How did it come about that South African unconventional units, which were successful in many battles, were unable to turn their victories into political success during the South African Border War 1966 - 1989?

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History (MA)

Robbert, Mos (2013)

How did it come about that South African unconventional units, which were successful in many battles, were unable to turn their victories into political success during the South African Border War 1966 - 1989?

Master thesis | History (MA)

The South African Border War 1966 – 1989 was a war fought between South Africa, Cuba and Angola. Battles were mainly fought in southern Angola but within South West Africa SWAPO attempted to mount an insurgency against South Africa. This saw the introduction of several unique South African unconventional units and managed to win many battles but this did not result in South African political success. This thesis looks at these units in depth and analyses their impact by describing some of the operations in which the Recces, 32 Bn, 44 Parachute Brigade and Koevoet were involved. In the introduction the background of the war is looked at, followed by an introduction to each of the four units in question. The main part of the thesis consists of various South African operations during the war, followed by an analysis and lastly a conclusion is reached regarding the political outcome.

Border War

South Africa

Unconventional

Author: Robbert, Mos

Faculty: Faculty of Humanities

Specialisation: History of European expansion and globalisation

Supervisors: Ross, Robert

ECTS Credits: 30

Language: en

Leiden University Student Repository

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How did it come about that South African unconventional units, which were successful in many battles, were unable to turn their victories into political success during the South African Border War 1966 - 1989?