32 Battalion Paperback – July 1, 2011

“32 Battalion” is a cradle-to-grave conventional military history of a unique counter guerrilla South African battalion that fought along the border between Angola and South West Africa (now Namibia). Made up primarily of black Portuguese-speaking Angolans who were disaffected by the communist Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) takeover of Angola in the post-colonial period following the nation’s independence in 1975, the South African unit supported the primary opposition parties, and it worked to block the infiltration of guerrillas from Angola into South West Africa, at the time controlled by South Africa. This was a war that was as much political as tribal, and that was fought within the context of the Cold War, which led Cuba and the Soviet Union to directly support the MPLA against its enemies, which in turn led to direct South African support of the Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) and the National Liberation Front for Angola (FNLA).The book begins by providing the background that led to the uncoordinated and disjointed independence of Angola due to a pro-democracy military coup in Portugal. The new Portuguese government almost immediately gave Angola its independence but did little to prepare the nation for a smooth transition. Multiple tribal-based political parties started a civil war for power with the MPLA taking over the capital and becoming the defacto government. Within the Cold War context, the new communist government received immediate support from the Soviet Union, with Cuba directly providing soldiers, called “volunteers,” and equipment. In the turmoil following the takeover of the capital city of Luanda, the South Africans created an ad hoc battalion of disaffected Angolans who attacked towards the coast and were driving towards Luanda when they were stopped by the Cubans and MPLA soldiers. South Africa recognized the value of having a non-South African unit that could support UNITA and which could operate across the border against infiltrating guerrillas from the South West African People’s Organization (SWAPO), giving South Africa plausible deniability for its efforts.The author then follows the history of 32 Battalion in two to three year increments from 1976 to 1992 when it was announced the unit would be disbanded. In each of these two to three year chapters, Nortje recounts the battalion’s operations, how they were conducted, and the results. These chapters provide detailed descriptions of significant and routine operations, and they trace the unit from its ragtag beginnings into a recognized South African battalion, with better armaments, uniforms, and logistical support to the point where the unit was also able to function in conventional operations using artillery, armored transports, and armored cars.Also of note is that the author, Piet Nortje, was a career South African soldier who spent the majority of those years with 32 Battalion. These means he had access to a great deal of original source material, photos, and personal documents combined with personal insight in writing this book. This means there’s probably personal bias in what and how the author presents the information, but this is normal for this type of book, and it does not detract from his narrative.If you’re interested in counter guerrilla operations in general, or South Africa’s border wars, in detail, you’ll want “32 Battalion.”

I enjoyed this book. I did read the kindle version and this book has a flaw that many history books have, the maps never show up very well on the small screen. I understand, a map which looks great in the print version may end up very compressed on the kindle, it's a shame but i understand a cost of doing business with the kindle so I don't judge that negativly at all. (I just think a wonderful positive when maps are done correctly on a kindle version!)Why not a five stars? To me five stars is for a great book that you can't put down and you read into the middle of the night knowing you will regret it at work the next day when your falling asleep at your desk. This book never grabbed me that way. The writing style and layout of the book just seemed to really prevent me from getting attached to the unit.The book starts off very disjointed with giving a broad overview of the history of the unit and lots of in depth background "fluff" of the unit. For example, what their patches are, their ceremony, their drill routines, and what awards the individuals in the unit won. And only once you are done with that, you get into the combat operations of the unit. I was personally hoping for either much more of a combat history of the unit, or a nice story about being "one of the guys" in the unit. I got bits and pieces of a combat history and smaller pieces of the stories involved with "being one of the guys". I loved the detail during some of the operations, but I felt that many of the operations were covered more broadly than i preferred.Overall this was a good book that left me wanting to find yet another book on the South African conflict so I can truly satisfy my desire for a great read on the conflict.

I always prefer 1st hand stories. This was a well written historical book. But it is typically 'dry' and slow reading.

32 Battalion was made up of black Angolan soldiers who were the survivors of Holden Roberto's FNLA faction. After Portugal left Angola and the Cuban/MPLA took over in 1975 many former FNLA soldiers fled as refugees to South Africa. There they took up arms for the South Africans who used them to take the fight externally to SWAPO which was trying to 'liberate' Namibia.32 Battalion was founded by Jan Breytenbach who ironically was the brother of anti-Apartheid activist Breyten Breytenbach.With the excellent leadership provided by the predominately South African (there were some officers from countries such as the United Kingdom, Rhodesia, Portugal and the United States also) the Angolan soldiers of 32 Battalion were able to take on superior numbers of Cuban and FAPLA forces. The Fapla forces were also recruited from the same tribes as 32 Battalion. As South Africa's Border War progressed more Black Angolans entered the NCO and Officer ranks.When the war ended they were sent to South Africa where they did not do so well in the Townships.After disbanding many of the men ended up in Executive Outcomes fighting for FAPLA against their old allies UNITA and doing what the UN cannot do...cleaning up Sierra Leone with a few hundred soldiers. This is well described in Bloodsong!: An Account of Executive Outcomes in Angolaby James Hooper

This is an objective and factually correct history of 32 Battalion, It was by far the best fighting infantary unit in the SADF. This book gives an in depth insight into the culture, bravery, endurance, commeradery and character of the unit that made them who they were. Individually they gave it their all , for each other , Carpenter and those who came after him AND the RSA . In the end they were betrayed by politicians and Hans Kakies. Brothers in Arms you will forever be remembered for who you were. Go in peace.

This book was written by a former regimental sergeant major of 32 battalion, a posting that he achieved at an unusual young age. He served on that unit for a good part of his military career.Because of that, and because of the enthusiasm with which he describes the accomplishments of his unit and defends it against the defamations made by its foes, I approached the facts in this book with caution.By I don't think there's real reason for that: first because the author went to great trouble to access confidential documents archived by South Africa's military. And also because if a military unit inspires such fierce loyalty, there must really be something special about it.The result is, by far, one of the best military history books I ever read.It combines careful presentation of the facts with exciting narration of military operations. It's enriched with a great amount of line drawings and maps (something I find lacking in almost all military books) that help a lot to understand the dimension of the incursions into Angola.It's very well structured, starting by describing the context in which the battalion was founded (South Africa's intervention in Angola during the independence process, motivated by the struggle for independence of Namibia), followed by the "portfolio" of the unit (structure, home base, traditions, etc) and then by its "curriculum": the description of the military operations it was involved in.As appendices you get a glossary of military terms and equipment (very useful for those unfamiliar), Roll of Honour and a list of the Battalion traditional songs.To top it all a collection of photos taken on Buffalo Base and on military operations.A great homage that other more prestigious and well-known military units should be envious of.

Works well,does what it says on the tin!

The strength of this book is that it was written by a guy who was there. Nortje has that unassuming and direct style of writing that seems characteristic of professional soldiers.There are numerous places where the book reads very well, however, there are also long stretches where the narrative seems to list what seem like endlessly similar operations. There are two basic types of passages in the book. The good ones are probably based on the author's experience or detailed stories from others, while the dry ones appear to be basically transcriptions of official records. I blame this on the editor, who should have given the author a bit more professional help on maintaining a more consistent style in the story telling.The maps and other supporting details could also be improved. The maps are professionally drawn, clean and clear, however they can be confusing to follow. In numerous places, the maps that seem to apply to nearby text do not include some of the place names referred to in the text. This would be hard for the author to spot with his intimate familiarity with the geography. Again, the editors should have noticed this. The presentation would perhaps be clearer with fewer maps overall, but with an overall key-map and close up maps of the various areas under discussion.

Some interesting disclosures about what went on behind the scenes, but I found most of the maps and diagrams un-readable on Kindle which is a pity because one needs to understand them to get context.