Consequences of the colonial regime
Angola, Mozambique, Portuguese Guinea, the Cape Verde Islands, Sao Tome and Principe were Portuguese colonies for five hundred years, especially suffered from the slave trade and were characterized by an extremely low level of economic development and monstrous exploitation of the population.
On the territory of the Portuguese colonies, the position of Africans was at the level of primitive savage slavery. The African was not just bought, but hired from the government, so the owner did not care if he got sick or died. An important form of profit for the Portuguese colonialists was the supply of “living goods” to the mines in South Africa.
In terms of the standard of living of the indigenous population, the state of health and education, the Portuguese colonies were one of the last in the world. Among Africans, 99% were illiterate.
Africans were deprived of the opportunity to create legal political parties and trade unions. They didn't have their own press. Strict censorship, an extensive system of military dictatorship, arrests, and sending all suspects to concentration camps brought the Portuguese colonialists the sad fame of a “zone of silence.”
In Portugal in 1932, as a result of a military coup, the fascist dictator Salazar came to power. His rule was largely based on the oppression of the colonies. There were spontaneous uprisings in Angola in 1924, 1925 and 1939. But the real rise of the struggle for independence began in the Portuguese colonies after World War II.
MNLA's struggle for independence
In 1956, in the capital of Angola, Luanda, a group of Angolese cultural figures created the party Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MNLA), headed by the prominent poet and publicist Agostinho Neto. In their manifesto they called for the struggle for the independence of Angola.
Following the MNLA, a second major political party was created - the Union of the Population of Angola, whose leaders also declared their desire to achieve the freedom of Angola, but they were inclined to a pro-Western orientation. The Portuguese authorities began terrorizing the leaders of the patriotic movement.
Proclamation of the Republic
On February 4-6, 1961, an armed uprising began in the capital of Angola. As a result of the fighting, Angolan patriots liberated a vast territory in the east and southeast of the country. After the liquidation of the Salazar dictatorship in Portugal in 1974, the country's new government published a constitutional law that recognized Angola's right to self-determination and independence. On November 11, 1975, Angola was proclaimed a people's republic, with Agostinho Neto elected president.
Neto Agostinho (1922-1979) - President of Angola (1975 -1979), Chairman of the MPLA - Labor Party since 1977. He led the popular movement for the liberation of the country from 1962 to 1977. An outstanding African poet.
South Africa started a war against the young republic, but was defeated. Then, with her help, the UNITA organization was created, which, based in Namibia, started a civil war. Cuban volunteers came to the aid of Angola and played an important role in the defeat of UNITA. In 1989, an agreement was reached under which the South African armed forces were withdrawn from Angola. In 1992, democratic multi-party elections were held, in which the MNLA won. Its leader, Eduardo dos Santos, became president.
Dissatisfied with this outcome of the elections, the UNITA leadership again began an armed struggle. In 1993, the US government recognized the Angolan government as the sole representative of the Angolan people and established diplomatic relations with the country. UNITA was forced to enter into new negotiations. In 1994, in Lusaka, the capital of Zambia (formerly Northern Rhodesia), a protocol was signed under which UNITA pledged to end the armed struggle. UN observers arrived in northern Angola. World banks have announced $1 billion in financial assistance to Angola.
In September 1998, UNITA violated another ceasefire agreement signed in 1997 and refused to disband the armed forces. Angola was once again plunged into civil war. At the same time, 4 million people (a third of the population) were injured, 2 million fled the country. On February 22, 2002, government troops killed the UNITA leader Savimbi, and the UNITA armed forces were forced to lay down their arms. On April 4, a ceasefire was declared, signaling the end of the 30-year war in Angola. The internecine war devastated the country. More than half the population is unemployed, and per capita income is one of the lowest in the world.
Mozambique in the 50s-90s.
Proclamation of the People's Republic of Mozambique
Another former Portuguese colony, Mozambique, practically repeated Angola's path to Freedom. Here, the armed struggle for freedom began in 1964 under the leadership of the Liberation Front (FRELIMO). The Patriots controlled most of the country. The overthrow of Salazar's government in Portugal led to Mozambique's right to self-determination and the declaration of its independence on June 25, 1975. The new republic became known as the People's Republic of Mozambique.
President Samora Machel in February 1976 announced the nationalization of all enterprises that were mainly in the hands of Portuguese entrepreneurs. The capital of the country was renamed Moputo.
This caused a conflict with the Portuguese colonists, who owned the entire economy of the country. Civil war began in Mozambique.
The Portuguese, who made up 20% of the country's population, created combat detachments "remanos", the number of which reached 10 thousand people. From the territory of South Africa, where their bases were established, they carried out constant raids into the territory of Mozambique.
On October 19, 1986, President Samora Machel died in a plane crash. The former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Joaquimo Chissano (born 1940), became president. In 1990, he managed to reach an agreement with South Africa to stop raids by armed groups on the territory of Mozambique. At the same time, negotiations began in Rome with representatives of white settlers, which in 1992 ended with the signing of an agreement to end the civil war.
Reforms to liberalize the economy and politics have begun in Mozambique. Part of the property was returned to its previous owners, which contributed to the onset of civil and interethnic peace in the country. The changes in South Africa, where N. Mandela became president, were of great importance for Mozambique.
In November 1994, the country held free multi-party elections. They brought victory to the country's president, Joaquimo Chissano.
In November 1995, Mozambique became a member of the British Commonwealth of Nations. In 2002, J. Chissano announced his refusal to run for president for the third time. In 2004, the country elected a new president, Armando Guebuza. Despite the reforms and great assistance from Western countries, Mozambique remains one of the poorest countries in the world in terms of per capita income, 21% of residents are unemployed, 70% are illiterate.
- Hello Gentlemen! Please support the project! It takes money ($) and mountains of enthusiasm to maintain the site every month. 🙁 If our site helped you and you want to support the project 🙂, then you can do this by transferring funds in any of the following ways. By transferring electronic money:
- R819906736816 (wmr) rubles.
- Z177913641953 (wmz) dollars.
- E810620923590 (wme) euro.
- Payeer wallet: P34018761
- Qiwi wallet (qiwi): +998935323888
- DonationAlerts: http://www.donationalerts.ru/r/veknoviy
- The assistance received will be used and directed towards the continued development of the resource, Payment for hosting and Domain.
Angola, Mozambique in the 50s-90s. Updated: January 29, 2017 By: admin
As for Angola, this has - at least recently - become relatively clear. There is such a respected organization as the Council of Veterans of Angola, which also conducts educational work, trying to convey to the public consciousness that there were no formidable Soviet top-secret Rambs in Angola, who almost single-handedly fought against “hordes of South African mercenaries.” The service was difficult, full of difficulties and sometimes dangers. There were military operations, and there was the usual routine. There were heroic deeds, but they did not consist of solitary walks across the savannah with a bayonet in his teeth, but in the performance of official duties in fantastically difficult conditions.
The good news is that through their efforts, at least the number of articles on the eternal topic “Soviet special forces in Africa” has decreased. Like an interview with a certain captain/major/colonel who accomplished imaginable and unimaginable feats on the Dark Continent, was awarded all the orders of independent Africa at number 1, and the Motherland, what a pity, never found out about this.
Lyrical digression. No, this is still an eternal topic... After all, people still don’t get tired of asking on forums in the spirit: “Tell me about how the GRU fought in Africa, always with names, details of battles, military ranks of participants and photographs.” And to these questions there immediately follows a bunch of answers like: “In 1977 (1981, 1986, 1989) the cousin of the brother-in-law’s father’s elder brother’s wife’s godfather of my uncle fought in Angola (Mozambique, Ethiopia, Congo, Somalia). They landed from a bomber (cruiser, helicopter, submarine) at dawn (at night, at sunset) on parachutes (inflatable boats, canoes, with scuba gear) and with machine guns smashed a company of commandos (mercenaries, blacks, green berets).”
It's clear. Well, people want to believe that once there was a Great Empire, and its centurions menacingly walked across the planet. And in its most exotic places. Moreover, nothing stood in the way of this empire; even the most malicious US military-industrial complex and President Ronald Reagan personally, no matter how angry they were, no matter how much they put a spoke in the wheels, could not harm the cause of building socialism in different countries and continents. And at the forefront of all this is the heroic Soviet special forces (which, God forbid, a hundred people in the entire Union knew about before 1991, but now only babies have not heard of it), which shoots with everything they can and cuts everything that moves, parachute onto Everest, jungle and desert, mines the White House and Tower, captures submarines, hijacking them to the USSR, etc.
True, such articles still appear - unfortunately. Like, for example, enchanting nonsense “Soviet special forces: ups and tragedies” some Mark Steinberg, published in the Russian-language American publication “Russian Bazaar”. Moreover, the author seems to be a military man, that is, he knows from which end the arquebus should be loaded. However, she carries something that would make a decent gray mare blush with shame. And the Soviet special forces fought there, and made their mark here, and hijacked helicopters in Vietnam, and fought with Rhodesian scouts, well, just in Antarctica, I didn’t play with penguins, saving centuries-old ice from the invasion of leopard seals... I don’t really want to comment on this stream of consciousness, and anyway there is no point - just read a couple of normal sources like Kozlov or Pashits for all questions to disappear.
Naturally, the author's imagination works to its fullest when it comes to Africa. The passage about the “special forces battalions” that arrived in Angola evokes nervous laughter - well, Comrade Steinberg Bushkova must have misread himself. But for Bushkov, tales about how Soviet special forces are damned abroad are excusable, and moreover, permissible. He is a writer, after all, it is his job to whip up a good story, so that the reader turns over the pages of the book with impatience, and as for historical truth, this is the fifth or sixth thing.
Again, how many of Steinberg’s special forces “died” - the count goes into many thousands; in my opinion, there were never so many special forces servicemen in the entire Soviet army. Bushkov - at least he puts his heroes from the Special Forces into “pleportion”; in every short story about the brave naval saboteur Mazur, a couple of people die, well, or three - in short, plausibility is maintained. And Steinberg declares with a blue eye: “The scale of these actions [in Angola] became known only now, when they started talking about the losses of Soviet special forces in Angola - about 700 soldiers.”
700 dead Special Forces soldiers in Angola alone is, you know, a bit too much. According to the Angolan Veterans Council, from 1975 to 1992, about 30 Soviet citizens died in Angola. And oh, how not all of them were special forces. The war (with Soviet participation) went on there for 13 years, from 1975 to 1988. According to Steinberg, it turns out that on average 50 Soviet special forces soldiers per year died there. Seriously, you know... If the supermen-special forces, who are not taken (well, it is generally believed so) by either a foolish bullet, or a brilliant bayonet, or even a burst from a DShK or KPVT, but only a directed nuclear explosion, and even that is not a fact, So, if 50 special forces soldiers died a year, then how many ordinary infantry or gunners, soldiers, brave guys, died in the jungle? And how many officers? In fact, the death of so many military personnel could not have been hidden even by Glavpur with its ability to masterfully turn black into white. Not to mention the fact that the shoulder straps would fly like a fan from top to bottom all year round and around the clock.
In general, my friend writes nonsense. It is clear that the African theme is a fertile thing. As Angola veteran Sergei Kolomnin absolutely accurately noted in the book “Russian Special Forces in Africa”: “This phenomenon can be explained simply: that war remains largely unknown today. An aura of mystery and enigma is created around the presence of Soviet military personnel in Angola. Therefore, it is possible, playing on people’s ignorance of what actually happened, to fantasize and simply lie... they say that there is Afghan, Afghan - this is so, for children. Here is Angola - yes! It was there that our special forces fought, where our good white guys crushed the bad blacks in the impenetrable jungles of Africa.”
Okay, we'll leave that to the paperback mystery fans. Alexander Bushkov writes, of course, in a fascinating way, but one must not confuse an elephant with a teapot, they are only similar in profile. The real facts are much more interesting.
The facts are that in reality there were special forces personnel in Africa. Again, a word from Kolomnin: “Employees of the GRU and the KGB of the USSR worked as advisers and instructors in training centers for the training of SWAPO and ANC partisans...Were there many “real” special forces in Angola? Let us immediately determine that by this term we mean not only GRU and KGB special forces soldiers, but also intelligence and sabotage specialists who belonged to other departments: the army, marine corps, navy and airborne forces... Among the 12 thousand Soviet military personnel who officially passed Angola from 1975 to 1992 had many specialists of this profile. Since the Angolan army was built in the Soviet image and likeness, sabotage, reconnaissance and other special units were formed in it, as it should be... In addition to them, there were also special formations of border troops, troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and State Security. The personnel of these Angolan special units were trained by appropriately qualified Soviet specialists, including those who had served in Afghanistan. But I want to emphasize: all of them were dispersed throughout the locations of units of the Angolan army, performing advisory and instructor functions, and did not constitute any separate special unit.”
So, if special forces were present, it was as advisers. And sometimes these advisers died in clashes. Since this happened in another country where Soviet military specialists were present - in Mozambique.
While quite a lot is known about Angola, thanks to the efforts of NVA, much less is known about Mozambique. Firstly, it was not a priority for the USSR, even in the African departments of the relevant departments. Secondly, the number of Soviet specialists who trained in Mozambique is not comparable to Angola - more than 12 thousand in Angola and a little over 4 thousand in Mozambique. The result is fewer documents, fewer participants, less evidence. However, there is something there. Something appears later and sheds light on some facts that previously seemed unknown.
It is difficult to say exactly how many Soviet specialists died in Mozambique while performing their duties. According to official data, for the period from 1975 to 1991, the number of irretrievable losses amounted to 21 people. Sometimes there is information that it is somewhat more - from 30 to 40. But in this case it is not important - after all, not hundreds. The circumstances surrounding the deaths of at least five of them became known only in the 1990s. But not all. It’s not that the time has come to tell the truth, God forbid from such pathos, it’s just, as always, interesting to compare different descriptions of the event and try to get a picture that is a little more in line with reality.
So... Mozambique is the former Portuguese East Africa, not a colony, but an overseas province of the metropolis. Not the richest country in southern Africa, but until 1974 it barely subsisted on maize for beer. After 1974 the situation naturally changed. One of the consequences of the 1974 leftist coup in Portugal was that Lisbon effectively abandoned its overseas territories. There were objective reasons for this - the empire was simply worn out; after all, Portugal was the first empire on the Dark Continent and its flag flew over Africa for almost 500 years. After the Second World War, when the winds of change blew and the process of liberation began throughout Africa, “national liberation movements” began to emerge in varied numbers. In Mozambique, this was FRELIMO, the Mozambique Liberation Front, created in 1962 by Eduardo Mondlane. Having received weapons from the countries of the socialist camp, FRELIMO turned around and staged a “fair struggle for liberation from the colonial yoke.” True, from the point of view of the authorities, FRELIMO was engaged in ordinary terror, but the progressive liberal point of view severely condemns such assessments, ordering the bandits to be considered liberators and fighters for the people's happiness.
It should be noted that the Portuguese authorities, in their fight against FRELIMO, faced one unpleasant problem - the army simply did not want to fight. The period of compulsory military service in Portugal was 4 years, of which at least two soldiers were required to spend in one of the overseas provinces. But the soldiers, simple Portuguese guys who arrived in these provinces, had absolutely no idea why they had to die here, in the sultry bush, under the scorching sun - in the name of what idea, for what exactly? As a result, by the beginning of the 1970s, a strange situation had developed in Mozambique - most of the Portuguese troops preferred to sit in garrisons and do nothing, occasionally undertaking some kind of campaign. Surprisingly, it was mainly Rhodesians who drove FRELIMO through the Mozambican bush - informal agreements were concluded between the two states, according to which the natives of Bulawayo and Salisbury, dressed in jungle-green, were given almost complete freedom of action east of Umtali. According to numerous testimonies from Rhodesians, both from the SAS and from the RLI, the Portuguese were not suitable as soldiers even for guarding a dilapidated field toilet. No, of course, there were exceptions, like Francisco Rocho, there were individual special forces units that fought toughly and skillfully, but in general the Rhodesian soldiers did not even try to hide their contempt for their Portuguese colleagues.
At the same time, FRELIMO was not such a formidable force as it was later exhibited in works dedicated to the heroic struggle of the Mozambican people. The FRELIMO leadership understood that it did not have enough strength to overthrow the colonial regime. And even more so, it did not think about what would happen if FRELIMO came to power. Meanwhile, this is exactly what happened. After the fall of Caetano's government, Lisbon actually handed FRELIMO the keys to Mozambique on a silver platter. The logic was generally clear - the main headache was Angola, where 3 groups, FNLA, MPLA and UNITA, fought for power. In Mozambique, FRELIMO had no real rivals, and power simply fell into the hands of the rebels.
Samora Machel became the president of the republic, announcing the socialist path of development of the country. African-style socialism immediately bore fruit - a poor, but relatively stable and more or less developed country turned into virtual ruins in two years. The white skilled population left, the black population immediately broke everything they could reach, everything that could be nationalized, and work strangely stopped - and then famine began in the country. Local residents were surprised to find that their lives were much worse than under the damned colonialists. Add to this such delights as a one-party system, maximum concentration of power in the hands of the center, a hastily created repressive apparatus - and the picture begins to play with additional colors. Discontent began to brew in the country.
The resourceful Rhodesians were quick to take advantage of this. With their help, the Mozambican National Resistance - RENAMO - was created. Initially, it was a small group, if not a gang, dissatisfied with the Machel regime. But gradually their number began to grow. And given the fact that the combat training of RENAMO partisans was carried out by instructors from the Rhodesian SAS, very soon RENAMO from a “bothersome fly” turned into an enemy that must be taken seriously. RENAMO fighters turned out to be ideal allies of the Rhodesian saboteurs. It was with their help that the Rhodesian SAS carried out all major operations in Mozambique in the late 1970s, including the famous R go to Munhava.
Again, it must be added that immediately after coming to power, the Machel government fell ill with the traditional disease of almost all newly formed independent states, and in its most severe African form - persecution mania. In official language this is called “the problem of ensuring the country’s defense capability.” Its symptoms are well known: it begins to seem to the young state that everyone around is hatching plans for capture-invasion-overthrow, that the whole world is asleep and sees how to trample and shoot the new independent government, and from here the first thing that arises is the question of maximum armament and training of the armed forces.
There were formal grounds for such fear - after all, South Africa and Rhodesia were located next door, and they had no sympathy for the new socialist state. But the paradox was that these countries were not going to attack Mozambique. According to the then leadership of South Africa, Pretoria already had a headache - socialist Angola, and the South Africans did not want to get a second front on their north-eastern borders. There they solved the problem more simply - rather than put pressure on Mozambique with military force, it was decided to crush it economically, which, in general, worked out and later bore fruit. As for Rhodesia, the last thing Smith's government wanted was to invade Mozambique and overthrow Machel's cabinet. Although, there is no point in dissembling - Rhodesian special forces carried out cross-border raids into Mozambique constantly, destroying ZANLA militants, to whom Samora Machel happily provided refuge. At the same time, the Rhodesians simultaneously destroyed FRELIMO fighters. But from Salisbury's point of view, Mozambique was to blame - there was no point in giving shelter to terrorists.
After the fall of Rhodesia, RENAMO quickly took over South Africa - suffice it to say that they trained fighters at the bases of South African reconnaissance and sabotage detachments, in particular in Ba Phalaborwe. As a result, RENAMO became not just a formidable force, but something truly capable of sweeping away the Machel regime. Fortunately, the Mozambican government managed to persuade the South Africans, and they, from the mid-1980s, stopped helping the militants (although they did not completely stop). However, the civil war in Mozambique continued until the early 1990s. And Soviet specialists took part in it, the first group of whom arrived in the country back in 1976. The advisers began work on creating a General Staff and the main branches of the armed forces and branches of the military. Some military experts, like G. Kanin, were there as military intelligence specialists of the General Staff of the Mozambican National Army and helped government troops establish and coordinate the work of radio interception and human and radio intelligence. Others, like N. Travin, were involved in training air defense personnel to man MNA units. A group of specialists led by Colonel V. Sukhotin managed to train Mozambican military personnel in handling all anti-aircraft artillery cannon systems and the Strela-2 missile system.
At the end of the 1970s, military equipment and weapons began to arrive in full swing from the USSR to Mozambique. Thus, in 1979, 25 MiG-17s arrived in the country, and in 1985, a MiG-21bis squadron was formed in the Mozambican Air Force. In addition, officers of the Soviet Airborne Forces formed and trained a parachute battalion, and border guards deployed four brigades of border troops. Military educational institutions were created: a military school in Nampula, a training center in Nacala, a border troops training center in Inhambane, a school for junior aviation specialists in Beira, and a driving school in Maputo.
Let us repeat - there was a civil war in Mozambique from the late 1970s to the early 1990s. And Soviet citizens also became victims of this war. In the book “Russia (USSR) in the wars of the second half of the 20th century,” published in Moscow in 2002, the following point is given: “
On July 26, 1979, four of our advisers and a translator, working in the 5th Motorized Infantry Brigade of the FPLM, were returning to Beira from the training area. On the road, their car was ambushed by armed bandits. The car, fired from a grenade launcher and machine guns, caught fire. Everyone in it died ».A more detailed version is also given there - in the article “Bitter Smoke of the Savannah” by I. Semenchik ( first published in the Sverdlovsk newspaper “Na Smenu”, February 23, 1991, abbreviated).
“In November 1978, Soviet Army Major Adolf Nikolaevich Pugachev arrived in Mozambique, who was seconded from the Leninsky District Military Commissariat of Sverdlovsk to Mozambique as a specialist in the organization and creation of military commissariats. A few months later, Pugachev, an adviser to the head of the organizational and mobilization department of the General Staff of the MNA, was sent to the province of Sofala.July 1979 almost became the last in the life of Adolf Nikolaevich. On July 20, the brigade, on orders from the General Staff, straight from the exercises, which Pugachev was also present at, was sent to destroy a gang that had infiltrated from Rhodesia, where, near the border with Mozambique, near the village of Odzi, on the land of a rented tobacco farm called "Animal Farm" another was deployed one MNF base, which by that time numbered about 500 trained bandits. It was very easy to enter the territory of Mozambique: the border service at that time practically did not exist. “I remember how in March, when I went to one of the regions, a soldier-driver, who didn’t really know the road, took me to Rhodesia, and only the corporal accompanying me finally determined that we had gone to the wrong place,” says A. Pugachev . So the gangs, moving freely, destroyed entire villages, sparing neither children nor the elderly, and when government troops approached, they preferred to flee beyond the cordon.
For a week, the brigade pursued the gang, inflicting significant losses on it. But some of the bandits survived and took refuge in the forests. On July 26, the brigade returned to its location. Pugachev decided not to wait for the advisers who were supposed to follow with the column, but left in a Ford half an hour earlier.
“On the route, I came across single posts of military traffic controllers, but it was impossible to make out who they were - soldiers of the republic or bandits. Everyone wore the same uniform. No one touched me, and I reached home safely, warning the councilors' wives that their husbands would soon arrive too. Less than an hour had passed when the commander of the 1st battalion came into my apartment along with the political officer. Seeing their pale, upset faces, I involuntarily shuddered. “Trouble, camarados, all of you are dead,” they told me in a mixture of Russian and Portuguese.
When we arrived at the scene, to my horror, I saw a burning UAZ and in it the bodies of my colleagues - military advisers to the brigade commander, political officer, deputy technical engineer and translator. The adviser to the commander of the artillery battalion, who was sitting behind him (and the tent was raised), was thrown outside by the blast wave, and he was hit by a machine gun fire. During the medical examination, it turned out that the car was probably stopped by imaginary traffic controllers and at that time they hit it with a grenade launcher, because the bodies of the dead were cut by shrapnel. The next day, the wives, distraught with grief, took the remains of their husbands to Moscow.”
“Returning from Mozambique to my homeland, I visited a school in the Tushinsky district of Moscow, where the deceased translator, junior lieutenant D. Chizhov, a 2nd year student at the Institute of International Relations, who had an internship in Mozambique, studied...
Dima Chizhov, like his comrades in misfortune, was posthumously awarded the Order of the Red Star. And in the hall where Dima’s bust is installed, there is a guard of honor,” recalls Adolf Nikolaevich.”
Here are the names of those who died then:
- ZASLAVETSNikolai Vasilievich, born in 1939. Ukrainian. Lieutenant Colonel, Advisor to the Commander of the Motorized Infantry Brigade of the Mozambican Armed Forces. Died on July 26, 1979. Awarded the Order of the Red Star (posthumously).
- ZUBENKOLeonid Fedorovich, born in 1933. Russian. Lieutenant Colonel, Advisor to the Political Commissar of the Motorized Infantry Brigade of the Mozambican Armed Forces. Died on July 26, 1979. Awarded the Order of the Red Star (posthumously).
- MARKOVPavel Vladimirovich, born in 1938. Russian. Major, technical adviser to the deputy commander of the motorized infantry brigade of the Mozambique armed forces. Died on July 26, 1979. Awarded the Order of the Red Star (posthumously).
- TARAZANOVNikolai Alexandrovich, born in 1939. Russian. Major, Advisor to the Chief of Air Defense of the Motorized Infantry Brigade of the Mozambican Armed Forces. Died on July 26, 1979. Awarded the Order of the Red Star (posthumously).
- CHIZHOVDmitry Vladimirovich, born in 1958. Russian. Junior lieutenant, Portuguese translator. Died on July 26, 1979. Buried in a cemetery in Moscow. Awarded the Order of the Red Star (posthumously).
Well, now - the most interesting part. It was believed - and probably still is considered, since there is not a single publication in Russian dedicated to this event, except for the above-mentioned source - that Soviet military specialists died at the hands of RENAMO partisans . In fact, the incident on July 26, 1979 is, apparently, the ONLY COLLISION IN THE ENTIRE HISTORY OF THE RHODESIAN WAR between SOVIET ARMY AND THE ARMED FORCES OF THE REPUBLIC OF RHODESIA. Because the car with the Soviet officers was destroyed by SAS saboteurs of Rhodesia. Here is the Rhodesian version of events.
By mid-1979, Special Services Superintendent Winston Hart, responsible for overseeing ZANLA camps in Mozambique, received preliminary information that the area known as the Chimoyo Circle was once again being used by militants. Previous camps in the Chimoio area were destroyed by the SAS, and attempts by terrorists to re-establish bases there were thwarted by several attacks by fighter jets. For some time, Chimoyo became a peaceful region.
However, intercepted terrorist documentation and testimony from captured militants forced Hart to become convinced that a new huge base had been created in the area, which, according to preliminary data, included three separate camps. Gradually, Rhodesian intelligence services came to the conclusion that New Chimoyo was perhaps the most important ZANLA camp in Mozambique. This was indirectly confirmed by the fact that such important people as Josiah Tongogara and Rex Ngongo (Solomon Mujuru) - the top of ZANLA - often visit New Chimoyo.
The destruction of this camp removed a lot of problems for Rhodesia. In particular, in this case, the flow of militants across the eastern border would virtually dry up and the Otboyshchik operational zone would be “clean” for a long time. What freed up the military units was that the infiltration of terrorists into the republic was an avalanche, and the troops simply did not physically have time to react.
Intelligence began to piece together all the information - the design of the camp, the key figures, but the most important detail remained behind the scenes: where exactly is the camp located? Interrogations of captured terrorists yielded nothing: “From Vanduzi behind the railway... by truck for an hour and a half... along the power lines on foot for another hour and a half...” - this was the maximum that Hart and his subordinates could achieve.
Intelligence knew that the camp was located near a river, that the camp itself was located on a hill and that it was approximately located east of the Chimoio-Tete road. But that's all. The command also had information that there were at least 2,000 ZANLA militants in New Chimoyo. As a result, it was decided to send a group of SAS operatives on reconnaissance. In addition to reconnaissance, the saboteurs were supposed to set up an ambush in the proposed area of the camp in order to intercept or destroy someone from the middle or senior command of the militants. Intelligence had information that Land Cruisers often came to the camp, which meant, first of all, visits from ZANLA hierarchs.
Command of the group was entrusted to SAS Lieutenant Andrew Sanders, from 1st Platoon. His deputy was Dave Berry. In addition, the group included another 9 SAS operatives and 4 RENAMO partisans. The Mozambicans were needed. Judging by old Portuguese maps, the group must have been operating in a densely populated region, with the guerrillas acting as a "smoke screen".
During the operation, the commander of the first SAS platoon, Captain Rob Johnston, decided to deploy a relay station near the border with Mozambique. In principle, this was rarely practiced in the SAS, unlike the Selous Scouts. When conducting deep reconnaissance, as a rule, operatives used a bulky short-wave transmitter, which made it possible to work at long distances. But it was necessary to install an antenna - and this took time.
In this case, Johnston said that if everything went wrong, the group simply might not have enough time to deploy the radio station. Therefore, the group was given a less powerful transmitter with a rigid antenna - however, the power was enough to contact the relay station, and they, in turn, were constantly in contact with the Grand Reef airbase. Ensuring the operation of the station, deployed on a hill in Rhodesia, about 15 kilometers from the site of the intended ambush, was entrusted to SAS operatives Bruce Langley, Henny Pretorius, Barry Deacon and Rob Epple.
The transfer of 11 SAS operatives and 4 RENAMO partisans to Mozambican territory was carried out using helicopters. The saboteurs landed about 40 minutes before sunset, after which the helicopters immediately turned around and left for the Grand Reef, and the operatives and guerrillas began to march.
Unfortunately, the night turned out to be practically moonless - as a result, at about 23:00, complete darkness set in and the saboteurs were forced to stop moving. At dawn the group resumed its movement, moving at an accelerated pace through very rough terrain in the approximate direction of the camp. The group only had old maps - this created additional difficulties; Thus, the saboteurs discovered a road that was not marked on the map; moreover, some hills and lowlands on the map were marked not where they were actually located. In the afternoon, the group came to a large hill, and Sanders decided to position himself on the slope until the end of daylight. To get to the site of the intended ambush, they had to cross one low ridge, but the SAS men decided not to risk it - the activity of the local population, from the point of view of the operatives, was too high.
The rest of the day passed quietly, but towards evening a group of ZANLA militants appeared on the road. Some of them examined the road for possible mines, the rest scattered in combat guards, inspecting the bush. The militants did not notice the SAS patrols. In principle, the appearance of terrorists was expected - the militants probably heard helicopters last evening and decided to check the road for night mining. The only thing that the operatives did not expect was that the militants would appear so close. Therefore, Sanders suggested that the terrorist camp was much closer to the border than analysts believed.
After consulting, the group commander decided to stay at the position for another day to gather even more information before setting up an ambush. With Sanders' consent, RENAMO partisans went away to talk with the local population. The news they brought was stunning: the reconnaissance group was located some five kilometers from the camp.
The night passed without incident, but in the morning, at 08:00, a ZANLA patrol of 10 people appeared. The militants walked exactly to where the SAS patrols were located - in the end they had no choice but to open fire. Two militants died immediately, eight immediately disappeared into the bush and rushed back. Half a minute later, mortars hit the SAS soldiers from a nearby hill. The fire was not aimed, but for the operatives the mortar shelling meant one thing - they had been identified, and the mission could be curtailed.
Despite this, Sanders and Berry decided to move to another section of the road, in the hope that the ambush could somehow be implemented. The chances of this were slim, but Sanders decided to make at least something out of the situation. In principle, he understood that the group’s position was only getting worse, and the saboteurs should have left without looking back. Moreover, the group had no idea how many militants were in the camp, what the chances were of a collision, etc.
The shelling was short-lived. SAS and RENAMO managed to run further down the road. Moreover, it turned out that the operatives moved even closer to the camp. Suddenly, the sound of cars was heard from the direction of the camp. Sanders decided to use the opportunity to destroy the column. A certain risk was as follows: the group consisted of 15 fighters, and the saboteurs did not know how many cars were moving towards them, and how many terrorists were in these cars. In addition, the group had only one RPG-7. Although operative Dave Bradley in the SAS was considered an ace in handling a grenade launcher, the operatives were still nervous - the lead vehicle had to be knocked out the first time.
After reconnaissance, Sanders and Berry chose an ambush site, and the saboteurs took their positions. SAS soldiers planted several Claymore mines along the sides of the road. After that, all they could do was wait.
After some time, a man appeared on the road. At Berry's signal, the bystander was knocked down and tied up. A quick interrogation revealed that he was a local resident who was trading with militants in a terrorist camp. The operatives decided to take him with them - as it turned out later, this was the right decision. Already in Rhodesia, counterintelligence officers extracted a lot of useful information from the merchant. An hour and a half later, the noise of cars was heard. Five minutes later, two Land Cruisers drove into the ambush location. By chance, at that very second, the second car tried to overtake the first...
What happened next happened almost instantly. Operative Dave Bradley stepped out onto the road, aimed his RPG and fired at the first car. The grenade hit the radiator and the car, traveling at a speed of about 40 km/h, stopped dead in its tracks. Actually, there were 8 people in the car - three in the front and five in the back. In addition, in the rear of the car there was a 200-liter gasoline tank. A security soldier was sitting on it. The explosion of the grenade threw him off the tank, but despite the shock, the soldier managed to jump to his feet and rush into the bush. He was lucky - in that battle he was the only survivor. Simultaneously with Bradley’s shot, SAS and RENAMO opened fire on the car and literally three or four seconds later the tank in the rear of the Land Cruiser exploded. The car instantly turned into a huge sheaf of flame.
Meanwhile, other operatives shot the driver and passengers of the second Land Cruiser with machine guns, and the second car also caught fire - an incendiary bullet hit the gas tank. One of the passengers of the second car, a couple of seconds before the explosion, managed to jump out of the car and ran away. He was shot in a short burst.
In a few seconds it was all over. Two cars were burning on the road, the enemy lost 14 people killed. Dave Berry tried to get closer to the burning cars, and maybe search them for documents, but he couldn’t get close to them - the flames were so intense. It seemed to him that among the burning bodies he noticed several that clearly belonged to whites.
There was no time to lose, and the saboteurs ran away from the burning cars. Andrew Sanders contacted the relay station, requesting an emergency helicopter evacuation. The request was immediately transmitted to Grand Reef. Upon receiving the signal, First Platoon Leader Rob Johnston took off in a reconnaissance helicopter to coordinate the operation.
Meanwhile, the saboteurs and the prisoner they had taken with them fled towards the Rhodesian border, looking along the way for open clearings in the bush suitable for landing helicopters. Finally, the right place was found. It later turned out that there was another one a kilometer away from this site, but the first one was located higher, which made it an ideal position. The area was quickly cleared, and the operatives took up a perimeter defense in the long grass, eagerly awaiting the Alouettes.
Suddenly, ZANLA fighters appeared 100 meters east of the site. The female trackers walked ahead, followed by the bulk of the terrorists. Having approached another 20 meters, the militants opened fire, noticing one of the saboteurs. The SAS men immediately responded, killing six militants. After this, a battle ensued.
Reinforcements began to arrive to the militants. The forces were clearly unequal - against 15 saboteurs there were from 50 to 70 militants armed not only with machine guns, but also with mortars, rifle grenades and machine guns. The firefight lasted about 10 minutes, after which Sanders gave the order to withdraw. The operatives began to retreat, snarling fire. In response, the militants tried to cover the retreating people with mortar fire.
At that moment, Rob Johnston's Lynx appeared over the battlefield and the militants' fire stopped. 4 Alouettes were supposed to arrive within a few minutes for evacuation. Unexpectedly, the pilot of one of the helicopters asked Johnston for a report on the situation at the landing site - the pilot did not really want to land the precious helicopter directly on the battlefield. Johnston assured the pilot that the firefight had stopped and the Alouettes could land safely, although in fact the shooting continued.
Pursued by the militants, the operatives fled with all their might, through the bush, which then gave way to small corn fields, through lowlands and hills, and could not find a suitable place to land the helicopters that had already appeared on the horizon. Finally the site was found. The pilots were not particularly surprised that Johnston outright lied - when the helicopters appeared, the militants only intensified their fire.
Seeing the landing of the Alouettes, the saboteurs accelerated their run. Fortunately, there was enough space in the helicopters for everyone - the Alouette took 4 people on board, not counting the pilot and gunner. So 4 helicopters could easily carry away 11 SAS soldiers, 4 RENAMO soldiers and a bottom prisoner. The only thing is that part of the cargo had to be thrown, almost on the heads of the approaching militants. After a moment's hesitation, the helicopters gained altitude and left towards Rhodesia.
Further radio interception carried out by the Rhodesians revealed the following: during the ambush set up by the SAS, three Soviet advisers were killed. One of them was in high rank, presumably it was a general.
Before the New Year, the Mozambican opposition party RENAMO stopped all military operations against government troops for a week. Representatives of the party leadership said that they were giving the people the opportunity to celebrate the holidays in peace. But will the country have hope for a truce? For a long time, it seemed that the horrors of Mozambique's bloody civil war were a thing of the past. But only in 2016, as a result of renewed fighting between the country's two largest political parties - FRELIMO and RENAMO - dozens of Mozambican citizens died.
The civil war in Mozambique did not reach the same scale as in another former Portuguese colony, Angola, but it also brought a lot of grief to the people of the country. The origins of the confrontation between the two main political forces of the country, as in Angola, go back to the period of the war for independence. Portugal tried with all its might to retain its African colonies. This fit into the concept of the Portuguese leadership that only colonies make a small European country a world-class player. However, since the late 1950s, national liberation movements intensified in Angola, Mozambique and Guinea-Bissau, which soon turned to armed resistance against the colonialists. In the struggle for independence, military assistance from the Soviet Union and other socialist countries, primarily Cuba, played a special role.
The Mozambican War of Independence began in 1964. The rebel forces were led by the Mozambique Liberation Front (FRELIMO). At the first stage of the struggle, he acted from the territory of neighboring Tanzania, whose leader Julius Nyerere was considered one of the main patrons of revolutionary movements in the neighboring countries of East and Southern Africa. Under the command of the Mozambican revolutionary Eduardo Mondlane, FRELIMO troops began to attack Portuguese colonial troops from Tanzania. The Mozambican War of Independence lasted ten years and claimed at least 50 thousand lives of Mozambican civilians and another 10-30 thousand lives of FRELIMO fighters. On April 25, 1974, the “Carnation Revolution” took place in Portugal, which became the starting point for a radical change in the country’s colonial policy. On June 25, 1975, the independence of Mozambique was declared. Like other former Portuguese colonies, Mozambique chose the path of “socialist orientation,” which neither the West nor its neighbors, Southern Rhodesia and South Africa, liked. Opposition sentiments also intensified within the ranks of the Mozambique Liberation Front, which came to power. Many yesterday's partisans were not satisfied with the pro-Soviet regime established by FRELIMO leader Samora Machel. One of the opposition-minded officers of the Mozambican army was André Matade Matsangaissa (1950-1979).
Andre Matsangaissa joined the anti-colonial movement as a very young man. After Mozambican independence was declared, he continued to serve in the Mozambican army and was promoted to lieutenant. Matsangaissa served as an army quartermaster in the city of Dondo. But he was soon arrested on criminal charges and imprisoned in a reform camp in Gorongosa. Since during the events described, Mozambique was in the stage of armed conflict with neighboring Rhodesia, units of Rhodesian special forces periodically carried out raids on Mozambican territory. During one of these raids, the Rhodesians attacked the Gorongosa camp and freed the prisoners. Matsangaissa, as a former officer in the Mozambican army, attracted the interest of Rhodesian intelligence officers and was brought to Salisbury. There he was offered to lead the anti-communist movement in Mozambique, to which the former intendant immediately agreed.
This is how the Mozambican National Resistance (RENAMO) appeared, which was destined to become the largest opposition military-political organization in Mozambique for the next four decades. At the beginning of its existence, RENAMO received assistance from Southern Rhodesia, South Africa and Malawi - one of the few African countries that maintained contacts with the “racist” regimes of Southern Rhodesia and South Africa. On May 30, 1977, almost forty years ago, the civil war began in Mozambique, which was unleashed by the RENAMO organization against the government forces of FRELIMO. At first, the leadership of the Mozambican rebel formations was carried out by Andre Matsangaissa. However, on October 17, 1979, Matsangaissa, who personally participated in RENAMO military operations, died in the Gorongosa area in a shootout with government troops. After his death, RENAMO was headed by Orlanda Cristina, a Mozambican politician closely associated with Rhodesian intelligence and considered a conduit of Southern Rhodesian influence in Mozambican politics. Afonso Dhlakama concentrated the military leadership of RENAMO in his hands. This man is still alive and it is he who still heads RENAMO as the largest opposition organization in the country.
Afonso Dhlakama with his RENAMO comrades
Afonso Dhlakama was born on January 1, 1953 in Mangunda in the province of Sofala. In 1977, he joined the armed struggle launched by the RENAMO movement against the FRELIMO government and quickly made a career in the RENAMO formations, receiving an officer rank and becoming the commander of one of the partisan detachments. After the death of Matsangaissa, it was his fellow countryman Dlakama who headed the military structure of RENAMO. On April 17, 1983, in Pretoria (South Africa), Orlando Cristina, who exercised the political leadership of RENAMO, died under strange circumstances. After this, Afonso Dhlakama became both the military and political leader of this largest Mozambican anti-government organization. Under his leadership, RENAMO launched military operations in the northern regions of Mozambique, as well as in the province of Sofala. RENAMO was supported by the most conservative, anti-communist forces in world politics, primarily the regimes of South Africa and Southern Rhodesia, as well as Malawi, conservative circles in the USA, Germany and Portugal.
Until 1980, RENAMO's main patron and sponsor was the Southern Rhodesian regime. However, in 1980 Southern Rhodesia ceased to exist. It was renamed Zimbabwe, and representatives of the Zimbabwean national liberation movement led by Robert Mugabe came to power in the country. They worked closely with FRELIMO, so RENAMO as an opposition organization immediately lost support from this country. Then the intelligence services of the Republic of South Africa, which remained the last stronghold of the “whites” in the south of the African continent, took over the “patronage” of the Mozambican rebels. We can say that RENAMO only benefited from the transition under the auspices of South Africa. South Africa had more impressive resources and capabilities, so the organization soon moved from occasional attacks from the border areas to a full-scale civil war with Mozambican government forces. RENAMO training camps were relocated to South Africa - to the Transvaal province, where Mozambican militants were trained under the guidance of South African and American instructors. By intensifying support for RENAMO, the South African authorities were, of course, guided by their own interests. The fact is that Mozambique provided serious support to the African National Congress, which fought against the government of the Republic of South Africa. Starting a civil war on Mozambican territory was a way to distract the Mozambican authorities from the situation in South Africa. In addition, the overthrow of the FRELIMO regime in Mozambique would contribute to the “de-Sovietization” of South Africa, which was extremely important in the context of the ongoing Cold War.
The first half of the 1980s entered the period of the most successful actions of RENAMO. At this time, the organization carried out its most effective acts of sabotage, for example, the explosion of a railway bridge over the Zambezi in 1983. Back in 1981, South African troops invaded the territory of Mozambique, who also began to provide massive support to RENAMO formations. The rebels carried out sabotage against government troops and civilian infrastructure. Both sides of the conflict did not spare the civilian population, who became victims of shelling, “cleansing operations,” and mine explosions. In total, at least 1 million civilians died during the civil war in Mozambique, which lasted from 1977 to 1992.
However, the activities of RENAMO raised many questions and negative assessments from Western politicians. A more detailed acquaintance with RENAMO made it possible to see that this organization does not at all adhere to the “European” values of democracy and human rights. RENAMO was an ordinary Afro-nationalist organization that expressed the interests of the traditional elite of Mozambican villages, whose positions were undermined by the socialist experiments of the FRELIMO leadership. In addition, RENAMO militants showed extreme cruelty towards the civilian population, recruited minors into their ranks, and committed numerous criminal offenses, which also could not arouse sympathy for this organization from the Western public. The wise course of the Mozambican government also played a role in preserving FRELIMO’s position. The Mozambican leadership managed to maintain good relations not only with the USSR, but also with the USA, and even managed to receive financial assistance from the American government. In 1984, Mozambique entered into an agreement with South Africa. After this, RENAMO lost most of the assistance coming from South Africa, although it continued to enjoy the support of conservative circles and intelligence services. The situation began to change seriously after the Cold War came to an end. The cessation of support for FRELIMO from the Soviet Union forced the Mozambican leadership to look for new partners in the West. In turn, American and European political circles realized that it was better to deal with “re-educated” representatives of the current Mozambican elite than with the RENAMO rebels.
Afonso Dhlakama
Mozambican President Joaquim Chissano entered into negotiations with the leadership of RENAMO. In 1992, a long-awaited truce was concluded, ending fifteen years of bloody civil war in Mozambique. RENAMO was legalized as an opposition political party, and its leader Afonso Dhlakama began to take part in the presidential elections. He ran for president in 1994, 1999, 2004 and 2009. Dhlakama's participation in the presidential elections was accompanied by various excesses. For example, RENAMO did not recognize the results of the 1999 elections. Activists of the Mozambican National Resistance held numerous protests; several members of the opposition, under strange circumstances, died in prison after being detained. But these mass protests did not develop into a phase of active hostilities.
For a long time, RENAMO leaders did not lose hope that sooner or later they would come to power as a result of elections, since the country's population would become disillusioned with the policies pursued by FRELIMO. But the legal political struggle did not bring the RENAMO party the long-awaited victory. Moreover, after the discovery of gas fields in Mozambique and the start of their exploitation, FRELIMO’s position began to strengthen. At the same time, a tightening of the political regime in the country began. As a result, in 2012, RENAMO activists began to clash with government forces. The party expressed a desire to revive its armed forces and training camps, explaining this by the desire to “resist the dictatorship of FRELIMO.” Thus began a new phase of aggravation of the internal political situation in Mozambique.
President Filipe Nyusi
In 2013-2014 Armed clashes continued between RENAMO forces and government forces. They entered the modern history of Mozambique under the name “low-intensity rebellion”, because these clashes were still far from becoming tense like the civil war era. On October 15, 2014, FRELIMO representative Filipe Nyusi, who served as the country’s Minister of Defense from 2008 to 2014 and was thus one of the direct leaders of the suppression of RENAMO protests, was elected as the new president of Mozambique. The opposition did not recognize the election results, which led to a new escalation of violence. On June 14, 2015, RENAMO militants attacked the positions of the Mozambican military police in the province of Tete, resulting in the death of 45 government soldiers. Afonso Dhlakama hastened to declare that he personally ordered the attack. Thus, the civil war in Mozambique has actually resumed, albeit in a less active form than before 1992.
Afonso Dhlakama admitted that he was “tired of FRELIMO’s political games.” In fact, behind these words of the rebel leader one can feel deep disappointment - RENAMO was never able to turn into a serious political party that could “bite off” at least a small part of the power from FRELIMO. The Mozambican leadership, supported by the West, feels its strength and no longer intends to reckon with RENAMO. In the current situation, it makes no sense for the West to provide financial, military, and organizational support to RENAMO, since FRELIMO appears to be a more serious and thorough partner. Many countries and corporations have strong economic interests in Mozambique, and a civil war in this state is not at all part of their plans. It will be another matter if such influential players as the USA or China decide to “divide” their spheres of influence on the African continent. Then some of them will be able to remember the rebels and rebel armies.
Civil War in Mozambique
An indirect continuation of this conflict was the civil war in Mozambique (1976–1992). In 1976, the Rhodesian intelligence services created their own rebel movement PEHAM0 (Mozambican National Resistance), which declared war on the government of Mozambique. RENAMO was also supported by the South African authorities. Thus, FRELIMO, in addition to supporting the Rhodesian rebels and opposing the aggression of the South African Republic, had to throw a significant part of its forces against its Mozambican oppositionists. The basis of RENAMO's tactics was to cause damage to the FRELIMO government by any available means - killing officials, attacks on infrastructure, destruction of hospitals, schools, roads. Almost all of the country's armed forces had to be involved in security, as well as contingents from Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Zambia and Malawi.
In January 1983, RENAMO carried out its largest act of sabotage, blowing up the railway bridge over the Zambezi. In 1984, Operations Red August and Black September were carried out. Despite the large-scale plans - destroying FRELIMO's foreign supply channels and inflicting a decisive defeat on it - they all failed. A serious blow to RENAMO was dealt by the Non-Aggression and Good Neighborhood Agreement (1984) between Pretoria and Maputo, according to which FRELIMO closed the bases of the African National Congress in exchange for the cessation of South African aid to the RENAMO rebels. But this did not stop the war; South Africa did not fulfill its obligations.
Neither side had the opportunity to win the war. After the death of the country's first president, Samora Machel, in a plane crash in 1986, opponents began to look for ways to reconcile. Moreover, with the end of the Cold War, Soviet military assistance also ceased. The Mozambican government's peace agreement with the rebels was signed in 1992. RENAMO turned into a political party, and in the elections that followed, FRELIMO won.
From the book GRU Spetsnaz: the most complete encyclopedia author Kolpakidi Alexander IvanovichCivil War in Finland On December 31, 1917, the leadership of Soviet Russia, led by Vladimir Lenin, signed a decree that actually recognized the independence of Finland. Let us recall that as a result of the Russian-Swedish War (1808–1809), Finland was annexed
From the book Balkans 1991-2000 NATO Air Force against Yugoslavia author Sergeev P. N.Civil War In the Yugoslav province of Kosovo, relations between the Serbs and Albanians living here have never been particularly warm. The collapse of the SFRY in the early 90s prompted the overwhelming majority of the Albanian population (about 1 million 800 thousand people) to
From the book Alien Wars author Barabanov Mikhail SergeevichFirst Civil War On October 7, 1996, the Lieutenant Governor of South Kivu (province of Eastern Zaire) issued a decree requiring all Banyamulenge to leave Zaire within six days or face outlawry. This blew up the situation, and already on October 10, 1996.
From the book African Wars of Our Time author Konovalov Ivan PavlovichSecond Civil War Stage One Laurent Kabila quickly realized that the Banyamulenge were plotting against him. He removed all Tutsis from the government and ordered all Rwandan military instructors expelled from the country. His chief adviser and foreign minister (both
From the book Modern Africa Wars and Weapons 2nd Edition author Konovalov Ivan Pavlovich From the book Sniper Survival Manual [“Shoot rarely, but accurately!”] author Fedoseev Semyon Leonidovich From the book Seeds of Decay: Wars and Conflicts on the Territory of the Former USSR author Zhirokhov Mikhail AlexandrovichCivil War in Mozambique An indirect continuation of this conflict was the civil war in Mozambique (1976–1992). In 1976, the Rhodesian intelligence services created their own rebel movement PEHAM0 (Mozambican National Resistance), which declared war
From the book Sniper War author Ardashev Alexey NikolaevichAngolan Civil War and South African Intervention South African troops actively participated in the Angolan Civil War (1975–2002), supporting (in 1975–1988) the nationalist movements UNITA and FNLA in their struggle against the ruling Marxist MPLA party. At the heart of the confrontation were
From the book Afghan: Russians at War author Braithwaite RodrikCivil War in Djibouti The civil war in neighboring Somalia and the general deterioration of the situation in the Horn of Africa after the end of the Cold War were the main catalyst for the internal conflict in Djibouti (1991–1994). The contradictions between the two peoples inhabiting Djibouti -
From the book Wars of the Horn of Africa author Konovalov Ivan PavlovichCivil War in the Congo (Brazzaville) The main feature of the civil war in the Republic of the Congo (1997–1999) is that the former leader Denis Sassou Nguesso, who launched hostilities against the current President Pascal Lissouba, was supported by the majority
From the book of Zhukov. Master of victories or bloody executioner? author Gromov AlexUSA. Revolutionary War and Civil War During the Revolutionary War in the United States (1775–1783), British troops faced accurate rifle fire from settlers. In particular, on April 19, 1775, at the Battle of Lexington, the English
From the author's bookDevelopment of the conflict and civil war The events of early 1990 became a harbinger of the coming catastrophe in Tajikistan, when rumors about Armenian refugees allegedly arriving in Dushanbe gathered demonstrators near the building of the Central Committee of the Communist Party on February 11. The very next day, shouts in the crowd
From the author's bookUSA. Revolutionary War and Civil War During the Revolutionary War in the United States (1775–1783), British troops faced accurate rifle fire from settlers. In particular, on April 19, 1775, at the Battle of Lexington, the English
From the author's bookThe civil war continues. The 40th Army has left. Civil war raged. The morale of the Mujahideen was still high, and weapons continued to come to them from Pakistan in violation of the Geneva agreements. Pakistanis never thought of observing them: President Zia-ul-Haq
From the author's bookGeneral civil war The conflict that broke out in 1991 in Somalia after the overthrow of Mohamed Siad Barre, on the one hand, became a logical continuation of the civil war, but, on the other hand, acquired a fundamentally different character. If they opposed each other before
From the author's bookCivil war and love passions George's first serious love overtook him even before the war - when he rented a room from the widow Malysheva, who had a daughter of marriageable age. Very soon sympathy arose between the young people and George decided to marry Maria. But then it started
The second half of the 20th century was marked by significant changes in the development of African states. We are talking about activation against the colonialist policies of European states. All these trends were reflected in the events that took place since 1961 in Angola.
Angola on the map of Africa: geographical location
Angola is one of the African states created after World War II. In order to navigate the situation that existed in this state throughout the second half of the 20th century, you must first understand where Angola is located on the map and what territories it borders on. The modern country is located in
It borders in the south with Namibia, which until the end of the 1980s was completely subordinate to South Africa (this is a very important factor!), and in the east with Zambia. In the north and northeast there is a state border with the Democratic Western border - the Atlantic Ocean. Knowing which states Angola borders with, it will be easier for us to understand the ways of invasion of the territory of the state by foreign troops.
Reasons for the start of the war
The war in Angola did not start spontaneously. From 1950 to 1960, three different groups formed within Angolan society, which considered their task to be the struggle for the independence of the state. The problem is that they could not unite due to ideological incompatibility.
What are these groups? The first group - MPLA (stands for the People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola) - considered Marxist ideology as the ideal for the development of the state in the future. Perhaps Agostinho Neto (the leader of the party) did not see the ideal in the state system of the USSR, because the purely economic views of Karl Marx were slightly different from what was presented in the Union as Marxism. But the MPLA relied on international support from the countries of the socialist camp.
The second group is the 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 posed some danger for Angola itself, because Roberto’s rise to power threatened the country with collapse. Why? Holden Roberto was a relative of the President of Zaire and promised to give him part of the territory of Angola if he won.
The third group - UNITA (National Front for the Total Independence of Angola) - was distinguished by its pro-Western orientation. Each of these groups had certain support in society and a different social base. These groups did not even try to make peace and unite, because each of the parties envisioned too different ways of fighting the colonists, and most importantly, the further development of the country. It was these contradictions that led to the outbreak of hostilities in 1975.
Start of the war
The war in Angola began on September 25, 1975. It’s not for nothing that at the beginning of the article we talked about the geographical location of the country and mentioned its neighbors. On this day, troops entered from Zaire and came out in support of the FNLA. The situation worsened after October 14, 1975, when South African troops entered Angola (from the territory of South African-controlled Namibia). These forces began to support the pro-Western UNITA party. The logic of this political position of South Africa in the Angolan conflict is obvious: there have always been many Portuguese in the leadership of South Africa. The MPLA also initially had outside support. We are talking 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 we are considering, there were troops of several states at once, which opposed each other. But the civil war in Angola could also be perceived in a broader sense - as a military conflict between several states.
War in Angola: Operation Savannah
What did you do immediately after crossing the border with Angola? That's right - there was 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 ensured by the surprise and lightning speed of the actions of the Zulus and other units. In a few days they conquered the entire southwest of Angola. The Foxbat group was stationed in the central region.
The army captured the following objects: the cities of Liumbala, Kakulu, Catenge, Benguela airport, several MPLA training camps. The victorious march of these armies continued until November 13, when they occupied the city of Novo Redondo. Also, the Foxbat group won a very difficult battle for bridge No. 14.
The X-Ray group overpowered the Cuban army near the cities of Xanlongo, Luso, captured the Salazar Bridge and stopped the advance of the Cubans towards Cariango.
USSR participation in hostilities
Having analyzed the historical chronicle, we will understand that the inhabitants of the Union practically did not know what the war in Angola was. The USSR never advertised its active participation in the events.
After the introduction of troops from Zaire and South Africa, the leader of the MPLA turned to the USSR and Cuba for military assistance. The leaders of the countries of the socialist camp could not refuse help to the army and the party, which professed socialist ideology. Military conflicts of this kind were to some extent beneficial to the USSR, because the party leadership still did not abandon the idea of exporting the revolution.
Great international assistance was provided to Angola. Officially, it took part in the battles from 1975 to 1979, but in reality our soldiers took part in this conflict before the collapse of the USSR. Official and real data on losses in this conflict differ. The documents of the USSR Ministry of Defense directly indicate that during the war in Angola, our army lost 11 people. Military experts consider this figure to be very underestimated and are inclined to think about more than 100 people.
Fighting in November-December 1975
The war in Angola at its first stage was very bloody. Let's now analyze the main events of this stage. So, several countries sent in their troops. We already know about this. What happens next? from the USSR and Cuba in the form of specialists and equipment, significantly strengthened the MPLA army.
The first serious success of this army took place in the battle of Quifangondo. The opponents were the troops of Zaire and the FNLA. The MPLA army had a strategic advantage at the start of the battle, because the Zairian weapons were very outdated, and the socialist army received new models of military equipment to help from the USSR. On November 11, the FNLA army lost the battle and, by and large, gave up its positions, practically ending the struggle for power in Angola.
The MPLA army had no respite, because at the same time the South African army was advancing (Operation Savannah). Its troops advanced into the interior of the country by approximately 3000-3100 km. The war in Angola did not calm down! A tank battle between MPLA and UNITA forces took place on November 17, 1975 near the city of Gangula. This clash was won by the socialist troops. The successful part of Operation Savannah ended here. 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 the following year, 1976. For example, already on January 6, MPLA forces captured an FNLA base in the north of the country. One of the socialists' opponents was actually defeated. Of course, no one thought about ending the war, so Angola faced many more years of disaster. As a result, the FNLA troops, completely disunited, left Angola in about 2 weeks. Left without a fortified camp, they were unable to continue an active campaign.
The MPLA leadership had to solve an equally serious problem further, because regular units of the armies of Zaire and South Africa did not leave Angola. By the way, South Africa has a very interesting position on justifying its military claims in Angola. South African politicians were convinced that an unstable situation in a neighboring country could have negative consequences for their state. Which? For example, they were afraid of the intensification of protest movements. These rivals were dealt with until the end of March 1976.
Of course, the MPLA itself with the regular armies of the enemy could not have accomplished this. The main role in pushing opponents beyond the borders of the state belongs to 15,000 Cubans and Soviet military specialists. After this, systematic and active military operations were not carried out for some time, because the enemy of UNITA decided to wage a guerrilla war. With this form of confrontation, mostly minor clashes occurred.
Guerrilla stage of the war
After 1976, the nature of the fighting changed slightly. Until 1981, foreign armies did not conduct systematic military operations in Angola. The UNITA organization understood that its forces would not be able to prove their superiority over FALPA (Angolan Army) in open battles. Speaking about the Angolan army, we must understand that these are actually MPLA forces, because the socialist group has officially been in power since 1975. As Agostinho Neto noted, by the way, it’s not for nothing that the Angolan flag is black and red. Red color was most often found on the symbols of socialist states, and black is the color of the African continent.
Clashes 1980-1981
At the end of the 1970s, we can only talk about clashes with UNITA partisan corrals. In 1980-1981 The war in Angola intensified. For example, in the first half of 1980, South African troops invaded 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 to a full-scale military operation, which was called "Protea" in history books.
Units of the South African army advanced 150-200 km deep into Angolan territory, and there was a question of capturing several settlements. As a result of the offensive and serious defensive actions, more than 800 Angolan soldiers were killed under targeted enemy fire. It is also known for sure (although this is nowhere to be found in official documents) about the death of 9 Soviet servicemen. Until March 1984, hostilities periodically resumed.
Battle of Cuito Cuanavale
A few years later, full-scale war resumed in Angola. The Battle of Cuito Cuanavale (1987-1988) was a very important turning point in the civil conflict. This battle involved soldiers of the People's Army of Angola, Cuban and Soviet soldiers on the one hand; UNITA partisans and the South African army - on the other. This battle ended unsuccessfully for UNITA and South Africa, so they had to flee. At the same time, they blew up a border bridge, making it difficult for the Angolans to possibly pursue their units.
After this battle, serious peace negotiations finally began. Of course, the war continued into the 1990s, but it was the Battle of Cuito Cuanavale that was a turning point in favor of the Angolan forces. Today Angola exists as an independent state and is developing. The flag of Angola speaks of the political orientation of the state today.
Why was it not beneficial for the USSR to officially participate in the war?
As you know, in 1979 the intervention of the USSR army in Afghanistan began. Fulfilling an international duty seemed to be considered necessary and prestigious, but this kind of invasion, interference in the life of another people was not very 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.
