Battle of Quifangondo

Battle of Quifangondo
Part of the Angolan Civil War

Map depicting ELNA's advance along the Caxito-Luanda highway towards Quifangondo, by Pedro Marangoni.
Date10 November 1975
Location
Quifangondo, Luanda Province, Angola
Result FAPLA victory
Belligerents
MPLA (FAPLA)
Cuba		 FNLA (ELNA)
Zaire
South Africa
Commanders and leaders
Roberto Leal Ramos Monteiro "Ngongo"
António França "N'Dalu"
David Moises "Ndozi"
Raul Diaz Arguelles		 Holden Roberto
Gilberto Manuel Santos e Castro
Manima Lama
Ben Roos
Jack Bosch
Units involved
FAPLA 9th Brigade[1] 4th Zairean Commando Battalion[2]
7th Zairean Commando Battalion[2]
14 South African Field Artillery Regiment[3]
Strength
  • ~1,000
  • FAPLA
    850–1,000 militants
    6 rocket launchers
  • Cuba
    88 artillerymen and advisers
  • 3,000+
  • ELNA
    1,000–2,000 militants
    120 Portuguese volunteers
    12 armoured vehicles
    6 jeeps
  • Zaire
    1,200 army regulars
    2 field guns
  • South Africa
    52 artillerymen and advisers
    3 field guns
    3 bomber aircraft
Casualties and losses
  • FAPLA
    1 dead
    3 wounded
  • Cuba
    2 wounded
  • ELNA
    120 confirmed dead[note 1]
    200 wounded
    4 armoured vehicles destroyed
    6 jeeps destroyed
  • Zaire
    8 confirmed dead[note 2]
    8 confirmed wounded
    1 captured
    2 field guns destroyed
  • South Africa
    1 wounded

The Battle of Quifangondo (popularly known as Nshila wa Lufu, or Battle of Death Road in Kikongo)[8] was fought on 10 November 1975, near the strategic settlement of Quifangondo, Luanda Province, between the People's Armed Forces of Liberation of Angola (FAPLA), armed wing of the People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), and the National Liberation Army of Angola (ELNA), armed wing of the National Liberation Front of Angola (FNLA). The engagement marked the first major deployment of rocket artillery in the Angolan Civil War, as well as the last serious attempt by ELNA forces to seize Luanda, the Angolan capital. It occurred on the last day of Portuguese colonial rule in the country, which formally received independence only hours later.

After defeating a FAPLA garrison at the nearby town of Caxito, an army of ELNA militants led personally by Holden Roberto began advancing southwards towards Luanda. Roberto's forces included a composite battery of three BL 5.5-inch Medium Guns and two 130 mm Type 59 field guns manned by Zairean and South African artillery crews. Their objective was to dislodge FAPLA from the vital waterworks at Quifangondo and an adjoining bridge which spanned the Bengo River. Air cover for the ELNA offensive was provided by a squadron of South African English Electric Canberra bombers. The defenders consisted of FAPLA's 9th Brigade and just under a hundred Cuban military advisers, bolstered by a composite battery of ZiS-3 anti-tank guns and Grad rocket launchers.

Following a poorly coordinated artillery bombardment and an ineffectual South African air strike, ELNA and Zairean infantry attacked the bridge early on the morning on 10 November, but became trapped in the open while crossing an elevated roadway and shelled by the defenders' rockets. The ELNA advance stalled, and the attackers were unable to regain their initiative. Roberto committed his reserves, but by noon his entire force had been routed with heavy casualties and nearly all their vehicles destroyed. The ELNA forces broke into a disorderly retreat and could only be re-mustered the following day. Realising the battle was lost, the South African and Zairean artillery crews withdrew to the nearby port of Ambriz and were later evacuated by their respective governments.

While the battle was taking place, Portugal renounced its claims to Angolan sovereignty and withdrew the remainder of its colonial administrative and military personnel from Luanda. On the morning of 11 November, the MPLA proclaimed the People's Republic of Angola, which was immediately recognised by Cuba, the Soviet Union, Brazil, and several sympathetic African states. ELNA had suffered such a catastrophic defeat at Quifangondo that Roberto was unable to launch another major offensive; over the next two months his forces were gradually scattered and destroyed by FAPLA and its Cuban allies.

  1. ^ Shubin, Shubin & Blanch 2015, p. 88.
  2. ^ a b Stockwell 1979, p. 163.
  3. ^ Steenkamp 2006, p. 104.
  4. ^ a b George 2005, p. 90.
  5. ^ a b Tucker 2018, p. 371.
  6. ^ Steenkamp 2006, p. 105.
  7. ^ Stockwell 1979, p. 213.
  8. ^ James 2011, p. 193.


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