Episode 57 – Operation Super: The incredible 1982 Battle of Cambeno Valley, SWAPO’s Point Zero

As you heard last episode, from February 1982 SWAPO activity had increased in the normally quiet western sector of Angola north of Kaokaland. Remember the Red Cross flight which had been tracked by a SWAPO unit in that area at a place they called Point Zero. It was decided that this unit had to be confronted as quickly as possible as it threatened to bring the war to an area that had been virtually untouched by the mines and violence of Ovamboland. Two days later, the SADF comops unit was monitoring a SWAPO unit which had headquarters close to Cahama and the unit was ordered to meet their chief of staff from Lubango at Iona on 22nd February. Intelligence sources inside Angola said PLANs defence secretary, Peter Nanyemba, was taking a personal interest in Point Zero. That confirmed suspicions about how important SWAPO thought that this base was. Sector 10 HQ was worried about these new moves by SWAPO, it appeared to be establishing itself in Kaokaland and Damaraland. But where was Point Zero? It was time to deploy a ten-man team from 5 Reconnaisance Regiment to investigate the situation. Eventually after a number of contacts, they captured 6 POWs who told them that there were about 200 SWAPO at a base ten kilometers south of Iona in a place called the Cambena Valley. It was just across the border, west of Ruacana, north of the heart of Kaokoland. There was no time to waste. The soldiers at the base must have been aware already that the SADF had been active nearby so things had to move fast. This would turn into Operation Super