E-Books →War of Intervention in Angola Volume 2 - Angolan and Cuban Forces, 1976-1983

Nevertheless, the war went on. The MPLA's government failed to decisively defeat UNITA, in southern Angola, and then found itself facing a coup attempt from within in May 1977. Crushed in blood, this resulted in thousands being jailed and tortured: many more escaped abroad, where they reinforced the ranks of the battered opposition.
The coup prompted the Soviets to attempt increasing their influence with the aim of establishing permanent military bases in the country. While all such overtures were turned down, Angolan operations along the border to what was then the South-West Africa (subsequently Namibia) in October 1980, combined with the increased activity of SWAPO - an insurgency against the South African control of that territory - subsequently Namibia - prompted South Africa to launch another military intervention and resume supporting UNITA. In turn, this prompted not only the Cubans to further increase their military presence, but also the Soviet Union into delivering massive amounts of military aid to the government in Luanda. Angola not only assumed the role of one of the major hot battlefields in the Cold War: its 'civil war' saw a number of major showdowns between diverse belligerents, culminating in the Battle of Cangamba in 1983.
Based on extensive research, with help of Angolan and Cuban sources,
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