TSUMEB

In late December 1978 PLAN began to prepare for a wave of infiltrations at various times during the coming year, aiming at creating the impression that it planned to maintain a continuous presence in the south. The main mover behind the infiltration wave was the commander of PLAN’s North-Eastern Front, one Bulunganga. His ultimate intention was to form a “Special Unit” which would be dedicated to deep infiltrations into the commercial farming areas as well as attacks on prestige targets in Ovamboland, and launch a series of at least four infiltrations in quick succession in 1979.

The counter insurgency apparatus in the Tsumeb, Otavi and Grootfontein area was not yet as elaborate as it would later become, but it was already fairly well-developed. 61 Mech was still headquartered at Oshakati, due to the lack of facilities at Omuthiya and Dippenaar’s other task as SO1 Operations, although the regiment was fully manned by now.

Commandant Dippenaar was still busy putting 61 Mech on the ground when he was summoned by Major-General Willie Meyer, the GOC South West Africa Command and put in overall charge with a short and unambiguous directive: find and destroy the infiltrators.

The Tsumeb, Grootfontein and Otavi Commandos were mobilised and 61 Mech was summarily ripped out of its training and construction programme and called in to back them up. The headquarters staff had to move to Tsumeb and set up a tactical headquarters which immediately took over command of Operation Awake. Within three days 61 Mech’s tactical headquarters was up and running at the Tsumeb airfield and about 2 000 soldiers deployed in the area.

Dippenaar directed that companies be deployed at the Tsumeb rifle range, Tsintstabis, Okakuejo in the Estosha Game Reserve and Otavi. 61 COIN’s higher headquarters remained at Group 30 at Otjiwarongo. The 1979 infiltration wave’s last gasp came on 23 July when two insurgents were sighted moving north-westwards on the farm on the farm Kamatanga, and shot dead on the farm Omalinda.

One indication of the shape of things to come was that on 18 June 1979 Commandant Dippenaar’s regimental headquarters was re-located to a house in Tsumeb which formerly had been occupied by the mine captain. The house had suffered serious fire damage, but the regiment made it habitable and eventually it became, as Dippenaar recalls, “almost a model headquarters.”

When the regimental headquarters moved to Tsumeb the married members held family evenings on Fridays, training and operations permitting, featuring braais and concerts under a large old tree in front of the headquarters building.