Soviet troops in Angola. Unknown war of the USSR in Angola: how it was

Angola, a former colony of Portugal in Africa, is located in the southwestern part of the African continent. It also includes the enclave of Cabinda, a province separated from the main part of Angola by the Congo River and part of the territory of Zaire.

The important geostrategic position of Angola was highly valued as early as the 19th century. Portugal and the UK. The importance of the African state has not decreased even today, especially after the discovery of oil and diamond deposits in Cabinda. Along with these most profitable industries was the extraction of iron ore, the cultivation of cotton. Angola became the object of the liveliest interest of the Americans, the French, the Belgians and the Portuguese.

Lion's share natural resources Angola sailed to the West, especially to Portugal, which could not but affect the relationship between the metropolis and its African possession.

In March 1961, an armed national liberation war began in Angola. It was led by several organizations: MPLA (People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola), FNLA (Front for the National Liberation of Angola), UNITA (National Union for the Liberation of Angola) and FLEC (Front for the Liberation of the Cabinda Enclave). However, the mismatch of goals, the different social and ethnic base of each of the movements, and other factors divided these organizations, often led to armed clashes between them, preventing the unification of anti-colonial forces.

The most progressive movement, which, unlike others, reflected national goals, was the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola, which advocated independence and territorial integrity country and the transfer of its wealth under national control.

The USSR, as well as China and Cuba, began to support the MPLA, given its Marxist orientation, as early as 1958. The first Cuban specialists, consisting of two units, arrived in Angola on November 7, 1961 and immediately began training partisan detachments. By that time, the Cubans were already in Algeria, Guinea-Bissau and Mozambique.

military training many Angolan rebels took place both in the socialist countries (Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, the Soviet Union) and in Algeria. The fighting of the guerrillas mainly consisted of organizing ambushes on the roads and striking at the Portuguese garrisons. They were armed with Kalashnikov assault rifles, as well as light mortars and cannons.

China supported the MPLA with the supply of weapons and equipment, but military specialists from the PRC and the DPRK at the same time (since 1973) began training rebel detachments from the Front for the National Liberation of Angola (FNLA).

In 1958 - 1974. The USSR also helped the armed formations of the MPLA. Basically it was the supply of weapons and equipment.

After the signing in January 1975 in Portugal of an agreement recognizing the independence of Angola, almost immediately (from March) serious clashes began between representatives of the three Angolan rebel groups. The quick abandonment of Portugal from its colony turned the war for the independence of Angola into a civil one.

The situation in the country became critical. In September, fierce battles began between the MPLA, FNLA and UNITA units for control of the capital. From the north, FNLA formations were approaching Luanda with the support of parts of the regular Zairian army and foreign mercenaries, and from the south South African units were rapidly advancing, with which UNITA detachments were moving.

Luanda as a whole was under the control of the MPLA, but it did not have enough forces and means to resist, and the Portuguese garrison remaining in the capital occupied a neutral position. In this situation, MPLA chairman Agostinho Neto turned to the USSR and Cuba for help.

Cuban leader Fidel Castro immediately responded to the MPLA leader's request. Many Cubans signed up for international volunteer units, which were hastily transferred to Angola. They directly participated in the hostilities, which took on the character of an armed struggle with the use of tanks, artillery and aircraft.

The arrival of Cuban military specialists in Angola made it possible for the Angolans to as soon as possible form 16 infantry battalions and 25 anti-aircraft and mortar batteries.

The successful development of events allowed A. Neto on the night of November 10-11, 1975, in the presence of many thousands of Angolans and representatives of several foreign countries, to proclaim the birth of the 47th independent state of Africa - People's Republic Angola (NRA). On the same day she was recognized large group states, including the Soviet Union.

Meanwhile, the war continued. On November 15, a 1,500-strong contingent of South African troops crossed the border of Angola, armed with French and American military equipment, which was supported by transport helicopters with specially equipped machine gun installations. The supply of ammunition was carried out from bases located on the territory of Namibia. In November-December, the grouping of South African troops was significantly strengthened.

In this situation, at the request of the Angolan government, on November 16, the first group of Soviet military specialists arrived in Luanda, numbering (together with translators) about 40 people, who were tasked with assisting in the training of the armed forces of the NRA. Quite quickly, together with the Cubans, they managed to organize several training centers in Luanda, where the training of local military personnel began. At the same time, air and sea routes from the USSR, Yugoslavia and the GDR were sent to Luanda Combat vehicles, weapons, equipment, food and medicine. Military property was also delivered by military transport aircraft. Also arrived on the Angolan shores warships Navy of the USSR. The number of Soviet military specialists increased by the end of 1975 to 200 people. In 1976, the USSR delivered a significant number of helicopters, aircraft, tanks, armored personnel carriers and small arms to Angola. Installations were also handed over to the Angolan side salvo fire, artillery pieces and mortars, anti-tank missiles and other weapons.

By the end of March 1976, the armed forces of the NRA, with the direct support of a 15,000-strong contingent of Cuban volunteers and the help of Soviet military specialists, ousted the troops of South Africa and Zaire from the territory of Angola, capturing large settlements and military installations.

During active hostilities from November 1975 to November 1979, thousands of Soviet military specialists visited Angola. This war was not without losses on our side. Died in the line of duty, seven officers, two ensigns and two SA employees died of wounds and diseases. The Angolan people revere the Soviet soldiers who fulfilled their international duty to the end on an equal footing with their heroes.

Soon the civil war in Angola broke out with new force. Moreover, the confrontation was carried out at three levels - national (MPLA - UNITA), regional (NRA - South Africa) and global (USA - USSR and their allies) - and persisted until the end of the 80s, until the Angolan problem was resolved. According to eyewitnesses, the period from 1986 to 1988. was the bloodiest in the history of the civil war in Angola. It further increased the tragic list of our compatriots who died on Angolan soil.

On November 20, 1994, in Lusaka, the capital of Zambia, the final protocol on the peaceful settlement of the conflict in the country was signed between the government of Angola and the leadership of UNITA. This event was preceded by the withdrawal of the Cuban military contingent and the closure of the Soviet military mission.

"You couldn't be there..."

The most controversial period of Soviet-Angolan cooperation was the end of the eighties - the beginning of the nineties. Against the background of the unstable internal political situation in the USSR, the curtailment, and in fact the collapse of former ties with the countries of the socialist camp, our military advisers and specialists continued to honestly fulfill their duty in this African country. To what extent was their work justified? This and other questions of the Red Star are answered by the former First Deputy, and then the Chief Military Adviser in Angola in 1988-1991. Colonel General V. N. Belyaev.

- Valery Nikolaevich, what goals did we pursue when providing international assistance to Angola?

Today you can talk as much as you want about the advisability of our assistance to Angola and others. developing countries. My personal opinion is that in that military-political situation, when in the mid-seventies the USSR began to support Angola, which embarked on a socialist path of development, this decision was fully justified. And, of course, the main goals that we pursued were political. Historically, among the five African Portuguese-speaking countries, Angola has occupied its powerful position in every respect. Therefore, it was quite logical to consider it as a kind of springboard for the spread of socialism in southern Africa.

In economic terms, this country was also very attractive to the USSR. Angola is a real African "Klondike" with the richest deposits of high-quality oil, diamonds, uranium, molybdenum. Extensive plantations of coffee, mahogany and ebony. Rich fish stocks. In the Angolan sector of the Atlantic at that time, a whole fleet of Soviet fishing vessels was operating, which caught hundreds of thousands of tons of fish annually.

Geographical position Angola played into our hands militarily as well. The operational brigade of surface ships of the Navy was permanently based at the Soviet naval base in Luanda, which allowed us to control the main sea routes from the Indian Ocean to the Atlantic and from Africa to the North and South America. Ships and submarines of the Navy, performing tasks in the Southern Hemisphere, periodically entered the base for rest and refueling, and communication with them was provided by a powerful zonal communications center built by us in Angola. In addition, Soviet naval reconnaissance aircraft Tu-95RTs regularly landed at the airfield in Luanda, which, operating along the route Severomorsk - Havana - Luanda - Severomorsk, gave a complete "picture" of the situation in the Atlantic.

What was our help to the NRA! How effective was the interaction of Soviet military specialists with the Angolan and Cuban military command?

We provided Angola mainly with military assistance. Actually, the young armed forces of the NRA - FAPLA were built according to our model and likeness. Between 1975 and 1991 about 11 thousand military advisers and specialists worked in Angola. At the same time, 54 people died from their number. Soviet military advisers worked at all the main and central directorates of FAPLA, front-line and individual combat zones. Our main tasks were to study and analyze the situation, develop proposals in various areas military activities from intelligence to logistics. Provided direct assistance in the preparation and conduct of front-line operations. During my work in Angola, we have successfully carried out four front-line offensive operations which seriously influenced the balance of power in the region. Among them, the most significant was the operation "Zebra" to take the city of Mavinga - the main stronghold of the Unitovites. For 15 years, all attempts by the NRA government troops to capture it ended in failure and heavy losses. Taking into account the experience of previous mistakes, we carried out a number of measures for operational camouflage, disinformation, misled the enemy and developed success with minimal losses.

Our military equipment, which we supplied to Angola, proved to be excellent. And, first of all, unpretentious and with good combat power tanks T-54B, T-55; BMP-1. Artillery systems showed themselves well - 122-mm D-30 howitzer, 85-mm SD cannon, self-propelled anti-aircraft guns, small arms - ATS-17, PKT, RPK, AK, Stechkin submachine gun.

Aviation also worked without problems - MiG-21 BIS, MiG-23ML, Su-22MI aircraft, Mi-17 (Mi-8 MT), Mi-24 helicopters. The Angolan Navy successfully operated Soviet small and medium landing ships, torpedo, missile and artillery boats.

We have developed strong cooperation and mutual understanding with the FAPLA command. The Angolans appreciated us as experienced specialists in military affairs. Among the Angolan officers and generals themselves, contrary to prevailing prejudice, there were many talented military leaders. Chief of the General Staff A. dos Santos Frans, Chief of the Main Operations Directorate Colonel F.I. Lopes de Carneiro, Air Force Commander A. Nego, Chief of Logistics Colonel Led, front commanders: J.B. de Matos, Colonels Armando and Faceira.

We came into contact with the Cubans only in matters of building FAPLA, as we performed various combat missions. With their 30,000-strong contingent, they guarded the southern borders of Angola from possible South African aggression, while we helped in the battles against the Unitovites.

- What were UNITA armed formations opposing the government troops?

Ordinary guerrilla groups formed from the local population and South African mercenaries. They had light small arms, grenade launchers, Stinger MANPADS, trucks and Rover SUVs. Sometimes with adjacent territory they were supported by South African artillery. main tactic Unitovites were mining communications, shelling convoys, raids on the rear of FAPLA.

As you can see, in Angola, domestic military equipment once again confirmed the right to be called the best in the world. What can you say about our officers? What personal and professional qualities did they show in that rather difficult situation?

By the time I arrived in Angola, the apparatus of military advisers and specialists was already a solid team of real military professionals. Among them, I would like to mention advisers to the head of the main operational department of the FAPLA General Staff, Colonel R. Gadzhiev, to the head of intelligence, Colonel N. Sanivsky, to the head of the food service, Colonel A. Moroz, Colonel S. Ilyin, Major General N. Snyatovsky, Captain 1st Rank I Kulinich, translators V. Migovich, S. Antonov, A. Pobortsev.

The most difficult thing was for specialists working at the fronts. Since 1987, in accordance with the order of the Minister of Defense, all of them were ordered to be directly in the combat formations of the troops, and not at command posts, as was the case before. And in what conditions they lived! It was painful to see our colonels huddled in dugouts that looked more like burrows. On top of that - constant interruptions in the supply of the most necessary, debilitating diseases. Despite this, the vast majority of officers and ensigns honorably carried out the tasks assigned to them and. They sometimes showed examples of courage and professionalism. As an example, one can cite the case of the summer of 1985 in the port of Luanda. At the entrance to the bay, enemy combat swimmers mined a German cargo ship with 10,000 tons of ammunition. Fortunately, out of four, only one mine worked and the cargo did not detonate. Upon learning of this, the Angolans fled in all directions, because the ship was essentially a floating Hiroshima. It was not excluded that the remaining mines could be with a clockwork. The chief of staff of our brigade of surface ships, Captain 1st Rank A. Kibkalo, dived with scuba gear, tied the mines with a nylon cord, and then ripped them off the ship on a speedboat and towed them "at full speed" into the sea. Three days later (!) a “useful” cipher telegram arrived from Moscow: “It is recommended to you: cut the mined sections of the side within a radius of three meters and tow them to a safe distance without vibrations ...”.

- The separation from the Motherland, the difficult situation in the country, the harsh climate certainly brought people together ...

We lived as one family. We worked and rested together. We held cultural events with the families of our employees, tried to help them. It may not be fashionable to talk about it now, but we had a strong party committee that took on the lion's share of this work. We were greatly supported by the embassy headed by Ambassador V. Kazimirov and the military attaché. I want to especially thank the wives of officers and diplomats. Thank them for enduring difficult conditions and help us do our job.

1991 - 1992 years. Our military and civilian experts hastily leave inhabited Angola. How did the Angolans perceive our departure from the country?

We began to understand that our Angolan saga would soon end as early as 1989. At that time, official Moscow declared to the whole world that Soviet military advisers were not participating in hostilities abroad. But at that time, dozens of our officers fought in the south of Angola, in the Menongue, Quito Cuanavale region. A month later, a song was born, the lines from which will help you understand what we were going through at that time:

“... This city in the distant savannah is a mirage:
It appeared, and again melted in a hot mist.
This city in the distant savannah is not ours,
But if they give the order, it will be ours, no matter what.

Where have we, my friend, been brought with you,
Probably a big and necessary thing?
And they tell us: "You couldn't be there"
And the foreign land did not turn red with Russian blood ... "

In general, it is difficult for me to sign for the leadership and evaluate it. We are military people and carried out the order. Of course, it was painful to see how our many years of work collapsed. We were already well versed in Angola, starting with the theater of operations and ending with local ethnic characteristics. There was also a negative social aspect in our conclusion: many officers did not know where to return, since they did not have housing in Russia.

As for the Angolans, they did not accuse us of betrayal. Leaving the NRA, we fully fulfilled our duty to the Motherland and this distant country.

Once upon a time, in the depths of the USSR Ministry of Defense, an order was developed that clearly defined the time frame for the participation of our advisers and specialists in hostilities in the world's hot spots: Angola, Ethiopia, Vietnam, Egypt, etc. The financiers needed the order, because they needed it was clear to whom and how much to pay "combat", how to calculate pensions and benefits. It is still in effect. According to this document, it turns out that they fought in Angola only "from 1974 to 1979", and no more.

Meanwhile, the war in Angola did not stop for a single day. Dramatic events unfolded in the Angolan province of Cuan do Cubango, near the small town of Cuito Cuanavale, on the border with Namibia occupied by South Africa in the mid-80s. Then the Angolan army - FAPLA became so strong that it decided to give a real battle to the armed opposition in the person of UNITA, headed by Savimbi. With the direct participation of Soviet advisers and specialists, an operation was planned and carried out to destroy the rear bases of UNITA. But the regular South African army intervened in the course of events.

“This was not even in Afghanistan ...”

Zhdarkin Igor Anatolyevich, a military translator, completed an accelerated one-year Portuguese language course at the Military Institute of Foreign Languages. In 1986 - 88 years. was in business trip in the People's Republic of Angola, participant in the defense of the city of Cuito Cuanavale (an outpost of the Angolan government troops in the south of the country). He was awarded the medal "For the Defense of Cuito Cuanavale". Currently, he is an employee of the Institute of Military History of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation.

This is the second month I have been in the 6th arrondissement, ten days of which I have been in Quito Cuanavale. This is our main base. But the situation in the city is by no means peaceful. In the twentieth of August, a sabotage group of the South African army blew up a bridge over the Kuito River. Often, Unitovites get so close that they shell the city and the airfield with mortars.

On October 1, our advisers from the 21st and 25th FAPLA brigades returned from the operation in Cuito Cuanavale. They have losses. During the battle on the Lomba River, the translator of the 21st brigade, Oleg Snitko, broke his leg and tore off his arm. He died a day and a half later. Four more were wounded and shell-shocked. On October 8, there was a flight from Luanda, everyone was sent to the hospital.

And on October 9, we, who arrived to replace them, went out with the Angolan column for the operation. There are 6 people in the group. Senior - Advisor to the commander of the 21st brigade Anatoly Mikhailovich Artemenko. "Mikhalych" - the most experienced of us, has already managed to fight, and was even wounded. Advisor to the chief of artillery of the brigade - Yuri Pavlovich Sushchenko, technician - Sasha Fatyanov, two specialists in the combat use of the Osa-AK mobile air defense system: Slava and Kostya and I - the brigade's translator.

Yesterday we walked about eleven kilometers, at 10.30 we arrived at the checkpoint of the 25th brigade. The column moves very slowly. Faplovites prefer not to travel on well-worn roads: UNITA constantly mines them.

About seven o'clock in the evening I "caught" on the receiver "Mayak", a variety concert was broadcast. The songs are old and well-known, but here, the Angolan savannah, as they say, they take it to the soul.

During the next stop at the 19th kilometer from Cuito Cuanavale, our convoy was fired from mortars and machine guns by a group of Unitovites. This was our first fight.

Today has been eventful. At 6.00 in the morning the column lined up for the march, stood for half an hour waiting for news from the scouts. And at 6.30 UNITA began shelling with mortars. They fired mainly incendiary mines, hoping to set fire to cars.

During the day, South African Air Force planes appeared twice. First time at 11.10 and then at 14.30. Our Osa-AK complex accompanied them, but did not launch. Air defense systems of the 21st brigade shot down two aircraft. Keep it up!

At 15.35, the column was again attacked by Unitov's units. A battle ensued that lasted almost 40 minutes. The side guards worked well, which discovered the bandits in time.

This morning at 6.45 the convoy was again attacked by the Unitovites. But the return fire of our means (B-10, 120-mm mortars, BM-21, Grad-1P) did not allow the enemy to conduct aimed fire. At 10.40 South African aircraft appeared again. Bombed at the location of the 21st brigade. Apparently, they are taking revenge for yesterday.

We got close enough to the South African positions. On the R-123 radio station, their conversations are clearly audible. They speak mostly English. And today on the air they suddenly started talking ... in Polish. I made out a few phrases: “Tso pan khtse (what does the pan want)? “Barzodobzhe” (very good) and then: “I listen respectfully (I listen carefully)” No answers were heard from the second correspondent.

They wondered for a long time what this would mean, until they agreed that it must have been South Africans of Polish origin communicating on the air. Or maybe Polish mercenaries?

Today at 05.10, 4 South African aircraft appeared over the area where the 21st and 59th brigades were located. The Angolans opened furious fire on them from all types of weapons. The whole sky looked like a rainbow and fireworks at the same time. As a result, one plane was shot down, and the second one was hit by a Strela-3 rocket in the engine nozzle, but he was able to escape.

Our Osa-AK started work at 4.30 am. South African aviation operates as scheduled. On the same day there were three more raids: at 12, 15 and 17 hours. In the evening we settled down for the night at the abandoned Unitov base. Huts, communication passages, trenches resembling deep holes have been preserved intact there. In a word, a whole fortress.

Today at 7.30 in the morning we finally arrived at the checkpoint of the 21st FAPLA brigade. We met here advisers of the 47th brigade and Osa-AK specialists (9 people in total). We heard a lot of “horrors”, learned the details about that battle on the banks of the Lomba, where the translator Oleg Snitko died.

The 47th brigade was deployed along the river bank. Yuarovtsy and UNITA units attacked suddenly, making three attacks one after another. The Faplovites could not stand it and ran in a panic. There were many reasons: the fact that the ammunition was running out, and the lack of clear control, and the cowardice of officers and the fear of ordinary soldiers in front of the Yuar people, especially in front of their long-range artillery. But the decisive factor, according to our advisers, was the crossing over the river. Everyone knew about her. If it were not for her, maybe the soldiers would not have run, because there was nowhere.

Here in the district, in combat brigades, among Soviet specialists, many went through Afghanistan. Here is their opinion: "We have not seen such horrors as here in Afghanistan." One said this: “When the South African artillery began to hit, I thought that this was the worst thing. However, then aviation flew in, and there was simply no place left for us on earth. But the worst began when the Angolans ran, began to throw weapons and equipment ... "

During the crossing of Lomba, the 47th brigade abandoned 18 tanks, 20 armored personnel carriers, 4 D-30 guns, 3 BM-21s, 4 Osa-AK combat vehicles, 2 Osa-AK TZMs, a P-19 station, trucks, radio stations, mortars, grenade launchers, about 200 small arms...

Loud words about the safety of "assessors" (advisors and specialists) were forgotten. Their armored personnel carrier left for the crossing penultimate, by order of the brigade commander without cover, with only 11 guards. After 15 minutes, a South African AM1--90 broke into the position he occupied.

There was a terrible panic around, confusion. Yuarovtsy fired, not sparing ammunition. No one really knew where to run and what to do. The only thing everyone wanted was to cross over to the other side as soon as possible. so-called. the "commission" created to manage the crossing was one of the first to escape.

3 Strela-10, 2 armored personnel carriers, 2 EE-25 vehicles, one Land Rover and that's all crossed the friend's bank of Lomba. Nothing else could be saved. And then, if the Yuarovtsy had transported at least a company to the other side and opened fire on the river, the entire brigade would have remained at the bottom of the Lomba.

But with the crossing to the opposite shore, the troubles did not end.

The Soviet "assessors" had to set fire to and abandon their armored personnel carrier, and then crawl 1.5 km along the "shan" in a plastunsky way - this is how the Angolans call the open, swampy floodplain of the river. They crawled under fire, abandoned everything except their weapons, the Yuar people fired at them with direct fire. Then the swamp started. Ours almost overcame it, there was very little left to the shore. They, completely exhausted, decided to rest. The South Africans, having estimated in time, considered that they had already crossed and began to beat along the shore. The shells exploded 10-20 meters from ours, and three fell into the swamp 5 meters from them. What saved them was that the shells and mines fell into the swamp and onto the “shana” (and it is also viscous and boggy), first they sank and then exploded. That is the only reason why no one was injured, except for small fragments.

The defeat of the 47th brigade had a severe impact on the situation of the 16th, 21st and 59th brigades and on the entire situation as a whole. Now the brigades are on the line of the Kunzumbia River.

In the morning at 6.50, when we were still sitting in our "dining room", a South African plane suddenly appeared. The Angolan observers "missed" him, and the air defense systems opened fire with a great delay. He struck in front of the leading edge of the 1st Infantry Battalion. Fortunately, there were no losses.

The second raid was at 8.15. Both times the anti-aircraft gunners did not have time to react. The fact is that the Yuarovtsy have become more cunning. Their pilots know that the Osa-AK complex is located here and are afraid of it. Therefore, aircraft at low altitude pass along the riverbed, so that the Osa radar “does not see” them, and then they turn around to bomb.

At 10.10 there was a third raid, four Mirages hit the brigade in the area of ​​​​the 3rd battalion. This time our anti-aircraft gunners did a great job. Two planes were “filled up”, one from the Strela-10, and the other from the ZU-23-2. Both fell not far from us.

The brigade commander immediately sent a reconnaissance group to search for aircraft and pilots. We are waiting for the results. In the evening, the scouts reported that the planes, they say, had not been found, where they were, they did not know. And, most likely, they were not looking, they were afraid to run into Unitovites.

Today is Sunday. Mikhalych declared it a day of rest. We hope that South African aircraft will not bomb. Pilots are people too, should they rest too? The day passed quietly.

In the morning we went to the brigade commander to clarify the situation. He showed us the wreckage of a plane that had been shot down earlier over the Kunzumbia River. According to him, the corpse of the South African pilot was badly burned, and no documents could be found.

At 8.30 the artillery of our brigade fired several volleys at pre-planned targets. They fired from BM-21 and D-30 howitzers from temporary positions, after which, on the advice of our Mikhalych, they were quickly replaced. Less than an hour later, the South Africans "covered" this place from 155-mm long-range howitzers S-5 and O-6.

This morning we received an order to urgently withdraw and move towards the location of the 59th on the Mianei River. At 11 o'clock they lined up in columns and left. We had not gone even three kilometers when we heard explosions behind us: it was the Yuarans who began to fire at our former positions, believing that we were still there.

Next to us, a few kilometers away, is the 59th brigade. At about 5 p.m., it was bombed by aircraft. The South Africans developed a new tactic: first they begin shelling, all Angolans hide in shelters, including anti-aircraft gunners. And then aircraft suddenly appear and begin to hammer. Planes fly away faster than anti-aircraft gunners get out of shelters.

The Angolans caught a goat somewhere and brought us a whole leg as a gift. We put it out with potatoes for dinner. It turned out so delicious that they “swept” the whole pan. We didn't have time to finish our supper when "Kentron" "muttered". This is a South African anti-personnel rocket launcher. Range - up to 17 km. The shells are stuffed with many small steel balls (about 3.5 thousand). Killer thing. But we have already worked out the “standard for shelling” clearly: in a matter of fractions of a second, no one was left at the table. Yuarovtsy shot a little and calmed down. Apparently, they simply decided to "wish us a pleasant appetite."

At 14.00 on the radio received terrible news. At 13.10 the enemy fired at the 59th brigade with shells filled with chemical poisonous substances. Many Angolan soldiers were poisoned, lost consciousness, the brigade commander is coughing up blood. Hooked and our advisers. The wind was just blowing in their direction, many complain of severe headaches and nausea.

This news seriously alarmed us, because we do not even have the most overwhelming gas masks, not to mention the OZK! The district was requested on the radio. They asked to send gas masks and provide protective equipment for the entire brigade. So far there is no answer.

The night passed quietly. Today is the birthday of our senior group Anatoly Mikhailovich. He is 40 years old. The Noyuars managed to ruin our celebration. At 12 o'clock there was an air raid on the 59th brigade standing nearby, more than a dozen 500-kilogram bombs were dropped on its positions. We don't know about losses yet.

Our gunners received reconnaissance data and decided to suppress the enemy's 155-mm howitzer battery. South African S-5 and O-6 howitzers cause many problems for the Angolans. They strike from afar (the range of the projectile is about 47 km), quickly change positions (the O-6 is self-propelled and can move at speeds up to 90 km/h). The Angolans fired a volley from the BM-21. In response, the enraged South Africans opened fire with all their howitzers. They beat very accurately, with short breaks. During one of these breaks, my senior and I went to the brigade commander to find out what new task he had received.

We were sitting in his so-called dugout office, when suddenly the shelling began again. One of the shells exploded very close (it hit a tree, about seven meters from the brigade commander's dugout). I was sitting near the entrance, the blast wave threw me to the ground, first hitting my head and then my shoulder on a wooden frame at the bottom of a makeshift table. At first I didn’t understand what was the matter, the dugout was sprinkled, because of the dust you couldn’t see anything, there was a chime in your ears like at Easter. At that moment, one of the soldiers burst into the dugout, he was standing in a trench. All in blood: a fragment pierced his arm. The brigade commander sent him to the first-aid post. Having got out of the dugout, I discovered that my clothes and my right hand were covered in blood. Thank God, the blood is not mine, but this soldier's, apparently, in the turmoil, he smeared me.

As Mikhalych later said, we were "born a second time." After shelling, within a radius of 30 m from the brigade commander's dugout, all bushes and small trees were completely cut off by fragments.

I can't hear well in my right ear. In addition, my shoulder hurts a lot: I hit it. The older one has a little “noise” in his head. This is how the Yuar people “congratulated” him on his birthday.

At 13.20, the 1st battalion of our brigade, sent to comb the area, discovered the UNITA base. As a result of the battle, seven Unitovites were killed, a radio station, 13 machine guns and one anti-tank missile were captured. There are no losses on our side.

At the base, Angolan soldiers found one of the editions of the Unitov press organ, the Kvacha magazine. And it has a photo former boss of the headquarters of the 16th FAPLA brigade, Captain Luis António Mango, who went over to the side of UNITA. Mikhalych knows him well, worked with him last year, when he was still "ours". And in April of this year, he "ran away to UNITA." That's how it happens!

Today the 1st battalion returned from the scratching raid. At the same base, they found another radio station and documents of the 4th regular battalion. UNITA: combat log from June 1986 to September 1987. And interestingly, it quite accurately lists the entire grouping of FAPLA troops, its composition and command, the results of the battles, losses. There is a map of the Cunjamba region, made from aerial photographs in Lisbon, a diagram of the Cuito-Cuanavale region, made by hand. Say what you like, but their intelligence is well placed.

At night, from 21.00 to 23.00, the enemy again fired at the positions of the brigade from "Kentrons" and mortars. As a result, two Faplovites were killed and one wounded.

Today we received a telegram from Kuito with congratulations on the upcoming holiday of the Great October Revolution. Unfortunately, we will probably celebrate again under bombs. I caught Moscow on the radio. The country is preparing for the celebrations, no gu-gu about the war in Angola.

Around 15.00 the enemy began shelling from howitzers with shells with a remote fuse. This is such a muck that breaks in the air, not reaching the ground, and showers everything around with deadly fragments. This is something new!

At 16.30 a column of the 25th brigade arrived to us, they brought food to the Fallovites, and letters to us.

All night long the rumble of engines and close explosions of shells were heard: it was the 59th brigade that was pulling up to us, and the South African artillery "accompanied" it.

In the morning I saw my colleagues from the 59th. They are all right. After the Yuar people poisoned them with gases, the people more or less recovered. Joyful faces, because they are returning “home”, to Kui-to. Hanging out in the woods for almost 4 months. It's hard to imagine, you have to experience it yourself.

Today is exactly a month since we wander through the Angolan forests, and I have the feeling that half my life has passed. All days merge into one. If it’s suddenly quiet, then you start to “go crazy” - why don’t they shoot? What else were they thinking? The shelling begins, you wait for it to end.

This morning we were "visited" by aviation. Apparently, the "Boers" just wanted to congratulate us on the 12th anniversary of the declaration of independence of Angola, and, of course, they brought their "gifts".

And yesterday, all evening, we watched the flights of shells of 155-mm South African howitzers. They are active-reactive and glow in the reactive phase of the flight. This is shelling the area where the 59th brigade is located on the other side of the Shambinga. Our specialists were able to calculate the distance to the howitzers and determine their approximate coordinates. Radioed the coordinates to the district.

This morning I got in touch and found out that Cuito-Cuanavale was fired at night from long-range guns. Fortunately, there were no casualties among us, the runway was not damaged.

Something incomprehensible is happening: the Angolan troops are almost completely demoralized, the brigades are manned by 45 percent, they can answer 10-15 enemy shells with one, and even then not always, our intelligence works poorly, and the enemy knows everything about us. The Angolans are afraid of the South Africans like fire, and if they hear that the Buffalo is attacking, they leave everything in a panic and run. (“Buffalo” is a South African battalion of cutthroat mercenaries, which has proven itself to be atrocities in Angola. It consists of 12 companies of 100 people each. Each company has its own code name: “Lion”, “Fox”, “Wolf”, etc. .Basically covers the regular units of the South African army from the rear and flanks.But often acts independently).

South African artillery and aviation operate with impunity at any time, but our aviation is afraid to fly here, and if it appears, it is at high altitude. And, despite all this, orders continue to come from the district: to take up defense, create a strong reserve (of what only?) for operations on the flank and rear of the advancing enemy, etc. and so on.

This morning, a prisoner was taken in the area of ​​the 3rd battalion. He turned out to be an artillery reconnaissance spotter of the 4th UNITA regular battalion. Himself - a black man, his name is Eugenio Cayumba, he has been serving in UNITA for 3 years, originally from the province of Huambo. Together with him, the English-made 8NA-84 radio station was captured.

According to him, the South Africans operate in the second echelon, and UNITA units are let in ahead. If it is difficult for them, the regular units of South Africa enter the battle, artillery opens fire, and aviation appears. He said that he was forcibly taken away by the Unitovites to their "capital" Zhamba and there he was sent to the Tikre artillery training center, which is 20 km from Zhamba. Trained by South African advisers. He gets confused in his testimony, lies a lot.

This morning, a combat order came for an offensive in the area of ​​​​the source of the Ube. It beautifully painted who and where to attack, what forces, how to use tanks. True, for some reason the order does not say that planetary turning mechanisms (PMP) do not work on all the tanks of the brigade and only one is started from the battery.

It is difficult to describe what happened during these two days (November 16 and 17), one had to experience it. These are the darkest days of the 21st brigade. We ourselves do not understand how they survived and escaped from this inferno. During the night of November 15-16, the enemy, apparently, carried out good reconnaissance, placed fire spotters, and carried out sighting of the area. In general, he did everything that was needed.

November 16 at 6.00 in the morning we lined up in a column and stood in anticipation of the start of the movement. At this time, a tanker approached to refuel the Soviet armored personnel carrier. Our senior was outside when it all started. The first shell exploded ten meters from the armored personnel carrier. How Mikhalych survived, probably only God knows. I jumped into the armored personnel carrier, as if stung. The artillery adviser and I were sitting inside when a wave of hot air mixed with sand hit us in the face.

And then began such shelling, which we have not yet seen. Yuarovtsy beat "in black". From the explosion of shells, our armored personnel carrier was thrown from side to side, we were able to leave the shelling zone only after 40 minutes. We managed to withdraw part of the column led by the brigade commander from the shelling. He could not give an intelligible answer to any of the questions and stuttered badly.

Finally, the brigade commander appeared and began to restore order: he indicated the assembly area, the route of movement. With great difficulty, they gathered a column and moved to the Uba River. And then the Yuar people attacked us again from prepared positions. The brigade, or what was left of it, was pressed against the "shan". The enemy was located in front of us in a semicircle, he was firing intensively, and behind us was this damn shana, the cars could not cross it, the brigade commander ordered to lay a gutter. A small detachment was sent to the other side to cover from a possible enemy attack.

There was a battle ahead, a small handful of Angolans held back the furious onslaught of the Yuarites, and the remnants of the brigade huddled at the "Shana" with "square" eyes of fear. The shelling and attacks continued with short breaks. We prepared for the worst. Collected knapsacks, burned all the documents and extra papers. It was decided, in the event of a breakthrough by the Yuarites, to undermine our armored personnel carriers and BRDM, and then leave on foot through the “shana” in the direction of Kuito.

True, there was still a faint hope for the 25th brigade, which was coming to our aid. But it also collapsed when we heard the voice of the adviser to the brigade commander on the radio. He cursed the Faplovites with a seven-story mat, almost crying: "They're running, you bastards... Everyone is leaving: equipment, weapons, damn it!"

When the road across the shana was almost ready, the enemy began to fire at it, and then on the other bank appeared the fighters of our barrier, crushed by the enemy. The trap, thus, slammed shut, we were surrounded.

The commander of the NTeleka brigade looked questioningly at Mikhalych: "What do you say, kamarada assessor?" At a short meeting, it was decided to gather all available forces into a fist, put in line everything that was left and could shoot: ZU-shki, armored personnel carriers, tanks and .... Thus, four attacks were repulsed.

Soon they found a weak spot in the enemy's battle formations and moved to break through. At about 15 o'clock in the afternoon, they finally broke out of this hell. It's strange, but the Yuar people did not pursue us, or maybe they just got tired of messing with us?

Cars huddled together, exhausted soldiers fell on the grass. Next to us, twenty meters away, a wrecked Faplovsky tank was burning. The shells and cartridges left in it exploded for almost an hour. The sight is not for the faint of heart.

At 16.00, the advisers of the 25th got in touch and reported that they managed to break away from the persecution of the South Africans. They go to join us.

In the evening, reconnaissance dragged a prisoner from Unitov. He turned out to be the captain, the rear. He said that in this battle, a brigade of regular South African troops, a Buffalo battalion and a regular UNITA battalion acted against us. When the swimmers saw the prisoner, the soldiers of both brigades fled. Their eyes burned, they all shouted: “Finish him! What are you doing, kill him!” With great difficulty we managed to drag the excited soldiers back and restore order. They decided to send the prisoner under guard to Kuito.

All night from 16 to 17 November we walked without closing our eyes, trying to get away from the South Africans and reach the crossing over the Shambinga River. The enemy constantly accompanied the column with fire. By four o'clock in the morning on November 17, they approached the crossing. But they couldn’t cross because a truck overturned on the bridge and they couldn’t pull it off.

And so, until eleven o'clock, we stood under fire, waiting for the crossing, not getting enough sleep, hungry, angry as hell. These were the most filthy sensations: to go through so much that at the very end it was covered with a stray shell ?!

Finally, at about eleven, this truck was pushed off the bridge, and the whole column rushed to the crossing. We managed to drive up to her one of the first.

The enemy first hit on the approaches to the crossing, then on the tail of the column, then transferred fire on its head. He fired from the Valkyrie rocket launcher in order to pierce the wheels, knock out the drivers in order to stop the convoy and then shoot it without much difficulty.

Ahead of us, a tank was dragging a faulty armored personnel carrier. He constantly stopped, because of this the column stopped. And the shells were bursting from all sides. The enemy hit from whatever it was possible: from mortars, recoilless guns, 155 mm howitzers, from the Valkyrie.

Even when the column began to move away from the crossing, the enemy accompanied it with fire.

On November 18, they continued to collect the fled swimmers and equipment, to count the losses. Only on November 16, our brigade lost 17 people killed and 86 wounded. And also: 1 tank, two E-25 vehicles, 2 B-10 guns, 1 ZU-23-2.

Lost on November 17: 5 killed and 31 wounded. On all three OSA-AK vehicles, the guidance equipment was disabled from the hit of the Valkyrie shells. There are no casualties among Soviet advisers.

Last night we were listening to the radio and quite by chance caught the news of some Western radio station, it looks like the BBC, but in Portuguese. They transmitted something about the aggression of South Africa in Angola, i.e. about us.

It was said that South Africa continues to increase its aggressive actions against Angola. In the north of Namibia, on the border with the province of Kwan-do-Kubango (this is where we are located), 30 thousand personnel, 400 guns of various calibers, more than 80 aircraft are concentrated. The 8 shock armored battalion entered the territory of the province of Kwan-do-Kubango. We reported all this to the county. In response, they received a telegram with an order to mine the tank-dangerous areas and create a density of anti-tank weapons of 5 pieces per 1 kilometer. How much fun we had! There were almost no mines left in the brigade, and anti-tank weapons - “the cat cried”: 1 B-10, 1 BM-21, 2 Grad-1P, 2 tanks, except for company anti-tank grenade launchers. And all of these need to beat off the South African tanks!

In the evening, as if reluctantly, lazily, they shot at us. And Quito is constantly being hammered, trying to damage the runway.

That night I woke up from the fact that the earth was buzzing. Since we sleep under an armored personnel carrier, in a hole dug under it, the rumble was heard well. Obviously, somewhere nearby is an enemy column.

In the afternoon, Angolan radio news reported that the Angolan Foreign Minister, speaking at the UN, accused South Africa of using chemical munitions against the Angolan army. This happened on October 29 on the Mianei River, when the South Africans used these ammunition against the 59th brigade standing next to us. The UN adopted a resolution obliging South Africa to withdraw all its troops from Angola by December 10. They wanted to sneeze at this resolution, even if General Secretary The UN will come to Angola. Then we came across a radio station from South Africa. The speech of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of South Africa Botha was broadcast. The essence of this speech was that his country would not allow the spread of communism in southern Africa, would take care of its security and withdraw its troops from Angola only after the Cubans and Russians left the country.

And on Soviet radio about Angola, deathly silence. We catch every day and nothing.

Today they sent a telegram to the district asking for my replacement. The consequences of the concussion on November 1 do not go away: my right ear hurts, my left shoulder is obviously dislocated, headaches and dizziness have become more frequent.

All night and morning there was exhausting, exhausting silence: not a single shot, not the sounds of a running engine, nothing. Because of this, we couldn't sleep. And at 6.00 learned that Kuito was fired again. As a result of the shelling, our adviser Colonel Gorb, a specialist in mob work, was killed. He was a good man, already in years, very calm, kind and courteous. Everyone respectfully called him "Uncle". I stayed in Angola for a little over a year.

In the Union - the beginning of winter, but we have heat, it started to rain. The count of days has long been lost, we have been wandering through the forests for almost two months, all days are alike, like two drops of water. On Sunday, however, we are engaged in everyday life: we wash ourselves, we wash ourselves, in a word we put ourselves in order, as far as possible.

Today we moved to a new location. We spent the whole day making arrangements to make our camp at least somehow similar to the dwelling of civilized people. We hammered in stakes and pulled up an awning so that we could hide from the rain and the sun. Knocked down tables for dishes and cooking. In a word, we settle down.

Yesterday again there were fights near the neighbors, but the Faplovites managed to fight back. The 59th brigade set fire to two AM1-90 armored personnel carriers, and the 25th brigade inflicted "great losses in manpower" on the enemy. (Later we learned that in these battles the adviser to the commander of the 59th brigade Gorbach was wounded, and two of our other specialists were shell-shocked).

Today at the headquarters of the brigade summing up. Before that, they listened to a radio press conference in Luanda arranged for Angolan and foreign journalists. It was the same unitovite captain whom our brigade captured on the Uba River. He said that in one of the planes shot down by the Angolans, an instructor colonel, one of the South African aces, died.

This concludes this chronicle. While everything is calm with us, we are standing in the forest. What will happen next? Apparently no one knows this. We have not received letters from home for 1.5 months.

Russia and Angola: a new page in relations between the two countries

The protracted military conflict in Angola, which has been going on since the country's independence in 1975, has cost the lives of more than 500 thousand people; it was attended by soldiers and pilots of South Africa, regular armed Cuban forces; GDR pilots, North Korean and Chinese instructors and advisers (on the side of UNITA), Rhodesian helicopter pilots, French mercenaries (including the legendary Bob Denard) on the side of UNITA, Portuguese and South African mercenaries, US CIA operatives (first with Holden Roberto, an incorrigible alcoholic , and later with Savimbi, who received portable anti-aircraft missile systems"Stinger"), and the pilots of the airline "Air America", who became famous in their time for their participation in covert CIA operations in Vietnam, as well as instructors and money from the most different countries including Brazil, Morocco, Zaire and Saudi Arabia.

Under the Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation, signed in October 1976, the Soviet Union provided economic and military assistance to Angola.

In May 1995, a Russian delegation headed by Secretary of the Security Council Oleg Lobov visited Angola. After the visit to Moscow, a "Protocol of Intentions to Further Strengthen Cooperation" was signed.

A V June 1995 an airmobile detachment was sent to the republic ground forces Russia to assist the work of the UN Verification Mission. The Russian Aviation Group (RAG) included about 130 Russian helicopter pilots. The crews of 7 Mi-8 helicopters were stationed at six regional airfields: from Lubango to Uige. The best pilots of the aviation of the Russian ground forces served in Angola, flying over Afghanistan, Karabakh, Transnistria, Abkhazia, South and North Ossetia and Chechnya.

Recently, military-technical cooperation between Angola and Russia has revived. At the end of November 1998, military transport aircraft Russian Air Force the transfer to Angola of multipurpose MiG-23 fighters, purchased by this country from Russia, began. Under the terms of the contract, the MiGs that were previously stored on Russian bases on conservation, during December they were delivered to Angola, assembled, flown and transferred to the personnel of the national air force. In addition, Russian specialists took upon themselves the restoration of the combat readiness of the MiG-23 and MiG-21 that Angola had before.

Missing Russian pilots

According to the meager official data of the Angolan side, the An-26B aircraft of the Perm Motors airline, which carried out air transportation on the domestic airlines of Angola under a contract with Prestavia (Angola), crashed during a flight on September 3, 1998 on the route Luanda - Kafunfo — Luanda after departure from Kafunfo airport. According to Angolan television, citing the country's General Staff, the plane was shot down by a unit of the UNITA movement, which is in opposition to the Angolan authorities. An-26 caught fire and fell on the territory controlled by UNITA militants. According to unconfirmed reports, the plane made an emergency landing. Since then, there has been no information about the fate of the liner commander Vitaly Viktorovich Dudko, navigator Pavel Viktorovich Pushkarev, pilot Valery Anatolyevich Chuvyrin and flight engineer Valery Gennadievich Semkov. The search activities carried out by the Angolan side did not bring any results. Later, according to the information of the Ambassador of the Russian Federation in Angola Raevsky V.N., the place of the plane crash was discovered (1 km south of the route Kafunfu-Luanda). In early October 1998, the crew commander Dudko got in touch with the Il-76 flying to Dunda and transmitted the following information: “The crew is being held captive by the UNITA field commander on the territory of Zaire. One crew member was injured. The crew flies from a base in Zaire to Angola to UNITA airfields. In parallel with the AN-26, the AN-12, previously hijacked from Angola to Zaire, is operating.

Aircraft AN-12B, owned by the State Research Center of the Russian Federation LII. MM. Gromov, carried out air transportation on the domestic airlines of Angola under a contract with the Maweva company (Angola). The crew of the aircraft: commander Yury Ivanovich Kutyavin (Citizen of the Republic of Belarus), pilot Georgy Viktorovich Stadnik, navigator Evgeny Mikhailovich Romanovsky, flight engineer Alexander Mikhailovich Mityaev.

On October 26, 1998, the aircraft took off from Nzaghi Airport for Luanda. 20 minutes after takeoff, communication with the crew was cut off, distress signals and requests for help were not received from the aircraft. According to the Angolan press (Adoga newspaper), the plane is currently in the city of Kisangani, a stronghold of the rebels in the Congo, the fate of the crew is unknown. According to some operational data, the aircraft in question continued to operate in Zaire.

On May 12, 1999, after taking off from the Luzam airfield (30 km south of Kafunfo), UNITA militants shot down an An-26 aircraft and captured its crew of 3 Russian pilots (commander Alexander Zaitsev). The interview with the crew members was shown on South African TV. Russian representatives in Angola established contact with UNITA via South Africa and reached an agreement on the return of the crew.

At the end of June 1999, the situation was exactly repeated after a forced landing, the crew of the downed aircraft, consisting of 4 Russian citizens, was captured. Later, one of the pilots died from his burns.

As a result of the measures taken by the Russian Embassy in Angola to search for the missing aircraft, search and rescue operations were organized with the involvement of the army units of the Angolan Armed Forces and aircraft of the UN Observer Mission in Angola, which were unsuccessful. The main reason that prevented an effective search was that intense fighting continued in the alleged area of ​​​​the crash.

The issue of missing Russian planes was brought up for discussion by the UN Security Council, which, in its statement of December 23, 1998, clearly articulated the requirement for all interested parties, especially UNITA, to “cooperate closely in the investigation of incidents with missing planes, including the search for their crews and passengers” .

Soviet military advisers and specialists who died in Angola

BAKIN Nikolai Alekseevich, 1929 year of birth. Russian. Colonel, Advisor to the Chief of Operations of the Military District of the Angolan Armed Forces. Died in office September 24, 1977

BELAN Arkady Eliseevich, 1927 year of birth. Ukrainian. Colonel, Advisor to the Chief of the Technical Service of the Military District of the Angolan Armed Forces. Died of illness April 24, 1979

BELOGORTSEV Alexander Nikolaevich, 1929 year of birth. Russian. Lieutenant Colonel, Advisor to the Chief of Staff of the Military Region of the Angolan Armed Forces. Died of wounds 15 August 1978

DANILOV Leonid Alekseevich, 1943 year of birth. Udmurt. Lieutenant Colonel, Advisor to the Chief of the Operations Branch of the Angolan Armed Forces Brigade. He died of illness on November 7, 1978. He was buried in a cemetery in the village of Atiaz, Alnashsky District, Udmurt ASSR.

DROZD Alexander Danilovich, Born in 1937, Byelorussian SSR, Grodno region, Korelichsky district, Mir. Called up by the Lomonosov OGVK of the Leningrad Region. Captain 2nd rank, military adviser in the armed forces of Angola. He died on January 15, 1979. He was buried at the cemetery in the city of Lomonosov, Leningrad Region.

SAMOSUSHEV Victor Varfolomeevich, Born in 1941, Perm region, Cherdynsky district, s. Pontino. Russian. Employee of the SA, aircraft mechanic of the group of assemblers of MiG-17f aircraft. He died on February 9, 1976. He was buried in the cemetery in Novobad Leninsky district Tajik SSR.

SKAKUN Grigory Ivanovich, 1941 SSR, Cherkasy region, Zolotinsky district, with. M.Kaevtsy. Ukrainian. He was called up by the Chernobaevsky RVC of the Cherkasy region. Ensign, specialist in the operation of portable shooting equipment. He died of wounds on March 13, 1979. He was buried on March 18, 1979 at the cemetery in Cherkasy.

STRELKOV Petr Dmitrievich, Born in 1941, Belorussian SSR, Bykhov district, s. Skinny. Belarusian. Employee of the SA, senior driver-mechanic of the office of the chief military adviser in the armed forces of Angola. He died on August 4, 1978. He was buried at the Volkovskoye cemetery, Mytishchi district, Moscow region.

SUVEYKA Nikolay Vasilievich. Captain 3rd rank, head of the workshop. Died of illness November 6, 1978

SHABLO Viktor Ivanovich, Born in 1947, Ukrainian SSR, Sumy region, p. Lower Syrovatka. Ukrainian. Called by the Mukachevo RVC of the Transcarpathian region. Ensign, specialist in the simulator of anti-tank guided missiles in the armed forces of Angola. He died in February 1976. He was buried on March 10, 1976 in a cemetery in the village. Borodivka, Mukachevo region.

Civil War in Angola armed conflict between three rival factions: MPLA, FNLA and UNITA. Continued during 1975 - March 30, 2002 Participants: MPLA, FNLA and UNITA. It ended with the victory of the MPLA.

After the armed forces of the MPLA, on the eve of the declaration of independence, established control over Luanda, the failure of the Alvor agreements on coalition government. Three Angolan movements - MPLA, FNLA, UNITA - turned to their external allies for help.

As a result, already on September 25, 1975, Zairian troops entered the territory of Angola from the north: President Mobutu Sese Seko assisted the FNLA and his relative, Holden Roberto.

Since the Marxist MPLA collaborated with SWAPO, on October 14, 1975, the South African army invaded Angola from the south, supporting UNITA, with the aim of protecting their occupation regime in Namibia.

At the same time, few but active detachments of the Portuguese Liberation Army (ELP) crossed the Angolan border from the territory of Namibia, acting on the side of forces hostile to the MPLA. Their target was Luanda.

In this situation, MPLA chairman Agostinho Neto turned to the USSR and Cuba for help. Cuban leader Fidel Castro reacted immediately by sending volunteer Cuban detachments to help the MPLA in Angola. The arrival of Cuban military specialists in Angola made it possible for the MPLA to quickly form 16 infantry battalions and 25 anti-aircraft and mortar batteries of the armed forces of the People's Republic of Angola (NRA). Until the end of 1975, the USSR sent about 200 military specialists to help the MPLA, warships of the USSR Navy also arrived on the Angolan coast. The USSR and its allies supplied the MPLA with a large number of various weapons.

Cuban and Soviet support provided the MPLA with a significant military advantage over the opposing FNLA formations. Holden Roberto's troops were manned by poorly trained Bakongo soldiers and equipped with mostly obsolete Chinese weapons. The most combat-ready unit of the FNLA was a detachment of mercenaries recruited in Western Europe, but it was not numerous and did not have heavy weapons.

On the night of November 10-11, 1975, the troops of the FNLA and Zaire suffered a decisive defeat in the battle of Quifangondo. On November 11, 1975, the independence of Angola was proclaimed under the rule of the MPLA.

On November 12, 1975, a convoy of South African Zulu troops went on the offensive. In 20 days, South African troops advanced more than 700 km deep into Angolan territory. However, already on November 17, 1975, the MPLA troops, with the support of the Cubans, managed to stop the South African armored column at the bridge over the Keve River, north of the city Gangula. A few days later, MPLA troops launched an offensive in the Porto Ambain area. By December 5, 1975, the combined forces of FAPLA and Cuban volunteers pushed back opponents to the north and south of the capital by 100 km.

January 6, 1976 Carmona (Uizhi) - the main base of the FNLA in the north of Angola - passed into the hands of the MPLA. A week later, the FNLA troops, turning into a stampede, left the territory of Angola. The MPLA was able to transfer its forces to the south. Strong fighting unfolded in the areas of Vila Luso and Teixeira de Sauza. Savimbi was forced to announce UNITA's transition to guerrilla warfare.

In early February 1976, military operations on the northern front were already in the zone bordering Zaire. On February 8, 1976, the MPLA fighters occupied the important strategic city of Santo Antoño do Zayri, and the next day, already in a southerly direction, they entered the city of Huambo (Nova Lijboa). Developing success, the MPLA detachments over the next days took the port cities of Benguela, Lobita and Sa da Bandeira. With the capture of the city of Pedro da Feitis on February 18, 1976, the MPLA forces established control over the northern border of the country.

By the end of March 1976, the armed forces of the NRA, with the direct support of the 15,000th contingent of Cuban volunteers and the help of Soviet military specialists, managed to oust the troops of South Africa and Zaire from the territory of Angola. The war was continued by the UNITA movement, led by Jonas Savimbi, who managed to quickly transform into a partisan army.

From January to June 1980, the Angolan authorities recorded 529 cases of violation of the Angolan border by the armed forces of South Africa.

In August 1981, motorized columns of South Africa numbering 11 thousand people, supported by heavy artillery, aircraft and helicopters, invaded the Angolan province of Kunene, advancing in some areas by 150-200 km. But in the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe city of Cahama, they were blocked by the FAPLA detachments (People's Armed Forces for the Liberation of Angola). At the end of the summer of 1982, 4 motorized infantry brigades, 50 aircraft and 30 helicopters were additionally deployed here. During this period, an attempt was made to capture the settlements of Kuvelay and Letala. At the end of 1982, the Angolan and South African governments began negotiations on a ceasefire, but on January 31, 1983, units of the South African army penetrated into the province of Benguela and blew up a hydroelectric power station, which led to a new round of escalation of the conflict. Only in March 1984 did the parties sign a ceasefire agreement in Lusaka. But the war with UNITA continued.

In the summer - autumn of 1987, another large-scale FAPLA offensive failed, the purpose of which was to finally put an end to the UNITA partisans. In November 1987, UNITA troops attacked the government garrison at Cuito Cuanavale. Cuban units came to the aid of government troops, and then the South African army intervened in the battle. Fighting continued until August 5, 1988, when a ceasefire agreement was reached in Geneva with the South African government. The South Africans and UNITA could not dislodge the government troops. Savimbi did not recognize the decisions of the peace agreement and continued the war.

On June 31, 1991, the Lisbon Peace Accords were concluded between the MPLA and UNITA on holding free elections. Elections were held in the autumn of 1992, and the victory of the MPLA was announced. Savimbi refused to admit defeat and demanded a second vote. The Halloween massacre organized by the MPLA killed tens of thousands of people, mostly members of UNITA, but also of the FNLA. After that, hostilities resumed with renewed vigor.

The most intense fighting took place in the province of Huambo. Intense fighting continued until mid-1994. A new peace agreement was concluded in Lusaka, which was soon thwarted by both sides. A massive offensive by government troops unfolded in 1998-1999. By the beginning of 2000, the main strongholds of UNITA were taken by government forces, including the cities of Bailundo (the political capital of the opposition) and Jamba (the main military base).

In February 2002, Georges Savimbi was killed in a shootout with government troops near the town of Lucusse, in the eastern province of Moxico. His successor, António Dembo, announced the continuation of the armed struggle, but soon died from wounds received in the same battle where Savimbi died. The leadership of UNITA passed to Paulo Lukamba, who was a supporter of a compromise with the government. On March 30, 2002, a ceasefire was concluded in Luena. UNITA was legalized and became the parliamentary opposition party headed by Isaiah Samakuva.

One of the conditions for peace, the UNITA group demanded the reburial of the embalmed body of Agoshtinho Neto from the mausoleum. The end of hostilities in Angola coincides with the end of the Second Congolese War, before which the forces of the DRC and Angola mutually supported each other, as opposed to the alliance of the former authorities of Zaire and UNITA (previously also supported by the United States and South Africa).

One of the grave consequences of the war, complicating the peaceful development of Angola, are anti-personnel mines, which were used uncontrollably by all parties to the conflict.

Little is said about this, but during the years of the Cold War, the USSR defended its interests not only in the countries of the social bloc, but also in distant Africa. Our military participated in many African conflicts, the largest of which was the civil war in Angola.

unknown war

The fact that the Soviet military fought in Africa, for a long time it was not customary to speak. Moreover, 99% of the citizens of the USSR did not know that there was a Soviet military contingent in distant Angola, Mozambique, Libya, Ethiopia, North and South Yemen, Syria and Egypt. Of course, rumors were heard, but they, not confirmed by official information from the pages of the Pravda newspaper, were treated with restraint, like stories and conjectures.
Meanwhile, only through the line of the 10th Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the USSR from 1975 to 1991, 10,985 generals, officers, ensigns and privates passed through Angola. During the same time, 11,143 Soviet military personnel were sent to Ethiopia. If we also take into account the Soviet military presence in Mozambique, then we can talk about more than 30 thousand Soviet military specialists and privates on African soil.

However, despite such a scale, the soldiers and officers who performed their "international duty" were as if non-existent, they were not given orders and medals, the Soviet press did not write about their exploits. It was as if they did not exist for official statistics. As a rule, the military cards of participants in African wars did not contain any records of business trips to the African continent, but simply an inconspicuous stamp with a unit number, behind which the 10th Directorate of the General Staff of the USSR was hidden. This state of affairs was well reflected in his poem by the military translator Alexander Polivin, who wrote during the battles for the city of Cuitu-Cuanavale

“Where have we, my friend, been brought with you,
Probably a big and necessary thing?
And they tell us: “You couldn’t be there,
And the earth did not turn red with the blood of Russian Angola "

First soldiers

Immediately after the overthrow of the dictatorship in Portugal, on November 11, 1975, when Angola gained its long-awaited independence, the first military specialists, forty special forces and military translators appeared in this African country. Fifteen years of fighting with the colonial troops, the rebels were finally able to come to power, but this power still had to be fought for. At the helm of Angola was a coalition of three national liberation movements: the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), the National Union for the Complete Independence of Angola (UNITA) and the National Front for the Liberation of Angola (FNLA). The Soviet Union decided to support the MPLA. With the departure of the Portuguese, Angola became a real battlefield for geopolitical interests. The MPLA, which was supported by Cuba and the USSR, was opposed by UNITA, FNLA and South Africa, which, in turn, were supported by Zaire and the United States.

What did they fight for?

What did the USSR achieve when it sent its "African special forces" to distant lands, to distant Africa? The goals were primarily geopolitical. Angola was seen by the Soviet leadership as an outpost of socialism in Africa, it could become our first enclave in South Africa and could withstand the economically powerful South Africa, which, as you know, was supported by the United States.

During the years of the Cold War, our country could not afford to lose Angola, it was necessary to help the new leadership of the country by all means, to make the country a model African socialist state, oriented in its political tasks to the Soviet Union. In terms of trade relations, Angola was of little interest to the USSR, the export areas of the countries were similar: timber, oil and diamonds. It was a war for political influence.

Fidel Castro once said succinctly about the significance of Soviet assistance: "Angola would have no prospects without the political and logistical assistance of the USSR."

How and in what did they fight?

From the very beginning of the USSR's military participation in the African conflict, they were given carte blanche to conduct military operations. This was reported by a telegram received from the General Staff, which indicated that military specialists have the right to take part in hostilities on the side of the MPLA and Cuban troops.

In addition to the "manpower", which consisted of military advisers, officers, ensigns, privates, sailors and combat swimmers (the USSR seconded several of its military ships to the shores of Angola), weapons and special equipment were also supplied to Angola.

However, as Sergey Kolomnin, a participant in that war, recalls, weapons were still not enough. However, the opposing side also lacked it. Most of all, of course, there were Kalashnikov assault rifles, both Soviet and foreign (Romanian, Chinese and Yugoslav) assembly. There were also Portuguese Zh-3 rifles left over from colonial times. The principle of "how we can help" was manifested in the supply to Angola of the remaining from the time of the Great Patriotic War reliable, but somewhat outdated by that time PPD, PPSh and Degtyarev machine guns.

The uniform of the Soviet military in Angola was without insignia, at first it was customary to wear the Cuban uniform, the so-called "verde olivo". It was not very comfortable in the hot African climate, but the military, as a rule, does not choose their wardrobe. Soviet soldiers had to resort to army ingenuity, to order lighter uniforms from tailors. Make changes to ammo official level, Lieutenant General Petrovsky once conceived to add insignia to it and change the material, but his proposals were met with hostility by the command. People were dying on the Angolan fronts, and it was considered frivolous to deal with issues of form in such conditions.

Change of course

Angola, as well as Lebanon and other African countries, we missed. Now we can talk about it. When the USSR collapsed and the political course changed in the country, our military contingent was withdrawn from Africa. A holy place, as you know, is never empty. The President of the same Angola, Dus Santos (who, by the way, graduated from Baku University and is married to a Russian) had to look for new allies. And, not surprisingly, they were the United States.

The Americans immediately stopped supporting UNITA and switched to helping the MPLA. Today, American oil companies operate in Angola, Angolan oil is supplied to China, has its own interests in Angola and Brazil. At the same time, Angola itself remains one of the poorest countries in the world with a poverty rate of 60 percent, outbreaks of the HIV epidemic and total unemployment.

Soviet Africa turned out to be an unfulfilled dream, and several hundred Soviet military men who had been sent there to fulfill their "international duty" would never return.

Since the mid 70s. of the last century, this former Portuguese colony became the object of a multi-level confrontation. At the national level, the war was fought between the MPLA national liberation movement that came to power and the armed opposition from UNITA and the FNLA, at the regional level between Angola and South Africa, and, finally, on a global level, two superpowers competed - the USSR and the USA. National liberation movements were also involved in this conflict: SWAPO, fighting for the liberation of Namibia, and the ANC, which opposed the usurpation of power in South Africa by the white minority.

The scope of the confrontation, as well as the number of forces involved in the conflict, went far beyond the boundaries of one country and at an ever-increasing pace turned this hot spot on the planet into a large-scale zone of instability, threatening to turn into a hotbed of global conflict between the leading nuclear powers.

Almost for the first time in the history of the USSR, the Soviet leadership set the task thousands of kilometers from the borders of their Fatherland, in distant South Africa, to help another country in building a national army, repelling external aggression and fighting against internal armed opposition. And not only. The leadership of the USSR, regardless of the means, sought to turn Angola into the standard of an African socialist state, completely and completely oriented towards the Soviet Union. In the broad sense of the word, Angola, which occupied an important geostrategic position and rich natural resources(oil, diamonds, iron ore), was considered by the Soviet leadership as a kind of key to Africa, as a base for spreading its political and military influence in the region.

In terms of global confrontation with the United States, Angola was an important object of interest on the part of the leadership of the Soviet Armed Forces. After the declaration of independence of Angola, an agreement was signed between the USSR and the NRA on the use of its military infrastructure. Soon, the naval bases of Angola came under the control of the Soviet operational squadron, airfields were provided for landings of our strategic, reconnaissance, transport and anti-submarine aviation. And thousands of military advisers have been sent to this country to create a national armed forces.

"BATTLE FOR CUITU-CUANAVALE"

Soviet military aid went to Angola in a wide stream. Only in the three months that have passed since the declaration of independence on November 11, 1975, 27 large-tonnage transports from the USSR and Cuba arrived from the USSR to the ports of Angola, controlled by MPLA detachments, with military equipment, vehicles, weapons and ammunition. Weapons for the MPLA were also supplied by Yugoslavia, the GDR, and Algeria.

In total, up to April 1976, up to 30 Mi-8 helicopters, 10 MiG-17 and MiG-19 fighters, 12 MiG-21 vehicles of various modifications, 70 T-34 tanks were delivered from the USSR only to the MPLA, and then the government formed by it , 200 T-54 tanks, 50 PT-76 amphibious tanks, more than 300 BTR-152, BTR-60PB, BMP-1 and BRDM, about 100 BM-21 and BM-14 multiple rocket launchers. 122-mm artillery systems D-30, mortars, anti-aircraft guns ZIS-3-76, ZPU-1, ZU-23-4, ZU-23-2, portable anti-aircraft missile systems "Strela-2" and in large quantities were also sent modern firearms. Most of of this weapon was supplied "in the interests of the Cubans" who arrived in Angola to help the MPLA.

Trying to prevent the complete defeat of UNITA, its faithful ally in the region, the South African army repeatedly invaded Angola. The selected forces of the group of South African troops, concentrated on the border of Angola with Namibia, in particular the Buffalo battalion, the 101st "black" battalion of the territorial forces of Namibia and the 61st mechanized brigade of the South African Armed Forces participated in the battles on Angolan territory. In total, the grouping of South African troops in the border areas consisted of about 20 thousand soldiers and officers, up to 150 tanks and armored personnel carriers, 400 artillery pieces. The actions of the ground troops were supported by more than 80 modern combat and transport aircraft and helicopters.

The largest confrontation between the Angolan-Cuban troops and the South African and unitite formations during the entire Angolan conflict was the "Battle of Quito Cuanavale" in 1987-1988. (in South Africa, this operation was codenamed "Modular"). According to official Angolan government data, during this operation, about 1,400 counter-revolutionaries were destroyed, more than 1,380 pieces of artillery and small arms were captured, and up to 40 aircraft and helicopters of the South African Air Force were shot down. The scale of the hostilities is evidenced by the fact that from August 1987 to May 1988, the Angolan and Cuban Air Forces made 2950 sorties from the airfields of Quito Cuanavale and Menonge. About 1,100 of them had to carry out combat missions of delivering missile and bomb strikes against ground forces, during which hundreds of unitite and South African soldiers and officers, as well as dozens of military equipment, were destroyed.

According to South Africa, the South African Mirage F-1AZ and Buccaneer aircraft made about 700 sorties during the operation, dropped 3068 bombs on the positions of the Angolan and Cuban troops: 1658 250-kilogram fragmentation bombs, 872 120-kg fragmentation and 105 120-kg high-explosive.

The "Battle of Quitu Cuanavale" was a turning point in the history of Angola. It marked the beginning of the "divorce" of Cuban and South African troops. After more than 14 months of continuous fighting in the Angolan savannah, the parties, convinced that they could not solve all the problems by military means, began negotiations. And in the end, a decision was made on the phased and simultaneous withdrawal of Cuban and South African troops from Angola. An agreement to this effect was signed in New York on December 22, 1988.

But for more than 10 years, a civil war continued in the country. Its main generator was the leader of UNITA Savimbi, who did not want to make concessions to the Angolan government. However, the success of the Armed Forces of Angola in the offensive against UNITA positions in the center of the country during Operation Restoration forced the UNITA detachments to retreat. Parts and units of the Angolan government army (FAA) conducted in 2000-2001. a number of operations to clean up the territory from armed opposition in the provinces of Huambu, Bie, Malanje, Moshiko, North and South Lunda, during which they achieved significant success. Finally, in February 2002, during the operation of the Angolan troops "Kissonde" in the province of Moshiku, not far from the border with Zambia, UNITA leader Savimbi was ambushed and killed. The military confrontation in Angola, which lasted almost thirty years, ended.

HALO OF MYSTERY

The war in Angola remains largely unknown to most Russian citizens today. An aura of mystery and mystery is created around the stay of Soviet military personnel there. Most of the Soviet military personnel who visited Angola, to this day, have no records of their stay in Africa in their personal files. It's good if instead of the entry about the "special business trip" there is an inconspicuous stamp with the number of the military unit, behind which the 10th Main Directorate of the General Staff of the USSR Armed Forces was hidden. Many cannot count on the benefits granted to combatants: try, prove your involvement in the events of those years:

The bulk of the Soviet military personnel who visited Angola are officers and warrant officers, practitioners in the combat use and maintenance of weapons and military equipment, pilots, staff workers, commanders with experience in commanding companies, battalions, regiments and even large formations, as well as military translators. The first group of 40 people, consisting of specialists in combat use and military translators, arrived in Angola immediately after the country's independence on November 11, 1975. She had carte blanche to participate in hostilities: on the way from Moscow, a secret cipher telegram was received, which "allowed Soviet military specialists to take part in hostilities on the side of the MPLA forces and the Cuban troops."

One of the first chief military advisers in Angola was the experienced General I. Ponomarenko, who commanded in the USSR guards army deployed in wartime states. Until now, Colonel General K. Kurochkin, who gained fame among the Angolans and Cubans as "General Konstantin", is warmly remembered in Angola. Having experience of the Great Patriotic War and military operations in Afghanistan, he came to Africa from the post of deputy commander of the Airborne Forces. Colonel General V. Belyaev, who was in 1988-1991, also served in the Airborne Forces. Deputy and then chief military adviser in Angola.

Only during the period of official military cooperation between the USSR and Angola, from 1975 to 1991, about 11 thousand Soviet military personnel visited this African country in order to assist in the construction of the national army, of which 107 were generals and admirals, 7211 officers, more than 3, 5 thousand ensigns, midshipmen, privates, as well as workers and employees of the SA and Navy, not counting family members of Soviet military personnel. In addition, during this period, off the coast of Angola, they carried military service thousands of Soviet military sailors, including marines, who were on board the warships that called at the ports of Angola.

Our servicemen, who wore someone else's uniform and did not have any identity documents with them, often had to live in tents and dugouts, constantly experiencing serious domestic inconveniences and deprivations: lack of water, electricity, proper nutrition and medical care. And often, going on joint combat operations with the Angolans, they took up machine guns and machine guns, sat at the controls of infantry fighting vehicles and levers of tanks, fire control panels for rocket and anti-aircraft installations. They were real military professionals who did a lot to create the Armed Forces of Angola. The fact that the Angolan army, starting from the mid-80s of the 20th century, became practically on an equal footing "to talk" with the most combat-ready army of the African continent at that time - the army of South Africa - is a huge merit of thousands of Soviet officers and generals, in different time working in Angola.

But not all of them were destined to return to their homeland. Some had to give their lives to this African country.

SORRY LIST

It is believed that in the period up to 1991, during the fighting in Angola, 54 Soviet citizens were killed and died, including 45 officers, 5 ensigns, 2 conscripts and two employees. During this period, 10 people were injured, and one Soviet soldier, Ensign Pestretsov, during the South African aggression in August 1981, was captured by South Africa and spent about a year and a half in South African prisons. Only thanks to the painstaking work of the employees of the Soviet Foreign Ministry and secret negotiations with the South African intelligence services, he was released.

However, the figures given are official figures. They do not take into account the intensity of hostilities and the degree of involvement of Soviet advisers and specialists in them, as well as the losses of civilian specialists who died and were captured along with the military - the Angolan war did not spare anyone. It is no secret that many of the wounded and dead in that war were registered as "died of natural causes" or "sick from tropical diseases." Therefore, there is reason to believe that there were much more dead Soviet citizens in Angola at that time. How many? This remains to be seen, since the archives on military-political cooperation with Angola are still classified.

"The land of Angola is soaked with the blood of the dead Cubans," Tenhiwe Mtintso, the South African ambassador to Cuba, said in 2005. During the entire time of the civil war in Angola, Havana sent more than 300 thousand Cuban troops here, more than 4 thousand of whom died. Why did a distant Latin American country make such sacrifices, having been embroiled in an internal conflict for more than fifteen years?

Loyalty to the ideas of the world revolution

The situation in Angola, which had been fighting for its independence from Portugal since 1961, began to deteriorate again in 1975 on the eve of the final withdrawal of the Portuguese. The fact is that there was no unity in the ranks of the Angolan national liberation movement. Three independent anti-colonial forces operated in the country: the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), led by Agostinho Neto, the National Liberation Front of Angola (FNLA) and the National Union for the Complete Independence of Angola (UNITA). The situation was complicated in connection with the military intervention of South Africa, which supported UNITA. The USSR and Cuba supported the MPLA, which adhered to Marxist ideas.

In the Angolan conflict, Cuba acted independently and was much more active than the USSR, which for a long time did not recognize the presence of its military specialists in Angola. Cuban military instructors were sent to the Portuguese colony even before independence, in the summer of 1975, in order to prepare MPLA units for their subsequent reorganization into a regular army. In August 1975, the intervention of South Africa began, which supported UNITA, and in early November, Cuba decided to send its regular troops to help the MPLA. According to some reports, this was done without the consent of the USSR. The Cuban military played one of decisive roles in the battle for Luanda, which culminated in the proclamation of the independent People's Republic of Angola on November 11, 1975 and the coming to power of the MPLA. This was the beginning of Operation Carlotta, which lasted until the withdrawal of Cuban troops from Angola in 1991. By the beginning of 1976, the military contingent sent by Havana to this African country reached thirty-six thousand people. In general, in civil war more than 300,000 Cuban troops took part in Angola.

Why was Cuba so interested in supporting this distant African country? Two factors played a big role here: historical and ideological.

In March 1976, addressing his people, Fidel Castro declared: “We Cubans helped our Angolan brothers, first of all, because we proceeded from revolutionary principles, because we are internationalists. Secondly, we did it because our people are both Hispanic and Latino African. Millions of Africans were brought to Cuba by the colonizers as slaves. Part of the Cuban blood is African blood.”

Thus, the operation in Angola reflected the foreign policy strategy of Cuba, which intended to become the first Latin American state to fight on another continent in the name of the idea of ​​world revolution.

Significance for the entire African continent

Cuba's actions in Angola had repercussions for other African countries as well. One of the most significant battles of the Angolan Civil War is the battle that the Cubans nicknamed "Angolan Stalingrad". It really became a turning point not only in the protracted civil war, but also in the fight against South African apartheid. We are talking about the battle of Cuito Cuanavale in 1987-1988, which ended with the victory of the Angolan government forces and led to the withdrawal of South African troops from Angola and the liberation of Namibia, and also brought the African National Congress to power in South Africa. Nelson Mandela himself acknowledged that "Quito Cuanavale was a turning point in the struggle for freedom" of the black population of South Africa. And Fidel Castro emphasized that "the end of apartheid was put in Cuito Cuanavale and in the southeast of Angola, with the participation of more than 40 thousand Cuban fighters on this front, along with Angolan and Namibian soldiers."

Without the Cubans, this victory might not have happened. In 1987, the Angolan government attempted an attack on Maviga, a UNITA base in the province of Cuando Cubango. The help of South Africa allowed the Unitovites to repel this attack and launch an offensive against the stronghold of government troops in Cuito Cuanavale. Then, in November 1987, Fidel Castro transferred additional forces and equipment to Angola. The USSR also sent aid to the country's government. The offensive of UNITA and South African troops was stopped on November 16, 10-15 km from Cuito Cuanavale, the defense of which continued until March 1988. After an unsuccessful attempt at a decisive assault on the city by UNITA and South Africa, the Angolan-Cuban troops launched a counteroffensive. By the end of May, they were ten kilometers from the border with Namibia. This forced South Africa to enter into negotiations, which ended with the signing in December of the same year of the Brazzaville Protocol, which provided for the withdrawal of both South African and Cuban troops from Angola.

The Angolan operation was the largest for Cuba. In Africa, the Cubans once again demonstrated their loyalty to revolutionary thinking and the principles of internationalism.