Echoes of War Jonas Savimbi words Andrew Stone pictures archive
T
he former leader of Angola’s rebel group
Unita was reburied earlier this year,
more than 17 years after his death. The
charismatic, but controversial Jonas Savimbi,
who fought Angola’s socialist government
in a civil war lasting 27 years, was killed in a
battle against the People’s Movement for the
Liberation of Angola (MPLA) government forces
in February 2002. At the time he was hastily
buried in a cemetery in the town of Luena,
which led to later calls by Unita for him to be
given a more prominent funeral.
Unita first waged a guerrilla war against
Portuguese colonial rule from 1966 to 1974
before confronting the MPLA during the Angolan
Civil War. The conflict played a major role in the
Cold War with the US and South Africa backing
Unita and the Soviet Union and Cuba throwing
their weight behind the governing MPLA.
An estimated 500,000 people died over the
27 years the war was fought while some major
battles saw leading armour from the time
deployed on both sides. This included T55/62
tanks, BRDM-2 armoured vehicles and BM-21
Grad Rocket Launchers on the Angolan side
against Olifant tanks and Ratel infantry fighting
vehicles on the Unita/South African side.
In what would turn out to be the biggest
conventional battle in Africa since World War Two, the
Battle of Cuito Cuanavale was fought intermittently
between August 1987 and March 1988.
For Unita and the South African Defence Force
(SADF), it consisted of four phases. The aim of
these phases was to: 1. Stop a major Angolan
government offensive; 2. Inflict maximum
casualties on the retreating forces; 3. Drive
government forces back; and 4. Protect Unita
from future offensives.
Prior to this, the Soviet Union had supplied the
Angolan army with advanced military hardware
and advisors in anticipation of a major offensive
to crush Unita. In order to stop this, the SADF’s
61 Mechanised Battalion moved into Angola
in August 1987 and along with Unita forces
confronted an Angolan army force consisting of
an estimated 6,000 men, 80 tanks and artillery
and support vehicles.In a series of fights that took place from early
September into October, the SADF and Unita
inflicted heavy losses on government forces
including 61 tanks and 83 armoured vehicles
for the loss of five armoured vehicles. A
sophisticated SA-8 anti-aircraft missile system
was also captured. As a result, the Angolan army
retreated to Cuito Cuanavale, a town located in
the central region of the country.
Further attacks in November 1987 saw moreheavy losses inflicted on the Angolans, who were
desperately defending Cuito Cuanavale. The
battle continued intermittently into 1988 with
neither side gaining the upper hand, but Angolan
government forces continued to suffer heavy
personnel and armour losses. The operation was
eventually wound down in late March, although
the SADF maintained a small force in the country
which continued to harry government forces
until August 1998.
The Battle of Cuito Cuanavale is credited by
some as opening negotiations which led to a
peaceful settlement and the withdrawal of
Cuban and South African troops. It also ensured
the survival of Savimbi’s Unita, which fought on
despite several efforts at brokering peace during
the 1990s. It was only after Savimbi’s death in
2002 that a settlement was reached. Savimbi’s
remains were finally handed to his family in late
May of this year for a formal burial on June 1.
While there were no government officials at the
ceremony, his coffin was draped in Unita’s flag.- SOURCE: WIKIPEDIA
President Ronald Reagan meeting with Jonas Savimbi in The Oval Office in 1986.
WHITE HOUSE PHOTOGRAPHIC
COLLECTION / WIKIMEDIADecommissioned Unita BMP-1 and
BM-21 Grad at an assembly point. WIKIMEDIAFurther Reading
Several books have been written over the
years on the Angolan Civil War and the
South African Border War. These include
Leopold Scholtz’s book ‘The Battle of Cuito
Cuanavale. Cold War Angolan Finale,
1987-1988’.
A war of words has raged since the battle
about who actually won and in the book, a
South African military historian and retired
journalist examine the campaign, the
adversaries, and their achievements on the
basis of research in SADF archives, which
results in interesting conclusions. Another
that will interest military vehicle enthusiasts
is ‘South African Armour of the Border War
1975–89’ written by Kyle Harmse and Simon
Dunstan. The Border War saw the biggest
armoured battles in Africa since World
War Two and with the aid of illustrations
and photographs, the book details the
characteristics, capabilities and performance
of the wide variety of armoured vehicles
deployed by the SADF at the time.‘Savimbi’s remains
were finally handed
to his family in late
May of this year
for a formal burial’