South West Africa

South West Africa (Suidwes-Afrika) was the former name of the present day nation of Namibia. Beginning in 1884, the region was known as German South-West Africa (Deutsch-Südwestafrika) and was considered a part of the German Empire, despite repeated insurrections. During the First World War, the territory was taken from the Germans by South African forces, after which it became a League of Nations mandate territory under the Union of South Africa. Following the Second World War, South Africa objected to the region coming under control of the United Nations and came to regard it as a fifth province.

The South West Africa People's Organization (SWAPO) was founded in 1960 as an African nationalist organization working for independence from South Africa and majority rule. SWAPO organized its own paramilitary wing, the People's Liberation Army of Namibia (PLAN), and in 1966 launched a guerilla campaign against the South African government. From 1966 until 1989 what came to be known as the Border War (or the Namibian War of Independence) raged within South West Africa, and was eventually drawn into neighboring Angola as well. The war would ultimately involve multiple combatants, including the South African Defence Force, South West African Territorial Force (SWATF), South West African Police (SWAPOL), and Angolan UNITA forces, as well as SWAPO, Angolan government forces (FAPLA), Cuban military forces, members of the South African guerilla movement Umkonto We Sizwe (MK), and military forces from Zambia. As international pressures gathered against South Africa in the late 1980s and South African forces faced increasingly serious opposition against Cuban fighter jets and armored units, a peace accord was reached in August 1988.