Operation Modular
Encyclopedia
Operation Modular was a military operation
by the South African Defence Force
(SADF) during the South African Border War
. It formed part of what has come to be called the Battle of Cuito Cuanavale
.
In August 1987, four brigades of the Soviet-backed FAPLA forces (the 47th, 59th, 16th and 21st brigade
s), departed from the Angola
n city of Cuito Cuanavale
with the aim of capturing the UNITA
stronghold at Mavinga
, which was the gateway to Jonas Savimbi
's capital of Jamba
.
The presence of an armoured formation in the form of FAPLA's 47th Brigade was a threat that the relatively lightly armed UNITA could not counter, so it requested assistance from the SADF. South Africa responded by sending a mechanized force, led by a veteran unit of Operation Askari
- 61 Mechanized Battalion. This force left the South-West African town of Rundu
, crossed the border and headed north-west to intercept the 47th Brigade.
The South African force, under the command of Colonel
Deon Ferreira, was tasked with carrying out three operations:
The FAPLA forces did not expect the South Africans to attack directly from the south, resulting in the virtual destruction of the 47th Brigade when the two forces encountered each other near the junction of the Lomba and Cuzizi rivers. This left the FAPLA forces without a screening element south of the Lomba River. At the same time, there was also heavy fighting north of the Lomba River when UNITA forces (composed of the 3rd Regular, 5th Regular, 13th Semi-Regular and 275th Special Forces Battalions) repulsed an attempt by FAPLA's 16th Brigade to capture Cunjamba.
In the wake of these victories, the South African/UNITA forces mopped up the FAPLA survivors in the Lomba-Cuzizi-Conzumbia area and then went over to the offensive in order to push the rest of the FAPLA forces back to Cuito Cuanavale.
Indeed, the battle at Lomba River was the first full-scale tank-on-tank armored battle ever fought in southern Africa
. During the battle, 62 of the 72 deployed T-55
tanks were either destroyed or captured, while the remaining 10 were found abandoned afterwards. The South Africans had two of their tanks put out of action, but were able to repair both. The recovery, under fire, of a crippled Olifant
and the subsequent re-entry of a minefield where the tank was extracted from to extract a wounded soldier, earned Captain Petrus van Zyl and Lieutenant Tobias de Vos of 32 Battalion both Honoris Crux
decorations.
The technological superiority of their G6
and G5
howitzer
s also contributed greatly to the South Africans' victory. This operation was also the first combat service of the Ratel ZT-3
variant, as well as the first deployment of the Olifant
main battle tank
in Angola.
After the FAPLA offensive had been stopped, the South African/UNITA force went over to the offensive, thus ending Operation Modular and beginning Operation Hooper
.
Operation Modular raised the issue of the relevance of a command structure that was centralized in Pretoria, allowing limited freedom in decision-making by the commaning officer in the field. All decisions had to be ratified by General Kat Liebenberg, who was based in Pretoria and thus far removed from the rapidly escalating force build up in Angola. One commentator notes that Kat Liebenberg was dealing with the unraveling of Operation Katzen at the same time that Operation Modular was escalating, suggesting that this caused him to fail in his appreciation of the FAPLA build-up .
Military operation
Military operation is the coordinated military actions of a state in response to a developing situation. These actions are designed as a military plan to resolve the situation in the state's favor. Operations may be of combat or non-combat types, and are referred to by a code name for the purpose...
by the South African Defence Force
South African Defence Force
The South African Defence Force was the South African armed forces from 1957 until 1994. The former Union Defence Force was renamed to the South African Defence Force in the Defence Act of 1957...
(SADF) during the South African Border War
South African Border War
The South African Border War, commonly referred to as the Angolan Bush War in South Africa, was a conflict that took place from 1966 to 1989 in South-West Africa and Angola between South Africa and its allied forces on the one side and the Angolan government, South-West Africa People's...
. It formed part of what has come to be called the Battle of Cuito Cuanavale
Battle of Cuito Cuanavale
The Battle of Cuito Cuanavale in 1987/88 was an important episode in the Angolan Civil War . Between 9 September and 7 October 1987, the Angolan Army , in an attempt to finally subdue the Angolan insurgent movement UNITA in south-eastern Angola, was decisively repelled in a series of battles at the...
.
In August 1987, four brigades of the Soviet-backed FAPLA forces (the 47th, 59th, 16th and 21st brigade
Brigade
A brigade is a major tactical military formation that is typically composed of two to five battalions, plus supporting elements depending on the era and nationality of a given army and could be perceived as an enlarged/reinforced regiment...
s), departed from the Angola
Angola
Angola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city...
n city of Cuito Cuanavale
Cuito Cuanavale
Cuito Cuanavale is a town and municipality in Cuando Cubango province in Angola. The names Kuito Kuanavale or Kwito Kwanavale are sometimes used, although this is a mutation of the original Portuguese name....
with the aim of capturing the UNITA
UNITA
The National Union for the Total Independence of Angola is the second-largest political party in Angola. Founded in 1966, UNITA fought with the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola in the Angolan War for Independence and then against the MPLA in the ensuing civil war .The war was one...
stronghold at Mavinga
Mavinga, Cuando Cubango
Mavinga is a town and municipality in the Cuando Cubango province of Angola. The area spans 44,347 km² and contains about 30,000 inhabitants. It comprises the communes of Mavinga, Cunjamba/Dime, Cutuile and Luengue....
, which was the gateway to Jonas Savimbi
Jonas Savimbi
Jonas Malheiro Savimbi was an Angolan political leader. He founded and led UNITA, a movement that first waged a guerrilla war against Portuguese colonial rule, 1966–1974, then confronted the rival MPLA during the decolonization conflict, 1974/75, and after independence in 1975 fought the ruling...
's capital of Jamba
Jamba
Places*Jamba, Cuando Cubango, Angola, former base of rebel group UNITA*Jamba, Huíla, Angola, location of the airport with the IATA code JMB *Jamba, Moxico Province, AngolaPeople*Almerindo Jaka Jamba, an Angolan politician...
.
The presence of an armoured formation in the form of FAPLA's 47th Brigade was a threat that the relatively lightly armed UNITA could not counter, so it requested assistance from the SADF. South Africa responded by sending a mechanized force, led by a veteran unit of Operation Askari
Operation Askari
Operation Askari was a military operation by the South African Defence Force during the South African Border War and Angolan Civil War....
- 61 Mechanized Battalion. This force left the South-West African town of Rundu
Rundu
Rundu is the capital of the Kavango Region, northern Namibia, on the border with Angola on the banks of the Okavango River about 1000 m above sea level. The place normally receives an annual average rainfall of , although in the 2010/2011 rainy season were measured.Rundu grows rapidly...
, crossed the border and headed north-west to intercept the 47th Brigade.
The South African force, under the command of Colonel
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
Deon Ferreira, was tasked with carrying out three operations:
- Operation Modular - The aim of which was to halt and reverse the FAPLA advance on the UNITA strongholds of Mavinga and Jamba.
- Operation HooperOperation HooperOperation Hooper was a military operation by the South African Defence Force during the South African Border War. This operation forms part of what has come to be called the Battle of Cuito Cuanavale....
- The aim of which was to inflict maximum casualties on the retreating FAPLA forces after they had been halted. - Operation PackerOperation PackerOperation Packer was a military operation by the South African Defence Force during the South African Border War and Angolan Civil War. This operation forms part of what became known as the Battle of Cuito Cuanavale....
- The aim of which was to force the FAPLA forces to retreat to the west of the Cuito River.
The FAPLA forces did not expect the South Africans to attack directly from the south, resulting in the virtual destruction of the 47th Brigade when the two forces encountered each other near the junction of the Lomba and Cuzizi rivers. This left the FAPLA forces without a screening element south of the Lomba River. At the same time, there was also heavy fighting north of the Lomba River when UNITA forces (composed of the 3rd Regular, 5th Regular, 13th Semi-Regular and 275th Special Forces Battalions) repulsed an attempt by FAPLA's 16th Brigade to capture Cunjamba.
In the wake of these victories, the South African/UNITA forces mopped up the FAPLA survivors in the Lomba-Cuzizi-Conzumbia area and then went over to the offensive in order to push the rest of the FAPLA forces back to Cuito Cuanavale.
Indeed, the battle at Lomba River was the first full-scale tank-on-tank armored battle ever fought in southern Africa
Southern Africa
Southern Africa is the southernmost region of the African continent, variably defined by geography or geopolitics. Within the region are numerous territories, including the Republic of South Africa ; nowadays, the simpler term South Africa is generally reserved for the country in English.-UN...
. During the battle, 62 of the 72 deployed T-55
T-55
The T-54 and T-55 tanks were a series of main battle tanks designed in the Soviet Union. The first T-54 prototype appeared in March 1945, just before the end of the Second World War. The T-54 entered full production in 1947 and became the main tank for armored units of the Soviet Army, armies of...
tanks were either destroyed or captured, while the remaining 10 were found abandoned afterwards. The South Africans had two of their tanks put out of action, but were able to repair both. The recovery, under fire, of a crippled Olifant
Centurion tank
The Centurion, introduced in 1945, was the primary British main battle tank of the post-World War II period. It was a successful tank design, with upgrades, for many decades...
and the subsequent re-entry of a minefield where the tank was extracted from to extract a wounded soldier, earned Captain Petrus van Zyl and Lieutenant Tobias de Vos of 32 Battalion both Honoris Crux
Honoris Crux
The Honoris Crux Decoration was a South African military decoration that was awarded from 1952 to 2003. There were two distinct versions.-First type:...
decorations.
The technological superiority of their G6
G6 howitzer
The G6 self-propelled howitzer is a South African artillery piece, developed around the ordnance of the G5 howitzer. It is one of the most powerful self-propelled guns on a wheeled chassis....
and G5
G5 howitzer
The G5 is a South African towed howitzer of 155 mm calibre designed with the help of the Canadian scientist Gerald Bull and his company, Space Research Corporation and manufactured by Denel Land Systems.-Production history:...
howitzer
Howitzer
A howitzer is a type of artillery piece characterized by a relatively short barrel and the use of comparatively small propellant charges to propel projectiles at relatively high trajectories, with a steep angle of descent...
s also contributed greatly to the South Africans' victory. This operation was also the first combat service of the Ratel ZT-3
Ratel IFV
The Ratel is the basic Infantry Fighting Vehicle of the South African National Defence Force's mechanized infantry battalions. Ratel is the Afrikaans name for the honey badger, which has a reputation as a ferocious fighter.-History:...
variant, as well as the first deployment of the Olifant
Centurion tank
The Centurion, introduced in 1945, was the primary British main battle tank of the post-World War II period. It was a successful tank design, with upgrades, for many decades...
main battle tank
Tank
A tank is a tracked, armoured fighting vehicle designed for front-line combat which combines operational mobility, tactical offensive, and defensive capabilities...
in Angola.
After the FAPLA offensive had been stopped, the South African/UNITA force went over to the offensive, thus ending Operation Modular and beginning Operation Hooper
Operation Hooper
Operation Hooper was a military operation by the South African Defence Force during the South African Border War. This operation forms part of what has come to be called the Battle of Cuito Cuanavale....
.
Operation Modular raised the issue of the relevance of a command structure that was centralized in Pretoria, allowing limited freedom in decision-making by the commaning officer in the field. All decisions had to be ratified by General Kat Liebenberg, who was based in Pretoria and thus far removed from the rapidly escalating force build up in Angola. One commentator notes that Kat Liebenberg was dealing with the unraveling of Operation Katzen at the same time that Operation Modular was escalating, suggesting that this caused him to fail in his appreciation of the FAPLA build-up .
See also
- 32 Battalion (South Africa)
- Angolan Civil WarAngolan Civil WarThe Angolan Civil War was a major civil conflict in the Southern African state of Angola, beginning in 1975 and continuing, with some interludes, until 2002. The war began immediately after Angola became independent from Portugal in November 1975. Prior to this, a decolonisation conflict had taken...
- List of operations of the South African Border War
- Operation PackerOperation PackerOperation Packer was a military operation by the South African Defence Force during the South African Border War and Angolan Civil War. This operation forms part of what became known as the Battle of Cuito Cuanavale....
- Operation HooperOperation HooperOperation Hooper was a military operation by the South African Defence Force during the South African Border War. This operation forms part of what has come to be called the Battle of Cuito Cuanavale....
- Battle of Cuito CuanavaleBattle of Cuito CuanavaleThe Battle of Cuito Cuanavale in 1987/88 was an important episode in the Angolan Civil War . Between 9 September and 7 October 1987, the Angolan Army , in an attempt to finally subdue the Angolan insurgent movement UNITA in south-eastern Angola, was decisively repelled in a series of battles at the...
- United Nations Security Council Resolution 602United Nations Security Council Resolution 602United Nations Security Council Resolution 602, adopted unanimously on November 25, 1987, after hearing representations from the People's Republic of Angola, the Council recalled resolutions 387 , 428 , 447 , 454 , 475 , 545 , 546 , 567 , 571 , 574 and 577 , expressing its concern at the...
- United Nations Security Council Resolution 606United Nations Security Council Resolution 606United Nations Security Council Resolution 606, adopted unanimously on December 23, 1987, after recalling Resolution 602 and noting the Secretary-General's report authorised by that resolution, the Council condemned South Africa for its continued occupation of southern parts of the People's...