Читать книгу The SADF in the Border War - Leopold Scholtz - Страница 5

Author’s Note

During the Border War, I worked as a journalist at two Afrikaans news­papers – first at Beeld in Johannesburg (1979–1982) and then at Die Burger in Cape Town. These newspapers often carried reports of clashes and operations in which the South African Defence Force (SADF) was involved in northern South West Africa or across the border in Angola. Our job was not an easy one, as the Defence Force was rather poor at providing information. As a matter of fact, almost throughout the war there was a measure of tension between the newspapers and the Defence Force; the journalists always wanted more information, while the Defence Force gave as little away as possible.

Apart from the question of whether the Defence Force at the time could have elicited more support from the white population by issuing more information, the relative shortage of facts greatly frustrated me as a military historian. Even then, I had wanted to write a proper independent analysis of the military operations, but this was obviously impossible. The only known facts were those issued by the Defence Force, SWAPO, the MPLA and the Cubans, and the propagandistic nature of their statements made their accuracy highly dubious.

However, a few years ago several web pages started publishing original documents, inter alia, of the State Security Council (SSC), the Department of Foreign Affairs, the Defence Force, United States, Cuba and the Soviet Union. To me, this tipped the scales. With the use of additional unpublished documents in the Documentation Centre of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) and contact with SADF veterans, I decided to tackle this book. It is only a first attempt; as further sources become public, the picture will become even fuller and more nuanced.

I made good friends with several veterans while writing this book. Among them I have to mention especially major generals Roland de Vries and Johann “Dippies” Dippenaar, as well as Ariël Hugo, formerly a second lieutenant with 61 Mechanised Battalion Group and now involved with this unit’s veterans’ society. They displayed endless patience by reading parts of the manuscript and identifying mistakes. De Vries went to great lengths to write down his observations of several aspects of the Border War especially for me. I am encouraging him to adapt these in book form, as I really think he has an interesting story to tell.

Two more individuals whose patience I have tested to the utmost are Lieutenant Colonel Erika Strydom and Steve de Agrela of the SANDF Documentation Centre, who spent hours finding documents for me. I also conducted personal interviews, or had e-mail correspondence, with the following: General Jannie Geldenhuys; brigadier generals Piet Muller, McGill Alexander and Willem van der Waals; colonels Paul Fouché, CP du Toit, Gerhard Louw, Leon Marais, Jan Malan, André Retief, Gert van Zyl and Ep van Lill; Commandant Dr Jakkie Cilliers of the Institute of Security Studies; Lieutenant Colonel Professor Doctor Abel Esterhuyse of the Military Academy at Saldanha; Major Hans Kriek; and lieutenants Ariël Hugo, Paul Louw, Gert Minnaar and Hubrecht van Dalsen. The maps were kindly drawn by Camille Burger.

To all these people, I want to express my sincerest thanks. Without their help, this book would have been a meagre harvest.

Last but not least, a special mention of my wife, Ingrid Scholtz, who is also a historian. In general, she is my sharpest critic, but also my greatest support. Without her, I am nothing.

Leopold Scholtz,

Delft