Operation Protea was a military operation during the South African Border War and Angolan Civil War in which South African Defence Forces (SADF) destroyed a number SWAPO bases in Angola. This article describes three distinct but related terms military operations Operations as military events and operational level of war The South African Border War, also known as the Namibian War of Independence, refers to the conflict that took place from 1966 to 1989 in South-West The Angolan Civil War began in Angola after the end of the war for independence from Portugal in 1975 The South African Defence Force (SADF were the South African Armed forces from 1957 until 1994 The South West Africa People's Organization ( SWAPO) is a Political party and former Liberation movement in Namibia. Angola, officially the Republic of Angola (República de Angola Pronounced ʁɛˈpublikɐ dɨ ɐ̃ˈgɔlɐ Repubilika ya Ngola is a country in south-central During the operation, which took place from August 23 to September 4, 1981, up to 5,000 SADF soldiers occupied Cunene province, Angola. Events 79 - Mount Vesuvius begins stirring on the feast day of Vulcan the Roman god of fire Events 476 - Romulus Augustus, last emperor of the Western Roman Empire, is deposed when Odoacer proclaims himself Angola, officially the Republic of Angola (República de Angola Pronounced ʁɛˈpublikɐ dɨ ɐ̃ˈgɔlɐ Repubilika ya Ngola is a country in south-central [1]
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Targets
Operation Protea was launched on 23 August 1981. Events 79 - Mount Vesuvius begins stirring on the feast day of Vulcan the Roman god of fire Year 1981 ( MCMLXXXI) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link displays the 1981 Its objectives were to destroy the South-West Africa People's Organisations (SWAPO) command and training center at Xangongo as well as to destroy its logistic bases at Xangongo and Ongiva. The South West Africa People's Organization ( SWAPO) is a Political party and former Liberation movement in Namibia. Xangongo is a town in Cunene Province, Angola. It is located at around.
Xangongo, located at was the headquarters of SWAPO's "north-western front" from where it directed SWAPO units operating primarily in the Kaokoland and in western and central Ovamboland. Xangongo is a town in Cunene Province, Angola. It is located at around. Kaokoland (also called Kaokoveld) was a Bantustan in South West Africa (present-day Namibia) intended by the apartheid government to be a Ovamboland was the name given by English-speaking visitors to the land occupied by the Ovambo people in what is now northern Namibia and southern Angola There were also other SWAPO bases, which were used as supply depots and training bases for SWAPO recruits, sited to the south and southeast of the town.
Ongiva, a town located less than fifty kilometers north of the Angola-South-West Africa border at , was an important SWAPO logistical and personnel centre which supported operations in central and eastern Ovamboland and in the Kavangoland. Ovamboland was the name given by English-speaking visitors to the land occupied by the Ovambo people in what is now northern Namibia and southern Angola Kavangoland was a Bantustan in South West Africa (present-day Namibia) intended by the apartheid government to be a self-governing homeland
Both Xangongo and Ongiva were key bases in supporting SWAPO's war effort in South-West Africa, because of their location close to its border. Their destruction would undermine SWAPO's ability to conduct operations in their “north-western front” and also have a psychological impact by reinforcing the message of Operation Reindeer to SWAPO that it longer had the luxury of sanctuaries in southern Angola. Operation Reindeer, which took place on 4 May 1978, was South Africa 's second major military operation in Angola.
Attack
Xangongo
As a result of the lessons learned from Operation Reindeer, SWAPO had moved its bases closer to those of FAPLA (the Angolan governing party MPLA’s military wing) to discourage attacks by the South African forces. Operation Reindeer, which took place on 4 May 1978, was South Africa 's second major military operation in Angola. The FAPLA or Forças Armadas Populares de Libertação de Angola (People's Armed Forces for the Liberation of Angola was originally the armed wing of the Angolan The Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola - Party of Labour (Movimento Popular de Libertação de Angola - Partido do Trabalho is an Angolan political party By the time of Operation Protea, this strategy was so far advanced that SWAPO’s logistical system had become entwined with that of FAPLA, especially in the area of Angola west of Ongiva. Although SWAPO's base strategy did not stop South African attacks, the South African forces went out of their way not to involve FAPLA in the fight.
A three-pronged mechanized force of Ratel Infantry Fighting Vehicles, Buffel Armoured Personnel Carriers and Eland Armoured Cars advanced on Xangongo from Ruacana, Oshakati and Ondangwa. Buffel redirects here See Thomas Buffel for the Belgian footballer The Eland is a South African light armoured car based on the Panhard AML. Ruacana is a town in Omusati Region, Namibia. It is located at around, on the border with Angola on the Cunene River. Ondangwa or Ondangua, is a Town in Oshana Region, northern Namibia. Part of their mission was to isolate the town to prevent possible Cuban and FAPLA reinforcements in Humbe and PeuPeu from coming to the aid of their compatriots in Xangongo. The Republic of Cuba (ˈkjuːbə or) consists of the island of Cuba (the largest and second-most populous island of the Greater Antilles) Isla de la The rest of the force attacked the SWAPO complex in and around the town.
The mixed SWAPO-FAPLA force had applied some more lessons learned during Operation Reindeer, and was consequently sited in well-prepared defensive systems consisting of trenches, bunkers and even dug-in tanks. Operation Reindeer, which took place on 4 May 1978, was South Africa 's second major military operation in Angola. Several fierce battles were fought between the South African and the integrated SWAPO/FAPLA force, which came to resemble a conventional war rather than a normal small-unit counter-insurgency operation. Conventional warfare is a form of Warfare conducted by using conventional military weapons and battlefield tactics between two or more states in open confrontation
The South African forces achieved considerable surprise in two aspects. Firstly, the SWAPO/FAPLA forces did not expect a South African attack in such a heavily defended region as, in addition to the SWAPO and FAPLA units in Xangongo, there were an estimated 23,000 FAPLA and 7,500 Cuban soldiers in the city of Lubango capable of moving south to aid the defenders of Xangongo. Lubango is the capital city of the Angolan province of Huíla. Secondly, SWAPO estimated that any South African attack would come from the south and established their defences to face in that direction. However, the South Africans attacked from the flanks and rear while feinting a frontal assault, which enabled them to quickly overpower the SWAPO/FAPLA defenders of Xangongo. The South African assault was thus successful and the surviving communist forces fled into the thick bush just outside the town.
A propaganda and intelligence coup was scored by the South African forces when they found the personal possessions and official documents left behind by a group of thirty Russian advisors along with seven women and a number of children. Propaganda is a concerted set of messages aimed at influencing the opinions or behaviors of large numbers of people Russia (Россия Rossiya) or the Russian Federation ( Rossiyskaya Federatsiya) is a transcontinental Country extending This incontrovertibly confirmed the growing involvement of the USSR in this conflict. The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR was a constitutionally Socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991
After securing their first objective, the main body of the South African force then moved southeast towards their second target – the town of Ongiva.
Ongiva
After brushing aside an attempt by FAPLA to stop their advance at Mongua, the South African forces reached Ongiva on 26 August 1981 and attacked the combined SWAPO/FAPLA forces dug in around the town. Events 1071 - Battle of Manzikert: The Seljuk Turks defeat the Byzantine Army at Manzikert. Year 1981 ( MCMLXXXI) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link displays the 1981 While the South Africans did not again have the element of surprise due to their earlier attack on Xangongo, they nevertheless attacked this complex from the rear as well and after two days of fighting, Ongiva also fell to them.
First hand account from an SAI member: Mechanised forces attracted anti-aircraft and SAM fire from the NE bunkers of the airport and withdrew. Mirages were directed to bomb those positions and then 3 SAI Platoons were deployed to eliminate them. The infantry entered the airport unchallenged from the east, then turned NW along the runway. At the NE corner, they came under fire from 300 FAPLA soldiers. Two platoons were pinned down in crosssfire from the east and north and the third platoon was clear on the west side of the road that runs west of the runway. Two SADF men were killed. All anti-aircraft positions were eliminated. As FAPLA soldiers fled over the road, the 'free' SADF platoon killed them in vast numbers. The road was well above the level of the surrounding ground and those fleeing realised their mistake only when it was too late.
Once the AA was eliminated, SAI withdrew under heavy automatic weapon fire. The Ratels then moved swiftly through the FAPLA positions cleaning out all opposition.
There were also a number of Russian military advisors present at Ongiva. However, unlike their compatriots at Xangongo, a number of Soviet officers were killed and Warrant Officer Second Class Nikolai Feodorovich Pestretsov was captured. A Warrant Officer ( WO) is a member of a military organization holding one of a specific group of ranks. Pestretsov was a military advisor attached to FAPLA's 11th Brigade at Ongiva,
Aftermath
Not only did Operation Protea provide proof of direct Soviet involvement with SWAPO, but it also enabled the South African forces to seize about 4,000 tons of military hardware valued at over USD 200 million. Units of mass There are three similar units of Mass called the ton: Long ton (simply ton in countries such as the United The United States dollar ( sign: $; code: USD) is the unit of Currency of the United States; it has also been In addition to enormous quantities of small arms and ammunition, it also included items as tanks, armoured vehicles, anti-aircraft guns, trucks and other logistical vehicles. At least 1,000 members of SWAPO and FAPLA were killed during the operation. Thirty-eight prisoners were captured, including ten SWAPO members. In contrast, the South Africans lost only ten men.
The presence of tanks and armoured personnel carriers proved conclusively that SWAPO intended to progress from the guerrilla to the mobile warfare stage in its war in South-West Africa and South Africa thus felt that its operation was fully justified.
It is thought that SWAPO's military timetable was severely set back by Operation Protea and that it took the organisation at least a year to recover from it. In addition, the defeats had driven the organisation even further north away from the South-West African border.
However, the end of Operation Protea did not signal the end the South African activity against SWAPO in southern Angola as Operation Protea was quickly followed up by another attack, Operation Daisy. Operation Daisy was a Military operation by the South African Defence Force during the South African Border War and Angolan Civil War.
See also
References
- ^ Manning, Susan A. The Battle of Cassinga ( 4 May 1978) was a controversial South African airborne attack on a South West Africa People's Organization Operation Reindeer, which took place on 4 May 1978, was South Africa 's second major military operation in Angola. Operation Daisy was a Military operation by the South African Defence Force during the South African Border War and Angolan Civil War. (1999). Modern Dance, Negro Dance: Race in Motion, 17.
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