Episode 15 – Angolan independence day passes while Task Force Zulu and Foxbat continue fighting

On the 7th November 1975 Zulu’s Battle Group Alpha were on the road to the South African’s next goal, Lobito. It’s a bay just north of Benguela which had just been seized by the SADF and handed over to UNITA forces after a crucial fight for the airport. The MPLA military arm FAPLA had decided that Lobito would be too difficult to defend against a twin South African assault – Zulu approaching from the South and Foxbat from the East, so they they decided not to defend this harbour town. Lobito is regarded as one of the most natural harbours in Africa but was only developed at the start of the 20th Century by the Portuguese who had concentrated their development in Luanda to the north and Benguela to the South. Remember Benguela was the terminal for rail traffic from Katanga in Zaire and strategically vital. UNITA had been bombing the line for months so by now not much rolling stock was on the line. But at the start of the 2th Century, the Portuguese began developing Lobito harbour tying the copper districts of Zaire and Zambia directly to the Atlantic coast – via Benguela. There were more than 73 000 people living in Lobito in 1970 which had also developed a thriving industrial zone that included boat building. The SADF rolled into Lobito on the same day – 7th November and the next day Task Group Zulu linked up with Task Group Foxbat led by Eddie Webb