Sparks Commentary: Forgotten battlegrounds of the Cold War: Angola

The United States actually considered intervening in an African country called “Angola” …

During the Cold War, the United States actually considered intervening in an African country called “Angola.” Few Americans have ever heard of it, and few had heard of it at the time. But it was a battleground in the Cold War, where the local Africans were pawns in a great superpower chess game. The conflicts would eventually involve South Africa as well, and a region trying to become independent from South Africa. My primary topic will be Angola, but this will also involve (among other things) an examination of a different conflict in South Africa. These conflicts would start out as unrelated to each other, but they would eventually be joined together. Just as a Japanese war with China had earlier become joined with the European part of World War II, so did these conflicts become joined with each other. They would eventually become part of a larger worldwide conflict – namely, the Cold War. These conflicts would eventually involve the support of foreign superpowers, troops from overseas nations, and thousands of deaths in seemingly endless combat. They involved some of the largest battles on the African continent since World War II.

South African troops on patrol near the border, early 1980s

Each of the major participants had a history of being colonized by Europeans …

I should mention that each of the major participants had a history of being colonized by Europeans. For example, South Africa had been a British colony since 1815, but it officially became a “Union” in 1910. By contrast, “South West Africa” (not to be confused with South Africa) had actually been a colony of Germany since 1884. But in World War One, “South West Africa” passed from Germany to the state of “South Africa” in 1915. In 1919, the Treaty of Versailles made this official. “South West Africa” would thus stay under South African rule until the year 1990. During this time, South Africa began the process of gaining independence from Britain by obtaining self-governance in 1931. In 1948, it began its infamous apartheid policies, and soon officially became a republic in 1961. Unfortunately, apartheid there would continue until the year 1994. Now I switch gears to my main topic of Angola. Angola had been a Portuguese colony since the sixteenth century (specifically, 1575), but it became an overseas province of Portugal in the twentieth century (specifically, 1951). These are the three main entities whose wars we shall be discussing here. But a few other African countries would also participate in these conflicts, among them the Congo. Thus, I will next discuss a related crisis in the Congo.

Map of Southern Africa, with these three countries highlighted (“Namibia” was then “South West Africa”)

The related Congo Crisis starts in 1960, and ends in 1965 …

Like the other entities, the Congo had a history of colonization by Europeans, but its colonization was particularly brutal. The Congo had been a colony of French-speaking Belgium since 1908, but it became independent from Belgium in 1960. Almost immediately afterwards, the Congo Crisis began in 1960. Independence had been gained so quickly at this time, that many issues surrounding the creation of the new country had been left unresolved. Violence thus broke out between white and black civilians. The Belgians thus sent troops to protect the fleeing whites. With Belgian support, two other states temporarily seceded from the Congo, which were known as “Katanga” and “South Kasai.” This conflict then became a part of the larger Cold War, when Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba called for support from the Soviet Union, which promptly sent in military advisers and other support. This led to a conflict within the new Congolese government. There was a deadlock between them, which was only broken when there was a coup d'état, in which Joseph-Désiré Mobutu took control of the government, and expelled the Soviet advisers. Mobutu was supported by the CIA. Another rival government gained some Soviet support, but was soon crushed in 1962. The secessionist movements of Katanga and South Kasai were also crushed by the beginning of 1963. A reconciliatory compromise constitution was adopted, and it looked like the war might actually be over. But just then, there was another rebellion by a group called the “Simbas,” who were supported by the Maoist Chinese. The Simbas proclaimed a communist “People's Republic of the Congo,” but were soon crushed by the government. Before it was over, Belgium and the United States intervened militarily to recover hostages from the Simbas. Some new elections ousted Joseph-Désiré Mobutu in 1965, but he soon took control with a second coup d'état. The Congo was later renamed Zaire in 1971.

Force Publique soldiers in Léopoldville – Congo, 1960

The Angolan War of Independence starts in 1961, and lasts for years afterwards …

Now I will return to my main topic of Angola. In 1961, Angola began its war of independence from Portugal. There were a number of Angolan independence organizations at this time, many of whom would be enemies with each other during the later Angolan Civil War. But at this time, they were all allies with each other. The main ones are known by their acronyms in the Portuguese language, which can be confusing for those of us who don't speak Portuguese (and I freely admit that I don't). One was the “MPLA,” which stands for “Movimento Popular de Libertação de Angola” (the “People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola”). Formed in the 1950's, the MPLA was financially supported by the Soviet Union at this time. Another group was the “FNLA” (also founded in the 1950's), which stands for “Frente Nacional de Libertação de Angola” (the “National Front for the Liberation of Angola”). An offshoot of this “FNLA” was the “UNITA,” which stands for “União Nacional para a Independência Total de Angola” (the “National Union for the Total Independence of Angola”). During the early 1960's, the FNLA was being supported by the People's Republic of China. But when UNITA became the most powerful faction on that side of the Angolan War of Independence, the People's Republic of China instead switched to supporting UNITA in the mid-1960's. Since this conflict would eventually become intertwined with events in South Africa, I will next consider the South African involvement in this war.

Portuguese troops on patrol in Angola

The South African Border War starts in 1966, and also lasts for years afterwards …

The South African Border War began in 1966, while the Angolan War of Independence was still going on. “South West Africa” actually wanted to become independent from South African rule. Thus, it fought to become a separate country starting in 1966. Eventually, it would become the independent country known as “Namibia.” Thus, this conflict is sometimes called the “Namibian War of Independence” as well. Part of that conflict was fought in a nearby country called Zambia. But another part of this conflict was fought in neighboring Angola, which connected it with the nearby Angolan War of Independence. South Africa was allied with Portugal (and against Angola) until 1975, the year that the latter conflict ended. But the South African Border War would continue long after that. (More on that later.) We will understand the South African Border War better, if we switch back to the events in Angola for a moment. We will then return to the South African Border War more properly later on.

South African armoured column in Ohangwena – Ovamboland, 1970s

The Angolan War of Independence ends in 1974, and the Angolan Civil War starts in 1975

The Angolan War of Independence ended in 1974, with Angola becoming independent from Portugal. It was at this time that the Angolan independence organizations started to make war on each other instead. Thus, the Angolan Civil War began in 1975, on the same day that Angola officially became independent. The South African Border War was actually still going on at this time. South Africa would now become allied with the FNLA and UNITA, while “South West Africa” would become allied with the Soviet-backed MPLA. The Chinese had supported the FNLA and UNITA during the Angolan War of Independence, but the United States had not, because the United States had been allied with their colonizing master of Portugal. But when Angola became independent (and descended into its civil war), the FNLA and UNITA both received considerable aid from the United States. This was because the continuing Soviet support for the MPLA made this part of a larger (worldwide) “Cold War,” and the United States wanted some allies of its own to counter the Soviet allies in Angola. But with the possible exception of some occasional covert operations, the United States did not send its troops to the region. Unexpectedly, though, Fidel Castro's Cuba did send troops to the region, supporting the same group that the Soviet Union had been supporting – which, as mentioned earlier, was the MPLA. The United States actually considered sending troops to fight in Angola, but contented itself with just sending money and weapons instead. They had recently lost their protracted war in Vietnam, and did not want to risk a similarly protracted war in Angola. Even those who would have favored it knew that the Americans were not really in the mood for it at this time, and might not have had the political will to see it through to the end. Thus, having more Americans die in vain was a real possibility in such an intervention, and few wanted to risk its happening again at this time.

Cuban PT-76 tank in the streets of Luanda – Angola, 1976

The South African Border War ends in 1990, and the Angolan Civil War ends in 2002

I talked earlier about the crisis in the Congo, and mentioned that the Congo had been renamed to “Zaire.” In the South African Border War, the South Africans were allied with “Zaire,” which would later return to calling itself the Congo, and would give itself the more specific name of the “Democratic Republic of the Congo.”) On the other side of that war, there was a Congolese rebel group known by a French acronym. The acronym is “FLNC,” which stands for “Front de libération nationale congolaise” (or the “Congolese National Liberation Front”). They were allied with the Soviet-backed MPLA in the Angolan Civil War, and thus with the “South West African” rebels in the South African Border War. During the Angolan Civil War, the Soviet-backed MPLA temporarily established a communist state called the “People's Republic of Angola.” To make a long story short, the South African Border War ended in 1990, but the Angolan Civil War did not end until 2002. The South African Border War had lasted for 23 years, while the Angolan Civil War had lasted for 26 years. There were some 15 years of overlap between these wars. When you include the Angolan War of Independence, Angola was at war near-continuously for more than 40 years. One can certainly support the idea that these are two different conflicts, but one can also find arguments for the idea that they are one and the same conflict. In any case, they are hard to separate, and emerge as complicated and chaotic conflicts for historians to follow. The South African Border War ended with “South West Africa” becoming the independent country of Namibia, as mentioned earlier. But the Soviet-supported MPLA won the Angolan Civil War. This was a disaster for the United States and its allies, but it is quite possible that nothing could have prevented it at this time. It may have been something that would have just happened anyway.