Operation Seiljag

Operation Seiljag
Part of the South African Border War

32 Battalion uniforms worn during Seiljag. To help keep their activities covert, the unit's personnel wore ubiquitous lizardstripe camouflage in Angola which mimicked Angolan military battledress. While operating in Ovamboland, 32 operators used the standard issue SADF brown fatigues.[1]
Date1 November 1976[1] – 31 March 1977[2]
(4 months, 4 weeks and 2 days)
Location
Angola
South West Africa (Namibia)
Result Indecisive
Belligerents
 South Africa South West African People's Organization
Commanders and leaders
South Africa Col. Jan Breytenbach
South Africa Lt. Gerrit Keulder †
South Africa Lt. Des Burman		 Unknown
Strength
Several infantry platoons
1 Bosvark[3]
5 Unimog trucks[3]		 445 guerrillas[1][3]
Casualties and losses
3 killed[3][4] 19+ killed[1][3]
1+ wounded[3]

Operation Seiljag was a South African 32 Battalion search and destroy campaign conducted against the People's Liberation Army of Namibia (PLAN) from November 1976 to March 1977, during the South African Border War. It was carried out from November 1976 to March 1977 largely on the Yati Strip, a region patrolled by South African security forces parallel to the Angolan border.[5] By February, the fighting had intensified and shifted to about fourteen kilometres into Angola.[3] In the course of a four-month period 32 Battalion had eliminated two PLAN sections, repelled a third incursion across the border, and destroyed three militant bases.[1][3] The bodies of nineteen guerrillas were recovered, in addition to a cache of mortar bombs and RPG-7 projectiles intended for use on PLAN raids.[1][3][2]

Operation Seiljag was one of the largest actions involving 32 Battalion at that point, involving firefights with up to three hundred insurgents. Casualties were relatively light on both sides.[1]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Nortje 2003, p. 111.
  2. ^ a b Nortje 2003, p. 113.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Nortje 2003, p. 112.
  4. ^ Dovey 2015.
  5. ^ Lord 2012, p. 490.