Borderstrike!: South Africa into Angola 1975 - 1980

by Willem Steenkamp

A generation ago soldiers of the South African Army slipped discretely over the northern border of what was then South West Africa on the country’s first real external combat operation since World War II. Operation Savannah marked the start of a protracted campaign, part counter-insurgency and part conventional, that did not end until 1989, a decade and a half later.
In 1983 Willem Steenkamp wrote the first detailed account about the early days. Entitled “Borderstrike!”, it went into two editions and is still a standard reference work on the place and period. In this new third edition, he has updated and greatly expanded his original work to provide what is virtually a new book, which retains most of the old material but has a great deal that is new.

879 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 11, 2019

Reviews

[The Real Boba Fett · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a relative amateur with regards to South Africa’s border wars, I thought this was a good book. I didn’t find the parts of the book relating the “build up” to be too long or the “combat” to be too short but just the right mix. I do wish there had been a bit more about the circumstances and zeitgeist that led South Africa to intervene but enjoyed nonetheless.

[Craig Sanscrainte · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of detail and a very good introduction to the South African border war. If you’re a non South African or someone who has little knowledge of the war. It can feel a bit confusing at times. Lots of buildup chapters to the actual combat and operations. Overall it’s worth overcoming the sometimes confusing and overly long detailed buildup chapters.