As of 1975, the decades long insurgency in Angola appeared to be short
of its conclusion. However, with no less than three major insurgent
movements fighting for supremacy, the war went on and then South Africa,
USA, the Soviet Union, Zaire and Cuba became involved.
Affairs like the CIA's efforts to destabilize Angola for little else but
to recoup its prestige after the catastrophic defeat in South Vietnam,
or the South African military intervention in Angola - Operation
Savannah - have attracted lots of public attention and are relatively
well covered in related publications. On the contrary, the final stages
of the Portuguese withdrawal, the military buildup of three native
insurgent forces, and then the onset of the Cuban military intervention
in Angola - Operation Carlotta run in 1975 and 1976 - remain largely
unknown.
Based on extensive research with help of Angolan and Cuban sources, the
War of Intervention in Angola is providing a unique insight precisely
into the latter topic. It traces the failures of the US-supported FNLA,
the growth and reorganization of the MPLA into a conventional army;
deployment of Cuban military contingents, their capabilities and
intentions; and the performance and experiences of the MPLA and Cuban
forces at war with South Africans and the third Angolan insurgent
group - UNITA.
The volume is illustrated with over 100 rare photographs, a dozen of
maps and 15 color profiles.
