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Books > History > World history > From 1900 > Postwar, from 1945
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Showdown in the Western Sahara Volume 2 - Air Warfare Over the Last African Colony, 1975-1991 (Paperback)
Loot Price: R497
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Showdown in the Western Sahara Volume 2 - Air Warfare Over the Last African Colony, 1975-1991 (Paperback)
Series: Africa@War
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List price R613
Loot Price R497
Discovery Miles 4 970
You Save R116 (19%)
Expected to ship within 9 - 15 working days
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The former colony of Spanish Sahara saw frequent outbursts of
tribal and ethnic rebellions while ruled by the colonial
authorities in the late 19th and through the early 20th Century.
Its vastness and distances essentially dictated the application of
air power in response. While most of these events attracted next to
no attention in English-language media, the large-scale operations
of the Spanish colonial authorities of the late 1950s became
notable at least for the final combat deployment of the famous
Messerschmitt Bf.109. Following the Spanish withdrawal from Spanish
Sahara in 1975, a major war erupted as Sahrawi nationalists -
organized by the POLISARIO front - engaged in guerrilla warfare
against Moroccan armed forces deployed to secure the northern part
of the country, and Mauritanian forces deployed in the south.
Characteristically for this period, POLISARIO's insurgency was
often misinterpreted in the West as 'Soviet-influenced', although
the rebels never adapted any related frameworks for their
operations and tactics, such as those of Mao Zedong. On the
contrary, while Algeria at least tolerated their bases on its soil,
it was Libya that provided most of the support for the insurgency,
eventually enabling it to defeat the Mauritanian military, slightly
over a year later. Combined with POLISARIO's raids deep into
Mauritania this prompted France to launch a limited military
intervention in support. While tactically successful, this proved
insufficient: Mauritania withdrew in 1979 after signing a peace
treaty. Morocco continued fighting a series of bitter campaigns
through 1979 and 1980, until rising costs and casualties prompted
its government into developing an entirely new strategy.
Construction of extensive earthen fortifications eventually slowed
the war down to one of low intensity, only sporadically interrupted
by insurgent attempts to achieve at least local successes. With
both sides realizing that no solution through an armed conflict was
possible, a cease-fire agreement was signed in 1991. However, this
conflict still remains unresolved: it merely shifted to civilian
resistance. Warfare in Western Sahara has in many ways become
exemplary for modern-day counter-insurgency efforts in Africa and
elsewhere. This conflict has been falsely declared as a part of
some larger, external conflict - the Cold War; in regards of the
concept of an insurgency applying motorized forces to deliver often
spectacular 'hit-and-run' attacks; and in regards of a conventional
military reacting with a combination of earth berms and air power.
Illustrated by over 100 photograph as, a dozen maps and 18 colour
profiles, Showdown in Western Sahara offers a fascinating study of
the military aspects of this conflict, warfare strategies, tactics
and experiences with different weapons systems.
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