Cuban troops in Angola. How the USSR fought in Angola

War in Angola

Almost no one knows about the civil war in Angola in our country, but this is decidedly unfair. Unfair to Soviet instructors and allies, soldiers-internationalists from Cuba. They do not remember, apparently, because the Soviet Union and its allies definitely won that war.
It also becomes bitter that the exploits of Soviet military advisers during this war were not at all covered then in the Soviet Union. Apparently the notorious "glasnost" applied only to mossy dissidents, but not to the heroes of the internationalists, who professionally and honestly fulfilled their duty.

This article will discuss the most intense and large-scale battle of that war - the battle for the city of Cuito Cuanavale.
In the 80s of the XX century, Angola became the object of a multi-level confrontation. At the national level, the war was fought between the MPLA national liberation movement that came to power and the armed opposition from UNITA and the FNLA. On the regional level - between Angola and the apartheid regime of South Africa, and, finally, on the global level, two superpowers competed - the USSR and the USA.
Then, in the era of the Cold War, the question was posed as follows: which of them could exert a decisive influence on Angola would receive the "key" to all of South Africa. Then the economic assistance of the Soviet Union allowed independent Angola to get on its feet. And the supplied weapons and thousands of Soviet military advisers who arrived in the country helped to repel external aggression and create a national armed forces.
Only during the period of official military cooperation between the USSR and Angola from 1975 to 1991, about 11 thousand Soviet military personnel visited this African country to assist in the construction of the national army. Of these, 107 were generals and admirals, 7,211 officers, more than 3,500 ensigns, midshipmen, privates, as well as workers and employees of the SA and Navy, not counting family members of Soviet military personnel.
In addition, during this period, thousands of Soviet military sailors, including marines, who were on board the warships that called at the ports of Angola, carried out military service off the coast of Angola. And there were also pilots, doctors, fishermen, and agricultural specialists. In total, according to the calculations of the Union of Veterans of Angola, at least 50 thousand Soviet citizens passed through this country.
A significant contribution to the construction of the armed forces of Angola was also made by the allies of the USSR - the Cubans. The contingent of the armed forces of the Republic of Cuba appeared in Angola in 1975. By the end of 1975, Cuba had sent 25,000 soldiers to Angola. The internationalists stayed there until the signing of the "New York Accords" - the withdrawal of Cuban troops and the occupation forces of South Africa. In total, 300,000 Cuban military personnel went through the war in Angola, not counting civilian specialists.
All possible assistance with equipment, weapons, ammunition and civilian advisers was also provided by all member countries of the Warsaw Treaty Organization. So only the GDR supplied 1.5 million rounds of ammunition for small arms and 2000 MPLA mines (the armed forces of Angola). Romanian pilots, instructors and support personnel during the Sirius mission assisted the Angolan authorities in organizing the ENAM National Military Aviation School.
At the same time, the pilots were not just advisers: in fact, they were entrusted with the task of creating a full-fledged educational institution from scratch, while the Angolan command, due to insufficient experience in the first year of the mission, was assigned the role of an observer. This and other assistance helped create the army of Angola from scratch and repel the external aggression of the puppets of imperialism.
The war in Angola began on September 25, 1975. On that day, Zairian troops entered the territory of Angola from the north to support the pro-Western armed gang of the FNLA. On October 14, the army of racist South Africa (where the apartheid regime reigned in those years) invaded the territory of Angola from the south, supporting UNITA, in order to protect their occupation regime in Namibia.
However, by the end of March 1976, the armed forces of Angola, with the direct support of the 15,000th contingent of Cuban volunteers and the help of Soviet military specialists, managed to oust the troops of South Africa and Zaire from the territory of Angola. The war was continued by the UNITA movement, led by Jonas Savimbi, who managed to quickly transform into a partisan army. It was UNITA that became the main opponent of the legitimate authorities of Angola, constantly carrying out bandit attacks on the military and cruel punitive actions against the civilian population.
Clashes with the regular army of South Africa, which decided to support UNITA with direct military aggression, resumed with renewed vigor in southern Angola in 1981. In August 1981, South African troops (6 thousand fighters, 80 aircraft and helicopters) again invaded Angola in the province of Kunene in order to ease the pressure of FAPLA on UNITA and destroy the SWAPO partisan bases. The offensive was also attended by mercenary rabble from all over the world, scumbag thugs, who, for the money of the bloody apartheid regime, rushed to kill in the young African Republic.
In response, the USSR and Cuba increased their presence in the region. With the assistance of a group of Soviet military advisers (by 1985, its number reached 2 thousand people), it was possible to form 45 army brigades with a staffing of up to 80%, to increase the level of combat training of commanders and soldiers. The USSR continued large-scale deliveries of weapons and military equipment. In addition to the Cuban units, the Namibian PLAN brigade and detachments of the military wing of the African National Congress "Umkhonto we Sizwe" participated in the battles for the side of the legitimate government of Angola.

Fighting in the south and southeast of the country went with varying degrees of success. The young republic gave a decisive battle to the aggressors-racists of South Africa-sheep and Western puppets from UNITA in 1987-1988. Since then, an essentially small village about three streets called Cuito Cuanavale has been referred to as a city in all world news bulletins, and the places of those battles have been called “Angolan Stalingrad”.
The decisive offensive (Operation Salutation to October) began in August 1987. The goal is the two main UNITA bases in Maving and Jamba (Savimbi's headquarters), the main routes for the supply of military aid from South Africa passed here. Four mechanized brigades of government troops (21st, 16th, 47th, 59th, and later - 25th) advanced from Kuito Kuanavale to the Mavingi area. They included up to 150 T-54B and T-55 tanks. The actions of the group were supported from Kuito-Kuanvale by Mi-24 attack helicopters and MiG-23 fighters. The main obstacle in their path was the Lomba River. The 61st mechanized battalion was the first to reach the river.
In a series of heavy battles for the crossings on Lombe from September 9 to October 7, the South Africans and the Unitovites broke the offensive impulse of the enemy. The turning point came on October 3, when on the left bank of the Lombe, as a result of competent actions from an ambush, the 47th brigade was defeated, followed by the 16th brigade. Two days later, the retreat of the FAPLA troops began in Cuito Cuanavale. On October 14, South African and UNITA troops began the siege of the city with long-range 155 G5 howitzers and G6 self-propelled howitzers. By mid-November, deprived of almost all tanks and artillery (they had the M-46, D-30 and ZIS-3 guns and the BM-21 MLRS), the FAPLA troops in Cuito Cuanavale were on the verge of defeat. They were saved by the arrival of Cuban units (up to 1.5 thousand) in the combat zone.

In their desire to achieve victory at Cuito Cuanavale, the South Africans even used weapons of mass destruction. Here is what junior lieutenant Igor Zhdarkin, a participant in those battles, wrote in his diary:
“October 29, 1987 At 2 pm we received terrible news on the radio. At 13.10 the enemy fired at the 59th brigade with shells filled with chemical poisonous substances. Many Angolan soldiers have been poisoned, some have lost consciousness, the brigade commander is coughing up blood. Hooked and our advisers. The wind was just blowing in their direction, many complain of severe headaches and nausea. This news seriously alarmed us, because we do not even have the most overwhelming gas masks, not to mention the OZK.
Here is the next entry:
“November 1, 1987. The night passed quietly. At 12 o'clock there was an air raid on the 59th brigade standing nearby, more than a dozen 500-kilogram bombs were dropped on its positions. We don't know about losses yet.
Our gunners received reconnaissance data and decided to suppress the enemy's 155-mm howitzer battery. The Angolans fired a volley from the BM-21. In response, the Yuarans opened fire with all their howitzers. They beat very accurately, with short breaks. One of the shells exploded very close to our dugout. As it turned out later, we were just "born a second time." After shelling, within a radius of 30 m from the dugout, all bushes and small trees were completely cut off by fragments. I can't hear well in my right ear - contusion. The adviser of the brigade commander Anatoly Artemenko was also shaken by the explosion: he has a lot of “noise” in his head.
Seven massive allied assaults on FAPLA and Cuban positions on the east bank of the Kuito River from January 13 to March 23, 1988 crashed against a carefully organized defense (it was led by Cuban Brigadier General Ochoa). February 25 was the turning point of the battle. On this day, the Cuban and Angolan units themselves counterattacked, forcing the enemy to retreat. The morale of the besieged rapidly grew stronger. In addition, it became obvious that the old South African Mirage F1 fighters and air defense systems were losing to the Cuban and Angolan MiG-23ML fighters and the Osa-AK, Strela-10 mobile air defense systems and Pechora (S-125) stationary air defense systems that defended Quito Cuanavale.
After the last unsuccessful attack on March 23, an order was received from Pretoria to leave, leaving a 1.5 thousandth contingent (combat group 20) to cover the withdrawal. G5 howitzers continued shelling the city. At the end of June, this artillery group in full strength was transferred to Namibia.
Both sides declared decisive success in the battle for Cuito Cuanavale. However, even before its completion, at the initiative of Fidel Castro, a second front was created in the southern direction in Lubango under the command of General Leopoldo Sintra Frias, where, in addition to Cubans (40 thousand) and FAPLA units (30 thousand), SWAPO units also entered. The grouping was reinforced with 600 tanks and up to 60 combat aircraft. Three months of clashes followed, gradually shifting to the border with South West Africa. In June, South African troops completely left the territory of Angola.

In general, the war ended with the victory of Angola over all the interventionists. But this victory came at a heavy price: the losses among the civilian population alone amounted to more than 300 thousand people. There is still no exact data on the military losses of Angola due to the fact that the civil war continued in the country until the beginning of the 2000s. The losses of the USSR amounted to 54 dead, 10 wounded and 1 prisoner (according to other sources, three people were taken prisoner). The losses of the Cuban side amounted to about 1000 dead.
The Soviet military mission was in Angola until 1991, and then was curtailed for political reasons. In the same year, the Cuban army also left the country. Veterans of the war in Angola with great difficulty sought, after the collapse of the USSR, recognition of their feat. And this is very unfair, because they won that war and rightfully deserved respect and honor, which, of course, was not an argument for the new capitalist government. In Afghanistan, Soviet troops and military advisers dealt with "mujahideen", armed mainly with small arms, mortars and grenade launchers. In Angola, Soviet servicemen faced not only Unita partisan detachments, but also the regular army of South Africa, long-range artillery shelling, Mirage raids using smart bombs, often stuffed with balloons banned by the UN convention.
And Cubans, and Soviet citizens, and citizens of Angola, who survived in an unequal battle against such a serious and dangerous enemy, deserve to be remembered. Remember both the living and the dead.

Glory to the soldiers-internationalists who honorably fulfilled their international duty in the Republic of Angola and eternal memory to all those who died there.

Content:

Civil War in Angola (1961-2002)

Angola is a state located in the southwest of the African continent with its capital in the city of Luanda. Angola is a continental state, the western part of which is washed by the waters of the Atlantic Ocean. In the northeast it borders on the Republic of the Congo, in the east on Zambia, in the south on Namibia. The Angolan province of Cabinda is separated from the rest of the country by a narrow strip of territory of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC - formerly Zaire).
The first Europeans to set foot on the lands of modern Angola were the Portuguese. In 1482, a Portuguese expedition discovered the mouth of the Congo River. By the end of the 17th century, all state entities on the territory of Angola became colonies of Portugal. During the three centuries of colonial rule, the Portuguese were able to bring about 5 million slaves out of the country, mainly to Brazilian plantations. At the Berlin Conference of 1884-1885, the final boundaries of Angola were determined. On territorial issues in Africa, Portugal signed a series of agreements with England, Belgium, Germany and France from 1884 to 1891.
Until the mid-1950s, the anti-colonial movement was divided. Individual uprisings broke out, bearing a religious and sectarian connotation. A powerful upsurge of the anti-colonial movement began in the 1960s. It was led by the "People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola" (MPLA, leader - Agushtinho Neto), "National Front for the Liberation of Angola" (FNLA, leader - Holden Roberto) and "National Union for the Complete Independence of Angola" (UNITA, leader - Jonas Savimbi) . These movements were organized in 1956, 1962 and 1966 respectively. The MPLA, which advocated the independence of a united Angola, began an armed struggle against the colonial Portuguese authorities in 1960. The FNLA and UNITA were anti-colonial separatist movements based on the Bakongo (FNLA) and Ovimbundu (UNITA) peoples. On February 4, 1961, the FNLA raised an uprising in the city of Luanda. The rebels attacked the Luandan prison in order to free the leaders of the national movement. The uprising resulted in some concessions from the colonial authorities. In particular, forced labor was abolished, and the powers of local authorities were expanded. In the spring of 1962, the FNLA managed to create the "Provisional Government of Angola in Exile" (GRAE), which was headed by J. Roberto. In 1966, UNITA began combat activities. MPLA in 1962-1972 managed to create several military-political regions with elected authorities. The UNITA leadership agreed to cooperate with the colonial authorities and temporarily stopped the armed struggle.
In 1974, an anti-fascist uprising took place in Portugal, as a result of which the new government of the country announced the granting of freedom to all colonies. In January 1975, between Portugal, on the one hand, and the MPLA, FNLA and UNITA on the other, an agreement was signed on the practical transition of Angola to independence. However, armed clashes began between supporters of the MPLA and the FNLA, which did not allow the creation of a transitional government. UNITA also joined the FNLA. Against all odds, the MPLA forces succeeded in pushing the FNLA and UNITA supporters out of Luanda. In October 1975, the troops of Zaire and South Africa invaded the territory of Angola to support the FNLA and UNITA. On November 11, 1975, the MPLA declared the independence of the country. The Independent Republic of Angola was proclaimed, and A. Neto became its president. The leading role of the MPLA in the republic was enshrined in the constitution. Through the mediation of the USSR, the new government invited Cuban military units, which helped the MPLA armed forces to expel the troops of South Africa and Zaire from Angola in March 1976. Supporters of the FNLA and UNITA continued to resist.

UNITA fighters

At the end of the following year, 1977, the MPLA was transformed into the vanguard party MPLA-Party of Labor (MPLA-PT), and the course towards socialism was proclaimed by the national government. The country faced a number of difficulties. After the start of the civil war, all the Portuguese left Angola, coffee and cotton plantations fell into disrepair due to the departure of peasants who feared attacks by UNITA militants. In 1979, the deceased A. Neto was replaced by Jose Eduardo dos Santos to the leadership of the MPLA-PT. UNITA, which continued to put up fierce resistance to the government, began to receive assistance from the United States and Western countries from the late 1970s. Significant territories of Angola in the south and east fell into her hands. The source of income for UNITA was diamonds, large deposits of which were located in the territories under its control. At the same time, the main source of income for the MPLA was the export of oil, which was produced in Angola by American companies.
Giant flows of weapons began to penetrate the country. The troops of South Africa and Zaire fought on the side of UNITA. Also, the opposition units were assisted in the preparation by American advisers. Cuban detachments fought on the side of the government troops, the MPLA soldiers were trained by Soviet and Cuban specialists. Also, a number of civilian specialists were sent from the USSR to Angola, because. José Eduardo dos Santos continued the course towards socialism following his predecessor. In addition, the coast of Angola was patrolled by ships of the Soviet Navy. And in the capital of the country, Luanda, there was a logistics center for Soviet warships and marines. Among other things, the presence of the Soviet fleet off the coast of Angola had a great influence on the logistical support of the MPLA government troops from the USSR and Cuba. Also, Soviet ships transported Cuban soldiers to Angola. There was a Soviet air base in Luanda, from which Tu-95RTs aircraft flew. Material assistance to the government was also carried out by air. In assisting the opposition troops of UNITA, the United States mainly used South Africa and Zaire, from whose territory weapons, ammunition, and food fell into the hands of Sovimbi's followers.
In 1988, in New York, the NRA, the USSR, South Africa, the USA and Cuba signed an agreement on the termination of UNITA assistance from South Africa and the withdrawal of Cuban units from the territory of Angola. Until 1990, the parties failed to conclude peace due to clashes unleashed by either government forces or UNITA. Starting this year, the government party has become the MPLA again, changing course to democratic socialism, a market economy and a multi-party system. After the collapse of the USSR and the end of the Cold War, the Angolan government, having lost Soviet support, reoriented itself to the United States. On the basis of the peace agreements signed in Lisbon in 1991, multi-party elections were held in Angola in the autumn of 1992. UNITA, defeated in these elections, resumed the civil war. Military operations have become even more violent than before. In 1994, a truce was signed in Lusaka. In turn, in the autumn of the same year, the UN decided to intervene in the conflict and send a peacekeeping contingent of "blue helmets" to Angola.
The composition of government troops used a large number of Soviet and American-style weapons. The MPLA also had the forces of the Air Force and the Navy. UNITA supporters were armed with tanks, armored combat vehicles, MLRS, anti-aircraft guns, etc.
In May 1995, UNITA leader J. Sovimbi recognized J.E. dos Santos as the current president of Angola and noted that opposition leaders are ready to join the future government of national unity. This was due to the change in South African policy after the change in apartheid policy, when the Republic of South Africa helped UNITA. South Africa recognized the current government of Angola and began to provide him with various assistance. In 1999, a warrant was issued for the arrest of J. Sovimbi, who, according to the Angolan Ministry of Defense, was hiding in Burkina Faso. In 2001, the official government of Angola declared him a war criminal. In 2002, during the operation of government troops, J. Sovimbi was killed. This was confirmed by the leadership of UNITA. After the death of the leader of the opposition, a truce was declared, and UNITA soldiers were sent to special camps for disarmament. On July 20, an official ceremony was held to demobilize the armed forces of the opposition. The process of disarmament and integration of UNITA supporters was observed by the "troika of guarantors" - representatives of Portugal, the United States and the Russian Federation. Some parts of UNITA joined the ranks of the government army. However, the situation in the disarmament and integration camps remained difficult for the former oppositionists and their families. The high death rate due to starvation and disease, mostly among the elderly and children, may have encouraged former UNITA members to resume hostilities.

In the mid-70s of the last century, the confrontation between the two superpowers - the USSR and the USA - reached a new level. Now these countries have begun to "butt" for global influence in Africa. And the long-suffering Angola became a foothold.

The Beginning of the Conflict In the 1970s, Angola, a former Portuguese colony, turned into a hotbed of superpower confrontation. And the struggle for influence was conducted literally at all levels. Representatives of the MPLA national liberation movement and oppositionists who came to power fought among themselves on the internal arena, and Angola and South Africa fought on the external arena. And in the global sense - the Soviet Union and the United States.

Accordingly, very soon all neighboring countries were involved in a bloody "game", and that part of the Black Continent turned into a hot spot.
Angola declared its independence in 1975
The leadership of the Soviet Union did its best not to give up its positions in Africa. Therefore, they tried with all their might to help Angola in the formation of a combat-ready national army, and at the same time turn the country's leadership into their puppets. Simply put, the USSR wanted to mold Angola into a viable socialist state.


This was important from a strategic point of view, because the country occupied an advantageous position, and was also distinguished by rich reserves of diamonds, iron ore and oil. In general, the one who commanded Angola received in his hands a kind of key to all of Africa. And to "give" it to the Americans would be a complete disaster.
When an African country declared independence, representatives of the USSR urgently signed several important documents with its leadership. One of which was the use of the entire military infrastructure by the Red Army. And just as quickly, Soviet operational squadrons went to the Angolan naval bases, and aviation of various stripes (from reconnaissance to anti-submarine) to the airfields. Not without manpower, of course. Thousands of Red Army soldiers, veiledly called "advisers", landed on the Angolan coast.

Not so simple

The USSR tried to act as quickly and efficiently as possible. For 3 months in 1975, about thirty large-tonnage transports loaded with military equipment, weapons and ammunition arrived in Angola.
Angola has become an arena of confrontation between the USSR and the USA
By the middle of spring 1976, Angola had at its disposal several dozen Mi-8 helicopters, MiG-17 fighters, about seventy T-34 tanks, a couple of hundred T-54s, and a lot of the most diverse equipment. In general, the Angolan army was fully provided with everything necessary.


Opponents at this time did not sit idly by. So, for example, South Africa invaded the territory of Angola several times, trying to tear off at least some piece from it. Therefore, the most elite units went into battle - the Buffalo battalions, the 101st "black" and the 61st mechanized brigade. In total, about 20 thousand soldiers, one and a half hundred units of military equipment and four dozen artillery pieces. And from the air they were supported by about 80 aircraft and helicopters. By the way, as you might guess, the United States stood behind the Republic of South Africa. They provided their "brainchild" with everything necessary, sending, like the USSR, their own "advisers".
The battle for Quitu-Cuanavale lasted more than a year
The biggest battle between Angola and South Africa is the Battle of Quito Cuanavale, which lasted from 1987 to 1988. The confrontation turned out to be cruel and bloody. So, during this time, Angolan pilots made about 3 thousand sorties, about 4 dozen South African aircraft and helicopters were destroyed, the death toll was in the thousands.


This protracted confrontation led to the fact that on December 22, 1988, an agreement was signed in New York on the phased withdrawal of South African troops from the territory of Angola.
But the civil war in the country continued. And even if the official leadership made some concessions, the rebel leader, UNITA General Savimbi, did not want to hear about anything like that.
Only in 2002 was the opposition leader Savimbi assassinated.
It was only possible to destroy it in February 2002 during Operation Kissonde, carried out near the Zambian border. And then the civil war ended. But the USSR itself, which supported the government with all its might, did not live up to this moment ...

Secrets, secrets, secrets...

From the very beginning, the "red" operation in Angola was a secret with seven seals. Therefore, the majority of the Soviet military in their personal files do not have any marks about their stay on the territory of the Black Continent.

The first group of Soviet military personnel consisted of 40 people. And in Angola they were allowed to act at their own discretion, even to personally fight if the situation required it.
Documents about the presence of the USSR in Angola are still classified
In general, according to official data, from 1975 to 1991 (the time of cooperation between the USSR and Angola), more than 11 thousand military arrived in the country. They usually wore Angolan uniforms and did not have identification papers. They lived in tents and dugouts. And together with the Angolans they participated in a wide variety of military operations. In general, the success of the Angolan army, which managed to cope with South Africa - the most powerful African country at that time, was the merit of the citizens of the USSR. Of course, there were no casualties. That's just reliable data no one knows. Some speak of dozens of dead, others of thousands. And the archives dedicated to the military-political cooperation between the USSR and Angola are still classified as "Secret".

Little is said about this, but during the years of the Cold War, the USSR defended its interests not only in the countries of the social bloc, but also in distant Africa. Our military participated in many African conflicts, the largest of which was the civil war in Angola.

unknown war

It was not customary to talk about the fact that the Soviet military fought in Africa for a long time. Moreover, 99% of the citizens of the USSR did not know that there was a Soviet military contingent in distant Angola, Mozambique, Libya, Ethiopia, North and South Yemen, Syria and Egypt. Of course, rumors were heard, but they, not confirmed by official information from the pages of the Pravda newspaper, were treated with restraint, like stories and conjectures.
Meanwhile, only through the line of the 10th Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the USSR from 1975 to 1991, 10,985 generals, officers, ensigns and privates passed through Angola. During the same time, 11,143 Soviet military personnel were sent to Ethiopia. If we also take into account the Soviet military presence in Mozambique, then we can talk about more than 30 thousand Soviet military specialists and privates on African soil.

However, despite such a scale, the soldiers and officers who performed their "international duty" were as if non-existent, they were not given orders and medals, the Soviet press did not write about their exploits. It was as if they did not exist for official statistics. As a rule, the military cards of participants in African wars did not contain any records of business trips to the African continent, but simply an inconspicuous stamp with a unit number, behind which the 10th Directorate of the General Staff of the USSR was hidden. This state of affairs was well reflected in his poem by the military translator Alexander Polivin, who wrote during the battles for the city of Cuitu-Cuanavale

“Where have we, my friend, been brought with you,
Probably a big and necessary thing?
And they tell us: “You couldn’t be there,
And the earth did not turn red with the blood of Russian Angola "

First soldiers

Immediately after the overthrow of the dictatorship in Portugal, on November 11, 1975, when Angola gained its long-awaited independence, the first military specialists, forty special forces and military translators appeared in this African country. Fifteen years of fighting with the colonial troops, the rebels were finally able to come to power, but this power still had to be fought for. At the helm of Angola was a coalition of three national liberation movements: the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), the National Union for the Complete Independence of Angola (UNITA) and the National Front for the Liberation of Angola (FNLA). The Soviet Union decided to support the MPLA. With the departure of the Portuguese, Angola became a real battlefield for geopolitical interests. The MPLA, which was supported by Cuba and the USSR, was opposed by UNITA, FNLA and South Africa, which, in turn, were supported by Zaire and the United States.

What did they fight for?

What did the USSR achieve when it sent its "African special forces" to distant lands, to distant Africa? The goals were primarily geopolitical. Angola was seen by the Soviet leadership as an outpost of socialism in Africa, it could become our first enclave in South Africa and could resist the economically powerful South Africa, which, as you know, was supported by the United States.

During the years of the Cold War, our country could not afford to lose Angola, it was necessary to help the new leadership of the country by all means, to make the country a model African socialist state, oriented in its political tasks to the Soviet Union. In terms of trade relations, Angola was of little interest to the USSR, the export areas of the countries were similar: timber, oil and diamonds. It was a war for political influence.

Fidel Castro once said succinctly about the importance of Soviet assistance: "Angola would have no prospects without the political and logistical assistance of the USSR."

How and in what did they fight?

From the very beginning of the USSR's military participation in the African conflict, they were given carte blanche to conduct military operations. This was reported by a telegram received from the General Staff, which indicated that military specialists have the right to take part in hostilities on the side of the MPLA and Cuban troops.

In addition to the "manpower", which consisted of military advisers, officers, ensigns, privates, sailors and combat swimmers (the USSR seconded several of its military vessels to the shores of Angola), weapons and special equipment were also supplied to Angola.

However, as Sergey Kolomnin, a participant in that war, recalls, weapons were still not enough. However, the opposing side also lacked it. Most of all, of course, there were Kalashnikov assault rifles, both Soviet and foreign (Romanian, Chinese and Yugoslav) assembly. There were also Portuguese Zh-3 rifles left over from colonial times. The principle of “whatever we can, we will help” was manifested in the supply to Angola of the reliable, but somewhat outdated by that time, PPD, PPSh and Degtyarev machine guns that had remained since the Great Patriotic War.

The uniform of the Soviet military in Angola was without insignia, at first it was customary to wear the Cuban uniform, the so-called "verde olivo". It was not very comfortable in the hot African climate, but the military, as a rule, does not choose their wardrobe. Soviet soldiers had to resort to army ingenuity, to order lighter uniforms from tailors. To make changes to the ammunition at the official level, to add insignia to it and change the material, Lieutenant General Petrovsky once conceived, but his proposals were met with hostility by the command. People were dying on the Angolan fronts, and it was considered frivolous to deal with issues of form in such conditions.

Change of course

Angola, as well as Lebanon and other African countries, we missed. Now we can talk about it. When the USSR collapsed and the political course changed in the country, our military contingent was withdrawn from Africa. A holy place, as you know, is never empty. The President of the same Angola, Dus Santos (who, by the way, graduated from Baku University and is married to a Russian) had to look for new allies. And, not surprisingly, they were the United States.

The Americans immediately stopped supporting UNITA and switched to helping the MPLA. Today, American oil companies operate in Angola, Angolan oil is supplied to China, has its own interests in Angola and Brazil. At the same time, Angola itself remains one of the poorest countries in the world with a poverty rate of 60 percent, outbreaks of the HIV epidemic and total unemployment.

Soviet Africa turned out to be an unfulfilled dream, and several hundred Soviet military men who had been sent there to fulfill their "international duty" would never return.

"The land of Angola is soaked with the blood of the dead Cubans," Tenhiwe Mtintso, the South African ambassador to Cuba, said in 2005. During the entire time of the civil war in Angola, Havana sent more than 300 thousand Cuban troops here, more than 4 thousand of whom died. Why did a distant Latin American country make such sacrifices, having been embroiled in an internal conflict for more than fifteen years?

Loyalty to the ideas of the world revolution

The situation in Angola, which had been fighting for its independence from Portugal since 1961, began to deteriorate again in 1975 on the eve of the final withdrawal of the Portuguese. The fact is that there was no unity in the ranks of the Angolan national liberation movement. Three independent anti-colonial forces operated in the country: the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), led by Agostinho Neto, the National Liberation Front of Angola (FNLA) and the National Union for the Complete Independence of Angola (UNITA). The situation was complicated in connection with the military intervention of South Africa, which supported UNITA. The USSR and Cuba supported the MPLA, which adhered to Marxist ideas.

In the Angolan conflict, Cuba acted independently and was much more active than the USSR, which for a long time did not recognize the presence of its military specialists in Angola. Cuban military instructors were sent to the Portuguese colony even before independence, in the summer of 1975, in order to prepare MPLA units for their subsequent reorganization into a regular army. In August 1975, the intervention of South Africa began, which supported UNITA, and in early November, Cuba decided to send its regular troops to help the MPLA. According to some reports, this was done without the consent of the USSR. The Cuban military played one of the decisive roles in the battle for Luanda, which culminated in the proclamation on November 11, 1975 of the independent People's Republic of Angola and the coming to power of the MPLA. This was the beginning of Operation Carlotta, which lasted until the withdrawal of Cuban troops from Angola in 1991. By the beginning of 1976, the military contingent sent by Havana to this African country reached thirty-six thousand people. In general, more than 300 thousand Cuban military took part in the civil war in Angola.

Why was Cuba so interested in supporting this distant African country? Two factors played a big role here: historical and ideological.

In March 1976, addressing his people, Fidel Castro declared: “We Cubans helped our Angolan brothers, first of all, because we proceeded from revolutionary principles, because we are internationalists. Secondly, we did it because our people are both Hispanic and Latino African. Millions of Africans were brought to Cuba by the colonizers as slaves. Part of the Cuban blood is African blood.”

Thus, the operation in Angola reflected the foreign policy strategy of Cuba, which intended to become the first Latin American state to fight on another continent in the name of the idea of ​​world revolution.

Significance for the entire African continent

Cuba's actions in Angola had repercussions for other African countries as well. One of the most significant battles of the Angolan Civil War is the battle that the Cubans nicknamed "Angolan Stalingrad". It really became a turning point not only in the protracted civil war, but also in the fight against South African apartheid. We are talking about the battle of Cuito Cuanavale in 1987-1988, which ended with the victory of the Angolan government forces and led to the withdrawal of South African troops from Angola and the liberation of Namibia, and also brought the African National Congress to power in South Africa. Nelson Mandela himself acknowledged that "Quito Cuanavale was a turning point in the struggle for freedom" of the black population of South Africa. And Fidel Castro emphasized that "the end of apartheid was put in Quito Cuanavale and in the southeast of Angola, with the participation of more than 40 thousand Cuban fighters on this front, along with Angolan and Namibian soldiers."

Without the Cubans, this victory might not have happened. In 1987, the Angolan government attempted an attack on Maviga, a UNITA base in the province of Cuando Cubango. The help of South Africa allowed the Unitovites to repel this attack and launch an offensive against the stronghold of government troops in Cuito Cuanavale. Then, in November 1987, Fidel Castro transferred additional forces and equipment to Angola. The USSR also sent aid to the country's government. The offensive of UNITA and South African troops was stopped on November 16, 10-15 km from Cuito Cuanavale, the defense of which continued until March 1988. After an unsuccessful attempt at a decisive assault on the city by UNITA and South Africa, the Angolan-Cuban troops launched a counteroffensive. By the end of May, they were ten kilometers from the border with Namibia. This forced South Africa to negotiate, which ended with the signing of the Brazzaville Protocol in December of the same year, which involved the withdrawal of both South African and Cuban troops from Angola.

The Angolan operation was the largest for Cuba. In Africa, the Cubans once again demonstrated their loyalty to revolutionary thinking and the principles of internationalism.