November 1987 – March 1988 · Cuando Cubango province Theater
November 1987 – March 1988
The largest battle in Africa since the Second World War. As South African and UNITA forces besieged the government's last position east of Cuito Cuanavale, Fidel Castro poured in tens of thousands of fresh Cuban troops, tanks, and aircraft. Massive artillery duels, minefields, and armoured clashes raged for months around the town; the South Africans failed to take it, and the arrival of overwhelming Cuban airpower and armour along the frontier shifted the strategic balance.
Commanders