Operation Wallpaper - Battle

Battle

The Angolan brigades left Cuito Cuanavale on 15 August, with the 8th and 13th following the main road to Mavinga via the town of Cunjamba and the 7th and 25th moving southwards following the Cunzumbia and Cuzizi rivers and having reached the Lomba river, flanking left and followed that river to an area north of Mavinga. Operation Wallpaper came into being on 7 September when the South African Defence Force (SADF) 32 Battalion was given the go ahead to move to Mavinga. The troops of 32 Battalion and additional attachments were dressed in UNITA uniforms and flown to Mavinga by the SAAF. All additional equipment was driven across the border to Mavinga. 61 Mechanised Infantry Battalion was placed in reserve. UNITA had deployed 2,400 men to defend the positions around Mavinga, with 250 men to defend the town and airfield itself. The Angolan forces were now 50 km north west of Mavinga.

By 8 September the south African equipment had arrivedand by 11 September the SADF units were in position to support UNITA and attack the FAPLA brigades. On the early morning of 12 September the SADF Valkiri multiple rocket launchers began to strike the FAPLA 8 and 13 Brigades which had stopped to resupply. The MRL attack ended at daybreak with the Angolan Air Force searching for their positions during daylight hours, but the MRL attack failed to slow the Angolan brigades and they resumed their advance. By 15 September, all four brigades met south of the Lomba River, 30 km north west of Mavinga. UNITA and the SADF units had failed to slow or stop the advance. Having learnt from SADF reconnaissance around the Cuito Cuanavale airfield that the Angolan brigades were being supplied by helicopter, SAAF Atlas Impalas were sent to intercept these Mil Mi-17 and Mil Mi-25 helicopters when alerted to their movements by the reconnaissance units around Cuito Cuanavale. Eventually the Angolans lost 10 helicopters and started using smaller Aérospatiale Alouette IIIs to resupply their forces.

By 2 October, the Angolan brigades were 10km from Mavinga but had suffered heavy losses from UNITA attacks and the SADF MRLs. At this point FAPLA morale was low and with the evacuation of the Russian advisors the Angolan forces were beginning to desert. Over two days of air attacks by SAAF Impala and Dassault Mirage F1 aircraft, ground bombardments from the MRLs and with reduced supply and unit fighting ability, the Angolan brigades were ordered to retreat westwards and then to head for Cuito Cuanavale. By 4 October, 32 Battalion units began to withdraw.