THE ANGOLAN BUSH WAR
THE JUNGLE KINGDOM
Kasai River, Angola
When Kelly, an Americanastanian immigrant to Angola, went to war, he was boy.
When he came back, he was a man.
Each individual shrapnel and bullet scar on his face told a unique story, of artillery blasts and AK rounds, of bayonets and knives, of "Para libertação" and "Quia Una Libertas, Libertas Omnium". The one on his right cheek from a well-aimed RPG round, the one on his left, from a poorly aimed 7mm South Americanastanian one. Every once in a while, one of his comrades or a member of his family could catch a glimpse of the youthful energy and brilliance he once had, but it would be gone as soon as it arrived.
This was his second tour along the Kasai, known to both SADF and ELN alike as "The Red River" due to the amount of blood that was spilled along it's banks. When the bullets weren't flying, however, it was a place of tranquility and calm. It's why Kelly came back to the river when no one else would. Despite the conflict all around them and the varying claims to leadership of Angola, Kelly had come to understand one thing; neither the SAAA nor ELN ruled here. The Kasai was the kingdom of the jungle. And so he sat in the branch of the tree, keeping watch over the river with his FM/AM radio. His legs, exposed by his shorts, baked in the sun, while his arms did the same lacking the cover of his short sleeve uniform.
The Rhodesian Brushstroke pattern of his shirt was simple yet complex, a collection of colors brushed over with strokes that from a distance could easily be mistaken for the tall grass. His shorts contained no distinct pattern, instead being a hellspawn blend of OD Green and Khaki Drill. The radio stood out, a dot of black on a green landscape. Kelly didn't care. He had seen it all, from AKs to RPGs, and from human waves to guerrilla ambushes.
As the radio blasted it's music, Kelly took another look through his issued binoculars.
The other side of the river was similar to the side he was on, as the riverbed gave way to jungle. However, suddenly, one of the bushes quickly brushed to the side, followed by the bush to it's right, which was followed by the bush to that bush's right, and so on.
Kelly moved his binoculars to intercept whatever was causing this as it moved past. A man clad in OD green rushed through the bushes, his face nearly jet black, standing out among the trees. The glint of an AKM rifle shone through the branches of the bush. Kelly talked into his walkie-talkie.
"This is 4-2, I've got a hostile on the other side of the river. Permission to take the shot?"
"Go ahead, 4-2"
Kelly took his rifle from it's sling, which was hanging from one of the tree branches, and pointed it towards the bushes. The man had stopped, concealing himself in a bush as Kelly sighted his rifle.
"Come on... come on..."
The man began to stand up, presenting himself towards the business end of the TRR-A1. Kelly pulled the trigger.
Bang.
The 7x55mm round soared the 100 yards to it's target in a tenth of a second, striking the man in his torso. The bullet pierced his heart, sending him crumpling to the floor.
"This is 4-2, hostile down."
And so the Kasai fell quiet again.
THE ANGOLAN BUSH WAR
BLOOD ON THE SAVANNAH
Shambumba, Democratic Republic of Congo
As the members of the 1st Brigade, Light Infantry flew over the Angola-Congo border, the men began preparing their gear for their assault on the ELN positions at Shambumba. The ZB-98s began to descend towards the target, signaling that the assault was to start soon. The fireforce, led by an HG-91 "Kill Car" in the front, with 4 fully loaded ZB-98s following close behind, began to circle the area, only exciting the men more as they waited to move in. Eventually, the fireforce split as an M1-30 "Hermes" Transport Aircraft arrived above, carrying another 4 sticks inside it. The ZB-98s, each carrying one "Stick" of 8 men, began to move away from the zone, hovering over areas around the camp, encircling it.
Soon enough, a voice came over the radio.
"GREEN LIGHT! GO! GO! GO!"
The men jumped down from the helicopters, which were hovering roughly 5 feet above the ground, towards the Savannah below. The sound of the rotors covered the sound of their exit, and they approached quietly. The Savannah grass brushed against their bare lower legs as they crawled towards the positions of the ELN.
Meanwhile, the men in the M1-30 jumped out of the plane's cargo hold, opening their parachutes as they floated down towards the ELN positions. The held their sling-less SAR M76s flush to their shoulder by the pistol grip, while using their other hand to steer the parachute, each stick covering one of the holes between the 4 helicopter sticks.
The sticks reached a small ridge, with the treeline starting at it's peak. Inside the treeline, movement could be seen. The men aimed their rifles at the hill, signaling the presence of hostiles to each other via a thumbs down signal.
"This is K-Car, you have permission to open fire"
The soldiers open up on the treeline as the HG-91 fire it's autocannons and rockets. The insurgents returned fire, with wild 7.62 rounds flying towards the 1BLI, and 7mm Rounds soaring right back. A barrage of RPG fire forces the HG-91 to retreat away from the area, forcing the HG-91 to fire from a distance.
The sticks began moving closer to the treeline, covered by suppressing fire from DPMG-M99 Machine Guns. The gunfire from their SARs become more frequent and precise, downing insurgents with each shot. The insurgents continue their nearly random AK fire, whizzing over the heads of the SADF troops.
Soon enough, the gunfire from the treeline fall silent. The 1BLI soldiers move in, sweeping for any survivors and the location of the camp. The sticks converge at the center of the forest, which is where the camp happens to be located.
"Alright, what do we got in terms of casualties?"
"Our stick came out clean"
"So did ours"
"We've got two wounded, one took a grazing shot to the torso and the other got hit in the arm, they should be fine"
"Any other casualties?"
"We've got one hit in the shoulder"
"That's it, I think"
"Alright"
The fireforce lead speaks into his radio.
"This is Banana 1-1, we've got three wounded, requesting MedEvac. Bring the Kerosene, too"
"Copy that, Banana 1-1"
A helicopter arrives, transporting the three wounded and offloading 5 Jerrycans of Kerosene, which the fireforce pours around the camp. The Fireforce lead lights a match and throws it into the camp, sending the camp up in flames.
"This is Banana 1-1, ready for evac."
"Copy that"
A group of ATCV 12s arrive in the area. The men perform the painstaking task of loading the corpses onto transports, before leaving across the border, the smoke of the base fire rising above the distant horizon.
THE ANGOLAN BUSH WAR
BACON 'N' BULLETS
Western Bank of the Zambezi, Near Cazombo, Angola
"C'mon, right through this bush here."
The squad weaved between trees and brush as they made their way through their patrol route. The 15-man squad walked down the road, with 5 men covering the front, along another 5 covering the right and left flanks. They were followed by an MPAV IFV, it's turret rotating between flanks.
"We should be coming up on Observation Post Sterling soon"
In the distance, a plume of campfire smoke rose above the trees, and the smell of freshly cooked bacon wafted through the air. Albeit, it was SADF-rationed bacon, but still bacon nonetheless. The patrol moved through a thick outcropping of brush before reaching the camp.
"Hey! 'Sup, fuckers!" A voice from the guard post called.
"Hi, Kozacs" The Squad leader responded "You gonna let us in or not"
"Sure, head right in, there's still some extra bacon left. Don't tell anyone, but command sent us a bunch of extra bacon rations"
The squad moves into the observation post, where they find two squads of soldiers gathered around a charcoal barbecue.
"Bacon?" The man at the grill says. His nameplate reads Cpl. Koffman.
"Sure, how much you got left?"
"About 40 rations worth"
"Really, they gave you that much extra?"
"Yeah, somewhere in the SADF's logistical system an extra "0" got tacked on, so we got 500 emergency rations instead of 50. We've decided to throw 50 on the grill and saving the rest for what we're supposed to be using them for."
"Nice, get us a ration each, so that'll be..." the squad leader took a second to count "15 plus 3 for the guys in the MPAV"
"Alright, I've got twenty on the grill now, so this should be relatively quick. By the way, shouldn't you guys be on patrol right now?"
"Eh, we showed up early and the FLA never crosses the river, should have another 10 minutes or so."
"Nice, cap any of 'em recently?"
"Not today, no"
"Huh, usually you're a damn war magnet. You see the Adirondack State game yesterday?"
"Oof, yep, team fucking sucks"
"Maybe they'll be better next ye- Ope, bacon's done. To go or to stay?"
The squad leader checks his watch "To stay, we've still got time"
Koffman hands the squad their plates of bacon.
Once the squad finishes eating, the men begin readying to move out.
"Alright, we've gotta go."
"Stay safe."
"We'll try."
The squad sets out on it's patrol route, searching for any signs of FLA activity. Soon enough, they find it. A small FLA camp sits near the side of the road, secluded by the tall grass of the Savannah. The squad fails to notice this until a bullet flies over the MPAV, sending the squad into a rush to take cover.
The FLA combatants begin moving out of the camp towards the SADF forces, firing 5.45 rounds wildly at the group. The squad returns fire with their TRR-A1s, in an attempt to keep the camp at bay.
"Observation Post Sterling! This is X-Ray Squad, we need QRF 1.06 Mikes down the road ASAP!"
"Copy that X-Ray. Sit tight, QRF is en route"
The men use the IFV for cover and grass for concealment while attempting to suppress the insurgents. The rat-tat-tat of the squad's DPMG-M99 Machine Gun can be heard all the way to OP Sterling.
After 3 minutes of waiting, a QRF force of 20 men finally arrived, carried in 2 ATCV 12s. As they run out the back of the ATCVs, one of the men takes a final bite of his bacon. The MPAV fires its 20mm autocannon into the insurgent positions to cover their disembarking.
The insurgents continue to suppress the men however, and it becomes harder to return fire due to the sheer volume of bullets being shot at the SADF forces.
"The fuck are we doing? Get JOC Luau on the phone NOW!"
"JOC Luau, this is X-Ray Squad, we need an airstrike at -11.863080, 22.909822"
"Airstrike is en route, ETA 5 minutes"
Suddenly, a mortar shell flies through the air.
"SHIT! WE'RE GETTING MORTARED! FAN OUT!"
The SADF forces fan out, dragging the four men hit by the blast into the brush with them. 2 of the men are severely wounded and unable to fight, while 1 is dead and the other is bandaged and continues fighting. The mortar shells continue falling on the group to little effect, as the men are concealed in the Savannah and what poorly made and maintained mortar shells that do hit close to the MPAV have their shrapnel bounce off the MPAV's V-hull armor. As the FLA fighters mount another advance, a Lightning Mk-12A strike fighter swoops in, dropping 8 250 Lb JDAMs from it's wing hardpoints.
The blast sends most of the FLA combatants flying through the air, blowing those in the immediate blast zone into a fine dust. What hostiles are left are captured, and those who don't comply are killed. At the end of the battle, 7 SADF soldiers lay dead, and 8 more are wounded. The men leave back towards OP Sterling, as another squad arrives to take the patrol's place.