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Item Open Access War, popular memory and the South African literature of the Angola conflict(Faculty of Humanities, University of the Free State, 2009) Van der Waag, Ian; Visser, DeonAbstract not availableItem Open Access Cross-border operations of the SAAF in Angola: 1987-1989. Prelude to the final stages of the war(Faculty of Humanities, University of the Free State, 2009) Barnard, LeoAbstract not availableItem Open Access 'n Strategiese en operasionele beoordeling van die Suid-Afrikaanse Weermag (SAW) se oorgrens-operasies in Angola, 1978-1988(Faculty of Humanities, University of the Free State, 2009) Scholtz, LeopoldThe cross-border operations of the South African Army between 1978 and 1988 were politically extremely controversial. There were several reasons why the Army undertook them. On a security-strategic level the South African government wanted to prevent SWAPO, a Marxist-Leninist organisation, to seize power in South West Africa (now Namibia). On military-strategic level it was meaningful to take the initiative and disrupt SWAPO before its insurgents could cross the border to South West Africa; also to support UNITA in order to prevent SWAPO from infiltrating the Okavango and West Caprivi. These cross-border operations were successful in the sense that they prevented insurgency and helped to undermine SWAPO’s morale. In the end SWAPO ruled Namibia; the country, however, did not become a Marxist-Leninist dictatorship but a more or less libaral democracy.Item Open Access Airborne assault on Cassinga base, 4 May 1978(Faculty of Humanities, University of the Free State, 2009) Breytenbach, Jan D.Abstract not availableItem Open Access Die Suid-Afrikaanse lugmag se finale onttrekking uit die teater van Suid-Angola en Noord-Namibië - die einde van 'n era(Faculty of Humanities, University of the Free State, 2009) Barnard, LeoThe physical presence of the SAAF in the Border War in Namibia was presumed to take place in relative peacefulness during Operation Agree. The unexpected invasion of SWAPO cadres on 1 April 1989 (the Nine Days’ War) changed the military scene radically and caused the SAAF to find itself once more in the midst of serious hostilities. After the hostilities had been ended the last task of the SAAF was to withdraw graciously from a war zone that had been the home of thousands of air force men for 23 years.Item Open Access 'n Oorlog wat te voet geveg is: diensplig-infantriesoldate in die Grensoorlog, 1973-1989(Faculty of Humanities, University of the Free State, 2009) Van der Westhuizen, GertThe role of infantry soldiers in the Bush War has not yet been sufficiently recorded. The nature of the war was mostly undramatic, unromatic and anything but glamorous. Furthermore, in the new political dispensation it was not politically correct for ex-national servicemen to talk about their war experiences. However, they played a crucial role, expecially by their neverending patrols during which they had to fight against nature and the elements and suffer from fear, hunger, thirst and exhaustion. Back in their bases, boredom was their greatest enemy. No wonder that many of them still carry the scars of the war.Item Open Access The other edge of asymmetry: South Africa's Bush War strategy(Faculty of Humanities, University of the Free State, 2009) Heitman, Helmoed RomerThere is much talk today of “asymmetric warfare”, with scant regard for the fact that it is nothing new Guerrilla wars and terrorism have been around since the beginning of armed conflict. Also, few seem to consider that “asymmetry” works both ways There is nothing that is quite as “asymmetric” as a tank driving over an infantryman. It is this latter aspect of “asymmetric warfare” that this article will explore in the context of the “Bush War”.Item Open Access Suid-Afrikaanse kapelane in 'n era van militêre konflik, 1966-1989: enkele persoonlike ervarings en perspektiewe(Faculty of Humanities, University of the Free State, 2009) Wessels, Andre; Bredenkamp, IzetteThis article is based on oral history and it examines the personal reminiscences of military chaplains during the Namibian War of Independence (1966-1989), also known as the Border War or Bush War. The following aspects were investigated can war, and the Namibian War of Independence in particular, be justified; what was the relations and the quality of co-operation between individuals and the different denominations within the South African Chaplain Service (SACHS); did chaplains further the policies of the National Party and, finally, were there any benefits coming forth from this military struggle? Interviews were conducted with both English and Afrikaans chaplains from all three branches of the South African Defence Force (SADF), as well as with members of the command structure of the SACHS. Evidence was found that most chaplains regarded their ministry as an ecclesiastical calling and that they made a difference to the spiritual welfare of the troops. It was also determined that personality, principles and culture influenced chaplaincy services. Most chaplains justified the war within the context of the Cold War, but the trauma they had to deal with, convinced them that war should always be a last resort.Item Open Access Military chaplaincy in the South African Defence Force during the Namibian War of Independence, 1966-1989(Faculty of Humanities, University of the Free State, 2009) Wessels, Andre; Bredenkamp, IzetteAbstract not availableItem Open Access The development of military chaplaincy, with special reference to South Africa (up to 1966)(Faculty of Humanities, University of the Free State, 2009) Wessels, Andre; Bredenkamp, IzetteAbstract not availableItem Open Access Conflict between South Africa and Mozambique, 1975-1989, within the framework of the Cold War and regional tensions(Faculty of Humanities, University of the Free State, 2009) Jacobs, C. J.Abstract not availableItem Open Access Die Suid-Afrikaanse lugmag se optrede in die teaters van Noord-Namibië en Suid-Angola 1983-1985: 'n historiese verkenning(Faculty of Humanities, University of the Free State, 2009) Barnard, LeoIn comparison with the preceding years the period from 1983 to 1985 was, as far as the action of the SAAF in the Border War was concerned, relatively quiet. The few big operations in the north of Namibia, as well as cross-border operations in the south of Angola, are analysed in detail. After Operation Askari a period of relative peace followed as the Monitering Commission was established. The action of the SAAF during Operations Boswilger, Egert and Welmesh brought an end to this. The hostilities built up to such an extent that the end of this period can be seen as the lull before the storm.Item Open Access The air war over Angola, 1987-1988: an analysis(Faculty of Humanities, University of the Free State, 2009) Scholtz, LeopoldAbstract not availableItem Open Access The shaping of the South African soldier, 1510-2008(Faculty of Humanities, University of the Free State, 2009) Steenkamp, Willem P.Abstract not availableItem Open Access A view from Cuba: internationalists against apartheid(Faculty of Humanities, University of the Free State, 2009) Blanch, Hedelberto Lopez; Liebenberg, IanAbstract not availableItem Open Access The strategic contours of the South African military involvement in Namibia and Angola during the 1970/1980s(Faculty of Humanities, University of the Free State, 2009) Esterhuyse, AbelAbstract not availableItem Open Access Mededingende politieke paradigmas oor die Grensoorlog 1966-1989(Faculty of Humanities, University of the Free State, 2009) Venter, AlbertIn this essay the author identifies five political paradigms with which the Border War was analysed, criticised, attacked and/or legitimised. Making explicit use of the insights of Thomas Kuhn, the following paradigms were selected the total onslaught, the liberal opposition analysis, the struggle critique, the technicist analyses and lastly the radical critique. The essay concludes that all the paradigms had a more or less underlying political agenda. The total onslaught legitimised the border conflict on Cold War grounds as a struggle against world communist domination. Its main anomaly was the apartheid state that it could not defend. The liberal critique showed the anomalies of the apartheid paradigm but could not convince the white electorate of its merits. The struggle paradigm defends the armed struggle on moral grounds, but could not escape the anomalies of its Soviet and Marxist backers. The technicists, while critical of apartheid, maintained their defence on mainly Western Cold War terms. The anomaly here was that it had to ignore or dampen down the apartheid background to the war. The radical analysts, while maintaining a sophisticated social science critique, could not escape their underlying political goal that the apartheid regime was illegitimate and had to go. While some of the paradigms have been discredited, such as apartheid total onslaught, the understanding of the Border War in moral terms is still controversial and sustains the problematic of contending paradigms that paradigms tend to be mutually incomprehensible. The essay also highlights the seriousness of contending intellectual constructs that academic paradigms can also, and indeed often do, legitimise violence and warfare. They are not simply scholarly games.Item Open Access The role of the South African Air Force (SAAF) during the SADF's cross-border operations in Angola, November 1981-1982: a historical exploration(Faculty of Humanities, University of the Free State, 2009) Barnard, LeoAbstract not available