Total Onslaught: War and Revolution in Southern Africa Since 1945

by Paul Moorcraft

Overview

The end of the Second World War may have heralded peace in Europe but conflicts in Southern Africa were about to begin. The imperial powers were weakened by the cost of war and a string of wars challenged colonial rule in countries such as Namibia, Angola and Rhodesia. Once independence was achieved, civil wars between rival factions unfamiliar with democratic principles resulted. Liberation movements such as those in South Africa demanded self-rule and end to Apartheid. Tribal feuds, corruption and the ambitions of dictators led to more conflicts such as the protracted fighting in the Congo. These were wars that ran on until both sides were exhausted often only to be re-kindled after short periods of uneasy peace. The cost in human and material terms has been devastating and in too many cases remain so. Economic development has been frustrated and the result is often poverty, abuse and genocide. The Author who knows Southern Africa as a native is superbly equipped to tell this fascinating if tragic record.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781526704900
Publisher:	Pen & Sword Books Limited
Publication date:	08/30/2018
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	504
Sales rank:	695,952
File size:	29 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Professor Paul Moorcraft has frontline experience reporting on over 20 years, from A-Z, to Afghanistan to Zimbabwe, as a correspondent for print, radio and TV for nearly 40 years. He is currently Visiting Professor at Cardiff University and Director of the Centre for Foreign Policy Analysis, London.

Table of Contents

About the Author vii

List of Maps ix

Acknowledgements x

Abbreviations xi

Glossary xiii

Timeline xvi

Introduction: The lure of Africa xviii

Part I Pax Pretoria

Chapter 1 Pax Britannica 2

Chapter 2 Winds of Change and War 17

Chapter 3 The Rise of Africa's Superpower 35

Part II The Colonial Wars

Chapter 4 Angola (1961-1976) 52

Chapter 5 Namibia (1966 to 1976) 86

Chapter 6 Mozambique (1964-1975) 96

Chapter 7 Rhodesia (1965-1980) 106

Part III Destructive Engagement

Chapter 8 Battle Lines Drawn 176

Chapter 9 The Big Battles: Angola (1976-1990) 195

Chapter 10 Namibia: From Afrikaner Colony to independence (1976-89) 221

Chapter 11 Mozambique: The civil war (1976-1992) 256

Chapter 12 Zimbabwe (1980-1990) 297

Chapter 13 Fellow Front-liners 311

Part IV War In South Africa

Chapter 14 Black Resistance 334

Chapter 15 States of Emergency 351

Chapter 16 The Garrison State 382

Chapter 17 The End Game 413

Part V Rainbow Nations?

Chapter 18 After the Fall 424

Appendix The Structure of the South African Security System 436

Endnotes 446

Select bibliography 460

Index 462