September – October 1987 · Cuando Cubango province Theater
September – October 1987
A major Soviet-planned MPLA offensive aimed at destroying UNITA's stronghold at Mavinga was halted at the Lomba River by South African forces and UNITA, who ambushed and shattered the government's armoured brigades as they tried to cross. FAPLA lost hundreds of vehicles and thousands of men in one of the war's great set-piece defeats.
Commanders