Operation Wallpaper

Operation Wallpaper
Part of the South African Border War
Location	Angola Mavinga Jamba Cazombo Cuito Cuanavale Operation Wallpaper (Angola)
Objective	Protection of Mavinga
Date	7 September - 6 October 1985

Operation Wallpaper (aka Operation Weldmesh) was a military operation by the South African Defence Force (SADF) during the Angolan Civil War and South African Border War.

SADF and National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) forces defeated a coalition of Cuban and People's Armed Forces for the Liberation of Angola (FAPLA) troops, fighting on behalf of the People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), in September 1985 around Mavinga. The SADF victory later helped UNITA militants defeat the MPLA troops in the Battle of Lomba River I.

In mid 1985, the Angolan government formulated an offensive called Operation Congresso II. The plan called for the largest ever two frontal attack on UNITA forces in Angola. The Angolan forces were to be advised and led by Soviet and Cuban military advisors and supported by South West Africa People's Organization (SWAPO) and African National Congress (ANC) combatants, as well as tanks, artillery and aircraft. The plan called for a simultaneous attack on Cazombo in the east and Mavinga in the south-east and to take one or both objectives by 3 September. The objective of the operation was to split UNITA forces, forcing them to fight on two fronts and therefore weakening their defensive capability. The potential loss of Mavinga by UNITA could give FAPLA the opportunity to stage a further attack on UNITA's capital at Jamba. The South Africans believed that if Mavinga was taken, FAPLA would move its air defence network southwards, threatening the South African Air Force (SAAF) ability to protect Jamba from Angolan air attack, making it susceptible to ground attack and opening southern Angola to increased SWAPO activity into Namibia.

The offensive started at the end of July, with UNITA initiating spoiling attacks against the FAPLA columns as they moved towards their objectives. By the beginning of September, FAPLA had reached the outskirts of UNITA's defensive positions around the towns of Cazombo and Mavinga. The SADF involvement would take two parts: Operation Wallpaper involved the airborne movement of UNITA troops from Cazombo to Mavinga while Operation Weldmesh concerned the defense of UNITA around Mavinga.