Operation Reindeer

Operation Reindeer
Part of the South African Border War
Location	Angola Cassinga Chetequera Dombondola Operation Reindeer (Angola)
Target	Various PLAN bases
Date	4 – 10 May 1978

Operation Reindeer, which began on 4 May 1978, was South Africa's second major military operation in Angola, carried out under the Apartheid regime, the first being Operation Savannah.

The South African operation consisted of an assault by 2 South African Infantry Battalion on two South West Africa People's Organisation (SWAPO) base complexes, Chetequera and Dombondola, near to the then-South West Africa/Angola border; an assault by the elite 32 Battalion on SWAPO's Omepepa-Namuidi-Henhombe base complex around 20 km east of Chetequera; and finally, the attack the operation is most known for — a controversial airborne assault by paratroopers on Cassinga, a refugee camp and SWAPO's regional headquarters, 260 km inside Angola. The operation ended on 10 May 1978.

Prime Minister John Vorster met his defence advisers in December 1977. They discussed the need to take stronger measures against SWAPO, moving from the defensive position of reacting to PLAN incursions into SWA/Namibia, to one where the SADF would conduct pre-emptive attacks on PLAN bases in Angola. All external operational plans would have to have the approval of the Prime Minister.

Early in 1978, planning begun for Operation Bruilof which involved a combined mechanised infantry and airborne attack on SWAPO bases around the town of Chetequera, 25 km inside Angola. These plans were abandoned and were expanded into a new plan called Operation Reindeer. This new operation included plans to attack the Chetequera bases but added the more important objective of attacking the SWAPO headquarters at Cassinga. The date of the operation was set for the 4 May.