The following day, 24 August, the main thrust of the operation was launched, with the SAAF focus now shifting to air support. A mechanized force very quickly established itself at Humbe on the opposite bank of the Cunene River from Xangongo and on the main highway north where it dug in to block any possible relief effort coming and also any effort on the part of beleaguered elements within Xangongo to attempt a breakout.
In the meanwhile, a second mechanized force crossed the border north of Ondangwa and made directly for Xangongo, detaching elements to isolate the target from a FAPLA force located at nearby Peu Peu, and to clean up satellite camps situated on the outskirts of Xangongo. The SAAF, meanwhile, directed sustained attacks on enemy positions in Humbe and Peu Peu as well as strongpoints, pockets of resistance and strategic targets within Xangongo itself.
Heavy anti-aircraft fire was registered against all attacking aircraft but by the end of day not one of the ground-operation aircraft had been lost. A Bosbok pilot, Captain Daan Laubscher, was later awarded the Honoris Crux for taking out a 23mm gun position that had stalled a troop advance, flying into intense AAA fire as he attacked the target with 68mm SNEB rockets.
August 25, D-Day + 1, was not so auspicious. As TF Alpha spent the day consolidating its position in the now-occupied town of Xangongo, an Alouette III was brought down with 23mm AAA fire near Mongua. In the meanwhile, TF Bravo had succeeded in capturing the small town of Ionde, northeast of Xangongo, which boasted a sand airstrip, increasing SAAF flexibility significantly and allowing for logistical resupply to the ground forces operating in the area as well as prompt casualty evacuation.
With Xangongo secured the focus of the ground operation then shifted to Ongiva, the administrative capital of Cunene Province. A combined FAPLA/SWAPO attempt to halt the mobile SADF force at Mongua was brushed aside before the South Africans set upon the dug-in defences of the town in earnest, securing first the airport, which was the first target approached by road, and then moving on the town proper.
The SAAF was in the thick of the battle throughout, attacking military installations and AAA sites surrounding the town and the airfield. A Strela hit on a Mirage III piloted by Captain Rynier Keet was recorded during a strike aimed at the Ongiva airport. The impact occurred at the top of the tailpipe section and, although severely debilitated, Keet was able to return to base and put the ship down, having been ordered to orbit until all other aircraft had landed to avoid the possibility of a stricken aircraft obstructing the runway.
Close air support operations continued as TF Alpha methodically worked its way through the expansive target area, calling in air assaults on tank, mortar and 122mm rocket positions which from time to time stalled the advance. A particular obstacle frequently encountered was dug-in armoured vehicles and tanks where only the turret was protruding and which were being used as static artillery. These were very difficult to take out as the vulnerable wheels and tracks were protected by sand revetments.
At about 15h00 a large convoy of enemy vehicles was seen attempting to break out of the town heading northeast on the main highway leading to Menongue. This was rather a desperate gambit bearing in mind the swarm of lethal SAAF aircraft buzzing the scene and, needless to say, it was not long before it ran into and was halted by a TF Bravo stop group, leaving it static and highly vulnerable on a clearly defined road. Two Mirages were called in to attack the ostensibly free-gift target but found the head of the column and the stop group too close to each other to risk firing. This offered an opportunity to a number of vehicles to peel off into the dense bush surrounding the road and attempt an escape around the enemy flank. These, however, were pursed by a Bosbok and quickly located, after which a pair of Impalas was called in to deal with them. Once these had expended their ordnance, four Alouette gunships took over, relieved later by another unit of three Alouette gunships. During this brief but joyous action the SAAF accounted for 13 vehicles while skirmishing ground forces took out another three. These included T-34 tanks and several Soviet BTR armoured personnel-carriers. It was noted that among the dead were four Russians – two men and two women – while a Soviet sergeant-major was captured. What became of him has never been explicitly revealed but it can be taken for granted that he was used in some way as proof that the whole war was premised on South Africa deflecting Soviet expansionism in Africa.
Ongiva, meanwhile, was taken after a two-day battle. Thereafter, a strong SADF force remained in effective occupation of both Xangongo and Ongiva where they would remain on rotation for some time. The South African occupation of these two key administrative centres, notwithstanding being a constant stone in the shoe of any effort to broker an agreement between the warring parties as the political process continued, made it impossible for either SWAPO or FAPLA to operate effectively within the Shallow Area. Most important was the fact that both locations were equipped with serviceable airfields that were improved by SAAF airfield maintenance crews, after which they were available for use, mainly by transport aircraft, but also, when necessary, by helicopters and other ground-support aircraft.
The last SAAF missions flown in support of ground forces were on 28 August, with attacks and general activity also underway in the TF Bravo area of operations, most amounting to little because the SWAPO presence in this sector had rapidly evaporated upon the launch of the general action. It hardly mattered however, since, with the main logistical nerve centres incised, there would be nothing around which hostile forces could coalesce. In fact, it was noted in the months that followed the operation that most encounters with SWAPO tended to be with disconnected groups concerned more with simple survival than offensive operations.
By 1 September, the last withdrawing South African infantryman had crossed the border, returning to South West Africa with considerable booty, amounting, according to Border War historian Willem Steenkamp, to some 2,000 tonnes of looted ammunition, anti-aircraft guns, vehicles ranging from lorries and recovery tractors to scout cars and tanks and many other items.[16]
The net result of the operation was that both SWAPO and FAPLA were pushed northward, with the ability of SWAPO to easily access South West African territory reduced by both distance and, at least temporarily, the destruction or removal of their main heavy weapons inventory. This was grounds for brief elation as the operation wound down and the tactically superior South African forces justly congratulated themselves on a job well done. However, the fact remained that a comprehensive rearming by both FAPLA and SWAPO would be delayed simply by the practicalities of expediting another series of shipments from Russia, all of which would be of the latest pattern and, of course, a sharp improvement on what had been there before.
16
Steenkamp, Willem.