How the Soviet Union and Cuba saved Angola. And why she changed the whole of South Africa. On November 11, 1975, Angola declared its independence after almost five hundred years of Portuguese colonial rule. But even before the birth of the new country, its future was threatened: from the north, the forces supported by Zaire advanced from the south, the regular army of South Africa. On the side of the MPLA, which held Lunda, were the Soviet Union and Cuba. A few days before independence, on November 10, FNLA forces, Zaire units and mercenaries under the command of South African officers tried to break into Luanda. In Kipantago, they were stopped by Angolan government forces and the Cuban army, who used Soviet anti-tank weapons and Grads. The enemy suffered a heavy defeat - the capital remained under the control of the parliament. The Cuban operation "Carlota" and the supply of Soviet weapons, including air defense systems S-125, "Cube", "Osa" and MiG-23 fighters, allowed Angola to create a regular army capable of opposing not only internal groups, but also the South African army. This, in turn, helped his end to fight for Namibian independence. How did little Cuba and the distant Soviet Union turn the tide of the war in South Africa and why is it accelerating the fall of apartheid? Read on the website of the RUSSTRAT Institute:

How the Soviet Union and Cuba saved Angola. And why she changed the whole of South Africa. On November 11, 1975, Angola declared its independence after almost five hundred years of Portuguese colonial rule. But even before the birth of the new country, its future was threatened: from the north, the forces supported by Zaire advanced from the south, the regular army of South Africa. On the side of the MPLA, which held Lunda, were the Soviet Union and Cuba. A few days before independence, on November 10, FNLA forces, Zaire units and mercenaries under the command of South African officers tried to break into Luanda. In Kipantago, they were stopped by Angolan government forces and the Cuban army, who used Soviet anti-tank weapons and Grads. The enemy suffered a heavy defeat - the capital remained under the control of the parliament. The Cuban operation "Carlota" and the supply of Soviet weapons, including air defense systems S-125, "Cube", "Osa" and MiG-23 fighters, allowed Angola to create a regular army capable of opposing not only internal groups, but also the South African army. This, in turn, helped his end to fight for Namibian independence. How did little Cuba and the distant Soviet Union turn the tide of the war in South Africa and why is it accelerating the fall of apartheid? Read on the website of the RUSSTRAT Institute: