On 18 December, the SA campaign suffered yet another severe blow, white troops were captured by the MPLA/ Cubans.
It wasn't long before they had been flown to Nigeria and later Addis-Ababa and paraded before eager television cameras and thereby the rest of the world.
There would be no more denying by the South Africans that they had troops actually conducting a war in Angola.
Nobody had swallowed that, in the first place, but now there was irrefutable evidence.
Even the mothers, of the SA conscripted teenagers, would now know that their sons were bleeding and shedding blood in Angola.
The US could not openly be seen backing South African, due to its unpopular apartheid policies. The CIA had lost their team they were backing and had just witnessed the fall of Saigon. The Cubans were escalating their involvement to add to the USA nervousness.
There was to be no more open support from that area.
The objectives of Operation Savannah were largely "made up on the way". Many reasons have been given, but its hard to know what the purpose was, or was the purpose never clear from start to finish.
Below is a list of some of the reasons given for the interventions on foreign soil.
- SA wanted to prevent a communist take over of Angola
- SA wanted to prevent a build up of SWAPO in Angola
- UNITA asked for help
- The FNLA and the CIA had asked for help
- SA wanted to win favor with a large power like the USA
- etc.
Their initial excuse had been to protect their interests at the hydro electric dam, there they encountered Cuban troops supposedly for the first time.
They had also been assisting UNITA with training because UNITA was assisting them against SWAPO.
When UNITA was under attack the advisers there saw that UNITA would not survive without help. It was then that armor and troops got more heavily involved deep in Angola and the objectives just snowballed from there.
Some of the plans had been to capture territory in the south for UNITA and let the FNLA, with its CIA backing, take the capital, Luanda.
SA had initially planned to be out of the country before independence in mid-November.
When Luanda could not be reached before independence day and the FNLA were defeated at Quifangondo, UNITA asked for SA to extend its stay, to help it consolidate its gains before the Organisation for African Unity decision on the future of Angola.
Initially, it had appeared that the allied FNLA/Unita forces, supported by SA forces, could have conquered the whole of Angola, but without the FNLA and with the Cubans, pouring in by their thousands, this was becoming less likely.
Dr. Savimbi of UNITA insisted that he was only interested in controlling his traditional area and was determined to reach a settlement with the MPLA. The anti-communist forces maintained an 800km defensive front, in anticipation of an OAU-inspired political solution.
However with the OAU inability to act, South Africa decided to withdraw by January 1976.
In fact that decision had already been taken before the battle of bridge 14. Orders had already been sent not to take the bridge but by the time they arrived at the front the battle had already commenced.
The bloody battles of mid-December, the bloodiest so far, in which many hundreds of lives were taken, we completely unnecessary.
SA had already decided to de-escalate its involvement, not wanting to be sucked into the increasing chaos that was busy enveloping Angola.
It was the start of one of Africa's bloodiest civil wars, which would rage for almost 30 years and cost over half a million lives.
Those bloody December battles clearly demonstrated that this was no longer going to be a walk in the park, as it had been pretty much, from an SA perspective, up till now.
Other posts in this series
The piece of the cold war nobody told you about - Africa's forgotten war
The Air Battles
The SA Fighter Aircraft
The SA Bomber Aircraft
The conflicts deep roots and start
Regional Tensions
Africa's forgotten cold war - Angolan War of Independence.
Africa's forgotten cold war - Mozambican War of Independence.
Africa's forgotten cold war - Rhodesian Bush War
Africa's forgotten cold war - The Angolan War of Independence transitions to the Angolan Civil War
The South African Border War - The start of Operation Savannah and Large scale South African involvement.
The South African Border War - Operation Savannah - the wheels start coming off.
The South African Border War - Operation Savannah - Battle of Quifangondo
The South African Border War - Operation Savannah - Battle of Ebo
The South African Border War - Operation Savannah - Battle of Bridge 14
The South African Border War - Operation Savannah - Battle of Luso
Thanks for sharing!
Really enjoyed reading that! My 2nd cousin, Neil Reynolds from the 31 Battalion The Recce Wing, also fought up there. Definitely follow you to hear more. Thanks.
If you want to see what the future is when the blacks and other ethnic groups take over America go to South Africa. When the white man leaves he takes his world with him.
I'm enjoying this series @gavvet, I'm your newest fan, I'm further educating myself here on steemit, your posts have real substance and I can relate with this series and always learn more and more about my mother land , the darker days, and the struggles. I am sure many of us were not aware of the truth of events in the South African Border War. Thanks for making this content available to us.
The US and other war waging governments are a green snakes in the green grass. Worst of all is the victims of all the war and conflicts they have facilitated around the world. From the tragic death of children women and men, all in the name of What???
o value for human lives.
Their shadow and real state has a lot to answer for.
The things you say are very accurate.
Ordinarily I do not comment much on politics but having grown up in both Rhodesia and South Africa I can relate to the sentiments and feelings behind this. The writing is important, the people and the feelings are important and I miss my home.
The politics then as now are muddy. The CIA influence is perhaps good perspective for those who want to throw stones at the Russians for meddling in the US. Yet there is so much history of the US meddling elsewhere. I am not saying that meddling is not justified ever. I am sure it is. But we should not be so righteously affronted when another government does it.
Politicians and shadow states will always meddle, it seems, for power and gain.
Hi friend, very good !!!!!
You would help me with a vote in my post., Thanks !!! ;)
Love this series @gavvet! Keep them coming.
Thanks @gavvet for this documentation. It is no use for me to get angry when these memories go through my mind, but it makes me angry every time. Angola is such a damn mess to this day, but has the highest average income per capita in the whole of Africa. It is the most minerals and ressources rich country in the whole of Africa. While all that was going on a number of companies had their interests, American companies, such as Chevron. Strangely, their business kept on going like a clock, and people involved in it were never afraid to get a bullet stuck in their body. Strange, isn't it. Checkers beans rebranded and delivered onshore... to whoever wanted them, business as usual, etc... war is a dirty business, and the business side of it makes Liechtenstein bank accounts grow exponentially.
Brilliantly written and beautifully described
You bring out every single detail of war and the deeds under that war
Thank You @gavvet for sharing
Wars = Waste of precious human lives, resources and economic ruin.
#MakeLoveNotWar
i am preparing a post like this in which 132 school children killed what happened with them if you are human must see it in next one hour
Thia series of posts are good I can't stop reading!!
Let there be Peace in the world! Without war!
Great article, but am sad about all the lives lost during these war and many families still suffering from the death of their relatives.
Great Article :)
Is very good post . Thanks
Très bon article qui est très bien fait de votre part. Merci
Brilliant post. correct me if am wrong in saying, all the lives ruined and all that suffering for nothing at the end of the day. guess the same can be said for all wars
i have vote u please vote me
Well man I am learning some more history here than I have learnt in school.
Waiting for more articles but avoiding wars...wait..all history is about wars
I'm gonna watch Dunkirk tonight have you seen it?
You always come up with a very good war news master @gavvet
I always thought you were a war analyst.
War is never a solution of problems. Also nothing is impossible in the world, we just need to figure out the issues and then address those issues in normal manner. Keep posting Mr @gavvet
You bring out every single detail of war .thnx frnds
very amazing post i liked
You are amazing Writer @gavvet. Your Posts always makes me to think more . There is something magical in your words . You always give great impression with your work. The Topmost Author at Steemit. Thanks for outstanding work always . Keep Shining and be Happy. ☺
brilliant post!
Very sad why governments take part in unnecessary wars to kill their own people only for their own benefits.Informative post @gavvet
Nice Post
Voted Done & You Followed done
Please Follow me @faheemahmad
@gavvet
THIS IS GREAM SERIES THANK YOU FOR SHARING
This was probably a great victory for the Cubans.
What happened to these soldiers? Were they just kept as prisoners of war?
Seems like nothing is playing out in their favour for the SA currently.
It is sad to hear that in the month of December over half a million lives were lost in this bloody war.
this series is very interesting to read lots to know about the history which has been untold.
A true life story. I really appreciate it
MORE LOVE LESS WAR!!
i like this post. thanx fnd
informative
Everywhere you look there are cruelties of the past or present, that led to tragic events and casualties among civilians because of the people's greed.
Moment
I would like to know where you get your facts and data from cause some of it do not correlate, as an ex conscript during this period I can tell you our mothers were well aware that we were bleeding and dying some even encouraged it, there was no greater honor in some South African "Boere" household than to have a son die on the border, we were indoctrinated with a mantra - Vir Volk, God en Vaderland (translated - For our nation, God and our country).
We were always aware that border duty was no walk in the park, you 110% aware you can die at any time, you are constantly reminded about it by your friends and fellow combatants dying.
I remember standing at Ruacana Falls and looking out across the river towards Angola and that the earth seemed to shivering like the skin of somebody with goosebumps, and ground shining like a new coin in the distance, and that was the number of Cuban forces that were amassing on the Angolan side, it was a sea of armored vehicles.
Perhaps later, but during Savannah '75 '76 everything was supposedly hush hush... Some parents of the captured soldiers didn't even know their sons were at the border, let alone fighting Cubans in Angola.
Conscription for every white male had not yet been introduced.
I'm going to go watch Dunkirk now. I spoke to someone on facebook who fought in this war you are talking about. He said war is nothing like the way it is portrayed in movies. I am from Pretoria. How long have you been Steeming?
Very interesting series,i really like your way to Express them,keep it up buddy @gavvet
Great write up seriers @Gavvet! I keep coming back to learn more, thanks for posting these!
It's amazing to discover all these wars that happened in the past but I was never aware of! I'm also from the African continent but very little info is available on these!
Thanks for sharing @gavvet!
Cheers
@progressivechef
ohh most amazing post.. i like it...
Thank you for this info, tos for u @gavvet ......May the war not be the leader....
Congratulations @gavvet! You have completed some achievement on Steemit and have been rewarded with new badge(s) :
Click on any badge to view your own Board of Honor on SteemitBoard.
For more information about SteemitBoard, click here
If you no longer want to receive notifications, reply to this comment with the word
STOPThe way you write this is like reading a super thriller. However, wars make me sad. War is the absolute proof that a human is not a reasonable being, yet but rather one still driven by basic emotions.
Nice post gavvet:)
You would help me with a vote in my post., Thanks !!!
Follow me 😊
nice series
War is a racket : (