Cuito Cuanavale and the Success of the African Revolution in Angola
After the 23 March 1988 reversals at Cuito Cuanavale, apartheid South Africa began talks that culminated in the December 22 agreements. For the Angolans, who had been fighting continuously since 1961, the war and diplomacy were focused not only on the limited question of the apartheid South African Defence Force (SADF) withdrawal from Angola, but also on ending apartheid destabilisation of the region and on the independence for Namibia. The talks and the contentions about the independence of Namibia was an attempt by the United States to win at the conference table what apartheid had lost in battle. In reality, apartheid South Africa had to negotiate a capitulation or to surrender openly. The siege of Cuito Cuanavale ended after the apartheid SADF agreed to withdraw from Namibia.
On 10 November 1988, following a press conference of the General Staff of Angola, wherein Lieutenant-General Antonio dos Santos Franca Ndalu, Chief of the People’s Armed Forces for the Liberation of Angola (FAPLA), declared that his forces had killed over 230 South African troops in the course of the offensive and had destroyed large numbers of vehicles, the apartheid SADF responded by claiming that not all the soldiers that were killed were theirs. SADF admitted to the loss of only twelve soldiers, meaning the rest that were claimed by Dos Santos belonged to South West African Territorial Force (SWATF). It was believed in ma
The write-up is very informative. Brings to light the fact that the SADF did at some point face defeat, and the apartheid regime had to negotiate itself out of this quagmire not by choice but from defeat.
This is good read indeed.