Mobility Conquers

Mobility Conquers PDF Author: Willem Steenkamp
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781911096528
Category : Angola
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
More than two years in the writing, this book is the warts-and-all story of the birth, career and death of the South African Defence Force's 61 Mechanised Battalion Group (1979-2005) - generally acknowledged as the best fighting unit in Africa in its time. '61 Mech' was structured as a combined-arms unit with integral infantry, armored and artillery components - the first in Africa - and arduously trained in a fast-moving mobile warfare doctrine which was not based on adapted European tactics, but was specifically designed for fighting modern bush wars in the forbiddingly difficult African battle-space. It was mounted in various versions of the Ratel armored fighting vehicle, which was locally designed for African campaigning in frequently indescribable terrain conditions, and whose cross-country mobility and heavy firepower provided the means for applying the new doctrine. Backing it up were heavy weapons of local design, such as the world-class G-5 155 mm artillery piece - then the longest-ranged medium gun in the world - and its huge self-propelled wheeled version: the G-6. Led by some of the brightest officers in the army, '61 Mech' played a major role in the often hard-fought incursions into Angola between 1978 and 1988 and won all its battles - even though the South Africans were always vastly outnumbered by the armed forces of Angola, with their abundant Soviet weaponry and Russian and Cuban advisors (and usually with an unfavorable air situation). Written in an easy-to-read narrative style by two veteran military authors, the book includes many personal accounts by officers and men of '61 Mech' - some of them in harrowing detail - and describes the preparations for the various operations and the ongoing evolution of both the doctrine and the weaponry and equipment; but it also covers the broader context, including revealing glimpses into the hitherto almost unknown Angolan/Soviet/Cuban side of the conflict. Among other things, it explains how and why the SADF became involved in the struggle against the South West African People's Organisation; pinpoints for the first time the moment when the counterinsurgency campaign in SWA/Namibia became entangled with the Angolan Civil War; and objectively analyses the much-debated question of whether there was ever a 'Battle for Cuito Cuanavale'. It is also salted with short snippets of information which help to make it an entertaining read for people from anywhere in the world. Backing up the narrative are many specially drawn maps and a large number of photographs - of which most are not generic, but directly related to the events in the narrative. For anyone needing a single blueprint on how to fight a successful conventional war in Africa, this is the book to read.

Mobility Conquers

Mobility Conquers PDF Author: Willem Steenkamp
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781911096528
Category : Angola
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
More than two years in the writing, this book is the warts-and-all story of the birth, career and death of the South African Defence Force's 61 Mechanised Battalion Group (1979-2005) - generally acknowledged as the best fighting unit in Africa in its time. '61 Mech' was structured as a combined-arms unit with integral infantry, armored and artillery components - the first in Africa - and arduously trained in a fast-moving mobile warfare doctrine which was not based on adapted European tactics, but was specifically designed for fighting modern bush wars in the forbiddingly difficult African battle-space. It was mounted in various versions of the Ratel armored fighting vehicle, which was locally designed for African campaigning in frequently indescribable terrain conditions, and whose cross-country mobility and heavy firepower provided the means for applying the new doctrine. Backing it up were heavy weapons of local design, such as the world-class G-5 155 mm artillery piece - then the longest-ranged medium gun in the world - and its huge self-propelled wheeled version: the G-6. Led by some of the brightest officers in the army, '61 Mech' played a major role in the often hard-fought incursions into Angola between 1978 and 1988 and won all its battles - even though the South Africans were always vastly outnumbered by the armed forces of Angola, with their abundant Soviet weaponry and Russian and Cuban advisors (and usually with an unfavorable air situation). Written in an easy-to-read narrative style by two veteran military authors, the book includes many personal accounts by officers and men of '61 Mech' - some of them in harrowing detail - and describes the preparations for the various operations and the ongoing evolution of both the doctrine and the weaponry and equipment; but it also covers the broader context, including revealing glimpses into the hitherto almost unknown Angolan/Soviet/Cuban side of the conflict. Among other things, it explains how and why the SADF became involved in the struggle against the South West African People's Organisation; pinpoints for the first time the moment when the counterinsurgency campaign in SWA/Namibia became entangled with the Angolan Civil War; and objectively analyses the much-debated question of whether there was ever a 'Battle for Cuito Cuanavale'. It is also salted with short snippets of information which help to make it an entertaining read for people from anywhere in the world. Backing up the narrative are many specially drawn maps and a large number of photographs - of which most are not generic, but directly related to the events in the narrative. For anyone needing a single blueprint on how to fight a successful conventional war in Africa, this is the book to read.

Blood Brothers

Blood Brothers PDF Author: Deon Lamprecht
Publisher: Jonathan Ball Publishers
ISBN: 1928248195
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 227

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Book Description
On 10 June 1980, during the Border War, the SADF's 61 Mechanised Battalion Group attacked a complex of Swapo military bases in southern Angola. A long day of bloody fighting ensued. Second Lieutenant Paul Louw led Platoon 1, in four Ratel infantry fighting vehicles, to an objective called Smokeshell. After emerging from a dry riverbed, the young national servicemen suddenly found themselves facing a heavily defended enemy position and under deadly fire. In the ensuing chaos of that day, 12 troopies of Louw's platoon of 44 were killed and he himself was wounded. The 18-year-old HP Ferreira was shot through the pelvis by a 14,5 mm anti-aircraft round and also hit by AK-47 bullets. He miraculously survived. Blood Brothers records the dramatic events of that horrific day, in the words of the survivors of the battle, and follows members of Louw's platoon on their long journey of healing and recovery. It investigates the human cost of war after the last shots have been fired and follows the veterans as they return to the battleground four decades later in search of peace.

20 Battles

20 Battles PDF Author: Evert Kleynhans
Publisher: Jonathan Ball Publishers
ISBN: 1928248233
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 365

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Book Description
Favouring manoeuvre over attrition and often punching above their weight, South African soldiers have become known for their tenacity, dash and ability to defy the odds. Their unique directive command style has also helped them to excel in defining battles and operations, from the campaign in German South West Africa in 1915 to the cross-border operations in Angola during the Border War. In 20 Battles, military historians Evert Kleynhans and David Brock Katz investigate the evolution of South Africa's armed forces over a century from 1913 to 2013. They track the evolution of the doctrine and structure of the defence force, uncovering historical continuity and the lessons learned from past battles and operations. What is clear is that when South African soldiers have the freedom to operate according to their manoeuvre doctrine, as they had in East Africa in 1916 and southern Ethiopia in 1941, they can achieve stunning results. But when hemmed in by rigid doctrine and a top-down command style, as at Delville Wood in 1916 and Tobruk in 1942, the results can be tragic. 20 Battles combines both battlefield drama and crisp analysis and in the process provides a much-needed perspective on the South African way of war.

In Different Times

In Different Times PDF Author: Albert Grundlingh
Publisher: AFRICAN SUN MeDIA
ISBN: 1928480357
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 361

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Book Description
This is the first attempt to bring together diverse scholars, using different lenses, to study South Africa’s Border War. As a book, it is critical in approach, provides deeper reflection, and focuses specifically on the SADF experience of the war. The result is a more complex picture of the war’s dynamics and its legacies. Although South Africa is a vastly different country today, the study of the Border War opens a range of questions, also relevant to contemporary deployments such as in Lesotho (1998) and the Central African Republic (2013). It includes the debate on participation in foreign conflicts; on the deployment, design and preparation of appropriate, modern armed forces and their use as foreign policy instruments in far‑off theatres; on military planning; and, as the historical controversies regarding the battles at Cuito Cuanavale and Bangui illustrate, on the interface between foreign campaigning and domestic politics.

44th Publication Design Annual

44th Publication Design Annual PDF Author: Society of Publication Designers
Publisher:
ISBN: 1616736291
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 340

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Book Description


Drought Policies: Case Studies on Mega-droughts for the High Level Experts and Leaders Panel on Water and Disasters (HELP)

Drought Policies: Case Studies on Mega-droughts for the High Level Experts and Leaders Panel on Water and Disasters (HELP) PDF Author: Jerome Delli Priscolli
Publisher: IWA Publishing
ISBN: 1789061172
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 269

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Book Description
This book focuses on mega-droughts of the past 20 years. Twelve cases from both developed and developing countries are elaborated in the book. Its intention is to draw lessons from the cases of extremely severe water shortages so that countries and stakeholders can be better prepared for extreme drought events in the future. Several recurrent themes emerge from the diverse case studies and descriptions of programs. For example, most chapters discuss the necessity to move from reactive (compensatory) to preventive policies. This theme has implications for use of insurance in developing countries, e.g. is insurance encouraging investments to help countries avoid disasters or is it acting mostly in a humanitarian way to compensate for losses to help people? Several authors point to the importance of risk assessment and to developing risk based policies for drought. This raises statistical issues of how such assessments of uncertainty and risks are done and how they relate to actual occurrence of events. Most chapters call for more inter-sectoral policies, policies which integrate water resources management approaches and to the necessity of raising public awareness of droughts in times of no drought. The issue of structural versus nonstructural is clear in most cases. While often cast as ‘either/or’ the message that emerges is more one of how do you integrate these approaches. Finally, a few chapters bring to light how prevention is needed for national security as well as water security. In Focus – a book series that showcases the latest accomplishments in water research. Each book focuses on a specialist area with papers from top experts in the field. It aims to be a vehicle for in-depth understanding and inspire further conversations in the sector.

Die SAW en Cuito Cuanaval

Die SAW en Cuito Cuanaval PDF Author: Leopold Scholtz
Publisher: Jonathan Ball Publishers
ISBN: 1928248063
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 307

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Book Description
In 1987–1988 was die stowwerige Angolese dorpie Cuito Cuanavale die toneel van die laaste gevegte van die Grensoorlog. Sedertdien is dit die fokuspunt van 'n openbare debat oor wie eintlik hierdie oorlog gewen het. Die leierskorps van die Suid-Afrikaanse Weermag (SAW) hou vol hulle is nooit verslaan nie, terwyl die alliansie van die Angolese MPLA-regering, Kuba en Swapo beweer hulle het die SAW uit Angola en Suidwes-Afrika verdryf. Hulle glo voorts die SAW wou Cuito Cuanavale beset en as afspringplek gebruik om Luanda in te neem. Maar was Cuito Cuanavale ooit regtig 'n doelwit vir die Suid-Afrikaners? Dit is die vraag wat Leopold Scholtz vra wanneer hy onlangs gedeklassi-fiseerde dokumente in die weermagargief bestudeer en die taktiese en strategiese besluite ondersoek wat 'n bepalende rol in die ses groot veldslae van dié veldtog gespeel het. Sy kritiese ontleding wys hoe maklik propaganda en politiek in die pad van feite kan staan.

The SADF and Cuito Cuanavale

The SADF and Cuito Cuanavale PDF Author: Leopold Scholtz
Publisher: Jonathan Ball Publishers
ISBN: 1928248047
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 303

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Book Description
"A shooting war is often followed by a second war. This war is not fought with bullets or artillery shells, not with tanks or bombers, but rather with words. The war is, in effect, fought again on paper." In 1987–1988 the dusty Angolan town of Cuito Cuanavale was the backdrop for the final battles of the Border War. Ever since the war ended, the fighting around Cuito has been the subject of a fierce public debate over who actually won the war. While the leadership of the former South African Defence Force (SADF) claims it was never defeated, the supporters of the Angolan MPLA government, Cuba and SWAPO insist that the SADF was vanquished on the battlefield. They contend that the SADF wanted to overrun Cuito Cuanavale and use it as a springboard for an advance on Luanda. But was Cuito Cuanavale ever really an objective of the SADF? Leopold Scholtz tackles this question by examining recently declassified documents in the SANDF archives, exploring the strategic and tactical decisions that shaped the six main battles, from the SADF's stunning tactical success on the Lomba River to the grinding struggle for the Tumpo Triangle. His incisive analysis untangles what happens when war, politics and propaganda become entwined.

Journal of the United Service Institution of India

Journal of the United Service Institution of India PDF Author: United Service Institution of India
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : India
Languages : en
Pages : 586

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Book Description


Explore the world through humanities travel

Explore the world through humanities travel PDF Author: Nomadsirius
Publisher: 펜립
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 294

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Book Description
Prologue. Due to the impact of ethnic circumstances left in history, the ethnic characteristics remain, approaching the humanities journey through the clarity of comprehensive historiography. Following the trajectory of the history of each country, changed at the whims of the goddess of luck, Fortuna, the humanities journey explores the paths of history. In contrast to the Tu\'kke of Greek mythology, who left luck to the dice, in Roman mythology, Fortuna determines destiny with a wheel. We traverse James Joyce and Shakespeare\'s England, Dante Alighieri and Leonardo da Vinci, Umberto Eco\'s Italy, Rubens\'s Belgium, Nikos Kazantzakis\'s Greece, Milan Kundera\'s Czechoslovakia, Descartes and Vincent van Gogh, Sartre\'s France, and Dostoevsky\'s Russia. The internal meaning of history involves the exploration of truth, thought, and effort to approach it, as well as the investigation of causes and origins. In the timeless hours between the dog and the wolf, we revel in the freedom that transcends all formality during that elusive evening time. Embarking on a humanities journey through comprehensive historiography, we explore the world. Humanities travel is enriching when life itself is beautiful.