Externals 1980-1989

Guide to Forces of
South West Africa and Angola

Introduction: 1915-1979

by Greg Novak

Editor's Note: The following article is going to read like alphabet soup. There just is no easy way to list all of the different groups that are involved in this area. Likewise, while the new and correct name of this area is Namibia, for the purposes of this article it shall be referred to as South West Africa.

From 1965 to 1989, one of the longest "African Wars of Liberation" was fought in South West Africa (SWA) between the forces of SWAPO (South West Africa's People's Organization) and those of the S ADF (South African Defense Force). Almost all of the actions between SWAPO and the SADF fought in SWA were of a skirmish nature at best but those operations carried out by the SDAF known as "Externals" provide for some very interesting CA actions.

SWA was one of the last areas in Africa to be acquired by a European power. Great Britain had already taken possession of the best harbor on the coast, Walvis Bay, but declined to push inland. Imperial Germany, the last player to enter the colonial race in Africa, ended up with SWA as a consolation prize. The new colony did not accept its new owners willingly, and the German colonial government had to put down a series of revolts by the Herero-Nama tribes in 1905-1908 that were for all practical purposes a repeat of the Boer War.

In 1915, South Africa, with the help of the Royal Navy, captured SWA from Germany as part of its role in WWI. After the war was over, the League of Nations awarded South Africa a Class C mandate over the area. (A Class C mandate did not provide for eventual self rule.) South Africa kept its control of SWA based on this mandate, even after the League of Nations was replaced by the United Nations. After WWII, South Africa raised the issue at the United Nations of SWA status, and asked permission to incorporate SWA into South Africa as its fifth province. The introduction of apartheid in 1948 prevented the UN from giving its approval, and SWA remained under South African control. The question of self rule for SWA was raised at the UN in the late 1950s, with South Africa now claiming that the UN had no authority over the area, as it was a mandate of the League of Nations.

Faced with the refusal of South Africa to carry out any negotiations on the issue, and the introduction of apartheid into the area, the first seeds of rebellion took root in SWA. In 1960, the Owambo People's Organization was founded as the political arm of that tribe (The Owambo are the largest tribe in South West Africa, making it about 50% of the total population.) The name of the organization was changed in early 1960s to SWAPO in an attempt to the broaden the appeal of the organization to the rest of the population of South West Africa. SWAPO started carrying out guerrilla warfare in 1965, but the lack of any nearby base to operate from severely limited in ability to conduct operations in SWA. Between 1965 to 1973, the activities of SWAPO were kept in check by the SWA police force In 1974, however, the SADF forces took over control of the SWA/Angola border from the SWA police.

The collapse of Portuguese rule in Angola in 1974 changed the situation for the worse. Angola had been the site of a 13-year revolt with three different groups attempting to overthrow the Portuguese rule. These were UNITA (National Union for the Total Liberation of Angola), FNLA (National Front for the Liberation of Angola) and MPLA (Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola). Portuguese operations in Southern Angola helped prevent SWAP from operating in its areas.

In 1974, Portugal decided to pull out, and left the three liberation groups to fight it out for the control of Angola. SWAPO moved into the vacuum now opened in southern Angola by the Portuguese and started operations from there. Meanwhile, a three-way civil war broke out, with South Africa, encouraged by the United States, attempting to back UNITA and FNLA. South African supplies and troops crossed the border into Angola, but the intervention was unsuccessful. The United States withdrew its support of UNITA and FNLA, and so MPLA, which backed by the supplies from the Soviet Union and troops from Cuba, was able to end up in control of Angola. South Africa, finding itself left unsupported, withdrew its forces in 1976. MPLA was more than willing to allow SWAPO to operate from within its borders, and provided aid and assistance from the newly formed People's Armed Forces for the Liberation of Angola (FAPLA).

Between 1977 and 1980, SWAPO increased its forces and stepped up its activities in SWA, though these units which crossed the border were of platoon size at best. In response, the SADF stepped up its strength along the border, and started a series of operations known as "Externals." These were strikes into Angola in an attempt to overrun the advanced SWAPO bases, and discourage the support of SWAPO by the government of Angola. As the Angolan government was still attempting to win the civil war against UNITA, the hope was that they would not want to divert forces to protect the SWAPO centers from South African attacks. As the 1970s ended, SWAPO had been pushed back from the border area, but the Angolan government had decided to commit forces along its southern border to repel the externals and protect SWAPO.

Starting Point

I have picked 1980 as my starting point for a number of reasons. First, this is the watershed year for South African involvement in SWA. The SADF realized that it was fighting the classic guerrilla war, and that it needed to change its goals into a "hearts and minds" campaign. As part of this, greater reliance needed to be placed on the use of troops raised in SWA, and not brought in from South Africa. Up to now there were some local units, but for the most part they were small and ill-armed. A separate SWA territory force (SWATF) was created and the existing units were built up and expanded into a fully functional military force.

Second, a separate SWA police force was formed, along similar lines to that of the SWATF, with the goal of increasing local participation. A special subunit of the police, "Operation Koevoet!" (Crowbar), was set up to provide a paramilitary police force to patrol the Angolan/ SWA border. Operating as a police unit to gather intelligence, it then was able to immediately follow up on what it learned. It was able to track down infiltrators as soon as they crossed into SWA, and in fact routinely crossed into Angola as part of their normal operations.

Third, realizing that a strong UNITA helped tie down FAPLA units, the South African government resumed giving aid to that group, especially in those areas in southeast Angola where UNITA controlled those areas adjacent to the Angolan/SWA border. In return, UNITA did not allow SWAPO to operate within its areas. SWAPO in turn fell in on the side of theFAPLA, and what large units of SWAPO were organized, i.e., battalion/company, ended up fighting UNITA under the command of the FAPLA.

Last, the government of Angola moved additional troops, both FAPLA and Cuban, into the border and southeast areas. These units operated under orders to protect the SWAPO camps from the "Externals," as well as to operate against the UNITA forces, and drive them away from the border areas.

Having set the stage, we find that have elements of seven different forces operating in the area: SDAF, SWATF, Koevoet, SWAPO, FAPLA, UNITA, and Cuban Forces in Angola.

Bibliography

Arms Production in the Third World, Michael Brzoska and Thomas Ohlson, Taylor and Francis, London, 1986.
Beneath the Visiting Moon, Jim Hooper, Lexington Books, Lexington, MA, 1990.
Death in the Desert: The Namibian Tragedy, Morgan Norval, Selous Foundation Press, 1989.
The Devils are Among Us, Denis Herbstein and John Evenson, Zed Books, London, 1989.
The Military Balance, 1982-1983, Intenational Institute for Strategic Studies, London, 1982.
The Military Balance, 1985-1986, International Institute for Strategic Studies, London, 1985.
The Military Balance, 1986-1987, International Institute for Strategic Studies, London, 1986.
The Military Balance, 1987-1988, International Institute for Strategic Studies, London, 1987.
The Military Balance, 1989-1990, International Institute for Strategic Studies, London, 1989.
Modern African Wars #3, Southwest Africa: Helmoed-Romer Heitman & Paul Hannon, Osprey #242, London 1991.
South African War Machine, Helmoed-Romer Heitman, Presidio Books. Novato, CA, 1985.
World Defence Forces, 1st Edition, ABC-CLIO, Oxford, 1983.
World Defence Forces, 2nd Edition, ABC-CLIO, Oxford, 1989.

More Externals 1980-1989: SW Africa and Angola

Externals Mini Campaign Game

Back to Table of Contents -- Command Post Quarterly #2
To Command Post Quarterly List of Issues
To MagWeb Master Magazine List
© Copyright 1993 by Greg Novak.
This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web.
Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com