Battle of Cuito Cuanavale

Part of the Angolan Civil War
and the South African Border War

Date	Intermittently between 14 August 1987 – 23 March 1988 (7 months, 1 week and 2 days)
Location	15°09′50″S 19°10′23″E / 15.16389°S 19.17306°E / -15.16389; 19.17306Coordinates: 15°09′50″S 19°10′23″E / 15.16389°S 19.17306°E / -15.16389; 19.17306 Cuito Cuanavale, Angola
Result	Defeat of FAPLA attack with heavy casualties, and abandonment of attempt to capture Mavinga and Jamba Withdrawal over several months of most South African and UNITA troops from Cuito Cuanavale Round One of Tripartite Accord talks commences

Belligerents

South Africa

South African Defense Force
- South West African Territorial Force (SWATF)

National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA)

Armed Forces for the Liberation of Angola (FALA)

MPLA

People's Armed Forces of Liberation of Angola (FAPLA)

Cuba

Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces (FAR)

South West African People's Organisation

People's Liberation Army of Namibia (PLAN)

African National Congress

Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK)

Military advisors:

Commanders and leaders

Demosthenes Amos Chilingutila

João de Matos

Ulises Rosales del Toro

Arnaldo Ochoa

Leopoldo Cintra Frías

Konstantin Shagnovitch

Pavel Gusev

Strength

South Africa:
700 combat troops
(later up to 3,000)
13 Olifant tanks
120 Ratel-90 armoured cars
1 battery of Valkiri
2 batteries of G5 howitzers
1 troop of G6 howitzers
12 multirole fighter aircraft
4 bomber aircraft
UNITA:
28,000 militants
37,000 irregulars
24+ T-55 tanks

FAPLA:
6,000 combat troops
(later up to 18,000)
150 T-55/62 tanks
~97 BRDM-2 scout cars
80+ armoured personnel carriers
~43 BM-21 Grad
96 multirole fighter aircraft
8 bomber aircraft
Cuba:
300 advisory personnel
3,000 combat troops (February, 1988)
32 T-55/62 tanks

Auxiliary support

Soviet Union:
1,000 advisory personnel
East Germany:
2,000 advisory personnel
PLAN:
7,000 guerrillas
MK:
900 guerrillas

Casualties and losses

Total: over 3,000 UNITA dead and 42 South Africans dead, plus wounded

Details

UNITA:
3,000 dead
South Africa:
42 dead
90 wounded
5 tanks lost (2 recovered)
5 Ratels lost
6 other armoured vehicles lost
2 aircraft shot down
1 aircraft crashed

Total: over 4,700 FAPLA dead and 50 Cubans dead, plus wounded