Operation Seiljag

On the 26 November, the first 32 Battalion platoon observed six PLAN guerrillas at a watering hole on the edge of Chana Onaimbungu. This was three kilometres south of the border and well within South West African territory. The South Africans deployed into a sweep line and advanced to within fifty metres of the unsuspecting militants before opening fire. The insurgents made no attempt to resist, but fled towards the western bush. In their haste they inadvertently collided with a second platoon to the northwest less than an hour later. The insurgents were killed when they entered the South Africans' camp. Both platoon leaders made contact and agreed that they had probably encountered the same group.^[1]

In mid-December, Colonel Breytenbach's brother Cloete, a journalist for The Sunday Times, arrived in South West Africa to do a story on the war. He requested an opportunity to see the operational area and was permitted to photograph 32 Battalion in action as long as he refrained from publishing the unit's name or any details of its deployment. Cloete received his opportunity on 23 December, when an SADF supply convoy spotted suspicious tracks entering Ovamboland. A 32 Battalion member, Tony Viera, followed the tracks two kilometres into Angola and observed seven insurgents mingling with civilians north of Chapa Lupale. His platoon deployed around the fringe of the settlement and crawled to within seventy metres of the guerrillas. In the ensuing firefight six of the seven were shot dead. Cloete Breytenbach published an exclusive report on the action when he returned to Johannesburg. This was the first time that 32 Battalion had been publicly photographed.^[3]

On Christmas Day PLAN retaliated by attacking another 32 Battalion platoon a kilometre south of the border. The guerrillas were repelled back across the border with no casualties, and January 1977 passed almost without incident.^[3] On 19 February the South Africans located more suspicious tracks and not long after seven that evening two platoons led personally by Colonel Breytenbach followed them into Angola. There was a full moon which afforded excellent visibility; even without adequate night vision equipment Breytenbach's men were able to locate the target cadres near a waterhole. The insurgents fought back with surprising ferocity and mortally wounded a 32 Battalion operator before escaping. In the aftermath of the skirmish two insurgent dead were recovered as well as a cache of arms which included five PG-7V rockets and six 60mm mortar bombs.^[3]

Sporadic engagements continued to be reported as 32 Battalion began actively searching out PLAN's forward operating bases. The first was discovered on the 22 February, when a sweep in the vicinity of Chana Henombe encountered one two kilometres southeast of the village. A 32 Battalion platoon stumbled into the camp's trench network and an estimated 100 insurgents responded to the scene with RPG-7s and small arms.^[3] The platoon also reported coming under heavy mortar fire. After ten minutes of shooting, the insurgents escaped unharmed into the bush and scattered. A second platoon led by Lieutenant Gerrit "Gert" Keulder also investigated Chana Mamuandi, arriving there on March 1.^[3] Their patrol made contact with a PLAN patrol, which immediately broke and ran. Seven nights later, 32 Battalion also combed Chana Hangadima but reported no sign of the enemy. By noon the following day the platoons had swept the fringe of Chana Henombe without encountering resistance. Keulder found an abandoned PLAN base in the Nutalala area and destroyed it.^[3] As the South Africans prepared to depart in the late afternoon, they were engaged by about 300 insurgents mounting a counterattack. The PLAN group mortally wounded Lieutenant Keulder before withdrawing, leaving their five dead behind them.^[2] At this point it became clear that PLAN either lacked the willingness or capability to fight sustained engagements, as even when 32 Battalion was outnumbered and outgunned their assailants would only exchange fire for about ten minutes. The insurgents would then disappear into the bush. Similar tactics were observed in the closing weeks of Seiljag – for instance, when sweeping a final PLAN base on the Huavala River a Lieutenant Des Burman's platoon encountered token opposition from guerrillas in a fortified trench complex.^[2] Despite initially responding with machine gun fire and RPGs, PLAN soon abandoned its advantageous position and retreated to the northwest. The South Africans scoured the trenches and found them to be one and a half metres deep, sprawling over a single piece of ground one hundred and fifty metres in diameter and bolstered with camouflaged bunkers. Some Angolan civilians had also resided in them. According to their accounts the particular base had been constructed three months prior. Male PLAN recruits tended to their fields by day and returned to sleep in their bunkers by night.^[2]

Late March saw 32 Battalion beginning to move out once more; by the end of the month the platoons were back in South West Africa, having been relieved by fresh troops. Operation Seiljag was over.^[2]

Between November 1976 and March 1977 32 Battalion had accounted for at least 19 insurgents at the expense of three of their own. Besides Lieutenant Keulder, another white operator, Rifleman Christiaan Johannes Swart, had been killed on the 31 December.^[4] One of Colonel Breytenbach's platoon also died in the fighting on the 19 February.^[3] The capture of insurgent arms had been negligible, since most of the PLAN's materiel was located much further to the north in secure bases.^[8] By the end of 1977 it was clear that the South African government would have to take stronger action to curb insurgent activity.^[8] On 25 October 1977, the SADF claimed that there were 300 PLAN militants in the operational area and skirmishes with security forces averaged a hundred a month.^[8] A further 2,000 PLAN troops were active in Angola and 1,400 in Zambia near the Caprivi Strip.^[8] Not long after this statement was released, an exceptionally large PLAN force of over 80 insurgents was able to infiltrate the border. The SADF was concerned that such raids could be indicative of a PLAN strategy to increase its semi-conventional capabilities and operate in larger groups. For over a decade South Africa had concentrated on a counter-insurgency doctrine based on fighting small, lightly armed, and relatively disorganised partisans. PLAN's decision to escalate the war had forced a change in priorities; comparatively limited actions such as Operation Seiljag were no longer regarded as adequate.^[7]

On 4 May 1978, the SADF responded with Operation Reindeer, which involved regular airborne and mechanised units being deployed into Angola on a conventional scale for the first time. Five rifle companies of 32 Battalion took part in this operation.^[13]

Operation Seiljag was followed by two similar search and destroy operations, Operation Buckshot and Operation Seiljag II.^[14]