Operation Egret

Operation Egret
	Part of South African Border War
Location	Evale Anhanca Operation Egret (Angola)
Objective	Pre-emptive raid against PLAN bases in the Evale, Anhanca and the Dova areas in Angola.
Date	15–22 September 1985

Last updated April 29, 2019

Operation Egret was a military operation in Angola during September 1985 by the South African Defence Force (SADF) against People's Liberation Army of Namibia (PLAN) during the Angolan Civil War and South African Border War.

Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a west-coast country of south-central Africa. It is the seventh-largest country in Africa, bordered by Namibia to the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, Zambia to the east, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. Angola has an exclave province, the province of Cabinda that borders the Republic of the Congo and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The capital and largest city of Angola is Luanda.

The South African Defence Force (SADF) comprised the South African armed forces from 1957 until 1994. Shortly before the state reconstituted itself as a republic in 1961, the former Union Defence Force was officially succeeded by the SADF, which was established by the Defence Act of 1957. The SADF, in turn, was superseded by the South African National Defence Force in 1994.

The People's Liberation Army of Namibia (PLAN) was the military wing of the South West Africa People's Organisation (SWAPO). It fought against the South African Defence Force (SADF) and South West African Territorial Force (SWATF) during the South African Border War. Throughout its history, PLAN had both irregular insurgent and semi-conventional units, as well as an extensive recruitment network in rural South West Africa (Namibia). During the war most of its domestic activities consisted of mine warfare and acts of sabotage. PLAN initially lacked any standing units, and the bulk of operations were carried out by political exiles who spent cyclical periods residing in refugee camps in neighbouring states before launching raids inside South West Africa itself. By the end of the war, PLAN had 32,000 militants under arms, including three battalions of semi-conventional troops equipped with heavy weapons.

Background

In order to interrupt a planned raid into South-West Africa/Namibia from Angola by PLAN's Charlie detachment, the SADF planned an operation into Angola on 15 September 1985 to counter the proposed incursion.^[1]^:Chp11 This would be the first deliberate operation into Angola since Operation Askari with strict instructions to avoid FAPLA forces.^[2]^:134 500 men of 101 Battalion and Puma, Alouette and Impala aircraft of the SAAF, would sweep the areas between Evale, Anhanca and Dova for the PLAN units.^[1]^:Ch11 In nine separate contacts and one air attack, the SADF killed 15 PLAN soldiers and captured 103 with the operation ending on 22 September.^[1]^:Chp11^[2]^:134

Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean; it shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and east. Although it does not border Zimbabwe, less than 200 metres of the Zambezi River separates the two countries. Namibia gained independence from South Africa on 21 March 1990, following the Namibian War of Independence. Its capital and largest city is Windhoek, and it is a member state of the United Nations (UN), the Southern African Development Community (SADC), the African Union (AU), and the Commonwealth of Nations.

Operation Askari was a military operation during 1983 in Angola by the South African Defence Force (SADF) during the South African Border War and Angolan Civil War.

The Aérospatiale SA 330 Puma is a four-bladed, twin-engined medium transport/utility helicopter. The Puma was originally built by Sud Aviation of France, and continued to be made by Aérospatiale. It was also license-built in Romania as the IAR 330; two advanced, unlicensed derivatives, the Denel Rooivalk and Atlas Oryx, were made in South Africa. The Puma was a commercial success and was quickly developed into more advanced models such as the AS332 Super Puma and AS532 Cougar, manufactured by Eurocopter since the early 1990s. These descendants of the Puma remain in production in the 21st century.

Order of battle

South African and South West Africa Territorial Forces

101 Battalion

PLAN Forces

PLAN "Charlie" detachment - Eighth Battalion

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References

1 2 3 Lord, Dick (2012). From Fledgling to Eagle. The South African Air Force during the Border War. Solihull, West Midlands, UK: Helion and Company Ltd. ISBN 9781908916624.
1 2 Steenkamp, Willem (1989). South Africa's Border War. 1966 - 1989. Gibraltar: Ashanti Publishing Ltd. ISBN 0620139676.