The South African Border War - Operation Reindeer begins.

in war •  7 years ago  (edited)

Concerned about the larger numbers in insurgent groups the SADF planned a series of operations to once again cross into Angola in a major way to eliminate SWAPO bases etc. now housed and thriving on Angolan Soil.

By NordNordWest - , usingUnited States National Imagery and Mapping Agency dataWorld Data Base II data, CC BY-SA 3.0, Link

Operation Reindeer was split into 3 separate areas of simultaneous operations against SWAPO base complexes and its headquarters.

2 attacks would be relatively close by, under 25 km from the Angolan border. The other was an airborne assault on SWAPO headquarters at Cassinga 260 km deep inside Angola.

The attacks close to the borders were the debut for the Ratel and some started late due to problems dealing with the thick Angolan bush.

img source

All of the attacks on the nearby bases did not proceed exactly as planned due to miss-timings of some sort or another.

A calibration error on artillery pieces led to the shelling of own troops and subsequently significant delays.

Ultimately much of the bases ware destroyed, with significant insurgent losses but also many escaped into the bush due to delays or mistimed attacks.

Many weapons were captured.

img source

Further north at Cassinga much more was happening and the results would be catastrophic in many respects.

Previous posts in this series can be found at the bottom of this post:

The South African Border War - 1976, The end of a chapter and the beginning of a new phase.
The South African Border War - Mines, Mines did I say mines?
The South African Border War - Enter the Ratel
The South African Border War - The United Nations Security Council Resolutions

Authors get paid when people like you upvote their post.
If you enjoyed what you read here, create your account today and start earning FREE STEEM!
Sort Order:  

I really do not like war. war only harms the weak little people @gavvet

Nope, only online.

@gavvet. You should think about it. This is impressive stuff.

it infuriates me that the so called advanced countries like America, Britain, France, Russia and China sell weapons at all. And most countries military forces carry the term "Defence" in them. Terms like "Pre-emptive strikes" to defend themselves from a possible aggressor. Then the media in those countries sets the mindset of their populace with manipulated "truths"

forgive me if make you infuriates !! but that's the reality ..

@gavvet the one I love the most in this post is the troops killing his own group.
means your master's weapon.
the most dangerous war is the anti-guerrilla war.
my country has been an anti-guerrilla war.

I am very afraid of war
I often read newspapers about war.
but many innocent families and civilians are the victims. I expect no war in our country.

Intresting , i was suprised when you said

All of the attacks on the nearby bases did not proceed exactly as planned due to miss-timings of some sort or another.

that was serious!!!

Nice information👍🏻

Thanks for the information @gavvet. But which year was this. Was it in 70s or 80s.

thanks for the information, i can see that many oft your posts is all about war and weapons, are you a soldier or something like that? gavvet

I was, sorta

Hmm, i see

Great series as per usual, great work lad!

world war start and this is only small part of that... -.-

@gavvet,
"A calibration error on artillery pieces led to the shelling of own troops and subsequently significant delays."
You reminds me our last war against terrorism. Time mis-calculation is a terrible error and it can't be fixed! Eventually it ends by killing our own brothers by our hands :/
Great article and thank you very much for sharing it with us! 3 Attacks on 3 bases at the same time, that would be a great war tactic!

Cheers~

amigo #resteemia at your service

your article gives a clear picture about the war & strategies that used in it. ratel is one of my favorite war machine there.

excellent work @gavvet

ReSteemia
'UpVoted ReSteemed Commented'

old country South Africa beautiful forces

@gavvet - Sir, SA border war helped to make new weapons & vehicles to wars. This is one of the best war machine that SL army used against terrorism Sir. It developed by SA & effectively used against terrorists in SL Sir.

+W+ [UpVoted & ReSteemed]

Great work

interesting post to read

Excellent post, very good information. From today I will start to know more post interesting. regards

I read your article interesting.I look forward to seeing you.I envy you for writing a wonderful article.

I didn't know this
Thnxx for the post

Wow . Nice post . Thanks for share

Nice😀

Great post @gavvet thanks for sharing ,upvoted and following updates..

Very interesting, good post and I like, hopefully the next post better with a more perfect idea. follow me @pojan, Upvote and give a positive comment for me.

https://steemit.com/introduceyourself/@pojan/the-next-introduction-for-me-introduceyourself-2017928t182549442z

I like post you, Regards @launglilawangsa di Steemit.com

is war very very bad for children :(

What the f***ing war start !!!

I think the first part of the South African border war (Namibian Independence war) was fought between 1960s to 1980s. History is really interesting. But more interesting is the repetition of history

Hi @gavvet, in war would you agree with the saying, Logistics eats Strategy for breakfast?

War, is like a drug for some people... how do we get the right threatment for this...

please vote

Peeps need to understand that the SA border war was not about ant-terrorism it was more about a European fears of a united Africa...one where Kadafi would introduce a gold African coin (which would ultimately and which did threaten the US dollar) a coin for the buying of oil. At that time Kadafi was considered a terrorist by the SADF. So some more internal information for readers...the SADF troops raped many villagers in Angola. When the SADF was known to be coming in, the village women would lie on the streets with their legs apart...if they did not, they would be raped with rifles. It was really a disgusting war driven and managed by racists.

  ·  7 years ago (edited)

Wow, that's some rough propaganda you read. There weren't even "streets" in the conflict zones where the SADF operated.

Dude I served 22months compulsory service in the SADF...so I know the whats and whats about most of the crap that went down when it did. There's so much hushed up. To try bring in an argument about there being no 'streets' is as weak as you know it. I dont expect you to admit anything...I want other readers to understand the truth behind what was happening. No offence.

Which years?

confidential

really usefull content .....upvoted u n followed ..... followed me too @khadkabipin

upvoted&followed, look at my photos :)

Are you connected to army? informative post @gavvet

Nobody can stop. but war began to kill humanity and human kills human. Shameful . May god save all kids there.

I was traumatized about the war and I was very scared when the war was repeated @gavvet..upvote and i resteem post you my friend

Congratulations @gavvet, this post is the forth most rewarded post (based on pending payouts) in the last 12 hours written by a Superhero or Legend account holder (accounts hold greater than 100 Mega Vests). The total number of posts by Superhero and Legend account holders during this period was 30 and the total pending payments to posts in these categories was $2465.34. To see the full list of highest paid posts across all accounts categories, click here.

If you do not wish to receive these messages in future, please reply stop to this comment.

Very intetesting post.
I believe one day "Love leads" forever

Have you experienced any war?

somewhat

sorry about that. i have never experienced a war before

War is always terrible. Normally, it can bring a lot of aftermath/consequences in terms of Social, Economic and in a Political aspect. Some ways to avoid war(s) should be taken into consideration. For instance the Diplomatic/ Constitutional/ Round Table Method.
Through the Outbreaks of those previous war(s), I/ people used to learn the impacts and hence becoming aware.
Thank you for sharing.

Thankyou for sharing @gavvet

The South African Border War, also called the Namibian War of Independence, refers to conflicts between 1966 and 1989 in Southwest Africa (now Namibia and Angola).

War and War ......

i hate war...

Congratulations @gavvet!
Your post was mentioned in the hit parade in the following category:

  • Upvotes - Ranked 10 with 420 upvotes

Thanks for sharing! I haven't studied this war too much, so this was good info.

Hi brother @gavvet
I wish you a happy day. I apologize that I have not followed your page for more than two months and I am no longer adding the only postings you are
Just type YouTube clips
I really hope you are fine and I do not know what will happen, but I am happy to return to reassure you

damn man thats sad i have a lot of friends from south africa :( prayers for all out there !

We dream of a future without war.

Hey Gav,
A little off topic, i wanted to know if you would like to get involved with an ongoing photochallenge i want to start on Steemit? If you interested.

https://steemit.com/introduceyourself/@byronviljoen/byronsphotochallenge-needs-a-sponsor

I really like and follow you always
if you like my work this one, i hope you like it :)

Love your border wars seriea fellow SA member