campaign, Cold War
Operation Savannah
Operation Savannah was a campaign fought in 1975 at Angola; it ran into the following year. It was part of the Angolan Civil War, which ran from 1975 to 2002. The recorded result: MPLA-Cuban victory.
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Where it sits in the Angolan Civil War
Record
| Date | 1975 (year precision) to 1976 | |
|---|---|---|
| Place | Angola 7.224S, 12.857E | |
| Kind | Campaign, Cold War | |
| Strength | MPLA: 30,000 soldiers; Cuba: 4,000–14,000 soldiers (supported by T-34 and T-55 tanks and 122 mm guns); Soviet Union: 1,000 advisors | FNLA: 20,000 soldiers; UNITA: 10,000 soldiers; Zaire: 1,200 soldiers; South Africa: 500–3,000; 2 frigates; 1 replenishment oiler |
| Casualties and losses | MPLA: 500–550 killed; 33 tanks destroyed; Cuba: Unknown; Soviet Union: 7 killed | FNLA: Unknown; UNITA: 612 killed; Zaire: Hundreds killed; South Africa: 49 killed; 100 wounded; 7 captured; 9–10+ armoured cars destroyed; 2 SA 330 Puma helicopters destroyed; 1 recon plane destroyed |
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Nearest engagements
- Battle of Mbumbi 1622, 161 km E
- Battle of Quifangondo 1975, 182 km S
- German campaign in Angola 1914, 184 km S
- Battle of Gabon 1940, 927 km NW
- Battle of Cassinga 1978, 946 km S
In the same war
Elsewhere in 1975
- Fall of Saigon Vietnam
- Green March Morocco
- Indonesian invasion of East Timor Timor-Leste
- Operation Frequent Wind Vietnam
- Cuban intervention in Angola Angola
Operation Savannah is one of 4,429 engagements of the 20th century in the atlas and one of 29 in present-day Angola.
Sources
Identity, coordinates, dates and the war from Wikidata Q7097499, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Operation Savannah (Angola), revision 1370699279, read 2026-11-15, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; the article's text is not reproduced here. Present-day country and state from Natural Earth. Dates before 1582 follow the Julian calendar as recorded.