We’re back in 1982 after a hiatus covering the seaborne operations and an update from the SA Air Force which had had a busy May as you heard in Episode 64. 
 
Things on the ground in SWA showed that SWAPO was almost fully recovered from the hammering they took during Operation Protea – their own Operation had killed three farmers and 8 security force personnel. 
32 Battalion continued to carry out a number of projects – and in particular the long-term Operation Spiderweb hearts and minds initiative in the Kavango which I spoke about last episode. 
A number of other ops were planned to take place back to back and code named Operation Meebos which had actually started in March, aimed at the area around Xangona-Humbe-Ongiva. 
The aim of Operation Meebos was to keep FAPLA out of the two main southern Angolan towns Xangongo and Ongiva which had been seized during Operation Protea– in an area the Angolans called the Fifty Military Region. 
It’s ironic that the biggest loss in the upcoming op was actually caused by a SWAPO team armed with AA guns.

We’re back in 1982 after a hiatus covering the seaborne operations and an update from the SA Air Force which had had a busy May as you heard in Episode 64. Things on the ground in SWA showed that SWAPO was almost fully recovered from the hammering they took during Operation Protea – their own Operation had killed three farmers and 8 security force personnel. 32 Battalion continued to carry out a number of projects – and in particular the long-term Operation Spiderweb hearts and minds initiative in the Kavango which I spoke about last episode. A number of other ops were planned to take place back to back and code named Operation Meebos which had actually started in March, aimed at the area around Xangona-Humbe-Ongiva. The aim of Operation Meebos was to keep FAPLA out of the two main southern Angolan towns Xangongo and Ongiva which had been seized during Operation Protea– in an area the Angolans called the Fifty Military Region. It’s ironic that the biggest loss in the upcoming op was actually caused by a SWAPO team armed with AA guns.

We’re back in 1982 after a hiatus covering the seaborne operations and an update from the SA Air Force which had had a busy May as you heard in Episode 64. 
 
Things on the ground in SWA showed that SWAPO was almost fully recovered from the hammering they took during Operation Protea – their own Operation had killed three farmers and 8 security force personnel. 
32 Battalion continued to carry out a number of projects – and in particular the long-term Operation Spiderweb hearts and minds initiative in the Kavango which I spoke about last episode. 
A number of other ops were planned to take place back to back and code named Operation Meebos which had actually started in March, aimed at the area around Xangona-Humbe-Ongiva. 
The aim of Operation Meebos was to keep FAPLA out of the two main southern Angolan towns Xangongo and Ongiva which had been seized during Operation Protea– in an area the Angolans called the Fifty Military Region. 
It’s ironic that the biggest loss in the upcoming op was actually caused by a SWAPO team armed with AA guns.

Episode 65 – Ops Meebos where SWAPO AA fire downs a Puma

Much has been written about the South African Border war which is also known as the Namibian War of Independence. While the fighting was ostensibly about Namibia, most of the significant battles were fought inside Namibia’s northern neighbour, Angola. 

South Africa’s 23 year border war has been almost forgotten as the Cold War ebbed away and bygones were swept under the political carpet. South African politicians, particularly the ANC and the National Party, decided during negotiations to end years of conflict that the Truth and Reconciliation commission would focus on the internal struggle inside South Africa. 

For most conscripts in the South African Defence Force, the SADF, they completed matric and then were drafted into the military. For SWAPO or UNITA or the MPLA army FAPLA it was a similar experience but defined largely by a political awakening and usually linked to information spread through villages and in towns. 

This was a young person’s war which most wars are – after all the most disposable members of society are its young men. Nor was it simply a war between white and black. IT was more a conflict on the ground between red and green. Communism and Capitalism. 

The other reality was despite being a low-key war, it was high intensity and at times featured unconventional warfare as well as conventional. SADF soldiers would often fight on foot, walking patrols, contacts would take place between these troops and SWAPO. There were many conventional battles involving motorised heavy vehicles, tanks, artillery, air bombardments and mechanised units rolling into attack each other. The combatants included Russians, American former Vietnam vets, Cubans, East Germans and Portuguese.

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Much has been written about the South African Border war which is also known as the Namibian War of Independence. While the fighting was ostensibly about Namibia, most of the significant battles were fought inside Namibia’s northern neighbour, Angola. South Africa’s 23 year border war has been almost forgotten as the Cold War ebbed away and bygones were swept under the political carpet. South African politicians, particularly the ANC and the National Party, decided during negotiations to end years of conflict that the Truth and Reconciliation commission would focus on the internal struggle inside South Africa. For most conscripts in the South African Defence Force, the SADF, they completed matric and then were drafted into the military. For SWAPO or UNITA or the MPLA army FAPLA it was a similar experience but defined largely by a political awakening and usually linked to information spread through villages and in towns. This was a young person’s war which most wars are – after all the most disposable members of society are its young men. Nor was it simply a war between white and black. IT was more a conflict on the ground between red and green. Communism and Capitalism. The other reality was despite being a low-key war, it was high intensity and at times featured unconventional warfare as well as conventional. SADF soldiers would often fight on foot, walking patrols, contacts would take place between these troops and SWAPO. There were many conventional battles involving motorised heavy vehicles, tanks, artillery, air bombardments and mechanised units rolling into attack each other. The combatants included Russians, American former Vietnam vets, Cubans, East Germans and Portuguese.

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Episode 65 – Ops Meebos where SWAPO AA fire downs a Puma

Episode 65 – Ops Meebos where SWAPO AA fire downs a Puma

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