Operation Hooper

Directly following on from Operation Moduler, by November 1987 the SADF had cornered the remnants of three FAPLA units on the east of the Cuito River, across from the town itself and was poised to destroy them.^[2] The quite demoralised 59 FAPLA motorised infantry brigade, 21 and 25 FAPLA light infantry brigades, in positions near Tumpo and east of the Cuito River, were effectively cut off due to SADF artillery control of both the bridge and airstrip and to UNITA guerrilla control of the road from Menongue, which they had mined and were prepared to ambush.^[3][4]

With no functioning armour or artillery remaining, the FAPLA units faced annihilation.^[5] On 15 November, the Angolan government requested urgent military assistance from Cuba.^[6] This was done on the advice of FAPLA's chief Soviet military adviser Pyotr Gusev, who recognised that unless immediate reinforcements were forthcoming the FAPLA lines would likely collapse.^[6]

On 25 November, the UN Security Council demanded the SADF's unconditional withdrawal from Angola by 10 December 1987 but without threatening any sanctions.^{[7][page needed]}

In the opinion of Cuba's leader, Fidel Castro, a South African victory would have meant not only the capture of Cuito and the destruction of the best Angolan military formations, but, quite probably, the end of Angola's existence as an independent country. Thus Castro responded immediately by sending — in what was called "Maniobra XXXI Aniversario de las FAR" — materiel and 15,000 elite troops, retaking the initiative from the Soviets.^[4] The first Cuban reinforcements in Cuito arrived by helicopter on 5 December 1987 with about 160^[8]–200^[9] technicians, advisers, officers, and special forces.^[10] The deployment of regular ground forces was authorised on the condition that the Angolan Ministry of Defence allow Cuban general officers to supervise and lead all future combat operations around Cuito Cuanavale.^[6] This effectively sidelined FAPLA's Soviet advisers, who had been previously in charge of operational planning.^[6]

General Arnaldo Ochoa, a veteran of the 1976 Angola campaign and of tank battles in Ethiopia, was made overall commander of the forces on the government side. Ochoa and Castro were to have serious disagreements in the conduct of the war in Angola. These tensions were to have repercussions both during the war where Castro's interference with defense plans may have cost the Cubans dozens of lives^[11] and in the aftermath of Angolan hostilities a year later when Ochoa was arrested, tried and executed by firing squad after being found guilty of treason.^[12] General Cintras Frias was made commander at Cuito Cuanavale. The Cubans' initial priority was securing Cuito Cuanavale, but while reinforcements were arriving at the besieged garrison they made preparations for a second front to the west of Cuito Cuanavale in Lubango where the SADF had been operating unhindered for 8 years.^[13][14]

Directly following on from Operation Moduler, Operation Hooper's objective was defined as being to destroy the enemy east of the river or at least to drive them back across the river, inflicting maximum casualties but suffering minimum losses of their own.

The river crossings were to be fortified and handed over to UNITA, and the SADF were to withdraw from Angola as soon as that was achieved.

The order was that the town of Cuito Cuanavale would not be attacked unless it fell into SADF hands almost without a fight.^[15][16]

The SADF units received fresh troops and equipment, but the units were reduced to about 2,000 men and 24 tanks for the rest of the operation. The new arrivals had to be acclimatised first.^[17][16]