The Final Phase of South African Transborder Operations Into Angola: Regiment Mooi River and Operations Modular, Hooper, Packer and Displace (Handbag), 1987-1988
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Load more
Recommended publications
-
Truth and Reconciliation Commission of South Africa Report: Volume 2
VOLUME TWO Truth and Reconciliation Commission of South Africa Report The report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission was presented to President Nelson Mandela on 29 October 1998. Archbishop Desmond Tutu Ms Hlengiwe Mkhize Chairperson Dr Alex Boraine Mr Dumisa Ntsebeza Vice-Chairperson Ms Mary Burton Dr Wendy Orr Revd Bongani Finca Adv Denzil Potgieter Ms Sisi Khampepe Dr Fazel Randera Mr Richard Lyster Ms Yasmin Sooka Mr Wynand Malan* Ms Glenda Wildschut Dr Khoza Mgojo * Subject to minority position. See volume 5. Chief Executive Officer: Dr Biki Minyuku I CONTENTS Chapter 1 Chapter 6 National Overview .......................................... 1 Special Investigation The Death of President Samora Machel ................................................ 488 Chapter 2 The State outside Special Investigation South Africa (1960-1990).......................... 42 Helderberg Crash ........................................... 497 Special Investigation Chemical and Biological Warfare........ 504 Chapter 3 The State inside South Africa (1960-1990).......................... 165 Special Investigation Appendix: State Security Forces: Directory Secret State Funding................................... 518 of Organisations and Structures........................ 313 Special Investigation Exhumations....................................................... 537 Chapter 4 The Liberation Movements from 1960 to 1990 ..................................................... 325 Special Investigation Appendix: Organisational structures and The Mandela United -
SADF Military Operations
SADF Military Operations 1975 -1989 Contents 1 List of operations of the South African Border War 1 2 Operation Savannah (Angola) 3 2.1 Background .............................................. 3 2.2 Military intervention .......................................... 4 2.2.1 Support for UNITA and FNLA ................................ 5 2.2.2 Ruacana-Calueque occupation ................................ 5 2.2.3 Task Force Zulu ........................................ 5 2.2.4 Cuban intervention ...................................... 6 2.2.5 South African reinforcements ................................. 6 2.2.6 End of South African advance ................................ 6 2.3 Major battles and incidents ...................................... 6 2.3.1 Battle of Quifangondo .................................... 7 2.3.2 Battle of Ebo ......................................... 7 2.3.3 “Bridge 14” .......................................... 7 2.3.4 Battle of Luso ......................................... 7 2.3.5 Battles involving Battlegroup Zulu in the west ........................ 8 2.3.6 Ambrizete incident ...................................... 8 2.4 Aftermath ............................................... 8 2.5 South African order of battle ..................................... 9 2.6 Association .............................................. 9 2.7 Further reading ............................................ 9 2.8 References ............................................... 9 3 Operation Bruilof 13 3.1 Background ............................................. -
Volume 3, Issue 4
WAR IN ANGOLA Volume 3, Issue 4 27 January 2012 www.warinangola.com THE NEWSLETTER HIGHLIGHTING EVENTS, INFORMATION AND FACTS RELATING TO THE CONFLICT IN ANGOLA AND SOUTH-WEST AFRICA (NAMIBIA) FROM 1975 TO 1989 Operation Packer: 82 Mechanised Brigade March 1988: Cuito Cuanavale, Angola • Supporting elements included: The force for the third attack on the Tumpo area • two troops of 7 Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, consisted of 82 SA Brigade and four Unita battal- ions. • six troops of 13 Field Engineer Regiment, and 82 SA Brigade comprised of • five reconnaissance teams of 4 Recce. • two squadrons of tanks from Regiment Presi- dent Steyn, Unita deployed as follows: • an armoured car squadron of Regiment • On the east bank of the Cuito River: Mooirivier, • the 3rd, 4th and 5th Regular Battalions; and • two mechanised infantry battalions - Regiment De La Rey and Regiment Groot Karoo. • the 18th and 118th Semi-Regular Battalions • Two batteries of Regiment Potchefstroom Uni- • On the west bank: versity, one each with G-5s and G-2s; • The 66th and 75th Semi-Regular Battalions • a 120 mm mortar battery of 44 Parachute Brig- Of UNITA’s forces on the east bank, the regular ade; battalions and the 18th Semi-Regular Battalion • a multiple rocket launcher troop of 19 Rocket would work with 82 SA Brigade. The 118th Semi- Regiment. (Continued on page 2) Featured Gallery: The bridge over the River Cuito... Cuban soldier control a Sagger anti- UNITA soldiers on parade—a testi- tank missile mony to their training Inside this issue: Next Week’s Features: • Prelude to the SADF’s participation in the Angolan Training Base Mpupa 2 Civil War: Training base: Serpa Pinto Featured Equipment:The R2M1 anti-personnel mine 3 • Featured Equipment: The POMZ-2 anti-personnel mine Memoirs of Lieutenant Colonel I.A. -
“Operation 53” 5 – 22 March 2015
Page 1 of 36 “Operation 53” 5 – 22 March 2015 “Operation 53” In setting the scene, cognisance is taken of those who were there, by those who were not there, and in particular, in memory of those who never returned. 1 The Angolan Civil War The Angolan Civil War (Portuguese: Guerra Civil Angolana) was a major civil conflict in the African state of Angola, beginning in 1975 and continuing, with some interludes, until 2002. The war began immediately after Angola became independent from Portugal in November 1975. Prior to this, a decolonisation conflict, the Angolan War of Independence (1961–74), had taken place. The following civil war was essentially a power struggle between two former liberation movements, the People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) and the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA). At the same time, the war served as a surrogate battleground for the Cold War and large-scale direct and indirect international involvement by opposing powers such as the Soviet Union, Cuba, South Africa and the United States was a major feature of the conflict. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angolan_Civil_War) 2 Operation Moduler Operation Moduler was a military operation by the South African Defence Force (SADF) during the South African Border War. It formed part of what has come to be called the Battle of Cuito Cuanavale. The Angolan objective was to advance south-east to attack the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) at Mavinga. The SADF objective was to protect UNITA by stopping that advance. The advance was halted with heavy Angolan casualties. -
From Soweto to Cuito Cuanavale: Cuba, the War in Angola and the End of Apartheid
Saney, Isaac Henry (2014) From Soweto to Cuito Cuanavale: Cuba, the war in Angola and the end of Apartheid. PhD Thesis. SOAS, University of London http://eprints.soas.ac.uk/18258 Copyright © and Moral Rights for this thesis are retained by the author and/or other copyright owners. A copy can be downloaded for personal non‐commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge. This thesis cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the copyright holder/s. The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. When referring to this thesis, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given e.g. AUTHOR (year of submission) "Full thesis title", name of the School or Department, PhD Thesis, pagination. From Soweto To Cuito Cuanavale: Cuba, the War in Angola and the End of Apartheid Isaac Henry Saney Thesis submitted for the degree of PhD in History 2014 Department of History School of Oriental and African Studies University of London Declaration for PhD thesis I have read and understood regulation 17.9 of the Regulations for students of the SOAS, University of London concerning plagiarism. I undertake that all the material presented for examination is my own work and has not been written for me, in whole or in part, by any other person. I also undertake that any quotation or paraphrase from the published or unpublished work of another person has been duly acknowledged in the work which I present for examination. -
Angola: from War to Peace*
Book Review Article Angola: from war to peace* Chris Saunders [email protected] Edward George (2005) The Cuban Intervention in Angola, 1965- 1991: from Che Guevara to Cuito Cuanavale. London: Frank Cass. Clive Holt (2005) At Thy Call We Did Not Falter: a frontline account of the 1988 Angolan War, as seen through the eyes of a conscripted soldier. Cape Town, Zebra Press. Justin Pearce (2005) An Outbreak of Peace: Angola’s situation of confusion. Cape Town: David Philip. Michael Comerford (2005) The Peaceful Face of Angola: biography of a peace process (1991-2002). Luanda, n.p. One of the most remarkable transformations in southern Africa in recent years has taken place in Angola. For over forty years, from 1961, when the nationalist insurgency began, to 2002, when Jonas Savimbi was killed, numerous wars were fought, which killed millions of people. Since 2002, Angola has been at peace and many hope the multi-party elections of 2008 will usher in a new era of political stability. Much about the wars that ravaged Angola for decades remains murky. There is no scholarly account that presents an overview of all of them.1 There are some brilliant but very partial accounts by first-hand observers: the Polish journalist Ryszard Kapuscinski’s Another Day of Life (1987) comes immediately to mind, as does Michael Wolfers and Jane Bergerol, Angola in the Front Line (1983) and the impressionistic account by the American journalist Karl Maier, Angola, Promises and Lies (1996). Much about the * I thank Colin Darch for commenting on a draft of this review, which was written in 2008 TRANSFORMATION 69 (2009) ISSN 0258-7696 161 Chris Saunders wars went unreported, however, so that there are scant, if any, written records of what happened. -
South African Foreign Relations with Angola
SOUTH AFRICAN FOREIGN RELATIONS WITH ANGOLA, 1975 - 1988: A STRUCTURAL REALIST PERSPECTIVE by L.J.D. Devraun Thesis submittedUniversity in fulfilment of Cape of the requirements Town for the degree of Masters of Arts in International Relations in the Department of Political Studies at the University of Cape Town Cape Town Republic of South Africa September 1996 ~o:·•;:r.~c-.7".""-.x-·-..,··:;r.·,·,....-·-··c-:-;;-:e:r,.-::=-~ t~ Tht·: f?1·: ·r ... ,... ~{,· ri' ri·. · ·r,.-,.•:-, }.,_."~ !\··2-n ni"·nn ~ ~th~:;;;_·;~!_,:~:) .i::i~:i~·:\>.,.:,f:~>'.:;,~~.~---'_:1 _.·?;:~:~ ~ I or lfl r--·"· C,1,.•/ ';-;,h !,, ·---U ,_.,, .-.,.,.,.,r. ~ ·)~..);".:,.::.· :._-.·-~..,.,..- ;;,,";~,-~·;·t.• :,$>1'~·~-·."f·:--· •n.~w.... ·; ,,'•'•: The copyright of this thesis vests in the author. No quotation from it or information derived from it is to be published without full acknowledgement of the source. The thesis is to be used for private study or non- commercial research purposes only. Published by the University of Cape Town (UCT) in terms of the non-exclusive license granted to UCT by the author. University of Cape Town SOUTH AFRICA IN ANGOLA 1975 -1988 Copyright (1996) by L.J.D. Devraun D.D.D. to my Russian forbearers ABSTRACT: There are an enormous number of competing interpretations of South Africa's apartheid era policies both in the region and towards Angola. With South Africa's role in the Angolan civil war as its case study, this paper evaluates the relative utility of certain selected approaches to international relations theory. This paper evaluates the relative utility of system level versus unit level theories to explain the nature of South African involvement in the Angolan conflict. -
08, with the 20Th Commemoration of the So-Called Battle of Cuito
115 RESEACH REVIEW ARTICLE THE STANDARD OF RESEARCH ON THE BATTLE OF CUITO CUANAVALE, 1987–1988 Leopold Scholtz1 Department of History, Stellenbosch University Abstract The purpose of this article is to examine the standard of research about the so-called Battle of Cuito Cuanavale. After examining what objectivity for the academic researcher should mean, two categories of researchers are looked at. The first is called the “non-researchers”. They are those who do no or virtually no real research into the events at Cuito Cuanavale, but uncritically copy what politicians and politically correct academics have to say about the subject. The focus also falls on one particular historian, Italian-American Professor Piero Gleijeses. On the basis of several articles (his book about Cuba‟s role in Africa until 1976 is judged to be good), the conclusion is that his evident admiration for Cuba and its dictator, President Fidel Castro, and his revulsion at apartheid South Africa brings about a one-sided and distorted picture of what went on at Cuito Cuanavale and the Border War in general. The last category is the “serious researchers”, whose work is based on good research. Although their work displays certain gaps in the sense that they had no access to Cuban or Angolan sources, they generally are much more reliable in their facts than the “non-researchers” and Professor Gleijeses. Introduction The so-called Battle of Cuito Cuanavale (August 1997–July 1988) was the culmination of the Border War. As such, this battle has become the focal point of the public debate about the question who actually won the war. -
Contemp V34 N1 A14.Pdf (246.2Kb)
CROSS-BORDER OPERATIONS OF THE SAAF IN ANGOLA: 1987-1989. PRELUDE TO THE FINAL STAGES OF THE WAR Leo Barnard1 1. INTRODUCTION In one of the most comprehensive works detailing the “Border War”, South Africa’s Border War, 1966-1989, the author, Willem Steenkamp, reaches the following conclusion: “If the war proved anything, it was that although most insurgencies end in political solutions, he who has lost the penultimate military phase has no right to say anything when the armed struggle concluded not with a Bang but with the whisper of papers being shuffled at a conference table.”2 These words of Steen kamp contain valuable insights into the actions of the South African Defence Force (SADF) during the last few years of the Border War. On the one hand, there were the militarists who wanted to fight it out on the battlefield and who were relentless in their efforts to catch the enemy unawares. On the other hand, there were the politicians who wanted to keep the electorate happy by announcing military victories – without any losses. Looking at the events in northern Namibia and southern Angola during the last years of hostilities, it should be borne in mind that, seen from a more holistic point of view, the conflict revolved around the independence of SWA/Namibia and its people. This fact attracted the attention of, inter alia, the Organisation of African Unity, the United Nations and the five Western powers. Despite the merciless fighting, the downing of aircraft and the losses in terms of human lives, the future of SWA/Namibia and all its inhabitants was not determined on the battlefield alone. -
David Mannall, Battle on the Lomba 1987: the Day a South African Armoured Battalion Shattered Angola’S Last Mechanized Offensive—A Crew Commander’S Account
3 November 2015 2015–098 David Mannall, Battle on the Lomba 1987: The Day a South African Armoured Battalion Shattered Angola’s Last Mechanized Offensive—A Crew Commander’s Account . Solihull, UK: Helion, 2014. Pp. xxxiii, 246. ISBN 978–1–909982–02–4. Review by W. Martin James, Henderson State University ([email protected]). This book is the personal account of a South African soldier who, during his mandatory national service, was involved in Operation Modular 1 in the Battle of Lomba River in 1987. The Angolan government, headed by the ruling party Movimento Popular de Libertação de Angola 2 (MPLA), was attempting to destroy the main base/capital of the União Nacional para a Independência Total de Angola 3 (UNITA) at Mavinga/Jamba in the southeast corner of Angola near the border of South-West Africa (present-day Namibia). At the time, South Africa had jurisdiction over the territory under a League of Nations mandate and had refused to acknowledge the United Nations termination of that mandate in 1966. Consequently, the South African Defense Forces (SADF) had several large bases along the Angola/South-West Africa border. These were used for operations against the Southwest Africa People’s Organization (SWAPO), a group fighting to oust South Africa from South-West Africa. The bases were also staging points for SADF deployments against Angolan government troops because the MPLA government had pledged to assist SWAPO and South Africa’s African National Congress by allowing them to maintain training facilities in southern Angola. The military wing of the MPLA, the Forças Armadas Populares de Libertação de Angola 4 (FAPLA), as- sisted by Cuban combat troops and advisers from the Soviet Union, had previously assaulted Mavinga/Jamba in 1985 only to be repulsed by UNITA’s Forças Armadas de Libertação de Angola 5 (FALA), substantially assisted by the SADF. -
The Lessons of the Border War Leopold Scholtz
318 Scientia Militaria vol 40, no 3, 2012, pp.318-353. doi: 10.5787/40-3-1039 The Lessons of the Border War Leopold Scholtz • Abstract A quarter of a century after the end of the Border War, the SANDF’s institutional memory of the conflict is slowly fading. And yet there are several lessons emanating from the war, which are relevant to the Defence Force. This article attempts to map out some of these lessons. These lessons are as follows. (1) The need for combined arms units such as 61 Mechanised Battalion Group and 4 SAI, being a mix of mechanised infantry, armoured cars, tanks, artillery and support troops on battalion level. (2) The importance of logistic support, something that was not always sufficient during Operations Moduler, Hooper and Packer in 1987–1988. (3) Reserve force units must be adequately retrained when utilised in operations. (4) During the war, there was a gap in the Army’s anti-aircraft capability. This gap has not been rectified since. (5) In order to be able to command the air above a battlefield, an aerial refuelling capability for the SAAF is essential. (6) The Army needs a proper air assault and maritime amphibious capability. (7) When deciding to engage in a warlike operation, avoid the incremental commitment, which characterised both Operation Savannah in 1975 and Moduler in 1988. (8) While the field units fight on the battlefield, do not micromanage things from above. As long as the units keep within the political and operational parameters set by the politicians and generals, let the field commanders exercise their own initiative. -
Truth and Reconciliation Commission of South Africa Report
VOLUME TWO Truth and Reconciliation Commission of South Africa Report PURL: https://www.legal-tools.org/doc/ee4d9e/ The report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission was presented to President Nelson Mandela on 29 October 1998. Archbishop Desmond Tutu Ms Hlengiwe Mkhize Chairperson Dr Alex Boraine Mr Dumisa Ntsebeza Vice-Chairperson Ms Mary Burton Dr Wendy Orr Revd Bongani Finca Adv Denzil Potgieter Ms Sisi Khampepe Dr Fazel Randera Mr Richard Lyster Ms Yasmin Sooka Mr Wynand Malan* Ms Glenda Wildschut Dr Khoza Mgojo * Subject to minority position. See volume 5. Chief Executive Officer: Dr Biki Minyuku PURL: https://www.legal-tools.org/doc/ee4d9e/ I CONTENTS Chapter 1 Chapter 6 National Overview .......................................... 1 Special Investigation The Death of President Samora Machel ................................................ 488 Chapter 2 The State outside Special Investigation South Africa (1960-1990).......................... 42 Helderberg Crash ........................................... 497 Special Investigation Chemical and Biological Warfare........ 504 Chapter 3 The State inside South Africa (1960-1990).......................... 165 Special Investigation Appendix: State Security Forces: Directory Secret State Funding................................... 518 of Organisations and Structures........................ 313 Special Investigation Exhumations....................................................... 537 Chapter 4 The Liberation Movements from 1960 to 1990 ....................................................