When radio intercepts indicated that SWAPO was stockpiling supplies for a possible attack on Eenhana or Elundu, it became necessary to disrupt the so-called Far Eastern Front. Measured against the frequency of contact with the enemy, Operation Driehoek (triangle) was one of the most intense involving 32 Battalion. Clashes with small groups of SWAPO occurred on a daily basis, and there were also occasional confrontations with larger groups.
While troops from Elundu were involved in Operation Hammer, sweeping an area north of the base and two kilometres into Angola, 32 Battalion was assigned to the area north of Beacon 21. Under command of Deon Ferreira, Echo and Foxtrot companies, as well as two reconnaissance teams with the call signs WR and ZG, entered Angola on 4 February 1980, with Echo deploying over a ten-kilometre area east of Chiede, Foxtrot covering a similar sized area to the south, and the two recce teams airlifted by helicopter 14 km to the north-east.
The recce teams were barely out of the Puma before exchanging fire with two SWAPO. The helicopter pilot reported fresh vehicle tracks north of the drop zone, and the recce team immediately set up an ambush. The next day, it was the turn of Echo Company’s first and fourth platoons, which killed two guerrillas while patrolling ten kilometres north-east of Namacunde.
On 6 February, the platoons found an empty base at Chana Nacondo and destroyed a stash of food. That evening, they spotted SWAPO guerrillas in a kraal to the north and opened fire, but the presence of civilians hampered the action and the cadres fled, leaving one dead body behind. At just about the same time, the two reconnaissance teams were in a lay-up close to the road 12 km north-east of Chiede, when a Land Rover driven by a white man passed by. As the recces moved closer to the road, five SWAPO appeared. A short firefight left three of them dead. Ninety minutes later, the Land Rover drove into the ambush the recces had laid. The driver was killed instantly when an RPG 7 rocket, fired head-on, turned the vehicle into an inferno. The co-driver escaped and ran into the bush, where his body was found later that night.
On the afternoon of 7 February, Foxtrot Company’s first platoon was attacked by approximately 40 SWAPO, and had to call for gunship support. At 19h00, Echo Company’s second platoon went to replenish their water supply at Chana Euxe, only to find that a group of SWAPO had the same idea. Thirst cost one guerrilla his life, while his comrades escaped.
On the morning of 8 February, the reconnaissance teams heard explosions from the area 16 km north-east of Chiede, where they had set an automatic ambush with anti-personnel mines the day before. On investigating, they found two dead SWAPO. At 14h00, Echo Company’s platoon returned to the waterhole, exchanged fire with a 25-strong SWAPO patrol guarding the chana, and killed one guerrilla.
At 08h45 the next day, a four-man recce team and a group of SWAPO ran into one another on the road from Chiede to the east. Realising they were greatly outnumbered, the recces called in the gunships, and SWAPO lost three men. At 13h45, recce team WR was in a lay-up 18 km north of Chiede when they realised there was enemy movement around their position. The gunships were called in again, but could find no targets. When Lieutenant Willem Ratte led his men to investigate, however, they encountered a group of 40 SWAPO, and between the gunships and the four men on the ground, 13 SWAPO were killed and three captured. Rifleman J Antonio was wounded and evacuated, and the prisoners were transported to the tactical headquarters.
Under interrogation they disclosed that SWAPO’s 150-strong detachment headquarters was at Onesheshe, 16 km north of Chiede. The captives had moved south from their platoon base at Cadueia with orders to attack any targets they found. Based on this information, reinforcements from Echo Company were sent to the contact area and an additional Puma helicopter was placed on standby at Eenhana to airlift more troops, if needed. By sundown nothing had happened, and the recce teams in the field were sent to Chiede to locate the enemy base. From the next day, patrols were carried out in company rather than platoon strength. Echo Company found the tracks of a 75-mm recoilless gun leading south from Chana Hengue, and at 08h30 on 11 February, Foxtrot Company’s third platoon made contact with a group of 40 SWAPO 12 km south-east of Chiede. Two helicopter gunships provided air support, and SWAPO lost two men before splitting into smaller groups and fleeing to the north.
Two days later the companies were moved six kilometres south of Chiede in preparation for an attack on a possible base at Chitumbo. The road from Chiede to Namacunde and Ongiva was mined, and the 81-mm mortar group was ordered to move from Elundu to Eenhana by 15 February. Companies in the field, due to have been relieved on 13 February, were ordered to remain in position for at least another ten days.
The plan was that Impalas would attack the suspected base on 18 February before the assault force was airlifted in by helicopter. However, the operation was cancelled 24 hours before the scheduled launch due to the fact that the target had not been positively identified. The reconnaissance teams set up a rearguard while the companies withdrew back to the border, killing one member of a five-man SWAPO team in an ambush. During the journey to the south, a number of young men were seen moving around the area – an unusual occurrence, as most men their age had long since left to join SWAPO – but because they were unarmed, they were not confronted. By 22 February, fresh troops were in the field, and 55 SWAPO cadres had died during the 18-day operation.
From 32 Battalion – The Inside Story of South Africa’s Elite Fighting Unit | Piet Nortje