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Old 06-09-2003, 12:50 PM   #1
mcwirsk
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Soviets in the Colonies

Dear Guys

I am interested to know if anyone has any medal groups to Soviets who served in the cold war period outside of the Soviet Union in interesting places.

We know they had guys in Mozambique, Angola, Egypt and other interesting places.

Has anyone come across groups/medals/orders to any of these people. And on the other side has anyone seen medals from these countries in Soviet groups. Lastly how about any groups from these countries with a Soviet award?

Whats out there??????

Kind regards from the African connection


Munroe
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Old 04-04-2004, 02:40 PM   #2
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Any Info?

Guys,
This is a rather old Thread but maybe it should recive a bit of attention.
If we can't find any pics of groups I wonder if there is any info out there of Soviets recieving any awards from these Countries?

Eddie.
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Old 04-06-2004, 04:47 PM   #3
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Eddie,

That would be quite interesting indeed!
Born in Angola I'd be interested to know if some Angolan Awards have been awarded to Soviets having served there, or the other possibilities Munroe mentions!

I have no idea where to look for such info, but if you give me a hint may be I could try to do some research.

Thanks,

Dolf
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Old 04-06-2004, 06:57 PM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dolf
Eddie,

That would be quite interesting indeed!
Born in Angola I'd be interested to know if some Angolan Awards have been awarded to Soviets having served there, or the other possibilities Munroe mentions!

I have no idea where to look for such info, but if you give me a hint may be I could try to do some research.

Thanks,

Dolf
Dolf,

I've been reading through a few sites on the "Angolan war" for mentions of awards with no luck up to now.

Eddie.
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Old 04-07-2004, 12:48 AM   #5
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Dear Guys

I am not sure if the Angolans had any medals to issue. I have not seen anything from that area. Just a few Unita items. There were a lots of Cubans there (we captured a few) and we found some Soviet uniforms and badges etc. I will check if we ever captured a Soviet. But one thing is for sure - they were there. The South Africans had a few CIA boys with them.

Its a very interesting topic. I have a picture of Col Gen Dragunsky with some Mozambique officers (Its in his book) I have also never seen any Mozambique medals of this time period.

Regards from South Africa
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Old 04-07-2004, 10:30 AM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mcwirsk
Dear Guys

I am not sure if the Angolans had any medals to issue. I have not seen anything from that area. Just a few Unita items. There were a lots of Cubans there (we captured a few) and we found some Soviet uniforms and badges etc. I will check if we ever captured a Soviet. But one thing is for sure - they were there. The South Africans had a few CIA boys with them.

Its a very interesting topic. I have a picture of Col Gen Dragunsky with some Mozambique officers (Its in his book) I have also never seen any Mozambique medals of this time period.

Regards from South Africa
Munroe,
Through reading a few articles it seems that the Cubans at least, never recived any Angolan awards so that might well be the case that they didn't have any to award.

Eddie.

Quote:
Originally Posted by mcwirsk

There were a lots of Cubans there (we captured a few) and we found some Soviet uniforms and badges etc. I will check if we ever captured a Soviet. But one thing is for sure - they were there. The South Africans had a few CIA boys with them.
The Marxist MPLA was helped by an estimated 40 000 Cuban soldiers and Soviet arms and equipment, as well as Soviet and East German soldiers stationed in Angola as military advisers.
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Old 04-08-2004, 05:06 PM   #7
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Eddie,

That is correct.
The "internationalist" soldiers fighting with the MPLA were indeed Cubans (even thought there were a few Portuguese too), the USSR and DDR guys there were considered just military advisers and I'm not sure if they ever took part in any combat situation. Unless perhaps flying those Migs!...

I also think the Angolan government didn't have any Awards to give during that period. Not even sure they have some now! I can try to ask for the help of a couple of friends living there and a familly member currently working there.

So I guess the only possibility is that some of the Soviets stationed there have been awarded some Soviet Awards for that.

Best,

Dolf

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Old 04-09-2004, 10:53 AM   #8
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Madagascar - FAP (Forces Armees Populaires)

During the Ratsiraka era, the FAP (Forces Armees Populaires) gradually abandoned its almost total reliance on France for equipment and training, and looked to several communist nations for foreign military assistance.
During the 1975-82 period, the FAP acquired artillery, small arms, and ammunition from North Korea and the People's Republic of China; two landing craft from North Korea; three Mi-8 helicopters, twelve MiG-21 jet fighter aircraft, and two An-26 transport aircraft from the former Soviet Union. North Korea also provided four MiG-17s on long-term loan, and about ninety military advisers who furnished crew and maintenance support for these aircraft. Approximately 130 Soviet technicians maintained the MiG-21s and the An-26s. FAP personnel received training from Cuban, Romanian, Soviet, and Chinese instructors. As Ratsiraka's radicalism waned, Madagascar distanced itself from these countries. The collapse of the Soviet Union signaled the end Madagascar's reliance on the communist world for military assistance.

Major Soviet Equipment of Madagascar Armed Forces.(1994)
----------------------------------------------------------------
Light tanks - 12, PT-76.
Reconnaissance - 35, BRDM-2 armored cars.
Towed artillery - 12, ZIS-3 76mm and 12, D-30 122mm.
Mortars - ?, M-37 82mm and 8, M-43 120mm.
Air defense guns - 50, ZPU-4 14.5mm and 20, 37mm Type 55.
Fighter ground attack aircraft - 8, MiG-21FL Fishbed and 4, MiG-17F Fresco.
Transport aircraft - 4, An-26 Curl and 2, Yak-40 Codling.
Helicopters - 6, Mi-8 Hip.

Eddie.
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Old 04-09-2004, 11:12 AM   #9
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Egypt - The "War of Attrition"

In 1970 during the "War of Attrition," a 12,000-strong Soviet expeditionary air defense corps was sent to Egypt to help fight the Israeli air force. None of the officers or troops was told the ultimate destination before they docked in Alexandria, Egypt. The level of secrecy was such that generals, other officers and troops were disguised as civilians, their transport ships supposedly were carrying "farming equipment," the ship captains were allowed to open an envelope containing information on their final destination only after they reached the Eastern Mediterranean, and strict orders were issued to shoot to kill any serviceman who jumped overboard while the transport ships were passing the Bosporus.
Of course, Western intelligence services knew there were Soviet combat troops in the conflict area, but it was impossible to prove this publicly, because there were no prisoners. (Russian pilots were forbidden to fly close to enemy-occupied territory.) In most of such conflicts the Soviet Union provided large amounts of arms, military equipment and ammunition. Russian technicians and specialists trained Koreans, Vietnamese, Arabs and others to use Russian arms. Soviet generals served as advisers, helping local military staffs to deploy forces armed with modern weapons.
Soviet combat troops were deployed mostly on temporary bases -- to help train local staff and to perform combat duties until the locals' training was completed, so that modern weapons could be put into action immediately to tilt the military balance.

In Egypt Russia lost 25 military advisers and 35 combat personnel.
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Even though the Egyptian military became oriented toward the West after the October 1973 War, it still had large amounts of Soviet equipment in its arms inventory. As of 1989, an estimated five of the twelve divisions and portions of other units had made the transition to American equipment and order of battle. The stock of main battle tanks consisted of 785 M60A3s from the United States, together with more than 1,600 Soviet-made T-54, T-55, and T-62 models. Some of these older Soviet tanks were being refitted in the West with 105mm guns, diesel engines, fire-control systems, and external armor. Armored personnel carriers (APCs) consisted of 1,000 M-113A2s from the United States, more than 1,000 BTR-50s and OT-62s from the Soviet Union, and about 200 Fahds, which were manufactured in Egypt based on a design from the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany). The army also had more than 700 infantry combat vehicles that were manufactured by the Soviet Union and Spain. Egypt also launched a program to increase the mobility of artillery and rockets by mounting them on the chassis of tanks and APCs.
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Old 04-09-2004, 11:27 AM   #10
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Ethiopia - The Ogaden War (1977-78)

The Ogaden War (1977-78) was the most serious border conflict between Ethiopia and Somalia. Beginning in the early summer of 1977, SNA units and WSLF guerrillas, a movement of ethnic Somali opposed to incorporation in Ethiopia, occupied vast tracts of the Ogaden and forced the Ethiopian army into fortresses at Jijiga, Harer, and Dire Dawa for almost eight months. The intention was to separate the Ogaden from Ethiopia to set the stage for ethnic Somali in the region to decide their own future.

It was only with Soviet and Cuban assistance that the Derg regained control over the region by early 1978. The Soviet Union not only provided massive amounts of military equipment but also advisers, who trained Ethiopian soldiers and pilots. Moreover, Cuban troops spearheaded the counteroffensive that began in March 1978. Cuban and Ethiopian troops quickly defeated the SNA and WSLF once the counteroffensive began. Many WSLF fighters returned to their villages or took refuge inside Somalia. In addition, some 650,000 Somali and Oromo fled from southeastern Ethiopia into Somalia by early 1978 to escape unsettled local conditions and repression by Ethiopian armed forces. After the defeat, Somali opposition reverted to sporadic guerrilla ambushes and occasional acts of sabotage.

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On the night of 28 November 1977, the Soviet Union launched a major military airlift of arms and materiel bound for the Horn of Africa.In succeeding weeks the U.S.S.R. employed An-12 (NATO Cub) and An-22 (NATO Cock) transport aircraft along with seagoing cargo vessels to deliver an estimated $1 billion in fighter-bombers, tanks, artillery, and ammunition to the Ethiopian regime of Lieutenant Colonel Mengistu Haile Mariam. Mengistu's armies were staggering in the Ogaden desert under the attack of Somali-backed rebels, trying to capture territory claimed by the Mogadiscio government as part of a "Greater Somalia." Although this resupply campaign did not rival the scale of the 1973 effort to rearm the Arab states in the wake of the October War, it was highlighted by the speed of Soviet reaction and the morale boost it provided the beleaguered Ethiopian army. As a result of the weapons supplied by the U.S.S.R. and the augmentation of Mengistu's forces by Cuban combat soldiers and Soviet technicians and advisors, Ethiopia mounted a successful counteroffensive to regain the Ogaden in February and March of 1978.

Column of Cuban-manned Ethiopian tanks seen near Jijiga, in March 1978.
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File Type: jpg ethiopian_002.jpg (19.6 KB, 60 views)
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