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1 Parachute Battalion
1 Parachute Battalion (''Ex Alto Vincimus'') is the only full-time paratroop unit of the South African Army. It was established on 1 April 1961 with the formation of the Parachute Battalion. After 1998 this unit was renamed to Parachute Training Centre. It was the first battalion within 44 Parachute Brigade until 1999 when the brigade was downsized to 44 Parachute Regiment The battalion has performed many active operations in battle – producing many highly decorated soldiers in the South African Border War from 1966 to 1989. Their best known action was the controversial Battle of Cassinga in 1978. The unit's nickname "Parabat" is a portmanteau derived from the words "Parachute Battalion". History Origin In 1960 fifteen volunteers from the SADF were sent to England at RAF Abingdon, the majority to train as parachute instructors, some as parachute-packers and one SAAF pilot in the dropping of paratroopers. These men together with an older unit called 2 Mobile Watch forme ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
South African Defence Force
The South African Defence Force (SADF) (Afrikaans: ''Suid-Afrikaanse Weermag'') comprised the armed forces of South Africa from 1957 until 1994. Shortly before the state reconstituted itself as a republic in 1961, the former Union Defence Force was officially succeeded by the SADF, which was established by the Defence Act (No. 44) of 1957. The SADF, in turn, was superseded by the South African National Defence Force in 1994. Mission and structure The SADF was organised to perform a dual mission: to counter possible insurgency in all forms, and to maintain a conventional military arm which could defend the republic's borders, making retaliatory strikes as necessary. As the military expanded during the 1970s, the SADF general staff was organised into six sections—finance, intelligence, logistics, operations, personnel, and planning; uniquely, the South African Medical Service (SAMS) was made co-equal with the South African Army, the South African Navy and the South African ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Durban
Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from 25 October 2017. Retrieved 2021-03-05.The names and the naming of Durban Website ''natalia.org.za'' (pdf). Retrieved 2021-03-05. is the third most populous city in after and |
Ombadja
Ombadja (known as Santa Clara until 1975) is municipality in Cunene Province, Angola. Its seat is the village of Xangongo (known in ancient times as Roçadas). It occupies 12,264 square kilometers and has about 304,964 inhabitants . It is bordered to the north by the municipality of Matala, in the east by the municipalities of Cuvelai, Namacunde, Cuanhama, west by the municipalities of Curoca and Cahama. It contains the communes of Xangongo, Ombala-Yo-Mungo, Naulila, Humbe and Mucope Mucope is a town and commune of Angola, located in the province of Cunene. See also * Communes of Angola The Communes of Angola ( pt, comunas) are administrative units in Angola after municipalities. The 163 municipalities of Angola are .... References {{reflist Cunene Province Municipalities of Angola ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ruacana
Ruacana is a town in Omusati Region, northern Namibia and the district capital of the Ruacana electoral constituency. It is located on the border with Angola on the river Kunene. The town is known for the picturesque Ruacana Falls nearby, and for the Ruacana Power Station. The place normally receives an annual average rainfall of , although in the 2010/2011 rainy season were measured. The farm ''Etunda'' is situated near Ruacana. It is run as a government supported irrigation scheme and has been established in 1993. Half of the farm is commercial irrigation land, the other half is allocated to 82 small-scale farmers. ''Etunda'' cultivates maize, wheat, watermelons, bananas, and other produce. History Ruacana was developed around the Ruacana Hydroelectric Power Station, a major underground hydroelectric plant linked to the nearby dam across the border in Angola at Calueque. The dam and pumping station were bombed in a Cuban airstrike in 1988, during the Angolan Civil War. The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Unimog
The Unimog (, ) is a range of multi-purpose tractors, trucks and lorries that has been produced by Boehringer from 1948 until 1951, and by Daimler Truck (formerly Daimler-Benz, DaimlerChrysler and Daimler AG) since 1951. In the United States and Canada, the Unimog was sold as the Freightliner Unimog. Unimog production started in 1948 at in Göppingen. Daimler-Benz took over manufacture of the Unimog in 1951, and first produced it in their Gaggenau plant. From 1951, the Unimog was sold under the Mercedes-Benz brand. However, the first Unimog to feature the three-pointed Mercedes-Benz star was only introduced in 1953. Since 2002, the Unimog has been built in the Mercedes-Benz truck plant in Wörth am Rhein in Germany. The Mercedes-Benz Türk A.Ş. plant assembles Unimogs in Aksaray, Turkey. Unimogs were also built in Argentina (first ever country to do so outside Germany) by Mercedes-Benz Argentina S.A. under licence from 1968 until 1983 (with some extra units built until 1991 o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ondangwa
Ondangwa (earlier spelling ''Ondangua'') is a town in the Oshana Region of northern Namibia, bordering the Oshikoto Region. Ondangwa was first established as a mission station of the Finnish Missionary Society (the FMS) in 1890. In 1914, it became a local seat of government. Ondangwa is said to mean ''the end of the Ondonga area''. ( Ondonga is one of the kingdoms of Ovamboland), and Ondangwa is located on the western edge of this kingdom. Ondangwa is located about from the Angolan border, along the B1 road. It is one of the places of residence of the Kings of Ondonga; the current King Eliphas Kauluma, father to the reigning king, lives here. Most of the residents of the town speak Oshindonga. Ondangwa is the district capital of the Ondangwa electoral constituency. Economy and infrastructure Ondangwa features various shopping centre, a large open market, and several tourism facilities. There are also shopping centres such as Gwashamba mall, Yetu complex, Ondangwa Industr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Angolan Civil War
The Angolan Civil War ( pt, Guerra Civil Angolana) was a civil war in Angola, beginning in 1975 and continuing, with interludes, until 2002. The war immediately began after Angola became independent from Portugal in November 1975. The war was a power struggle between two former anti-colonial guerrilla movements, the communist People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) and the turned anti-communist National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA). The war was used as a surrogate battleground for the Cold War by rival states such as the Soviet Union, Cuba, South Africa, and the United States. The MPLA and UNITA had different roots in Angolan society and mutually incompatible leaderships, despite their shared aim of ending colonial rule. A third movement, the National Front for the Liberation of Angola (FNLA), having fought the MPLA with UNITA during the war for independence, played almost no role in the Civil War. Additionally, the Front for the Liberati ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lubango
Lubango, formerly known as Sá da Bandeira, is a municipality in Angola, capital of the Huíla Province, with a population of 914,456 in 2022. The city center had a population of 600,751 in 2014 making it the second-most populous city in Angola after the capital city Luanda. History Portuguese rule In 1882 approximately one thousand Portuguese settlers came from the island of Madeira to the area of current-day Lubango. These Portuguese farmers helped develop the region and founded the settlement. The city, originally established in 1885 to serve colonists from the Madeira Islands, lies at an elevation of 1,760 metres in a valley of the Huíla Plateau and was surrounded by a scenic park spreading up the mountain slopes. By 1910 there were over 1,700 ethnic Portuguese living in the settlement, which was referred to as "Lubango". By 1923 the Moçâmedes Railway had connected the settlement to the town of Moçâmedes in the coast. The Portuguese government made it a city and renam ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Operation Savannah (Angola)
Operation Savannah was the South African code name for their military incursion into Angola in 1975–1976. It was part of the South African Border War and arose due to the Angolan War of Independence. The operation also materially influenced the subsequent Angolan Civil War. South African forces invaded deep into Angola with the objective of driving the MPLA, Soviet and Cuban forces out of southern Angola so as to strengthen the position of UNITA, the main opponent of the MPLA and an ally of South Africa. South Africa as well as UNITA and FNLA had been receiving material and tacit support of the United States as part of their Cold War opposition to the Soviet Union which emboldened them to pursue this incursion. South African and UNITA fortunes were overturned and their forces were compelled to withdraw due to MPLA, Cuban and Soviet pressure. Victory was claimed by the MPLA who were actively supported by Cuba and the Soviet Union, over the combined forces of UNITA, FNLA, Zai ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
SWAPO
The South West Africa People's Organisation (, SWAPO; af, Suidwes-Afrikaanse Volks Organisasie, SWAVO; german: Südwestafrikanische Volksorganisation, SWAVO), officially known as the SWAPO Party of Namibia, is a political party and former independence movement in Namibia. Founded in 1960, it has been the governing party in Namibia since the country achieved independence in 1990. The party continues to be dominated in number and influence by the Ovambo ethnic group. SWAPO held a two-thirds majority in parliament from 1994 to 2019. In the general election held in November 2019, the party won 65.5% of the popular vote and 63 out of the 104 seats in the National Assembly. It also holds 28 out of the 42 seats in the National Council. As of November 2017, Namibian President Hage Geingob has been the president of SWAPO after being elected to the position at the party's electoral congress. History Background and foundation German South West Africa was established in 1884. Aft ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bushmen
The San peoples (also Saan), or Bushmen, are members of various Khoe, Tuu, or Kxʼa-speaking indigenous hunter-gatherer cultures that are the first cultures of Southern Africa, and whose territories span Botswana, Namibia, Angola, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Lesotho and South Africa. In 2017, Botswana was home to approximately 63,500 San people (roughly 2.8% of the population) making it the country with the highest number of San people. Definition The term "San" has a long vowel and is spelled Sān (in Khoekhoegowab orthography). It is a Khoekhoe exonym with the meaning of "foragers" and was often used in a derogatory manner to describe nomadic, foraging people. Based on observation of lifestyle, this term has been applied to speakers of three distinct language families living between the Okavango River in Botswana and Etosha National Park in northwestern Namibia, extending up into southern Angola; central peoples of most of Namibia and Botswana, extending into Zambia and Zimbab ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Caprivi Strip
The Caprivi Strip, also known simply as Caprivi, is a geographic salient protruding from the northeastern corner of Namibia. It is surrounded by Botswana to the south and Angola and Zambia to the north. Namibia, Botswana and Zambia meet at a single point at the eastern tip of the Strip, which also comes within of Zimbabwe thus nearly forming a quadripoint. Botswana and Zambia share a border at the crossing of Kazungula. The territory was acquired by then-German South West Africa in order to provide access to the Zambezi River and consequently a route to the east coast of the continent and German East Africa. The route was later found not to be navigable because about east of the Caprivi Strip is Victoria Falls, one of the world's largest waterfalls. Within Namibia, the Strip is divided administratively between Kavango East and Zambezi regions. It is crossed by the Okavango River. The Cuando River forms part of its border with Botswana, and the Zambezi River forms a part of it ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
