South Africa's Border War 1966-1989
Cold War History Reference Military History African History South African Border War Modern Warfare Illustrated Military Guide Angolan-South African Conflict
Willem Steenkamp’s South Africa’s Border War 1966-1989 is the most sought-after single-volume reference on Southern Africa’s longest running Cold-War conflict, and this well-kept 256-page illustrated edition from Helion’s limited print-run is fast becoming a collector’s item. In one concise narrative Steenkamp—who fought in the war and later became the SADF’s official historian—pulls together political decision-making, bush-warfare tactics, and first-hand accounts from both South African and Angolan perspectives. The result is a balanced, highly readable chronology that explains why the battles along the Namibian/Angolan frontier mattered to Pretoria, Washington, Moscow and Havana, and how they reshaped modern southern Africa.
Every chapter is amplified with rare photos, detailed maps and colour profiles of Ratel IFVs, Mirages, Buffels and Cuban T-34s, making the book invaluable to modellers, wargamers and military collectors searching for accurate visual references for the 1960-1980s period. Uniform details, unit structures, Operation Savannah, Cassinga, the Cuito Cuanavale siege and the 1989 withdrawal are all covered with the precision expected of a professional military text, yet the prose stays lively enough for general readers who simply want a gripping true-war story. With only light cover wear and clean pages, this copy is graded collector-near-fine and comes from a smoke-free home—an increasingly hard find as the title goes out of print.
For educators, veterans, researchers or young adults studying twentieth-century revolutionary warfare, this trade-paperback offers an Africa-centric lens that Western curricula often overlook. Its 11.5" x 8.2" page size allows the illustrations to breathe, while the 2014 publication date ensures the bibliography includes newly declassified SADF and SWAPO files. Secure this copy now before remaining stocks disappear and secondary-market prices climb further.
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