battle, Cold War

Battle of Calueque

Name: Battle of Calueque
Location: Calueque, Angola

Battle of Calueque was a battle fought in 1988 at Calueque, in what is now Angola. Its exact site is not recorded; the atlas places it at Calueque. It was part of the Angolan Civil War, which ran from 1975 to 2002. The recorded result: Inconclusive; Tripartite Accord talks continue.

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Fought1988

WhereCalueque, Angola17.283S, 14.535E, placed at the location, approximate

OutcomeInconclusive; Tripartite Accord talks continue

BelligerentsSouth Africa; border|23px South African Defence Force; 22px South West African Territorial Force (SWATF)againstCuba; MPLA (FAPLA); SWAPO (PLAN)

Part ofAngolan Civil War1975 to 2002

Where it sits in the Angolan Civil War

3 placed engagements of the Angolan Civil War in time order; taller ticks are more widely documented. Each tick is a link.

Record

Date	1988 (year precision) to 1988
Place	Calueque, Angola 17.283S, 14.535E
Kind	Battle, Cold War
Strength	South Africa: 1 500 combat troops; 11 Olifant tanks; 30 Ratel infantry fighting vehicles; 1 Valkiri MRLs battery; 1 G5 battery; 1 G2 battery	Cuba: 11 000 personnel; 32 T-55 tanks; SWAPO: 2 000 guerillas
Casualties and losses	South Africa: 12 dead; 2 wounded; 2 Ratels lost; 5 armoured vehicles lost	Cuba: South African claim: 300+ dead; 3 tanks lost; 3 BTR-60s lost; 1 MiG-23 destroyed; 3 SA-6 launchers destroyed; Cuban Claim: 10 dead; 1 tank damaged; SWAPO: Unknown
Commanders	Magnus Malan Johannes Geldenhuys	Arnaldo Ochoa Leopoldo Cintra Frías António França

Placed at Calueque; the exact site is not recorded. with the nearest other engagements in the atlas. Present-day coastlines, rivers and borders; towns from Natural Earth.

Nearest engagements

Battle of Naulila 1914, 19 km NE
Operation Klipklop 1980, 65 km W
Battle of Mufilo 1907, 72 km NE
Battle of Mongua 1915, 166 km SE
Battle of Cassinga 1978, 292 km NE

In the same war

Before: Battle of Cangamba 1983
All 3 engagements of Angolan Civil War

Elsewhere in 1988

Anfal campaign Iraq
Battle for Hill 3234 Afghanistan
Operation Praying Mantis United Arab Emirates
Operation Flavius Gibraltar
Johnson South Reef skirmish Vietnam

Battle of Calueque is one of 4,429 engagements of the 20th century in the atlas and one of 29 in present-day Angola.

Sources

Identity, coordinates, dates and the war from Wikidata Q139406998, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Battle of Calueque, revision 1377649002, read 2026-11-14, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; the article's text is not reproduced here. Present-day country and state from Natural Earth. Dates before 1582 follow the Julian calendar as recorded.