Episode 43 – Sonja Dressel shoots up a PLAN platoon and political change sweeps southern Africa

This is episode 43 and we’re into 1980. Last episode we met Tannie Pompie van der Westhuysen and touched on a growing sign of PLAN action through late 1979. 1980 was going to be a momentous year in Border War history and from now on, the combat ramps up along with the casualties on all sites. Up until now the SADF had been winging it – using a pastiche of military techniques backed up by a somewhat haphazard political agenda. To outsiders it appeared that the National Party was organised and focused but the real situation was far more chaotic. Then PW Botha took over from BJ Vorster and the hawks in the party won out in 1980. Not that Vorster appeared soft and gentle to outsiders, but in terms of the overall political strategy he’d been advocating a negotiated settlement from the immediate position while Botha preferred a future negotiated settlement from a future position of military strength. So in February 1980 in the Triangle of Death, that zone between Grootfontein, Tsumeb and Otavi, the farmers were gearing up for what was going to be an escalation of the war. There were few incidents again for a week, then on 22nd February the Dressel family were up and about in the morning aware that something was amiss. First their dogs began barking constantly, then they tried the landline, but the telephone was dead. Sonja Dressel was about to turn into a hero.