VAE VICTIS # 154 Angola 1987-1988

1-914154

Difficulty: 6/10; Solo-playability: 4/10; Duration: 3-4 hours; One turn equals 1 month; Scale: Liaison between two zones: 200-400 km; Units: 1 counter = 1 brigade or 1 battalion of between 250 - 2500 men.

The year 1987-1988 was a turning point in the war in Angola. Since 1975, a murderous civil war opposed two sides: the government with the single party, the MPLA, supported by the Soviet Union and Cuba, and Jonas Savimbi's UNITA, supported by the United States and the South African Republic. To break the stalemate, the government decides to launch operation 'Greeting October' during the dry season. This operation would put an end of the conflict by seizing UNITA's capital, Jamba, located in the southeastern corner of the country. But, they hadn't counted on the armed South African forces (SADF) and their game-changing 'modular' and 'hooper-packer' operations. Swept along the Lomba River, the government forces withdrew to the small town of Cuito Cuanavale where they were besieged for several months.

Faced with this situation, the Cuban government (and Fidel Castro) launched Operation '31st Anniversary' to push back the South African forces and ensure the survival of the regime. A great airlift was dispatched with the Cuban contingent of more than 50,000 men, enabling the city of Cuito Cuanavale to resist and push back the SADF to beyond the Namibian border.

Diplomacy in 1988 allowed the joint departure of the Cubans and South Africans and enabled the independence of Namibia.