Standoff attacks by plan on South African security force bases during the SWA/Namibian "Bush War" (1966 to 1989)

Abstract

After World War I (1920), South Africa (SA) was granted a Class C-mandate by the League of Nations to  administer  the  affairs  of  South  West  Africa  (SWA)  (now  Namibia).  During  the  middle  sixties  (1966)  and  early  seventies  (1972),  the  South  West  Africa  Peoples  Organisation  (SWAPO),  through  its’  armed  military  wing  –  the  Peoples  Liberation  Army  of  Namibia  (PLAN),  started  resisting  through  military  means  by  executing  armed  assaults  on  the  South  African  Police  (SAP)  and  civilians.  This  escalated  to  such an extent that the South African Defence Force (SADF) was tasked to take over the northern border protection  during  1974.  The  armed  resistance  by  PLAN  was  typical  of  guerilla  warfare  and  included  numerous standoff attacks on the SADF, the SAP and South West Africa Police (SWAPOL) bases. Although  numerous  actions  typical  of  guerilla  warfare,  like  ambushes,  hit-and-run  attacks,  land-mine  incidents,  acts  of  sabotage  and  intimidation  of  the  local  population  were  launched  in  SWA/Namibia  during the Bush War, this article mainly focuses on standoff attacks by PLAN on SADF/SAP/SWAPOL
bases and the kraals of tribal chiefs protected by local militia within SWA/Namibia. These types of attack were typical of guerilla warfare tactics. Other types of guerilla warfare tactics are briefly referred to. More than 161 standoff attacks on the SADF/SAP/SWAPOL bases were launched by PLAN over the 23 year period of the Bush War. Measured against the “attack the rear areas of the enemy to exhaust and to demoralise them” tactic of guerilla warfare, one can hardly claim that PLAN were successful in doing so.