Join 'The Terrible Ones' on clandestine operations and in conventional warfare during the harsh bush war that raged through southern Angola in the 1980s. The conflict ended with the last major battle of the Cold War, one of the largest land battles of the latter part of the 20th century. This book presents an eyewitness account by a South African Defense Force (SADF) Signals Officer, Marius Scheepers, who served in arguably the most formidable battle unit that ever existed in the history of the South African Defense Force: 32 Battalion. It describes how members lived and fought in the bush during 1983 under the most difficult conditions.

Being the Signals Officer of 32 Battalion, Scheepers was privy to all major command decisions of the time. Although he focuses primarily on operations during the year 1983, including Operations Snoek and Dolfyn, he includes concise descriptions of all other major operations that took place inside Angola between 1966 and 1988, including Operation Askari (1983/84) and the decisive battle at Cuito Cuanavale in 1987/88. Extensive appendices include 32 Battalion sitreps, radio-code cards, SADF radio equipment used by 32 Battalion and details on SADF, SAAF and SWAPO.

Reviews

A dry but rich account of time spent with the famous 32 Battalion. Marius Scheepers was a national service signals officer (9C) with the unit from late 1982 to late 1983. This placed the young officer in a unique position, alongside the commander to know what was going on and where. As 9C he was also required to keep records and report. Here he puts this knowledge to good use. Scheepers also had the SANDF documentation centre declassify many relevant documents, adding detail so often missing from other accounts, especially regarding operations Snoek and Dolfyn, anti-People’s Liberation Army of Namibia area-operations in south Angola. Although he was not part of it – his term of service had by then ended – Scheepers gives a good account of Operation Askari (January 1984), including a reproduction of an official assessment of its success. “The year 1983 can generally be regarded as the pivotal year in the Angolan bush war. During this period the war zone in southern Angola was firmly secured by our SADF forces.”

DEFENCE WEB, 2012-07-12

"A ... rich account of time spent with the famous 32 Battalion. Marius Scheepers was a national service signals officer (9C) with the unit from late 1982 to late 1983. This placed the young officer in a unique position, alongside the commander, to know what was going on and where. As 9C he was also required to keep records and report. Here he puts this knowledge to good use. Scheepers also had the SANDF documentation centre declassify many relevant documents, adding detail so often missing from other accounts, especially regarding operations Snoek and Dolfyn, anti-People’s Liberation Army of Namibia area-operations in south Angola."

LEON ENGELBRECHT, WWW.DEFENCEWEB.ZA, 2012-07-19