On the essential reading list for the SA Border War is the Osprey Modern African Wars (3) by Helmoed Romer Heitman a writer eminently qualified to pen the title. The title contains a set of useful uniform colour plates covering a fairly wide range of SADF uniforms but with more limited coverage of SWAPO/PLAN, UNITA and FAPLA uniform detail, additionally it contains a wealth of useful information that make it an ideal primer on the SA Border War this includes:
- A broad timeline of the conflict which covers the main political and military events from the occupation of German South West Africa by South African forces in 1915 through to the end of the conflict. This names all the major South African external opperations together with commentary on the evolution of SWAPOs tactical doctrine and operational statistics for each year.
- A Review of the Organisational Structure andd equipment of the various different elements of the SADF including:
- 32 Bn
- 61 Mech Bn Group
- 1 Para Bn
- Marienes
- SAAF
- SWATF
- SWASpes
- Modular Bns
- Kovete
- SWA Protection Unit
- A Short Overview on the principal Angolan Forces covering at a high level UNITA and FAPLA
- A Short overview of SWAPO/PLAN,
- A Review of the Major external operations adding brief descriptive detail to that provided in the timeline
- A description of the Colour plates which includes a look at both Unit and Rank insignia
This book provides in a very consumable fashion enough of an overview of the conflict to get you started on the period with limited effort. As might be expected this has a South African perspective and coverage of the SADF forms the bulk of the content. Despite this it is a good primer for use before engageing in further internet research or reading some of the more weighty tomes that cover the political and military history at a greater level of detail.
The book was recently reprinted, prior to that copies were reaching prices of £60 - £90 now its back in easy reach with a second hand copy on Amazon currently commanding a sum of £4.50 at this price it really is a steal, particularly if you are new to the period and the conflict and want to get your teeth into it in a hurry.
Modern African Wars (3) South West Africa @ Amazon
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