Battle of Aouzou

Part of Toyota War

Date	8-28 August 1987
Location	Aouzou
Result	Chadian victory (first battle) Pyrrhic Libyan victory (second battle)

Belligerents

Libya

Chad

Commanders and leaders

Ali ash-Sharif

Unknown

Strength

3,000 (first battle)
15,000 (second battle)

Unknown (first battle)
400 (second battle)

Casualties and losses

1,225 dead
262 wounded
147 captured
30+ tanks and APCS destroyed
111 vehicles captured

Unknown

The Battle of Aouzou refers to a pair of battles fought between Chad and Libya in and around the town of Aouzou (Chad) in August 1987 as part of the Toyota War, the last phase of the larger Chadian–Libyan conflict. The first battle resulted in a Chadian victory, while the second battle, a Libyan counteroffensive, is deemed to have been won by Libya. It was the only Libyan victory of the Toyota War.

In late 1987, the Chadian National Armed Forces (FANT) were in the process of retaking northern Chad from Libya. The battle for the Aouzou Strip — a strip of land in northern Chad then controlled by Libya — began in late July. After suffering a string of defeats, the Libyan Army organized a counteroffensive on August 8 in an attempt to regain a foothold in the nearby Tibesti Mountains. As the 3,000-strong Libyan force drove southwards, towards the Tibesti town of Bardaï, they were intercepted by the FANT, which surrounded and attacked them on multiple sides, forcing them to retreat. The Chadians then began aggressively pursuing the Libyans northwards through the desert, towards Aouzou, inflicting numerous casualties along the way to the Libyan Army, which suffered 650 killed, 147 taken prisoner, 111 military vehicles captured, and at least 30 tanks and APCs destroyed. With the Libyans routed, the FANT troops easily moved into the town of Aouzou that same day; however, this move went against the advice of the France's president and Chadian ally François Mitterrand, who refused to provide air support for the operation.

The loss of Aouzou infuriated Libya's leader, Muammar Gaddafi, who ordered its recapture. He sent Ali ash-Sharif, who was widely considered to be Libya's most capable general, along with 15,000 troops to retake the town. The Libyans began bombarding the town with artillery and airstrikes to soften up the Chadian positions. Despite the bombardment, when the Libyans finally attacked on August 14, they were repelled and lost over 200 men in the process. Ash-Sharif regrouped and launched a second attack, but was defeated once more. The Chadians overcame the Libyans' far superior weaponry, which included Soviet T-55 tanks, by utilizing innovative tactics. For example, the Chadians would mount French-supplied MILAN anti-tank missiles on Toyota pickup trucks and then race two of the trucks towards the tank from opposite directions. The tanks were unable to move their turrets fast enough to track them. Meanwhile, the "Libyans conducted simple, slow-moving frontal assaults, which were easily broken up by fast, enveloping Chadian counterattacks."

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Wikipedia