Battle of Cuito Cuanavale
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| Battle of Cuito Cuanavale | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Angolan Civil War and South African Border War | |||||||
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| Combatants | |||||||
| FAPLA, Military of Cuba, SWAPO | SADF, UNITA | ||||||
| Commanders | |||||||
| Cuba: Leopoldo Cintra | SADF: Col. Deon Ferreira | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 40,000 combined estimate | 5,000 SADF | ||||||
| Casualties | |||||||
| estimates range from 900 to 4,000 combined | 31 SADF Unita n/a |
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The battle of Cuito Cuanavale was one of the most important episodes of both the Civil War in Angola (which started in 1975 and ended in 2002) and the South African Border War. The armies of Cuba, Angola and South Africa met at Cuito Cuanavale in 1987, and the battle has been called "Africa's largest land battle since World War II". With all sides claiming victory, it was considered a turning point in the Angolan civil war, contributing to the departure of Cuban, South African and other foreign troops from Angola.
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[edit] Context
[edit] Independence from Portugal
- See also: Portuguese Colonial War
For 16 years until 1975, three armed groups fought for Angola's independence from Portugal: the Marxist MPLA (with its armed wing FAPLA), led by Agostinho Neto; the conservative FNLA, led by Holden Roberto; and UNITA, led by the charismatic Jonas Savimbi.
Each group controlled specific areas of the country: the MPLA controlled the capital, Luanda; UNITA controlled the south of Angola; and the FNLA controlled the north.
Soon after the Carnation Revolution in Portugal, Lisbon began letting go of its African colonies and Angola received its independence. The Treaty of Alvor comprised a series of agreements between the three rebel factions and Portugal that paved the way to full sovereignty.
Under the terms of the treaty, a transitional government was formed, elections were scheduled for the end of the year, and November 11, 1975 was slated as Angola's independence day. When the day arrived, Agostinho Neto proclaimed: "At 0:00 hours of November 11 of 1975, in the name of the Angola's people and the central committee of the MPLA. I proclaim the independence". By seizing the mantle of Angola's independence, the MPLA shattered the truce between the three rebel groups and the country descended into civil war.
[edit] Angolan Civil War
With the MPLA's tendentious declaration of independence, civil war erupted between the three rebel groups and continued more or less unabated until 2002. The Angolan Civil War was one of the most complex and brutal conflicts in African history, drawing in regional actors and the Cold War superpowers. It cost an estimated one million lives and devastated the country's infrastructure.
[edit] Cold War
The tragedy played out against the backdrop of the Cold War struggle between the Soviet Union and the United States. Both superpowers realised the strategic importance of southern Africa, a region rich in natural resources (petroleum, natural gas, gold, diamonds) and ringed by shipping routes along its coast. Both sides tried to influence the outcome of the civil war through proxies. Cuba and the Soviet-led Eastern bloc gave overt military support to the MPLA and Namibian rebels, while the United States (and, to a much lesser extent, France) countered by bolstering UNITA and South Africa with sales of war material.
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[edit] MPLA
The MPLA, outgunned by its enemies, reached out to the Communist regime of Cuba for support. Between January and August of 1975, the MPLA was furnished with a military school, weapons, means of transport, transmitters, uniforms and combat equipment. By the end of the year, Cuban troops had arrived on Angolan soil to back up FAPLA after the Battle of Quifadongo. By March of 1976, Cuba had sent around 36,000 troops to the region, mainly to provide logistical support to FAPLA officers.
[edit] Eastern Bloc
Apart from the Cuban troops and equipment, several members of the Eastern Bloc, under Soviet direction, provided support to the MPLA, mostly in the form of specialized technical staff (including pilots) and military hardware. Soviet generals fulfilled leadership roles.
[edit] UNITA
UNITA received heavy backing from the United States and the apartheid government in South Africa. While the U.S. helped UNITA with money and weaponry, South Africa sent around 5,000 troops in aid.
[edit] South Africa
South Africa's interests in Angola lay in preventing a MPLA takeover. Angola bordered on the South African protectorate Namibia (at the time called South West Africa), which was then under threat from SWAPO, a Communist-backed guerrilla force that was fighting for Namibian independence from bases in Angola. South Africa aimed to clear out MPLA and SWAPO forces from southern Angola and establish a buffer zone to prevent further incursions into South West Africa.
[edit] FNLA
The FNLA was propped up by the dictator of Zaire, Mobutu Sese Seko (Holden Roberto's brother-in-law), who dispatched around 2,000 troops to Angola. At the time of the Battle of Cuito Cuanavale, however, the FNLA had ceased to exist as a coherent force. The group had long since split into two factions, and the leaders of both factions were living in exile. Troops from one of the factions were incorporated into the South African Defense Force (SADF) as the South African 32 Battalion.
[edit] Battle
[edit] FAPLA advance on Mavinga
The first encounter between the SADF and Cuban troops occurred south of Benguela, a seaport in southwest Angola. It was a defeat for the Cubans, who failed to hold back the SADF advance. After a string of defeats, FAPLA and Cuban forces retreated to an old airstrip called Cuito Cuanavale.
In 1987, as part of the MPLA's struggle for dominion over Angola, the group launched a campaign to rout UNITA forces from their stronghold cities of Mavinga and Jamba in the southeast of the country. Under the leadership of Soviet generals, it was decided to commence the attack from Cuito Cuanavale.
In August of 1987 the 21st, 25th (both light infantry), 47th (armoured) and the 59th (mechanized) brigades (some sources also include the 16th brigade) of FAPLA, under Soviet/Cuban command, departed from the city Cuito Cuanavale in the Cuando Cubango province of south-east Angola. They got air support from the large airbase at Menongue (including MiG 23s deployed in a ground-attack role).
[edit] South African reaction
The South African government's strategic concern was to ensure continued UNITA control over regions bordering Namibia, so as to prevent the MPLA-aligned SWAPO guerrillas from gaining a springboard in southern Angola from which to launch attacks into Namibia.
In December of 1987, the South African government responded to the FAPLA/Cuban offensive by launching a series of military operations in conjunction with UNITA forces, beginning with Operation Modular. The campaign succeeded in driving FAPLA/Cuban forces back to Cuito Cuanavale.
The MPLA, fearing defeat, requested more help from Cuba. Fidel Castro responded by sending - in what was called "Maniobra XXXI Aniversario de las FAR" - hundreds of tanks, artillery, AA guns, airplanes and almost 50,000 men to the MPLA's rescue. Since Cuba lacked the capacity to carry out this massive logistical effort on its own, the USSR pitched in with ships and transport. The first Cuban reinforcements arrived in Cuito Cuanavale on December 5.
[edit] FAPLA retreat
South African and UNITA forces, having gained the upper-hand with Operation Modular, then launched Operation Hooper, mauling FAPLA/Cuban forces as they beat a retreat back to Cuito Cuanavale. The operation spanned from January to February of 1988. The South African advance was halted 22 km east of Cuito Cuanavale at the Tumpo river by FAPLA forces, who set up positions fortified by thick minefields. Though stalled, the South Africans managed to inflict further heavy casualties on FAPLA forces and to secure the tactically important Chambinga Heights.
[edit] Attack on Cuito Cuanavale
The final phase of the campaign was centred on the city itself, as the South Africans continued pursuing their overall objective (Operation Packer) of driving FAPLA forces west of the Cuito river. The South Africans shelled FAPLA forces with artillery from the surrounding high grounds of the Chambinga Heights.
[edit] Outcome
The outcome of the battle is disputed. South African and UNITA forces never captured the city of Cuito Cuanavale, but maintained that it was never their intention to do so. South African and UNITA forces claimed to have inflicted enormous casualties on Cuban and FAPLA forces, and to have accomplished their objective of repulsing the offensive against UNITA havens in southeast Angola. Cuban and FAPLA forces, however, count the failure of the South Africans to capture the city and the resilience of their troops under bombardment as a triumph.
Regardless of which side was the victor, the battle marked a major turning point in the course of events in southern Africa. In 1988, following the Battle of Cuito Cuanavale, South Africa and Cuba agreed to the withdrawal of all foreign troops from Angola. In 1990, Namibia gained its independence from South Africa. The battle is said by some observers to have hastened the downfall of the apartheid government in South Africa, and has been hailed as the "African Stalingrad of Apartheid". In a speech given in Havana in July, 1991, Nelson Mandela declared, "The defeat of the racist army at Cuito Cuanavale has made it possible for me to be here today! Cuito Cuanavale was a milestone in the history of the struggle for southern African liberation!" [4]
[edit] Quotes
"The people's armed forces for the liberation of Angola have not been able either, even with the help of the Cubans, to decisively defeat the enemy and drive him out of the territory or the country. The result, frankly speaking, was an impasse."; M. Ponoromov; Krasnaya Zvezda Magazine; May, 20, 1988.
"If defeat for South Africa meant the loss of 31 men, three tanks, five armoured vehicles and three aircraft, then we'd lost. If victory for FAPLA and the Cubans meant the loss of 4600 men, 94 tanks, 100 armoured vehicles, 9 aircraft and other Soviet equipment valued at more than a billion rand, then they'd won.", Colonel Dean Ferreira, CDR SADF in Angola; Paratus (SADF Magazine), March, 1989, p.14.
"During the course of the fighting FAPLA suffered one of the worst defeats to befall an army since the WWII. The SADF (Operation Modular) intervention began modestly, as UNITA attempted to stiffen its resistance to the invaders in Cuando Cubango, in August, and picked up through September as South African artillery repelled two attempts by FAPLA to cross the Lomba River. Finally, South African mechanized forces intervened to annihilate one of the FAPLA task forces in battles on 3-4 October. This defeat was followed by the FAPLA withdrawal toward Cuito Cuanavale, which was put under siege by UNITA and bombarded by South Africans (Operations "Hooper" and "Packer"). At the same time UNITA made considerable gains in the central plateau area and on the CFB, most of which were later regained by FAPLA at great cost. Frustrated in attempts to remedy the situation in the centre and east, FAPLA and the Cubans redeployed forces in south-western Angola to the Namibian border, where they sparred with the SADF until being decisively checked on 26-27 June at Techipa in Cunene province. Following this battle, the Cubans were convinced that further military confrontation with the SADF would not succeed, but launched a propaganda and diplomatic campaign to cover their setbacks and cover their losses. They also apparently decided to leave the MPLA to its fate, accepting shortly thereafter the linkage proposed by the US that led to Namibian independence in return for Cuban troop withdrawal from Angola.", Continent Ablaze; The Insurgency Wars in Africa, 1960 to the Present, 1998, ISBN 1-85409-128-X, John W. Turner
[edit] References
- Holt, C. At Thy Call we did not falter, Zebra Press, 2005. ISBN 1-77007-117-2. http://www.atthycall.com
- Nortje, P. 32 Battalion, Struik, 2004. ISBN 1-86872-914-1
- Steenkamp, W. South Africa's border war, 1966-1989, Gibraltar: Ashanti Pub., 1989. ISBN 0-620-13967-6
- Stiff, P. The Covert War: Koevoet Operations in Namibia 1979-1989, Galago Publishing Pty Ltd, 2000. ISBN 1-919854-03-7
[edit] External links
- The Battle of Cuito Cuanavale
- Angola National Security
- Angola and Southwest Africa: A Forgotten War (1975-89.
- Aid to UNITA - Operations MODULAR, HOOPER and PACKER
- Operations Modular and Hooper 1987-88
- 7th South African Infantry Battalion and Cuito Cuanavale
- Cuban Tanks at Cuito Cuanavale
- Cuban MiG-23 Fighters at Cuito Cuanavale
- South African Tanks at Cuito Cuanavale
