The war in Angola: the years, the course of events and the outcome of the armed conflict

The second half of the 20th century was marked by significant changes in the development of African states. We are talking about the activation of national liberation movements against the colonial policy of European states. All these tendencies have been reflected in the events that have taken place since 1961 in Angola.

Angola on the map of Africa: geographical location

Angola is one of the African states created after the Second World War. In order to navigate the situation that was in this state throughout the second half of the 20th century, we must first understand where Angola is on the map and with what territories it borders. The modern country is located in South Africa.

It borders on the south with Namibia, which until the late 1980s was completely subordinated to South Africa (this is a very important factor!), In the east - with Zambia. In the north and north-east is the state border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The western border is the Atlantic Ocean. Knowing with what countries Angola borders, it will be easier for us to understand the ways of invading the territory of the state of foreign troops.

The reasons for the outbreak of war

The war in Angola did not begin spontaneously. Within Angolan society, from 1950 to 1960, three different groups were formed, which considered their task to be a struggle for the independence of the state. The problem is that they could not unite because of ideological incompatibility.

What are these groups? The first group - the MPLA (stands for the People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola) - considered the ideology of the future development of the state to be a Marxist ideology. Perhaps Agostinho Neto (the party leader) and did not see the ideal in the state system of the USSR, because the purely economic views of Karl Marx differed slightly from those that were presented in the Union as Marxism. But the MPLA was guided by the international support of the countries of the socialist camp.

The second group is FNLA (National Front for the Liberation of Angola), whose ideology was also interesting. FNLA leader Holden Roberto liked the idea of independent development, borrowed from Chinese philosophers. By the way, the activities of the FNLA carried a certain danger for Angola itself, because the coming to power of Roberto threatened the country with disintegration. Why? Holden Roberto was a relative of the President of Zaire and promised, in case of victory, to give that part of the territory of Angola.

The third group, UNITA (the National Front for the Complete Independence of Angola), was distinguished by its pro-Western orientation. Each of these groups had some support in society and a different social base. They did not even try to reconcile and unite, because each of the parties represented too different ways of fighting the colonists, and, most importantly, further development of the country. It was these contradictions that led to the beginning of hostilities in 1975.

The War Begins

The war in Angola began on September 25, 1975. No wonder at the beginning of the article we spoke about the geographical situation of the country and mentioned neighbors. On this day, troops entered the territory of Zaire, who spoke in support of the FNLA. The situation worsened after October 14, 1975, when troops from South Africa (from the territory of South Africa controlled Namibia) entered Angola. These forces began to support the pro-Western part of UNITA. The logic of such a political position of South Africa in the Angolan conflict is obvious: in the leadership of South Africa there have always been many Portuguese. The MPLA initially also had outside support. It is about the SWAPO army, which defended the independence of Namibia from South Africa.

So, we see that at the end of 1975 in the country under consideration were the troops of several states, which opposed each other. But the civil war in Angola could be perceived in a broader sense - as a military conflict between several states.

The war in Angola: Operation Savannah

What did the troops of South Africa do immediately after crossing the border with Angola? That's right - there was an active promotion. These battles went down in history as Operation Savannah. South African troops were divided into several strike groups. The success of Operation Savannah was provided by the unexpectedness and lightning speed of the Zulu and other parts. Within a few days they conquered the whole south-west of Angola. The Foxbat group was deployed in the central region.

The army captured such objects: the cities of Liumbala, Kakulu, Katenge, Benguela airport, several MPLA training camps. The victorious procession of these armies continued until November 13, when they occupied the city of Novo Redondo. Also the group "Foxbat" won a very heavy fight for the bridge number 14.

The X-Ray group took over the Cuban army near the cities of Xanlongo, Luso, seized the Salazar bridge and stopped the advance of the Cubans in the direction of Kariango.

Participation of the USSR in hostilities

Analyzing the historical chronicle, we will understand that the inhabitants of the Union practically did not know what the war in Angola is. The USSR never advertised its active participation in events.

After the introduction of the troops of Zaire and South Africa, the MPLA leader applied for military assistance to the USSR and Cuba. The leaders of the countries of the socialist camp could not refuse to help the army and the party that professed the socialist ideology. The military conflicts of this plan were to some extent beneficial to the USSR, because the party leadership still did not abandon the idea of exporting the revolution.

International assistance to Angola was given a great deal. Officially, the Soviet army participated in battles from 1975 to 1979, but in fact in this conflict our soldiers took part before the collapse of the USSR. Official and real data on the losses in this conflict are different. The documents of the Ministry of Defense of the USSR explicitly state that during the war in Angola, our army lost 11 people. Military experts believe this figure is very understated and tend to the opinion of more than 100 people.

Fights in November-December 1975

The war in Angola at its first stage was very bloody. Let's now analyze the main events of this phase. So, several countries have introduced their own troops. We already know about this. What happens next? Military aid from the USSR and Cuba in the form of specialists, equipment, ships of the Soviet Navy greatly strengthened the MPLA army.

The first serious success of this army took place in the battle of Kifangondo. Opponents were the troops of Zaire and FNLA. The MPLA army had a strategic advantage at the time of the start of the battle, because the weapons of the Zairians were very outdated, and the socialist army received new models of military equipment from the USSR. On 11 November, the army of the FNLA lost the battle and, by and large, surrendered its positions, practically stopping the struggle for power in Angola.

There was no respite from the MPLA army, because at the same time the army of South Africa (Operation Savannah) was advancing. Its troops advanced into the interior of the country by about 3000-3100 km. The war in Angola did not calm down! The tank battle between the forces of the MPLA and UNITA took place on November 17, 1975 near the town of Gangula. This victory was won by the socialist forces. The successful part of Operation Savannah was over. After these events, the MPLA army continued its offensive, but the enemy did not give up, and permanent battles took place.

The situation at the front in 1976

Military conflicts continued in the next, 1976, year. For example, on January 6, the MPLA forces seized the FNLA base in the north of the country. One of the opponents of the Socialists was actually defeated. Of course, no one thought about ending the war, so Angola was waiting for many more years of disasters. As a result, the FNLA troops left the territory of Angola in completely disconnected form in about 2 weeks. Left without a fortified camp, they could not continue an active campaign.

The MPLA leadership had to solve an equally serious task further, because regular parts of the armies of Zaire and South Africa did not leave Angola. By the way, a very interesting position on the justification of their military claims in Angola from South Africa. South African politicians were convinced that an unstable situation in a neighboring country could have negative consequences for their state as well. What kind? For example, they feared activization of protest movements. With these rivals managed to cope until the end of March 1976.

Of course, the MPLA itself, with the regular armies of the enemy, could not do this. The main role in ousting opponents beyond the borders of the state belongs to 15,000 Cubans and Soviet military specialists. After that, systematic and active hostilities were not conducted for some time, because the enemy of UNITA decided to wage a guerrilla war. With this form of confrontation, minor clashes occurred.

Partisan stage of the war

After 1976, the nature of the fighting changed slightly. Up until 1981, foreign armies did not conduct systemic military operations on the territory of Angola. The UNITA organization understood that its forces would not be able to prove their superiority over the FALPA (the army of Angola) in open battles. Speaking about the army of Angola, we must understand that this is actually the strength of the MPLA, because the socialist group has officially been in power since 1975. As noted, by the way, Agostinho Neto, the flag of Angola is not in vain because it is black and red. Red color is most often found on the symbols of socialist states, and black is the color of the African continent.

The clashes of 1980-1981

In the late 1970s, one can only talk about clashes with the UNITA guerrillas. In 1980-1981 years. The war in Angola has intensified. For example, in the first half of 1980, South African troops invaded the Angolan territory more than 500 times. Yes, these were not some kind of strategic operations, but all the same these acts significantly destabilized the situation in the country. In 1981, the activity of South African troops increased before a full-scale military operation, which was named Protea in history textbooks.

Parts of the South African Army advanced along the Angolan territory inland for 150-200 km, there was the question of the seizure of several settlements. As a result of the offensive and serious defensive actions, more than 800 Angolan soldiers were killed under enemy fire. It is also known (although in official documents this is nowhere to be found) about the death of 9 Soviet servicemen. Until March 1984, the fighting was periodically resumed.

The Battle of Quito-Cuanaval

A few years later, the full-scale war in Angola resumed. The battle for Quito-Cuanavale (1987-1988) was a very important turning point in the civil confrontation. In this battle, soldiers of the People's Army of Angola, the Cuban and Soviet military participated on the one hand; UNITA partisans and the South African Army on the other. This fight ended unsuccessfully for UNITA and South Africa, so they had to flee. At the same time, they blew up the border bridge, complicating the possible persecution of their parts by the Angolans.

After this battle, at last, serious peace negotiations began. Of course, the war continued even in the 1990s, but it was the battle of Quito-Cuanavale that was turning in favor of the Angolan forces. Today, Angola exists as an independent state and is developing. The flag of Angola speaks about the political orientation of the state for today.

Why the USSR was not profitable official participation in the war?

As is known, in 1979, the intervention of the Soviet Army in Afghanistan began. Execution of international debt seems to be necessary and prestigious, but such incursions, interference in the life of another people were not very much supported by the people of the USSR and the world community. That is why the Union officially recognized its participation in the Angolan campaign only in the period from 1975 to 1979.