defence Force (SADF) and the People’s Liberation Army of Namibia (PLAN), the military wing of the South West Africa People’s Organisation (SWAPO). The Forças Armadas Populares De Libertação De Angola) (FAPLA) or People’s Armed Forces of Liberation of Angola, which served as the military wing of the Movimento Popular de Libertação de Angola) (MPLA) or People’s Movement for the Liberation of Angola, the Cuban Defence Force, and the defence force of the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, all collaborated closely with SWAPO through their deployment of military advisors and personnel at Angolan military bases. This study takes the form of a reconstruction and a detailed account of the participation of the South African Defence Force (SADF) in the battle at Indungo on 31 October 1987, during the Angolan Border War. The battle took place inside Angola in the area to the north of Cuvelai during the final stages of the war during the carrying out of Operation Firewood, a military operation which was intended to eliminate a military base which housed elements of SWAPO. Chapter 2 takes the form of a survey of the leading role players in the Angolan Border War, while Chapter 3 is devoted to a discussion of the nature of the war and a detailed analysis and interpretation of the twenty-one years of the conflict which led up to the battle at Indungo in 1987. Particular attention is paid to describing how the war evolved as it passed through a number of specific phases. It is the considered opinion of the researcher that the battle at Indungo is best understood within the context which is provided by some of the most significant milestones of the Angolan Border War. 6 Chapter 4 consists of an investigation of the activities of the SADF inside the central region of southern Angola towards the end of 1986 and in 1987. The events which preceded the battle at Indungo include the battle which took place during the carrying out of Operation Colosseum, close to where the battle at Indungo was to be fought a year later. The researcher discerned some similarities between the two operations. Chapters 5 to 8 constitute the main component of the dissertation. They include the planning and first two phases of the battle at Indungo, the third phase of the battle, the attack on 31 October 1987, the role which the companies of 101 Battalion performed during the carrying out of the battle, and an overall appraisal of the battle. The battle was to be the last major attack by the SADF in the war which resulted in the capture of a SWAPO base. 2. Research methodology The researcher has applied tried and tested research methods for historical studies, namely, consulting secondary and primary sources and applying internal and external criticism. Internal criticism is a method by means of which sources are analysed for their credibility. Conversely, external criticism entails authenticating sources by evaluating the information which is usually provided by secondary sources against that which is obtained from other sources, particularly primary sources. In this study, secondary sources included published books, articles in academic journals, reports which were obtained from the electronic media, newspaper reports and articles, and television news broadcasts and reports. A limitation which the researcher encountered during the conducting of this study was the paucity of published material which provided accounts from a SWAPO-informed perspective, with the work of Thula Bopela being a noteworthy exception. There is no formal SWAPO archive from which to 7 obtain relevant information and it was not possible to interview former SWAPO officers. Consequently, it was incumbent upon the researcher to approach and use the available material as objectively and critically as possible. The researcher made extensive use of the wealth of primary sources which are available at the Documentation Centre which houses the Department of Defence Archives in Pretoria. The SADF possessed an excellent capability with respect to the administration of information during the Angolan Border War. Consequently, the archives provide detailed material, not only concerning the operations of the SADF operations, but also concerning SWAPO, which compensates, to a certain extent, for the lack of material which is available from SWAPO-related sources. The primary sources for this study are written documents from the archives of the Department of Defence, which include war diaries, daily reports, operational orders, evaluation reports, and conference reports, and, secondly, oral evidence from interviews which the researcher conducted with a number of informants. The war diaries are particularly invaluable sources, as they contain vital information concerning military operations. The daily reports cover topics such as land mine explosions, enemy movements, and casualties which were suffered during battle, while the operational orders provide details concerning the planning of operations. Evaluation reports and conference reports comprise the information which was made available after individual operations had taken place. The researcher was required to obtain written permission to peruse classified documents which were relevant to the research topic. Oral evidence made a crucial contribution to the study and the researcher exercised great care in the conducting of personal interviews with a number of eyewitnesses, in an endeavour to supplement the primary and secondary sources in order to reconstruct and understand the events of the battle which took place at Indungo. The interviewees were operations commanders, ordinary soldiers, and other key witnesses who were uniquely positioned to 8 observe the operations. The interviewees all participated with enthusiasm in the interviews. They were requested to sign a letter of consent to confirm that their participation would be completely voluntary, in which they were asked whether their identities could be revealed or whether they preferred to remain anonymous. None of the participants wished to remain anonymous. The personal accounts and experiences were recorded meticulously by the researcher, who is himself a military veteran. He held the rank of second lieutenant in the Signal Corps during 1982 and 1983, before he was promoted to the rank of captain. During this period, he served with 32 Battalion at their tactical head quarters at Ongiva and Ionde in Angola. He had already acquired considerable experience in conducting the types of interviews which would yield detailed information. In his professional capacity, he practises as an attorney. 3. Literature survey Despite the increasing number of publications which have been written concerning the Angolan Border War during the past few years, the battle at Indungo has received very little attention in general histories of the war.
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