Operation Daisy

Operation Daisy
Part of the South African Border War
Location	Angola Indungo Mupa Ongiva Ionde Operation Daisy (Angola)
Objective	Attack the PLAN regional headquarters and bases at Chitequeta and Bambi.
Date	1–20 November 1981.

Operation Daisy was a military operation conducted from November 1–20, 1981 by the South African Defence Force and South West African Territorial Force (SWATF) in Angola during the South African Border War and Angolan Civil War. This conflict was sparked when the South African Defence Force decided to try to halt the regroup of the active military branch of SWAPO, also known as the People's Liberation Army of Namibia.

The Operation was a success for the South African Defence Force as they destroyed a SWAPO command base and captured a significant number of weapons and ammunition. The SWAPO had to retreat back into Angola to the farthest place since the civil war 6 years earlier. In the end, 70 SWAPO members were killed, compared to 5 fatalities on the side of the South African Defence Force.

After the conclusion of Operation Protea, South-West Africa People's Organisation (SWAPO) were attempting to regroup the scattered PLAN soldiers at their regional headquarters and bases at Chitequeta and Bambi, in south-eastern Angola. Chitequeta lay 20–30 kilometres (12–19 mi) south of Indungo while Bambi was 35 kilometres (22 mi) south west of Chitequeta. As a result, the South African military decided to launch Operation Daisy against these bases – some 240 kilometres (150 mi) north of the South-West Africa-Angola border. The plan called for a South African mechanized force of Ratel Infantry Fighting Vehicles and Buffel Armoured Personnel Carriers assisted by airborne paratroopers, to cross the border and advance north, attacking the SWAPO bases from the 4 November 1981.