By Johan Schoeman on
2011/11/18 11:52 AM
October, 1981 — Southern Angola
SWAPO had suffered heavy losses during Operation Carnation and Operation Protea which were executed in the western and southern theatres of Southern Angola. Because of this, the situation was as follows:
· The North-Eastern Front (NEF) was cut off from the rest of the SWAPO forces.
· The Northern Front (NF) Headquarters had dispersed and the guerrillas had fled in the direction of the command post.
· The morale of SWAPO was low due to the disruption and an acute shortage of food supplies.
· A battalion SWAPO guerrillas had arrived at the command post in order to lay ambushes towards the south as protection.
FAPLA forces had withdrawn towards the north to join units further north. They were busy with reconnaissance tasks in order to reoccupy towns in Southern Angola.
The on-going process of intelligence-gathering after Protea indicated to the South Africans that SWAPO had moved their command post to a position in thick bush northeast...
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By Johan Schoeman on
2011/11/07 12:00 AM
It was Friday evening, 30 Oct 1981, at Omuthyia,
the base of 61 Mechanised Battalion Group in Northern
South-West Africa, the day before the start of Operation Daisy
(D-6).
It started off as a quiet evening, with all
the “Big Brass” gone for dinner in nearby Tsumeb for their last civilized meal
for the next three weeks. Major Schoeman, an infantry officer (I was not sure
what his appointment was at this time), the RSM, AO1 Barnard, and the junior
officers were left in charge at the base – no one else was allowed to leave so
close to the start of an operation …and the NCO’s and troops of Alpha Company
and Bravo Company (all from 1 SA Infantry Battalion), Charlie Squadron (from 2
Special Service Battalion), Delta Company (H Coy from 1 Parachute Battalion),
and Sierra Battery (from 43 Battery in Walvis Bay). All the training and final
“staal parade” (inspections) had been completed and the troops settled in for a
final day of rest before the movement out to the Assembly Areas on D-5.
Three...
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By Johan Schoeman on
2011/01/11 05:36 AM
I had a few 'Close Encounters of the MiG kind', as early as November 1981, during Operation Daisy. I was appointed Battery Captain ("BK") for the 120mm Mortar Battery accompanying 61 Mech into Angola and was responsible for the direct resupply of the battery from the "A Echelon". In the artillery we have an officer doing this job, unlike in other corps where the responsibility usually falls on the Company Sergeant-Major. I was only a young 19 year old "bicycle" (2nd Lieutenant) and I was leading the A Echelon vehicles (mosly Samil-100 10ton trucks - no mine-resistant Kwêvoëls available for us then). Most were loaded to capacity with 120mm mortar ammunition followed by some general supplies (like toilet paper - THE most required personal commodity in the echelon!).
So there I was, despite almost 2 years of gunnery training, stuck in the cab of a 10ton truck, hauling supplies - usually the lot of the youngest PF officer in the battery, although it was supposed to be a Captain's job, hence the title "Battery...
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