Author Description

The idea of a book on Operation Savannah compiled from largely unredacted troops’ diaries was conceived by Rocky Marsicano and shepherded into life by Gerrie Hugo. Gerrie worked tirelessly 18/7 to turn it into reality, assisted all the way by Rocky and Kevin Bowden. All three men are veterans of that controversial campaign. As we shall see, it consequently fills a unique gap in the flow of South African history. Much has been written about Operation Savannah by politicians, historians, academics, generals, and senior officers. Those perspectives were not always shared by the very young men who were involved at the front. Many of Operation Savannah’s veterans have struggled to share their experience, even with family and friends. Most of the men who went into Angola had signed documents as voluntary mercenaries, sometimes under duress, and were bound by a so-called “Official Secrets Act” which forbade them from discussing the Operation. Many could also not discuss their war, as the reality appeared too farfetched and would be perceived as exaggerated. Operation Savannah and the Border War have been incorrectly labelled as an “Apartheid War” by those with a specific agenda. The fact is that Angola was the “African Front “of the Cold War being waged between the Soviet Union and the United States and their respective allies, the Eastern Bloc and the Western Bloc. For the entire duration of Operation Savannah and the Border War, white SADF troops fought alongside the pro-western black African troops from Angola and Zaire, against the pro-communist Angolan MPLA, their Cuban Allies and Soviet advisors.