Angolan combatants patrol the streets of Luanda on Liberation Day.
played a role in this, withdrawing from Cabinda ahead of schedule. It was a premeditated plan to turn Angola over to imperialist interests. study of the situation led the Cuban instructors to the conclusion that the students in the four schools that had been set up in Angola would have only a few days to acquire the indispensable theoretical knowledge. They were right: the trainees engaged in their first battle in Salazar (now renamed Ndalatando) after barely finishing their first firing practise. There were recruits who left the shooting range at the end of the practise session, climbed into trucks and headed toward the besieged Luanda.
On November 3, cadets of the FAPLA Training Center for Recruits in Benguela and their Cuban instructors entered into combat against the South Africans. Five days later, on November 8, regular troops from Zaire, backed by tanks, advanced on Cabinda. Angolans and Cubans repulsed the invaders there.
From November to 10 the first members of a reinforced batallion of special troops from the Cuban Ministry of the Interior, supported by mortar squads of the Revolutionary Armed Forces (FAR) and antitank equipment arrived of Pigs. Angola was an African Girón for the at Luanda by air. They came in the old Britannia yankee imperialists.
planes flown by intrepid Cuban pilots from Cubana de Aviación, who carried out 101 flights Luanda: November 1975 of this type between Havana and Angola. An artillery regiment of the FAR was on its way South Africa war against Angola began siby boat. These trips were increased because of lently.
the urgency of the situation, until they came The Portuguese had not yet left their soon toto form a large convoy of merchant ships bringbe former colony when the South African in ing enough men and arms to win the war. Thus vaders began to unload their military equipment began Operation Carlota. It was named after an Afro Cuban slave woman who, on November 5, in the north and the south. in Carmona and Nova Lisboa. They were so sure of their victory 1843 132 years earlier had died in a slave uprising at the old Triumvirate sugar mill in that they had planned a pompous dinner in Cuba western province of Matanzas.
Luanda on November 11 to celebrate the success FAPLA troops and Cuban internationalist of the future imperialist federation.
combatants quickly organized a line of defense When the first Cuban material aid and to contain the aggressors. The South Africans instructors. previously requested by President advanced from the south and the Zairians, FNLA Neto. arrived in Angola at the beginning of and mercenaries from the north. Radio Zaire October, regular Zairian units had already issued its first threatening proclamation, and appeared north of Luanda. The South African Holden Roberto himself announced defiantly threat was increasingly obvious. Since August that he would be in Luanda on November South African troops had been making a show He didn make it, but the situation grew worse of strength in the south, where they had in the following days: the 7th, 8th, 9th. On occupied Calueque and Ruacaná without enthe 10th the situation was grave. Those defendcountering any resistance. Since nothing haping the capital had only a battery of two 120 mm.
pened, South Africa was able to use this part of mortars, one of them without ammunition.
African territory as a beachhead when, on Once the other one ran out of ammunition. October 23, it initiated its offensive to the north the Cubans said, there was nothing left to do aimed at occupying Luanda. The Portuguese also but throw the mortars at the heads of the enemy. We couldn lose the capital.
The invaders made an air surveillance that The first aid from Cuba included 480 military specialists who day and those defending the capital decided to were to set up four training centers for the FAPLA in Ndalatando Benguela, Saurimo and Cabinda; organize 16 infantry battalions, change all the artillery positions that same plus 25 mortar and anti aircraft batteries; a medical brigade; night. It was a decision that saved the situation, 115 vehicles, and communications equipment.
49 க TRICONTINENTAL