1975 – 2002
As Portuguese rule ended, the MPLA, FNLA, and UNITA competed for control of independent Angola. Their struggle had local political and regional roots but was transformed by Soviet and Cuban support for the MPLA and aid from the United States, Zaire, apartheid South Africa, and others to its rivals. The war survived the Cold War and failed peace settlements, ending after Jonas Savimbi’s death and a 2002 ceasefire.
Chapter-by-chapter narrative with maps, primary sources, and key events.
Explore battles on a live map with a timeline slider and territory overlays.
Deep-dive into every major engagement — commanders, casualties, significance.
Biographical flip cards with real portraits, facts, and full biography pages.
Trace each figure's full life journey — birth, education, battles, and death — on a live map.
Scroll-driven visualization of casualties — each dot a thousand lives.
Weapons, war machines, and the military innovations that defined how this conflict was fought.
Cause-and-effect chains tracing the war's long shadow on history.
War crimes, massacres, and the darkest chapters of this conflict — documented for history.
As Portuguese rule ended, the MPLA, FNLA, and UNITA competed for control of independent Angola. Their struggle had local political and regional roots but was transformed by Soviet and Cuban support for the MPLA and aid from the United States, Zaire, apartheid South Africa, and others to its rivals. The war survived the Cold War and failed peace settlements, ending after Jonas Savimbi’s death and a 2002 ceasefire.
The Angolan Civil War was fought from 1975 to 2002.
The Angolan Civil War was fought between MPLA Government (Cuba/USSR) and UNITA & FNLA (US/South Africa).
An estimated 500,000 people died in The Angolan Civil War, including roughly 160,000 military and 340,000 civilian deaths. Figures are scholarly estimates and vary by source.
Major engagements included The Halloween Massacre, Battle of Cuito Cuanavale, The Bicesse Accords and the Return to War, and Battle of the Lomba River.