Cuito Cuanavale: The Untold Africa's Biggest Tank Battle Since 1945

In November 1987, a South African tank crew fired on an enemy tank for the first time since the Second World War, in a remote stretch of Angolan bush few people outside the war itself ever heard about. This video covers the real units, named commanders, and documented equipment on both sides of the Battle of Cuito Cuanavale, the largest clash of armor fought on the African continent since 1945, to explain how a homemade South African tank built under a United Nations arms embargo outfought a much larger Soviet-supplied force, and why both sides still disagree about who actually won. Built from named veteran accounts, declassified-era military histories, and multiple cross-checked sources on every contested figure, attributed rather than smoothed into one number. Reference material: *Battle of Cuito Cuanavale core facts (dates, forces, outcome, contested tank-loss totals):* [Battle of Cuito Cuanavale, Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_...) [Bloody Clash On The Lomba, Warfare History Network](https://warfarehistorynetwork.com/art...) [A Clash of Armour, Key Military](https://www.keymilitary.com/article/c...) *Operation Hooper (January-February 1988 Tumpo Triangle engagements, named commanders, dated casualty figures):* [Operation Hooper, Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operati...) [Operation Moduler, Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operati...) [Operation Packer, Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operati...) *Sarel Coetzee's November 9, 1987 engagement at Chambinga, the Olifant's first combat action since WWII:* [A Clash of Armour, Key Military](https://www.keymilitary.com/article/c...) *Darryn Nelson's Ratel ZT3 engagement, September 10, 1987, Lomba River:* [Battle on the Lomba 1987, samilhistory.com](https://samilhistory.com/2019/06/17/i...) [Bloody Clash On The Lomba, Warfare History Network](https://warfarehistorynetwork.com/art...) *October 3, 1987 destruction of FAPLA's 47th Brigade by Ratel-90s:* [Bloody Clash On The Lomba, Warfare History Network](https://warfarehistorynetwork.com/art...) *Olifant tank origin, UN Resolution 418 arms embargo, Armscor rebuild of Centurion hulls, Mk1A specifications:* [Olifant (tank), Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olifant...) *T-54/T-55 and T-62 specifications (gun caliber, armor, production history):* [T-54, Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T-54) [T-62, Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T-62) *Abandoned/captured Olifant tanks, present-day locations (Angolan bush, Menongue airport, turret shipped to USSR):* [Olifant (tank), Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olifant...) *SA Armour Museum, Tempe Military Base, present-day Olifant display:* [Olifant Mk1A, SA Armour Museum](https://www.saarmourmuseum.com/olifan...) #CuitoCuanavale #OlifantTank #AngolanBorderWar #MilitaryHistory #ColdWarTanks #ArmorVerdict Cuito Cuanavale, Angolan Border War, Olifant tank, South African Border War, T-55 tank, T-62 tank, Operation Moduler, Operation Hooper, Operation Packer, Battle of Calueque, Cold War tanks, tank battle history, South African Defence Force, FAPLA, Cuban intervention Angola, military history documentary, armored warfare