Ongulumbashe: Where The Bushwar Began By Paul J Els
Dedicated and signed by the Author Paul Els on the First page.
Ongulumbashe: Where The Bushwar Began By Paul J Els
Softcover
ISBN 9781920084813
Publisher: Reach Publishers 2007
Used - Very Good. This book is in very good condition. The wraps have some slight/limited signs of wear and the pages are clean, intact and the spine remains undamaged. The wraps are slightly shelf rubbed with very slight knocking at the back. The blocks have some minor marks. This book has clearly been well maintained and looked after thus far.
Ongulumbashe: Where the Bushwar Began, comprises 18 chapters and tells the
story of Operation Blouwildebees, the joint South African Defence Force/South
African Police attack on the South West African People’s Organisation (SWAPO)
base at Ongulumbashe on 26 August 1966, which is generally accepted as the
beginning of South Africa’s 23-year ‘Bush War’ in South West Africa
(SWA)/Namibia and Angola. The first five chapters sketch a haphazard background
to the beginning of the ‘Bush War’, dealing with the origins of South Africa’s
involvement in SWA/Namibia, the establishment of SWAPO and the latter’s
insurgent activities up to August 1966, including the establishment of their base at
Ongulumbashe. Chapters 6 to 11 describe the South African security forces’
reconnaissance of the SWAPO base, their preparations for Operation Blouwildebees
and the course of the battle at Ongulumbashe. Chapter 12 then interrupts the
discussion with a superficial account of the sequence of events after the battle at
Ongulumbashe up to the independence of Namibia in 1990. Chapter 13 jumps back
to the consequences of Ongulumbashe, followed by a loose potpourri comprising
discussions on the personae dramatis (Chapter 14), monuments/memorials (Chapter
15), a collection of photographs and newspaper clippings (Chapter 16), a conclusion
(Chapter 17), an unnumbered epilogue by General J.J. Geldenhuys and an
elucidation (Chapter 18) comprising explanations of force compositions, equipment
used, particular incidents, etc.
