Stogieman Posted January 11, 2007 Share Posted January 11, 2007 Medalla "Por la Victoria Cuba R.P.A." Medal For The Cuban Victory, People's Republic of Angola. Campaign Medal, in research.Example of the medal ribbon: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stogieman Posted January 11, 2007 Author Share Posted January 11, 2007 Example of the Medal: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taz Posted July 29, 2007 Share Posted July 29, 2007 Award CritariaAwarded in recognition of the outstanding attitude maintained during the fulfillment of the International mission asked of them, in defense of the revoulutionary conquests in Angola and in the interest of its sovereignty and territorial integrity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Megan Posted December 22, 2007 Share Posted December 22, 2007 (edited) Obverse & reverse:Does anyone know when the medal was instituted? Edited December 22, 2007 by Megan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taz Posted December 22, 2007 Share Posted December 22, 2007 Does anyone know when the medal was instituted?Megan,At the mo only that it was one of the Medals Founded by the Concil of State after 1980.Regards Eddie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ulsterman Posted December 23, 2007 Share Posted December 23, 2007 very cool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed_Haynes Posted December 24, 2007 Share Posted December 24, 2007 (edited) For background, see http://www.urrib2000.narod.ru/ArticCarlota-e.html and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angolan_Civil_War and http://www.onwar.com/aced/nation/all/angola/fangola1975.htm Edited December 24, 2007 by Ed_Haynes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul R Posted December 24, 2007 Share Posted December 24, 2007 Another great medal. Ed, the background information makes for a much higher appreciation of what the medal represents. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stogieman Posted April 11, 2008 Author Share Posted April 11, 2008 Example of an award document for this medal: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed_Haynes Posted December 24, 2008 Share Posted December 24, 2008 An interesting book review:From: H-Net Staff <hbooks@mail.h-net.msu.edu>Date: Wednesday, December 24, 2008 8:32:35 AMSubject: H-Net Review Publication: 'A Russian View of the Angolan War'Igor Zhdarkin. We Did Not See It Even in Afghanistan. MoscowMemories Mockba, 2008. Translated by Tamara Reilly. 399 pp.Reviewed by Elaine WindrichPublished on H-SAfrica (November, 2008)Commissioned by Peter C. LimbA Russian View of the Angolan WarThis book is to be welcomed as an alternative to the usual accountsof the Angolan War by South African participants and theirapologists. For here is a Russian version, by a military officer,Igor Zhdarkin, who served as an advisor/translator to the Angolanarmed forces known as FAPLA (For?as Armadas Populares deLiberta??o de Angola), the military wing of the ruling PopularMovement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA). His account ispublished as part of a collection of memoirs in the series OralHistory of Forgotten Wars by the Africa Institute of the RussianAcademy of Sciences in Moscow. Unfortunately, in the introduction,Gennady Shubin, senior research fellow at the institute, does notindicate what other ?forgotten wars? are to be included in theseries or why they have been so labeled.The English section of Zhdarkin's recollections (consisting of thefinal 150 pages of the 400-page book, the first part of whichcomprises the Russian version) consists of two major parts: a diarykept by Zhdarkin from October 10 to December 3, 1987, as militaryinterpreter of the 2lst FAPLA brigade, and the author?s ?oralnarratives,? or tape-recorded memories, produced at the Africainstitute since 2000-01. Unfortunately, the ?Notebook-Diary? inpart 1 is a great disappointment because the author?s daily?recollections? come to an abrupt end in December 1987, beforethe crucial battles for Cuito Cuanavale had even begun. As his finalentry (dated December 3) reads, ?our brigade is in its positions inthe forest. We are awaiting a possible enemy attack and we have noidea of what will happen next? (p. 302). Nor does the reader knowwhat happened next, since Zhdarkin disappears from the scene ofbattle, only to return to Cuito Cuanavale after the South AfricanDefence Force?s (SADF) initial assaults on the ?Tempo Triangle?have been rebuffed in 1988. None of these decisive battles, which arerecorded in great detail in the South African accounts of the war(irrespective of their triumphant distortions), are mentioned byZhdarkin. Only in a later commentary does he explain that he returnedto Cuito Cuanavale on March 11, 1988 (after more than two months atthe FAPLA base at Lobito), adding only that, ?I cannot say why Ireturned. But I was summoned there? (p. 368). Then, from the finalreading in the diary, the book leaps into the ?authorcommentaries? recorded in Moscow from 2000, separated only by asong written by Zhdarkin in Cuito Cuanavale in December 1987.Even with this abrupt ending of the diary, the daily entries shouldnot to be underrated, since they contain a vivid account of the 1987battles for the control of the Uni?o Nacional para a Independ?nciaTotal de Angola (UNITA) stronghold of Mavinga, which reached a climaxat the crossing of the Lomba River toward the end of that year. Forthis is where FAPLA was forced to withdraw under heavy bombardment bythe SADF, which had intervened to save their UNITA ally fromannihilation. Once again, UNITA leader Jonas Savimbi claimed thevictory for his forces, and even his U.S. benefactor, PresidentRonald Reagan, intervened with a message of congratulations for the?heroes of the Lomba River.?But none of these particular events are recalled in the book as thediary opens with the retreat from the Lomba River crossing. Fromthere, Zhdarkin and the 2lst brigade began their long march to jointhe other FAPLA brigades, which were regrouping in the aftermath ofthe disastrous rout to prepare for the defense of their key base atCuito Cuanavale. The retreat was indeed a harrowing experience, asthe title of the book reveals, since FAPLA troops were undercontinual bombardment by the SADF, along with the sniping, mining,and other harassment by the UNITA forces on the ground. As the authorrelates, even the Russians who had served in Afghanistan had neverexperienced such ?horrors? as the barrage of SADF artilleryacross the Lomba River. Under fire from the G-6 guns and the Mirageand Buccaneer aircraft, FAPLA brigades panicked and deserted thefield in flight, leaving behind their Soviet equipment in a graveyardof tanks, trucks, ammunition, and other materiel. At one stage of theretreat (according to Zhdarkin), they were even bombed with?chemical weapons containing poisonous gas,? against which theyhad no gas masks for protection (p. 269). Finally, and after nearlytwo months of retreating under fire, the author was able to join theSoviet advisors of the 59th and 16th brigades awaiting the defense ofCuito Cuanavale.The commentaries that constitute the second part of the book containa wide range of subjects, beginning with an account of the trainingand preparation of Soviet advisors for service in Angola and endingwith an explanation for the Angolan defeat in 1987. In between, theauthor reveals his views of the participants in the conflict,including FAPLA, South Africans, and Cubans, and the Sovietadvisors? interactions with them. Some commentaries are in the formof questions to and answers from the author, including those that atourist or visitor might ask, such as the prevalence of snakes (howmany did you see?) and alcoholic beverages (how much did theydrink?). But many more questions are concerned with the types ofSoviet weapons used and their effectiveness for the Angolan terrain,which are shown in the photographs in the book.The most revealing commentaries are those concerning the author?sopinion of the participants. On first impressions of Angola, he foundLuanda ?more horrible? than other places he had visited. ?Justa pile of ######,? he described it, as he viewed ?the dirty airportand the ragged women and children on the floor? (a scene alsoobserved by this reviewer) and the piles of rubbish covering thestreets of Luanda (p. 314). As for the Angolan soldiers, they were?unsuitable for war.? Not only were they ?afraid to take partin combat actions,? they were also unwilling to follow the?reasonable advice? of their Soviet advisors (p. 341).Consequently, it was necessary for the advisors to tell the Angolansthat they were wrong and beat them up accordingly. As the authorexplains, because many Soviet advisors were not familiar with ?thepeculiarities of the black Angolan mentality,? they often found itdifficult to relate to them and obtain results (pp. 312-313).In contrast, the author does not say anything ?bad? about theSouth Africans. ?They fought well and competently because they werewhites, because I myself am white and because South Africa related tous as whites to whites? (p. 369). He was also impressed by the?ultimatum? delivered to Soviet soldiers inside the shells firedby the SADF artillery: ?Soviets, leave Cuito Cuanavale. We don?twant to touch you--our so-called white brothers. We want to cut upthe Angolans? (p. 363).The most effusive praise was rightly reserved for the Cubans, withoutwhom the author would not have survived to record these memoirs. Itwas the Cubans who had supplied them, fought and died for Angola, andforced South Africa to sue for peace after having allegedly destroyedmost of their tanks and driven the SADF out of Angolan and back overthe Namibian border. In effect, ?the Cubans did everything ofimportance? to ensure that the defense of Cuito Cuanvale wouldsucceed after the disastrous retreat from the Lomba River describedin the diary (p. 379). Above all, they tried to persuade the Sovietadvisors that they must ?adapt? to the Angolan soldiers on whomthey relied and not judge the situation in Angola as if it were theSoviet Union (p. 379).The book ends with an addendum on the memoirs of South African Chiefof Staff General Jannie Geldenhuys in which Zhdarkin doubts theaccuracy of the general?s tally of South African gains and lossesduring the fighting in Angola in 1987-88. This is scarcely surprisingsince the purpose of the general?s account was to convey theimpression that the SADF not only won the war but also brought?peace? by fighting it. This is followed by two appendices, onean extensive collection of photographs of participants and militaryequipment and the other a note recording the names of the Sovietmilitary advisors who had served in Angola since November 1975, ofwhom there were thousands of servicemen and officers, includinggenerals, admirals, and ?civil specialists.?This work is licensed under a Creative CommonsAttribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United StatesLicense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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