On Operations with C Squadron SAS by Michael Graham

Author:Michael Graham
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: :History / Military / World war II
Publisher: Pen and Sword/Pen and Sword Military
Published: 2020-04-29T00:00:00+00:00

The Aftermath

The camp attack had a profound effect on the MPLA. The loss of the cell created ructions within the organisation. They splintered and became increasingly impotent.

On top of that the Portuguese strategy in what they called the Frente Leste had won the hearts and minds of the local population. Aggressive border patrolling by the Paráquedistas and Flechas guaranteed their security in the new settlements, where they prospered.

By early 1970 the Portuguese had won the war in Angola.

With political stability, oil in Cabinda, and diamonds found in the north-eastern areas, Angola went from strength to strength. Luanda developed into a colourful and prosperous city.

The tragedy for Angola was that the good times only lasted until 1974.

The Portuguese had not been doing so well in Mozambique, and even worse in Guinea-Bissau. The Portuguese population back in Lisbon had had enough. President Caetano was ousted in a coup led by General Spinola – the ‘Carnation Revolution’ leaders immediately ordered all Portuguese troops serving overseas back home.

In Angola they appointed a temporary military government tasked with handing over the country to a coalition of three identified pro-independence movements: the MPLA, UNITA and the FNLA.

The Russians were quick to increase support to the MPLA and pushed them into occupying the oil-rich Cabinda province.

With the smell of oil in their nostrils the American CIA jumped into the fray with backing for UNITA.

Hostilities between the two factions increased.

The Russians responded by sending in the Cubans – their colonial troops – and equipped them with heavy weaponry and MiG fighters.

The USA responded by backing an invasion by their new-found friends in South Africa. The South Africans had superb, highly mobile vehicles specifically designed for conflict in Africa, and they had French Mirage fighters that soon achieved air superiority.

The Russians reinforced the Cubans with more modern weaponry and the latest MiG fighters that nullified the initial advantage achieved by the South African Mirages.

By 1980 the MPLA were winning on the battlefields, and with USA fears of getting involved in another Vietnam, they and the South Africans pulled out of the conflict.

With the country now in their hands the MPLA set about dealing with internal factions that had developed during the conflict. Following the example of China, North Korea, and Vietnam, a purge was initiated to eliminate all suspected followers and sympathisers of ‘orthodox communism’ inside and outside the party.

The Cubans supported the purge with barbaric enthusiasm. Nobody will ever know exactly how many innocent Angolans were slaughtered in this meaningless exercise but figures released after the civil war suggested as many as 200,000 perished.

It’s not hard to understand why we in the SAS had no time for the senseless ideology of communism.

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