[Forum Game] Ultramar: The Angolan War of Independence

[Dadarian]

| TOP SECRET |

Diplomatic and Strategic Recommendations in the Overseas Province of Angola

08/01/69

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-- New Orders --​

Patrols in Strength in the North (OPERATION PARDAL)*:

Plan: Sao Salvador, Quiembele, Carmona, and Cafunfo are all in danger. This cannot be allowed to continue. As such, patrols in strength shall be used in the North to protect State interests and citizens in the area. Intelligence gathered in the area shall be utilised to engage the terrorists in limited and tactical fights where our superior firepower can overwhelm and eliminate terrorist cells.

Effects: The dramatic fall in friendly casualties, increased pressure on terrorist cells, protection of citizens in "at-risk" and "occupied" areas.

Expected Costs: N/A.

The Liberation of Lucusse (OPERATION POMBO)*:

Plan: The MPLA have made unprecedented gains in the Far East. This cannot be allowed to continue. Through a quick strike of jets, napalm, and defoliants, the communist defenses around the town can be eliminated allowing troops in fast attack formations to seize the town and establish a new defensive perimeter. Follow up operations throughout the year can establish a connection to the rest of the province.

Effects: The containment of the MPLA, reclamation of the Lucusse, and the reclamation of the pride of the State which was lost by such large gains by the MPLA.

Expected Costs: N/A.

The Elimination of Behind Lines Terrorists (OPERATION CORUJA)*:

Plan: Patrols in strength shall be made throughout the territory held by UNITA, engaging them in in the area. Intelligence gathered in the area shall be utilised to engage the terrorists in limited and tactical fights where our superior firepower can overwhelm and eliminate terrorist cells.

Effects: The elimination of terrorists away from enemy lines, propaganda use for the national and international media, and for troop experience and action in a region that has been historically calm.

Expected Costs: N/A.

-- Existing Orders --​

The Continuation of the Expansion of the Milicias in the Angolan Overseas Province:

Plan: Seeing the success Milicias, their expansion is noted as highly desirable. Furthermore, the adoption of foreign branches in Zambia and Zaire is seen as a net positive and is therefore recommended.

Effects: This will serve to utilise a greater source of manpower, to further divide the terrorists as a less viable option than the government, and to expand the currently limited leadership pool existing within the Overseas Province. Concurrently, it will establish an Angolan and State friendly presence in these foreign, poor, and hostile nations.

Expected Costs: 1,000,000 escudo.


The Maintenance and Expansion of the Special Native Forces Unit in the Angolan Overseas Province:

Plan: Seeing the success of the recent efforts to adopt limited Natives as public servants, it is the opinion of this office to expand the Milicias to include specialised units of Natives in which to hunt their own. Acting as scouts, hunters, and assassins, these could be of great use to the State. The Overseas Government recommends the adoption of bushmen in this process if completed due to their belittlement by the general Native populace and their excellence as trackers.

Effects: This will serve to utilise a greater source of manpower, to further divide the terrorists as a less viable option than the government, and to expand the ability of the forces of the State to counter terrorists.

Expected Costs: 120,000 escudo.


*All Forces utilised are laid out in the latest DCOBOPA Document

 

[Dadarian]

| TOP SECRET |

DISTRIBUTION OF COMMAND AND ORDER OF BATTLE OF THE OVERSEAS PROVINCE OF ANGOLA: NORTHERN CONFLICT TERRITORY

14/01/69

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Commander of the Military Region of Angola (CMRA), Temporary Commander of the Northern Conflict Territory (NCT) - Major-General Venâncio A. Deslandes


Responsibilities: The effective administration and stewarding of the Province of Angola both domestically and militarily. Head of Command within the Province but under the direct control of the main branches of Government when required. Head of Command within the NCT in order to reestablish both control and peace within the Territory.

Direct Command: All Zone Commanders in the NCT.


Commander of the Zone of Cabinda - Major Luis J. Corte


Responsibilities: The safety and stability of the Cabinda Enclave. The control of the city of Cabinda, the airport at Cabinda, the villages Guilhetme, Buco Zau, the surrounding hamlets and the Portuguese nationals there. Overseen by the NCT.

Direct Command: 2 Sector Commanders, the Cabindan Urban Sector and the Cabindan Rural Sector. Est. 500 troops each.

Notes: Removal of 200 troops in each Sector due to the security of the region.

Standing Orders: Maintenance of the border and peace.


Commander of the Zone of Zaire - Major Henrique E. Fava


Responsibilities: The safety and stability of the Zaire District. The control of the city of San Salvador, the airport at San Salvador, the villages of Lugo, Buels, Madimba, and the control of the border with Congo-Léopoldville. Overseen by the NCT.

Direct Command: 3 Sector Commanders, the San Salvador Sector, the Zaire Rural Sector, and the Zaire Border Sector. Est. 900 troops each.

Notes: An added 100 troops in each Sector due to security threats and due to the planned offensive.

Standing Orders: Conduct Operation Pardal.


Commander of the Zone of Lunda - Major Jorge M. E. Moniz


Responsibilities: The safety and stability of the Lunda District. The control of the city of Henrique de Carvalho, the airport at Henrique de Carvalho, the villages of Portugalia, Luachimo, Lucapo, Caungola, and the control of the border with Congo-Léopoldville. Overseen by the NCT.

Direct Command: 4 Sector Commanders, the Henrique de Carvalho Sector, the Lunda Rural Sector, Lunda Highlands Sector, and the Lunda Border Sector. Est. 700 troops each.

Notes: None

Standing Orders: Maintenance of the border and peace.



Commander of the Zone of Uíge - Major Cesário G. F. C. de Silva


Responsibilities: The safety and stability of the Uíge District. The control of the the city of Carmona, the airport at Carmona, the villages of Quimbele, Songo, Bembe, Damba, and Sanza, as well as the Uíge highlands and the border with Congo-Léopoldville. Overseen by the NCT.

Direct Command: 4 Sector Commanders, the Carmona Sector, the Uíge Rural Sector, Uíge Highlands Sector, and the Uíge Border Sector. Est. 850 troops each.

Notes: The burning of the forest around the border of Congo-Léopoldville using napalm authorised. An added 50 troops in each Sector due to security threats and due to the planned offensive.

Standing Orders: Conduct Operation Pardal.


Commander of the Zone of Malanje - Major David L. Grompos


Responsibilities: The safety and stability of Northern Malanje and Cuanza Norte Districts. The control of the cities of Malanje, Cacuso, the airport at Malanje, the villages of Camabeteta, Golungo Alto, Duque de Braganca, Queic, Songa, Mugongo, the Malanje highlands, and the border with Congo-Léopoldville. Overseen by the NCT.

Direct Command: 5 Sector Commanders, the Malanje Highlands Sector, the Malanje Border Sector, the Malanje Urban Sector, the Malanje Rural Sector, and the Malanje Southern Sector. Est. 700 troops each.

Notes: None

Standing Orders: Maintenance of the border and peace. Defeat of recent FNLA incursions into the province.


Head of the International Police of State Defense (PIDE) - Brigadeiro-General Kaúlza G. C. da Silva Pais


Responsibilities: The persecution of state enemies and the removal of threats to the state. To cooperate with the CMRA.

Direct Command: [CENSORED BY ORDER OF THE DEPARTMENT OF SECURITY]

 

[Bonecracker(NL)]

(Gentlemen! The update will be around this weekend, to restore the 'Update 'round every week'-pattern without short periods of time between orders. My rythm of sleep is becoming normal-ish again, too, so that's a good thing for this.)

 

[Bonecracker(NL)]

1969 in Angola​

After a break on hostilities around the end of the year, the FNLA was still reeling from the awesome offensive the Portuguese started and caused their gains to be undone. The first priority of the FNLA was to stabilise the front and ensure the Portuguese did not continue to regain land at a distressing the rate. While trying to hold onto ground more than they had done in the previous years, the Portuguese advance being stopped was also very much attributable to the offensive being called up from Europe, forcing the army to instead stick to patrolling and ensuring the FNLA did not go on a counter-offensive.

Portuguese soldier spatrolling in the Dembos forest​

A major counter-offensive did not materialise as the FNLA was more occupied with recovering its manpower, organisation, and equipment from last year’s shock. This did not mean that there was no offensive action by the FNLA, for the town of Dundo came under heavy pressure from a column of guerrillas straight out of Zaïre, and the Portuguese Army foiled and turned back an infiltration attempt near Lucapa.


Further infiltration and subversion attempts by the MPLA were also foiled, as the attempted planting and recruiting of sabotage cells in cities on the coast and the Bié plateau. Bad operational security played into the hands of PIDE, as most parties attempting to enter were caught. Interrogation revealed that a more successful recruitment campaign was ongoing in MPLA-controlled territory, which soon proved to put the MPLA in a position to launch offensives into Portuguese-controlled territory.


The MPLA planned to seize the initiative, but was pre-empted by a short, but vicious Portuguese offensive against Lucusse to stop it from being used as a launching point for raids against the Benguela Railway. The heroic fight put up by the MPLA couldn’t prevent the town’s fall, but did dissuade the Army from pursuing the MPLA further east. As the offensive in Lucusse stopped, the MPLA went on the offensive in the south where it captured large swathes of hilly land east of Serpa Pinto and Caiundo, but the Portuguese Army put a stop to its advance quite soon by bombing large concentrations and even some jeeps and trucks used by the MPLA.

MPLA forward elements were forced to fight smarter, not harder.​

In the Angolan interior, Jonas Savimbi was occupied with getting the word of his movement out to the Angolans. In contrast to the MPLA and FNLA, UNITA was busy sending informants and agitators out throughout the countryside. The Portuguese caught air of this and, wary of this activity, intensified patrols and offensive operations in the UNITA-controlled areas. Here, it came to light that UNITA was busy building a statelet, with assemblies for villages and village groups and elected representatives to UNITA’s committee, and while doing that it kept true to tribal customs and tradition. As this leaked, UNITA’s popularity skyrocketed – but by right and might Portugal still towered over Savimbi.


With the new government in Lisbon giving more freedom of action to the colonial governors, Governor-General Deslandes didn’t wait to inform his government that all efforts should be taken to wipe out the glass ceilings for Mestiços and add their skill base to the administration. While everybody recognised the good intentions, and progress was made, those glass ceilings weren’t quite wiped out in the year. A further social measure came in the way of introducing a football federation on the coast and the Bié plateau, designed to keep youths off the streets and give them a way to escape the boredom that leads to criminality, fostering a stronger feeling of community. Of course, it made society a bit more overseeable for PIDE, but that was on nobody’s mind as association football looked like it would become the next big thing in Angola in the coming years.

It was also a great way for Portuguese soldiers on leave to spend time​

 

[Bonecracker(NL)]

Approximate military situation in Angola, early 1970

Orders due on Friday, October 2nd​

 

[Haresus]

​

An Offer to Our Fellow Liberation Groups!

For over 9 years we have been in open struggle against the Portuguese occupation forces, fighting to liberate our land from those who try to usurp it from its rightful owners: The people of Angola. While there has been progress on several fronts, this progress has been slow and in dire risk of being lost at any moment. We stand at a stalemate, and this is partly to blame on the lack of a unified front. The FNLA tried to create this, but failed to win the trust of the Angolan people. The MPLA has certain ideological differences from many other Angolans, which often hinders understanding and cooperation. But we should not try to liberate Angola just for a certain percentage of the Angolan people, we must aim higher and unite the entire people in this struggle against the occupiers.

We can win this war in the long run, we can rally the people one by one and we can rise up to destroy the repressive institutions that are being forced upon us by Lisbon. It is, indeed, an inevitable consequence of our popular struggle against the tyrant. But for every year, every month, every day that this struggle continues there are more casualties and more suffering. Our wealth is being sucked away by Portuguese industrialists at a rapid rate, in an attempt to salvage enough of our valuables to make this war a financial success for the Portuguese mainland. Meanwhile, this leaves our nation impoverished and at a disadvantage. We should not claim the victory tomorrow when it is in our reach today.

I therefore wish to extend this hand of cooperation, friendship and united struggle against the Portuguese occupiers to both the FNLA and MPLA. Do not mistake our cooperative spirit for submission, as the UNITA will remain a free and independent organisation just as we respect that both the FNLA and MPLA to remain the same. But together, we can coordinate our efforts and reach the victory that we fight for. Together, we can forge the Angola that our people wants and evict the occupier. Together, we can create a United Front.

J. Savimbi

 

[Haresus]

​

To the Free Men of the People's Assemblies of Angola!

Portuguese has tried their best to subjugate us, to force themselves upon us. You are living proof that they have failed. By taking this first step towards the formation of a free and independent Angola, you have tossed away the yoke of colonialism and imperialism. Of course, the occupation forces will try to reforge the chains of slavery upon you, but once you have tasted freedom once you will never submit to their ways again. You will continue to resist them and you will continue to be free. Freedom and tradition are to be held hand-in-hand in order to forge the way of the future.

In the People's Assembly, you will have the freedom to decide over your own issues and voice requests and suggest advice to the leadership that we will listen to and consider thoroughly. Aside from the duties that you have been assigned, which you may of course voice your opinion about, most of your internal affairs will be handled by you collectively. This will grant you unprecedented freedom that the occupiers have never even considered that you were capable of handling. You have been treated like children who need a harsh and strict father to function, but that will end now.

You are the seeds of the liberation and you will sprout all over beloved Angola, it is for you that we fight and it is therefore important that we do not solely focus on how many Portuguese soldiers were shot last year, but also how much maize we have to feed our children and wives with. Remember that your role in the revolutionary liberation is one of the most important ones, and be proud of your work for Angola.

J. Savimbi

 

[Bonecracker(NL)]

1970 in Angola​

Because of the Portuguese not mounting any major offensives during the year, the FNLA found itself in a position where it could expand its territory easily, albeit very small tracts of land. The FNLA instead spent most of its effort on disseminating propaganda across Angola, reaching an audience in previously-controlled territory but with the Portuguese police on the lookout it didn’t do anything of military importance but inside FNLA territory, it was instrumental in convincing civilians of Roberto’s cause.


The FNLA’s only notable operation during the year was an attack on the mining sites of Dundo and Lucapa, where large formations of rebels repeatedly attacked the towns and mines. It was highly successful in disrupting economic activity in that particular outcropping of Angola, and in spite of the towns themselves resisting occupation large amounts of diamonds were again captured from the towns.


Abandoning its plan for a revolt on the coast, the MPLA Central Command decided to focus its propaganda efforts on the territory it already controlled and raise fighters from these territories. This was a notable success with the movement’s armed wing markedly increasing in size. Aside from that, MPLA guerrillas were becoming increasingly proficient with their weapons and started working together more and more. This was especially notable in the few skirmishes that took place when the MPLA moved against the Portuguese army and their auxiliaries. It became quickly apparent that Portuguese control east of the Cuito river was lost.


“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” goes the saying. Approximately. Savimbi knew that, and his method of expanding his influence troughout rural Angola did not change at all. For many it was refreshing to see a liberation movement that was more concerned with how the African wanted his country to be, not what would be the best for it. Vast gains were made between Luso and Henriques de Carvalho, but the Portuguese Army put effort into keeping the rebel cadres away from their supply lines as well as Henriques de Carvalho itself, it being a vital supply point.


While the odd skirmish with MPLA cadres, Milicias, and ambushes on Portuguese convoys did deliver weapons and ammunition for the movement it was clearly not enough to wage an armed campaign against the Portuguese. Savimbi, a diplomat at heart, forged a plan to expose his movement to the world. Left-leaning journalists from the west were smuggled in from Zambia and Zaire to visit and report on UNITA-held territory inside Angola. Of course PIDE was watching and some of the unsanctioned entries were blocked, but over the year numerous stories got out reporting on how UNITA ran an effective and seemingly democratic government in the Angolan bush, and some even said how they were confident that this man would make a great leader of an independent Angola.

 

[Bonecracker(NL)]

Approximate military situation in Angola, early 1971

Orders due November 4th

 

[Bonecracker(NL)]

(After my last supreme turding, I've concluded that this game is kill. I'd like to thank all participants, because I genuinely enjoyed writing. In particular, I would like to thank:

@Dadarian, you magnificent colonialist bastard.
@Haresus, you magnificent anticolonialist bastard
@TJDS, you magnificent conservative bastard
@XVG, you magnificent communust mapmaking bastard

If I have more time on my hands I could very well run something small-scale again, and I'd be happy to have you over then.

Epilogue is possible.)

 

[Dadarian]

(After my last supreme turding, I've concluded that this game is kill. I'd like to thank all participants, because I genuinely enjoyed writing. In particular, I would like to thank:

@Dadarian, you magnificent colonialist bastard.
@Haresus, you magnificent anticolonialist bastard
@TJDS, you magnificent conservative bastard
@XVG, you magnificent communust mapmaking bastard

If I have more time on my hands I could very well run something small-scale again, and I'd be happy to have you over then.

Epilogue is possible.)

There is no possible there only is <3

This game is love, sorry for not giving enough IC and orders, I'm just burnt out

 

[Haresus]

Looking forward to your next game, this was well-run with good updates and everything felt very historically plausible. Fun to be the guerilla underdog movement.

 

[TJDS]

This was a good and plausible game, humblenes and patience were virtues taught or beaten into you every update. I am looking forward to future games and other such endeavors.

 

[XVG]

It was an ebic game indeed, m8. Glad that I was able to contribute as a player and by doing the maps. Looking forward to the next creation you eventually manage to put together.

 

[Noco19]

(After my last supreme turding, I've concluded that this game is kill. I'd like to thank all participants, because I genuinely enjoyed writing. In particular, I would like to thank:

@Dadarian, you magnificent colonialist bastard.
@Haresus, you magnificent anticolonialist bastard
@TJDS, you magnificent conservative bastard
@XVG, you magnificent communust mapmaking bastard

If I have more time on my hands I could very well run something small-scale again, and I'd be happy to have you over then.

Epilogue is possible.)

Boo, Nashilongo4lyfe

 

[Bonecracker(NL)]

It was apparent that in the last few years the force behind rebel attacks was steadily decreasing. Initiative was either in the hands of the Portuguese army or slipped away, despite the best efforts of rebel movements. Small victories were indeed scored, with the Portuguese army being forced to abandon remote territories bit by bit and even a Portuguese warplane being shot down. However, this all could not hide the simple reality in the jungles: the rebel groups were losing hope for victory. The amount of desertions and the size of them increased, political infighting in all groups became apparent, and in early 1972 the death knell came. Lisbon issued a general amnesty.

From the jungles and highlands, entire units of rebels surrendered themselves and their equipment. Commanders in all three groups pleaded for a bilateral ceasefire to maintain a semblance of strength against the Portuguese. This caused rifts within every major rebel movement, as calls for a ceasefire appeared in the top layers of the rebel groups but were fiercely resisted by the political leadership. The infighting at the top and sometimes inside Angola was a godsend for the Portuguese military, which was not in the best shape of morale itself. Large swathes of territory were recaptured, and aside from mopping up-operations it seemed that Portugal had won in Angola by 1974. But then, like thunder from a blue sky, three captains in Lisbon led an attack on the heart of the Portuguese state.



PICK YOUR ENDING

#1:
Portugal wins

Spoiler

The conspirators thought that their coup plots would go over with smoothly and expected little resistance. How wrong they were. Even in their barracks there were scuffles, but out on the streets of Porto and Coimbra there were shootouts for a night, with Lisbon being paralyzed by street fighting between the MFA on one side, and loyalist forces backed by the Republican Guard on the other. Rumours spread like wildfire through metropolitan Portugal, but also throughout the various colonial theatres Portugal was fighting in.

An ember of hope relit the passion of the MPLA, FNLA, and UNITA to liberate their country by force and all three launched a general offensive against what they expected to be Portuguese conscripts close to breaking point. What they met, however, were Portuguese conscripts who were a bit too far removed from breaking point to throw their weapons away outnumbered by Africans who cast their lot with the Portuguese government. An all-out assault by all groups failed, and combined with some American and South African pressures behind the scenes and cross-border raids they were debellated by the summer of 1975. UNITA signed a ceasefire with the Portuguese army, which was seen by some as a confirmation of alleged earlier cooperation between the two, FNLA was hushed by Mobutu and forced to sign a less favourable agreement with certain groups splitting off to continue the fight, and the MPLA retreating into Zambia to continue raiding the eastern borders of the territory with aid from Libya, Zambia, North Korea, and most of all Cuba as the Soviets didn’t see the investment worthwhile anymore. By the turn of the decade, however, resistance effectively ceased against Portuguese rule. Subsequently the leaders accepted their fate, Neto going into exile in Cuba and Roberto in Zaïre (After the fall of Mobutu he left for France where he died in 2007.) Savimbi, however, was the subject of envy of both men as he held a seat in the Angolan devolved assembly and acted as a liaison between the authorities and the Ovimbundu.

A statue in Coimbra dedicated ‘to the heroes of the overseas’​

Flipping the bird to the course of history, Portugal stood united in its Multiracial and Pluricontinental form. As reconstruction and further development of Angola, Mozambique, São Tome, Cape Verde, and East Timor picked up in conjunction with a ceasefire with PAIGC in Guinea. Infrastructure was rebuilt, mines were cleared, the harvests exploded and mining yields skyrocketed, with industry growing in suit. The initial lack of an internal market did not obstruct growth, as Portugal’s membership in the EFTA and supplementary agreements ensured hurdles to the European market were low. Pictures were similar throughout the Portuguese overseas territories. Until the present day, there have been renewed voices for a peaceful parting of Angola from Portugal, but those voices remain a small and suppressed minority.

With a successful coup in Portugal, the new left-leaning government declares that independence will come to its African colonies as soon as possible. The three major Angolan entities agreed to form a united front and negotiated the Alvor Agreement, but this was undermined by infighting on the ground. The transition of Angola towards an independent state was also frustrated by this, and made even worse by the Portuguese being salty about their defeat. Government ministries and other offices were equally distributed and the armed forces were to be wingclipped by a similar measure. Half of the Angolan Defence forces were unmotivated Portuguese soldiers, the other half were rebels without conventional training or experience. However, all groups were openly recruiting and training troops with ill-gotten weapons from abroad, but now also from Portuguese arsenals. As 1975 went by, it was obvious that the Alvor Agreement would not hold.

Neto, Roberto, and Savimbi after agreeing to form a united front in negotiations with Portugal.​

#2 MPLA wins

Spoiler

One advantage the MPLA had over its contenders was the obscene amount of military support Cuba provided. It ensured that FAPLA was able to toss the FNLA out of Luanda in June and July, taking large swathes of coast to the south and starting a major insurrection in the south led by an Ovambo warlord-turned-general, Martti Nashilongo. In response to this, UNITA retreated south and went to fight the Ovambo revolt in the south, and the FNLA rallied for a counterattack on Luanda, headquartering in Ambriz. Still, the MPLA was the strongest group inside the country with control over 11 of 15 provincial capitals. This spooked Angola’s two largest neighbours, Zaire and South Africa. Zaire sent a sizeable portion of its military to assist the FNLA’s counterattack, and the South Africans deployed some 2000 troops to Southern Angola to fight the Ovambo rising and assist UNITA. This turned the tables almost overnight, and did not go unnoticed in Moscow. More importantly, it did not go unnoticed in Havana. Fidel Castro, kindly supported by the Soviets, deployed an unknown amount of troops to Angola in the weeks leading up to independence. The only force who could’ve stopped them were the Portuguese, who frankly didn’t care enough to risk an international incident. As independence neared, all forces were ready for war, and the FNLA took the initiative in a horrible manner. Acting against the advice of his military chiefs, Holden Roberto ordered a frontal assault in Luanda. It looked as if it could work, but the MPLA were bolstered by fresh Cuban special forces that managed to repel their attacks. Worse still, they managed to activate six BM-21s who made short work of the large FNLA formations. Roberto’s own fire support, two Zairian 170mm guns, did not join the battle as one exploded upon firing and the other crew refused to fire afterwards. The ensuing pursuit put the FNLA out of battle for good.

FAPLA troops trained in the GDR​

The South Africans and UNITA then remained, pushing from the south and establishing control over most of Angola, except Southwestern bits which were defended by SWAPO and the Luanda area which was defended by an ever-increasing number of Cubans. However, it soon became clear that the Anti-Communist troops had overextended and were now facing thousands of fresh Cubans who made short work of them, quickly recapturing the coast and the north. However, the RSA responded with a large increase in troop numbers and the war bogged down. With neither party backing down, it looked like there was no way out of the ensuing stalemate. And it turned out there was none, with even the pulling out of South African and Cuban troops preserving a rough stalemate. A ceasefire agreement in 1996 failed after UNITA claims the election was rigged, and war continued until 2002 when Jonas Savimbi met his fate in the Angolan bush. With the MPLA government renouncing Marxism and there being no rival governments, recognition and subsequent economical activity poured in. Come 2015, a sandwich may still cost 27 bucks American, but with the oil streaming and double-digit growth persisting, the Angola Neto created may just be headed for a bright future.

#3
FNLA/UNITA victory

Spoiler

After the FAPLA forced the FNLA out of Luanda and into Ambriz, both Savimbi and Roberto realised the danger of the communists and formed a united front to combat them. With the Cubans flying troops in, the South Africans entering Angola from the south, and the Zairians supplying the FNLA to a scale of which Roberto had not even dreamed before, with a direct intervention to the north. The Zairian and FNLA forces consolidated their hold over border areas and tried to contain the communists around Luanda, awaiting the SADF and UNITA push from the south. This push was more successful than Mobutu and Roberto had hoped for, with them threatening Luanda from the south. The Zairian/FNLA containment effort worked and the time had come for direct assaults on the city of Luanda. The assaults were successful, yet painfully expensive for the FNLA, UNITA, and Zaire in terms of manpower and equipment, and by July the MPLA was pushed into the sea as the Southwestern pockets fell.

As the smoke cleared and after a crisis the SADF and most importantly the Zairian army left, with Savimbi and Roberto declaring the Republic of Angola on September 17th, 1976. Savimbi was to become its president, Roberto vice-president and Foreign Minister. The UNITA and FNLA armies had been consolidated, and an independent Angola which was officially non-aligned, but clearly west-leaning was established. The South Africans and Zairians both had their interests in the government and spearheaded investment in this new country that was described as an ‘Uncle Tom Regime’ by the USSR, Cuba, and Zambia. The latter, assisted by the former two, facilitated a bushfire insurgency in the eastern reaches of Angola until 1991, with the end of the cold war and President Kaunda leaving power.

President Savimbi meets President Bush, 1989​

Angola suffered from a weak bureaucracy in the peripheral parts of the country which led to a large underground economy popping up around the many western companies and adventurers making a fortune with coffee, diamonds, oil, and other industries where Portuguese Angolans still held sway, but not to the degree that foreigners were barred from competing.

The power-sharing between the FNLA and UNITA came to an end in 1999, as a result of the fall of Mobutu (who spent his last days in Ambriz) and internal troubles in South Africa who no longer saw the need to prop up UNITA. With an opposition becoming increasingly organised, the duumvirate of UNITA and the FNLA ended with moderately fair election held that year which returned the duumvirate into a coalition government again with a combined 62% of seats in the national assembly, but with various opposition parties and independents making it into parliament. This slow, steady path of democratisation followed as Savimbi was reelected in 2001 (due to a lack of viable opponents), but from then on Angolan politics became more open, more accessible and in 2006, Savimbi conceded the presidency to Eduardo Kuangana, leader of the Social Renewal Party. The next year, former vice-president Roberto died and Savimbi retired from active politics upon his death, but still remained an esteemed elder statesman despite being named ‘President Tom’ for his intimate cooperation with Johannesburg.