THE battle of cuito cuanavale
In October FAPLA’s advancing 47th Brigade at the Lomba River, 40 kilometers south-east of Cuito, was all but destroyed in an attack by SADF forces hastening to UNITA’s rescue.
A scene from the battle. picture: cuba.cu
Several other FAPLA brigades wilted under heavy bombardment but managed to retreat to Cuito, a minor town near the confluence of two rivers that constitute its name, set in the remote expanse of south-east Angola, a region the Portuguese referred to as the Land at the End of the Earth.
Cuito could have been overrun then and there by the SADF, changing the strategic situation overnight. The interior of the country would have been opened up to domination by UNITA with Angola being split in half. But, for whatever reason, the SADF failed to seize the initiative. This allowed an initial contingent of 120 Cuban troops to rush to the town from Menongue, 150 kilometers to the north-west and help organize the defences.
It is from this point in the battle that opinions and interpretations of events differ. How the battle is seen, depends on how the intention of the South African regime is perceived. However, the events that follow FAPLA’s retreat to Cuito are fairly clear. Following the battles at the Lomba River in November 1987, battles on 13 January and 14 and 15 February followed. On 23 March 1988 the SADF launched its last major attack on Cuito Cuanavale.