It’s the first half of 1981 and more hit and run raids were being carried out by SWAPO – particularly around Okalonga and Mahanene. Some of the frustrations concerning the quality of intel were proving difficult to explain away by the SADF. The early months of 1981 were characterized by a series of operations inside Angola of various sizes. 32 Battalion and 1 Parachute Battalion were busy most of the time, and it was apparent that FAPLA was growing increasingly aggressive. The Angolan Air Force too was showing signs of life – and the training was improving. In mid August more contacts took place near Chiede – but each firefight led to SWAPO beating a hasty retreat in the direction of the nearest FAPLA base. And thus the move to Operation Protea which would turn into the largest ground assault by South Africans of the entire Border War. The cooperation between SWAPO and FAPLA had to be broken. Both used the same logistics routes so the SADF needed to destroy the communication lines across the Cunene River. To do that Major General Lloyd approached Constand Viljoen and suggested a large force be sent into Angola to destroy the combined FAPLA/SWAPO strongpoints at Xangongo, Mongua and Ongiva.

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 all the most disposable members of society are its young men. Nor was it simply a war between white and black. IT was more a conflict on the ground between red and green. Communism and Capitalism. The other reality was despite being a low-key war, it was high intensity and at times featured by unconventional warfare as well as conventional. At times SADF soldiers would be on foot, walking patrols or SWAPO on foot, launching attacks across the border. But there were motorised heavy vehicles, tanks, artillery, air bombardments and mechanised units rolling into attack each other. For some that was a nightmare, for others, freedom. At times youngsters from the suburbs of Pretoria or Durban were fighting experienced soldiers from Russia and Cuba. For veterans the territory would come to be known as “Nam” as the experience replicated the American experience in Vietnam to some extent.

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