Operation Prone

Operation Prone
Part of the South African Border War
Location	Namibia Tsumeb Grootfontein Windhoek Rundu Oshakati Eenhana Calueque Operation Prone (Namibia)
Objective	South African defence of SWA/Namibia from a potential invasion by 50th Cuban Division.
Date	27 May - 1 September 1988

Operation Prone was a proposed military operation by the South African Defence Force (SADF) and South West African Territorial Force (SWATF) during the South African Border War and Angolan Civil War between May and September 1988. With the advance of the 50th Cuban Division towards Calueque and the South-West Africa border, the SADF formed the 10 SA Division to counter this threat. The plan for Operation Prone had two phases. Operation Linger was to be a counterinsurgency phase and Operation Pact a conventional phase.

Like all good battle plans, events on the ground caused well thought out plans to rapidly change and evolve and this was the case with the proposed SADF plan that came to be called Operation Prone. Caught off guard by the rapid movement southwards by the Cuban 10th Division, whose appearance was first noticed during April/May 1988 when SADF units in south-western Angola started to come into contact with advancing Cuban/FAPLA units, serious planning began. Initially the plans were developed as a proposed attack on the Cuban/FAPLA forces in south-western Angola but as events on the ground changed and peace talks developed, the plans evolved to one of a defence of north-western South-West Africa.

The South Africans anticipated attacks from two or three fronts possibly from Cahama, Xangongo or Ondjiva towards Ruacana and Calueque. They believed that the Cubans response to any South African counterattack, could be attacks by Cuban forces on SADF bases at Rundu, Ruacana, Oshakati, Ondangwa and Grootfontein and could also involve SWAPO insurgents in the SADF rear during the attacks. The SADF's main conventional unit in SWA, 61 Mechanised Battalion was in a state of reorganisation and training after Operation Hooper.32 Battalion and 101 Battalion were engaged in south-western Angola against SWAPO while the other main conventional unit, 4 SAI, was also reorganising in South Africa and would be combat ready in SWA by 25 July. The South Africans did not believe that Cuban/FAPLA forces in south-eastern Angola at Cuito Cuanavale would try to attack the UNITA's bases at Mavinga and Jamba. This meant Cuban/FAPLA forces would concentrate their efforts in south-western Angola.