Resumo

OOSTHUIZEN, Gerhard J. J.. Operation Packer, March-April 1988, South Eastern Angola: Tumpo, Tumpo and once more Tumpo!!!. Tydskr. geesteswet. [online]. 2017, vol.57, n.3. ISSN 2224-7912.

In addition to securing the União Nacional para a Independêcia Total de Angola (UNITA) strongholds at Mavinga and Jamba, Operations Modular, Hooper and Packer (1987-1988) also intended to destroy all Forças Armadas Populares de Libertação de Angola (FAPLA) brigades east of the Cuito River, or to drive them to the west across the river. During operations Modular and Hooper the South African Defence Force (SADF)-UNITA allies succeeded in effectively stopping the advance of the Movimento Popular de Libertação de Angola (MPLA) allies. The primary objective to destroy all FAPLA brigades east of the Cuito River or to drive them across the river at least, could not fully be realised, however. During Operation Hooper, two failed attacks were launched on Tumpo within the scope of about two weeks - each time from the same direction or line of advance. This article focuses on the third and final South African Defence Force (SADF)-UNITA attack on Tumpo and the claim by Colonel Jan Breytenbach, former commander of 32 Battalion, that "By early the next morning  they had driven the 25^th Brigade from their positions and taken Tumpu . This clearly demonstrated that well planned, well led and well coordinated night  attacks by well trained infantary seldom fail." The task of launching a third attempt to conquer Tumpo would be undertaken by elements of citizen force units, 32 Battalion and four UNITA infantry battalions under the command of 82 South African Mechanised Brigade (SA Mech Bde). The citizen force units in question were Regiment Mooi River, Regiment President Steyn, Regiment De la Rey, Regiment Great Karoo, Regiment Potchefstroom University, 44 Parachute Brigade, 13 Field Engineering Regiment, 19 Rocket Regiment and 7 Anti-Aircraft Regiment. The maximum number of UNITA infantry had to join the attack, mainly to draw fire, to identify targets and to restrict SADF losses to the minimum. To justify the continued battle, the SADF provided five reasons to leadership and troops: The MPLA was illegally in power in Angola; Angola was used as a firm base by the Union of Socialist Sowjet Republics (USSR) to fight against the Republic of South Africa (RSA) and South West Africa (SWA); the USSR supported the MPLA and the ANC; and UNITA served as a buffer zone for attacks against SWA and therefore the SADF was indirectly fighting for UNITA and directly for the RSA. It would also give the SADF an opportunity to test new weaponry. Several dominant factors, however, led to the failure of the third attack on Tumpo: A lack of creative thinking, by repeating almost exactly the same plan of attack and line of advance of the failed second attack on Tumpo; the lack of an informed logistics system (e.g. shortage of diesel and mechanical readiness of vehicles and equipment); well-entrenched and well-equipped MPLA forces; inadequate intelligence (especially regarding the second minefield); almost impassable sandy and forested terrain; unmanned observer posts; largely insufficient preparation and training of citizen force units; the tension and lack of trust between citizen force units and SADF permanent force officers; and international pressure to withdraw from Angola. The morale of the SADF-UNITA troops reached a low after the third failed attempt. The MPLA morale, in contrast, was particularly high, after successfully defending Tumpo and seizing three SADF tanks. The tanks which were abandoned by the SADF, had strong propaganda value for the MPLA forces. One of the tanks was towed to 25 Battalion's positions while the others were protected by positions to prevent the SADF forces from reaching them. Foreign journalists were even flown in to view the SADF tanks. In addition, amplified broadcasting was used to announce far and wide that the three tanks were in FAPLA hands and that an Afrikaans-speaking SADF soldier was captured. As in previous operations, the SADF did not realise the importance of psychological debriefing. Many traumatised SADF soldiers suffered from post-traumatic stress, which put a damper on their vitality. UNITA suffered serious personnel losses, especially the troops who had moved with the tanks. In addition, many soldiers of the two UNITA battalions who attacked on the western bank, died in action. In contrast, the SADF forces suffered no losses. The objective to minimise SADF losses through the maximum utilisation of UNITA troops, was therefore fully realised.

Palavras-chave : Operation Packer; SAW; UNITA; FAPLA; MPLA; SWAPO; Angola; Cuito Cuanavale; Tumpo; Mavinga; Jamba; Cuba.

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