South African Border Wars
Kanal-Details
South African Border Wars
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 alm...
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113 Episoden
Episode 113 - More details about the fierce fighting when PLAN invaded Namibia in April 1989
This is episode 113, we’re wrapping up the series with the final days of South West Africa as the country became Namibia.
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Episode 112 - SWAPO's Sam Nujoma pulls a fast one and UNTAG struggles to cope
So here we are, the sound of peace settled over Ovamboland, it was the end of 1988.
The South Africans were actually in a...
Episode 111 - Two Scorpions in a bottle and peace after 23 years
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...
Episode 110 - Cuban MiG-23s bomb Calueque Dam and 11 SADF troops pay the price
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 bec...
Episode 109 - A Bosbok survives a missile near miss as both the SADF and the Cubans gear up
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...
Episode 108 - Cubans start heading towards Calueque Dam and another South African POW
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 o...
Episode 107 – Reagan, Gorbachev, Ulysses the Bull, Fidel Castro: Diplomacy Breaks Out
Operation Hooper had ended in failure for the SADF and back in Pretoria, it was time to reassess the political and military situation.
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Episode 106 – Operation Packer/Tumpo 3 and Castro’s obsession
More than two decades of conflict in Ovamboland and southern Angola had worn down South African military domination - tactical superiority was no long...
Episode 105 – Citizen Force ou-manne train for the third Battle of Tumpo while Russians drink rice-vodka to forget
The Third Battle of the Tumpo Triangle was about to begin - the date - 23rd March 1988.
The weary 61 Mechanised battalion...
Episode 104 – The SAAF raids Lubango and a tired 61 Mech launches the Battle of Tumpo II
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.
Episode 103 – The First Battle of Tumpo Triangle where 61 Mech faced a fierce FAPLA bombardment
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...
Episode 102 – 32 Battalion strikes Menongue Airfield and a Mirage is shot down
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 a...
Episode 101 – The Valentines Day assault on 59 Brigade and a Cuban tank ambush
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 ah...
Episode 100 – FAPLA pushed from their positions along the Chambinga High Ground on Friday 13th
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 triskaideka...
Episode 99 – The SAAF tests a top secret weapon while new recruits come to terms with giant moths and skulking MiGs
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 Decem...
Episode 98 – Hougaard goes marauding and a Russian commander dies as an ammunition bunker explodes
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 Na...
Episode 97 – Castro starts to talk peace but along the Cuito River all hell rains down
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 pol...
Episode 96 – The Chambinga Gallop and the end of Operation Moduler
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 Chambing...
Episode 95 – 21/25 Brigade makes a dash for the Chambinga Bridge amidst heroics by 32's Van Zyl
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...
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 br...
Episode 93 – Russians claim chemical weapon attack as the SADF pounds FAPLA
Colonel Deon Ferreira was putting the final touches together for the next phase of Operation Moduler, in late October 1987. The South Africans had reo...
Episode 92 – An indebted Pretoria fixates on Cuito Cuanavale
At the beginning of October 1987 One Recce moved into the southern Angolan region replacing Five Recce and by the time the SADF top brass had decided...
Episode 91 – Russians on the Lomba and the Olifant Battle Tank
FAPLA had taken a battering at the Battle of the Lomba River on 3rd October 1987 - the SADF had crushed 47 Brigade, and they had also dealt t21 Brigad...
Episode 90 – FAPLAs 47th Brigade shattered as Operation Moduler continues
One of the most crucial periods of the Border War was under way - although military strategists didn’t realise this until a little later.
Episode 89 – Mirages, MiGs, missiles & the Lomba River tango to the death
We heard last episode how Operation Modular had begun, and how FAPLAs 21st Brigade had been stopped from crossing the Lomba River by Major Hannes Nort...
Episode 88 – Operation Moduler begins with T54/55s taking on Ratels at the Lomba
The first phase of Operation Modular has begun. 32 Battalion, the Recces and UNITA are facing 8 FAPLA Brigades in southern Angola, four of these have...
Episode 87 –Crocodiles attack Recces and the Lomba River heavy metal clash looms
The SADF was now facing a crisis as the MPLA government in Angola was growing increasingly determined to crush UNITA in the south east.
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Episode 86 – The SAAF harried in Angola and Soviets import arms from Afghanistan
We are traveling with 5 Recce and they are planning to attack the SWAPO base that was discovered by some systematic sleuthing by Koos Stadler and Jose...
Episode 85 – Small teams missions behind enemy lines and the courage of 7 Med
We’ve heard about the 1 Recce and 4 Recce and the covert war throughout this series, and at times, I’ve included the voices or the individual stories...
Episode 84 - FAPLA renew their offensive against UNITA at Mavinga
It’s early 1986 and the SADF had learned a great deal through 1985, particularly what FAPLA were up to. In the time of the Joint Commission you heard...
Episode 83 – The most ambitious Op involving SADF special Forces hits Namibe
By January 1986 internal unrest in South Africa that had started in 1984 was in full swing – with the security forces hard pressed to cope. The SA Pol...
Episode 82 – More Russian choppers down and 32 learns how to use SATNAV
It’s September 1985, and the SA Air Force and ground forces have already shot down two Russian helicopters and an Antonov transport plane. That was an...
Episode 81 – The MPLA attacks UNITA and the SAAF shoots down Russian choppers
By mid-1985 air traffic between Lubango on the Atlantic coast and Cuito Cuanavale in southern Angola had grown exponentially. Since the railway line r...
Episode 80 – An SA Navy sub damaged at the end of the failed Cabinda raid
We’re picking up where we left off in Episode 79 with Captain Wynana Du Toit captured, two Recces dead, and six others hiding in a coastal thicket sur...
Episode 79 – A shootout on a Cabinda beach and the capture of Cpt Wynand du Toit
Last episode we covered one of 32 Battalion’s darkest days, the mauling they received at the hands of SWAPO on 11th February 1985, where Charlie Compa...
Episode 78 – Operation “foreskin” and 32 runs into a SWAPO firestorm
We’re traveling with 32 Battalion’s Echo and Golf companies which had entered Angola and were deployed in pseudo-operations – something called Operati...
Episode 77 – The Recces blow up locomotives and 32 Battalion dresses like UNITA
By the second half of 1984 the Joint Monitoring Commission was virtually on its last legs and the SADF Special Forces were involved in a number of mis...
Episode 76 – Turned SWAPO cadres, Recce pseudo-operations & Soviet air strategy
It’s 1984 and the special forces have been busy as you heard in the last episode. The waterborne operations were on the go, but so too were ops into s...
Episode 75 – Russian OSA2 missile boats targeted in 1984’s Operation Nobilis
This is episode 75 and we’re covering events in 1984 where various issues had arisen. The South Africans and the Angolans had been jointly patrolling...
Episode 74 – FAPLA/SADF joint patrols hit a wobble & Recce Op Bouganvilia
We just finished hearing about Operation Askari, and a quick note. I said that the Eland armoured would no longer be used for cross -border operations...