The Angolan War of Independence - Research Paper Example

? The of Your Essay Here Here Here Here Here The Angolan War of Independence started in 1961 and ended in 1975. It was fought by the three nationalist movements of Angola against the Portuguese to free Angola. In 1975 the Portugal government changed and the new government signed the Alvord Agreement with the three nationalist parties, UNITA- National Union for the Total Independence of Angola, MPLA- Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola and FNLA- National Liberation Front of Angola through which it was decided that the Portuguese would leave Angola and Angola would gain independence. Before the independence took place a fight took place in between the two of the three nationalist parties the MPLA and UNITA, this was a civil war which was fought for power. Another civil war soon began after the independence of Angola; this again was fought in between the nationalist parties to gain the power over the government of the newly formed Angola. This civil war lasted for a very long period that is for 27 long years1. There was a serious civil war that was going on in the South African state of Africa. The war had started in the year of 1975 and it continued till 2002. There were two major parties who were active in Angola the People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola which was generally known as MPLA, and then there was another party known as the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola generally known as UNITA. They had earlier fought in unison towards a common goal and the goal was the independence of Angola from the Portugal. Their main aim had been to gain independence and have their own establishment in Angola. It was a difficult situation for both of them as though they were fighting for a unified cause but their own ideologies and agendas were different and thus once after their own liberation it was next to difficult for them to actually co exists together peacefully. So this civil war which was later known as the Angolan Civil War started and continued for a very long time. It was seen as a proxy war for both the super powers at that time, the United States of America and Russia. It was during this era that there was a cold war going on between the two superpowers and to show their own powers indirectly they took part in this battle as well so as to display their own powers to each other2. The main reason of difference between the “People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola” and the “National Union for the Total Independence of Angola” was that they all belonged to a different social class and practiced different ideologies and this made them have a serious conflict. They were united only till the point when they wanted to end the colonial rule when they achieved their independence their main focus turned to who would rule the freed state. It was a given a very critical status by the international world and it became a hot ground for the ongoing Cold war. It was treated as a proxy war by the two blocs. Despite the fact that both the super powers had no personal interest in the war even then they intervened greatly as both of them tried to emphasize their own importance by being able to change the results of the war or at least influence it. They were not alone in these endeavors as their supporting countries also played their parts. The two super powers felt that this war was very important for the global power balance and has taken personal interest in the results of the war. It is considered as the longest and bloodiest civil war although it was such a serious as well as severe affair but the results of the war were not favored to one side and it ended in stalemate3. The battle of CuitoCuanavale is a very important episode in the Angolan Civil War. In the series of battles and skirmishes that were going this one has the highest importance. In this the Angolan Army which was fighting against the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola, was very subdued because the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola had the full support of the South African army. The South African army helped the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola greatly and enabled them to tilt the balance of the scale in their favor. The South African army used long range artillery to attack the Angolan forces and brought them to their starting point. It was during this time that they sought the help of their neighbors the Cubans, it was at this point itself that the Russians also jumped in and they together with the Cuban army reinforced the Angolan army. The Russians not helped them as strategy analysts but also helped them in the matter of warfare. The Russians helped expand the Air force and as well as arms and ammunitions like Mig-23s and Mi-25 combat helicopters. Using these they stepped forward with 20 brigades and attacked the insurgents and this brought them into a better positions. They again began to move forward and thus this now posed threat for the South Africans itself, the advancing army was too near to their borders to be ignored and thus this brought South Africans to alertness. The only way to counter this was to counter attack. The South Africans attacked the Air force and shot down the Russian planes. They also shot down bases and this crippled their military power greatly4. There were many attempts at peace but they all proved fruitless as none of the parties were willing to retreat, both of them wanted a complete control of the Angola. It was a struggle between the two native parties, a struggle that continued for a very long time. It was the intervention of the United Nations that finally changed the situation and this also happened when the South African armies had actually cornered the Angolan forces and were on the verge of killing them that United Nations sponsored peace treaty took place. The Security Council demanded that they with draw from Angola altogether5. The National Union for the Total Independence of Angola was receiving full support and arms from the United States of America and was also receiving help from the other allies of the United States of America in the cold war that ensued between the Russians and America. None of the countries directly sent their forces but helped them through arms and strategies. They were psychologically at a stage of calmness and felt that they would not be harmed and they were at ease. There was a sense of security that the soldiers had, they felt as they were not attacking and physically harming any country they will not also face anything. No one will attack them and they can get through this war without any casualties. The Americans had lost a lot of people in the world war one and therefore they had quite much insecurity with sending their men again to a war. Although there was a sense of security in the minds of people and as well as soldiers, because many people assumed it as a false sense of security, because they felt, even if the soldiers are not participating in the war physically, there is proxy war by providing ammunitions and declaring your support for the cause. The most common thing that was used was the long range stinger missiles that were provided by the Americans. Americans also helped by giving monetary aid to the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola and were willing to extend more support to the South Africans as well. South Africa on the other hand offered and in fact gave more direct support to the Angolan cause of the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola; they sent 5000 armed forces along with weaponry to combat the opposition of National Union for the Total Independence of Angola6 . There was a personal interest of South Africa involved, they actually had occupied Namibia and were fighting their own cause there. They feared that if apposition got hold of the bordering areas of Namibia and installed their own regime in Angola then they will have double issues facing them. The Namibians may also side with the Angolan army and start an insurgency from a totally new angle and thus harm their personal cause. This was deeply disturbing and therefore they fought the Angolans along the side of National Union for the Total Independence of Angola. They ultimately failed in their attempt and the Angolan army and the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola got hold of the ruling authority. The South Africans along with the rest of the world viewed them as the puppets that had been set by the Soviet Russia. Even though they had lost control the South African army continued to shell the area of Cuito Cuanavale. They had not wanted to give up easily and this all happened as a result. Type Angola (FAPLA), Cuba (FAR) South Africa (SADF), UNITA AFVs T-34-85, T-54B, T-55, T-62, PT-76, SU-100 World War II vintage self propelled guns were not used. Olifant, Ratel IFV, Eland Mk7(AML-90) APCs/IFVs BTR-40, BTR-152, BTR-50, BTR-60PB, BRDM-2,BMP-1 and MT-LB (tracked light-armoured towing vehicle) Buffel, Casspir Artillery ZIS-3 (76 mm), D-30 (122 mm), ML-20 (152 mm), D-1 (152 mm), M-46 (130 mm) BM-21 Grad (MLR) and BM-14 G5 howitzer, G6 Self-Propelled Gun, Valkiri 127mm Multiple rocket launcher, Ordnance QF 25 pounder Aircraft MiG-23ML, MiG-21bis, Sukhoi Su-17/Su-22 Dassault Mirage F-1, Blackburn Buccaneer,Dassault Mirage III, English Electric Canberra,Impala, Helicopters Mi-8/Mi-17, Mi-26, Mi-24/Mi-35 Super Frelon, Aerospatiale SA 330 Puma,Westland Wasp, AerospatialeAlouette III, Atlas Oryx Reconnaissance/observation Bosbok, UAV's AAW 2K12 Kub/Kwadrat, 9K33 Osa-AK, S-125 Pechora, S-75 Dvina, ZSU-23-4 Shilka, ZU-23-2 Zeushka, Strela-2M, Strela-3, Strela-10, Igla, ZPU-4, ZPU-2, ZGU-1 Cactus, Tigercat, Bofors 40 mm, Ystervark self-propelled 20 mm AA vehicles, FIM-92 Stinger(used by UNITA)[53] Infantry weapons and anti tank support AK (AK-47), AKM, AKMS, RP/RPK, RPD, PK (PKM), DShK (DShkM), KPV (KPVT), HMG, 9K11 Malyutka, RPG-7], B-10 recoilless rifle, B-11 recoilless rifle Heckler & Koch G3, R1, R4 assault rifle, FN MAG, M2 Browning, M40 recoilless rifle, RPG-7,ENTAC, MILAN and ZT-3 anti-tank guided missile Air-to-Air Missiles K-13, R-60 Matra 530, V3B This table above summarizes the war details7. All in all there were a total of 20,000 soldiers who were killed in the war from the Angolan side alone. This was a very bloody war that continued for a long time and that’s why it has high number of casualties. WORKS CITED Klinghoffer, Arthur Jay. 1980. The Angolan war. Boulder: Westview Press. Windrich, Elaine. 1992. The Cold War guerrilla: Jonas Savimbi, the U.S. media, and the Angolan War. New York: Greenwood Press. Klinghoffer, Arthur Jay. 1980. The Angolan War: a study in Soviet policy in the Third World. Boulder, Colo: Westview Press. Minter, William. 1994. Apartheid's contras: an inquiry into the roots of war in Angola and Mozambique. Johannesburg: Witwatersrand University Press. Guimara?es, Fernando Andresen. 1998. The origins of the Angolan civil war: foreign intervention and domestic political conflict. New York, N.Y.: St. Martin's Press. Read More