War in Angola - The Final South African Phase by Helmoed-Romer Heitman

War in Angola - The Final South African Phase by Helmoed-Römer Heitman. A5, Hard Cover with dustcover, 366 pages. Dustcover worn on top edges, book in very good condition.

Helmoed-Römer Heitman has written widely on defence matters for South African, British, American, German, Austrian and Australian journals.

In August 1987 SA sent a force into south-eastern Angola in support of Unita. When the last South African soldier crossed the Kavango to return to South West Africa on 1 September 1988, this force had irrevocably changed the strategic situation in the region.

The SA force was originally intended merely to halt an impending offensive by the Angolan Army (Fapla) against Unita base areas. This was unfortunately stopped on 3 October 1987 when the 47^th Brigade of Fapla was destroyed on the banks of the Lomba River. SA then decided to extend the operation to prevent a renewed offensive in 1988. SA and Unita inflicted a serious defeat on Fapla and their Cuban and Russian advisers. The South Africans were in south-eastern Angola for 12 months with never more than 3000 troops. They accomplished in less than 12 months what years of intensive diplomacy had failed to achieve; the future of the region was now to be settled by word rather than by shot and shell…