A dry but rich account of time spent with the famous 32 Battalion. Marius Scheepers was a national service signals officer (9C) with the unit from late 1982 to late 1983. This placed the young officer in a unique position, alongside the commander to know what was going on and where. As 9C he was also required to keep records and report. Here he puts this knowledge to good use.

 

Scheepers also had the SANDF documentation centre declassify many relevant documents, adding detail so often missing from other accounts, especially regarding operations Snoek and Dolfyn, anti-People’s Liberation Army of Namibia area-operations in south Angola. Although he was not part of it – his term of service had by then ended – Scheepers gives a good account of Operation Askari (January 1984), including a reproduction of an official assessment of its success. “The year 1983 can generally be regarded as the pivotal year in the Angolan bush war. During this period the war zone in southern Angola was firmly secured by our SADF forces.”

 

 

Striking inside Angola with 32 Battalion

Marius Scheepers           

30 Degrees South Publishers

Johannesburg

2012

 

Also published in the UK by:

Helion & Company Ltd

Solihull

 

 

183 pages

Illustrated

Index, bibliography, maps, appendices

Endnotes