Since 1950, there has been almost continuous military unrest in Africa. This study offers an overview of warfare in this period, examining a military tradition that ranges from the highly sophisticated electronic, air and armour fighting between South Africa and Angola-Cuban forces, to the spears and machetes of the Rwandan genocide. The author explores two themes: first, that warfare in North Africa has principally been a matter of identity and secondly, that warfare south of the Sahara is comparable with that of pre-colonial Africa - conflicts of frontiersmen trying to extend their control over land and resources. Exploring liberation campaigns, civil wars, ethnic conflicts and wars between nations, this study provides an authoritative military history of Africa over half a century.
Author(s): Anthony Clayton
Series: Warfare and History
Publisher: Routledge
Year: 1998
Language: English
Pages: 260
Book Cover......Page 1
Title......Page 4
Contents......Page 5
Maps......Page 10
Preface......Page 24
Introduction......Page 26
Independence wars 1950 to 1962......Page 34
Independence wars 1962 to 1980......Page 66
Wars of integration and disintegration I: 1960 to 1980......Page 98
Southern Africa to 1983......Page 140
Southern Africa 1984 to 1997......Page 156
Wars of integration and disintegration II: 1980 to 1997......Page 180
Conclusion......Page 230
Appendix: technical note......Page 234
Notes......Page 236
Chronology......Page 242
Selected reading......Page 252
Index......Page 256
