Officers received the Order of the Red Star for Mozambique posthumously
More has become known about the war in Angola in recent years - the secrecy label has been removed from the documents, the memories of veterans, not only Soviet ones, but also the enemy's, have appeared. Operations that only a few previously knew about were made public. But the fulfillment of international duty in Mozambique remains a blank spot.
But the participation of our military in this conflict was no less intense than in the Angolan one. Soviet specialists had to not only train their African colleagues, but also help them repel attacks from neighboring states, in particular Rhodesia and South Africa.
Business trip beyond the equator
It is difficult to say how many Soviet specialists died in Mozambique in the line of duty. According to official figures, from 1975 to 1991 there were 21 people. Figures from 30 to 40 are sometimes cited. The circumstances surrounding the deaths of at least five servicemen became known only in the 2000s.
Until 1974, Mozambique was a Portuguese colony. In April of that year, a left-wing military coup took place in Lisbon, the country chose the socialist path of development. And as a result, she abandoned the colonies. In one of them, Angola, a civil war broke out almost immediately, as several parties were fighting for power there. Gradually, the USSR became involved in it, which made a bet on the MPLA, which eventually came to power. And in Mozambique, the colonial administration was opposed by the only national liberation movement FRELIMO - the Mozambique Liberation Front. The guerrilla war that he waged against the Portuguese army lasted until the mid-70s with varying success. Neither side had a sufficient advantage to win. The Portuguese army did not really want to fight, and the FRELIMO leadership understood that there was not enough strength to overthrow the colonial regime. And even more so, he did not think about what would happen if he came to power. But after the victory of the "revolution of carnations" this is exactly what happened.
Zamora Machel became the President of the Republic of Mozambique and immediately announced the socialist path of development. Naturally, this could not pass by the attention of the USSR - diplomatic relations between the two countries were established on the day of the country's independence, June 25, 1975. And almost immediately help came from Moscow: economic, financial, political, military.
The first group of Soviet military specialists arrived in the country in 1976. They began work on the creation of the General Staff and the main branches of the armed forces and combat arms. Some of the posted people, like G. Kanin, were there as specialists of the military intelligence of the Mozambican General Staff, helping to establish the work of radio interception, intelligence and radio intelligence. Others, like N. Travin, trained air defense personnel to recruit units of the People's Army. A group of specialists led by Colonel V. Sukhotin was able to train local military personnel in handling all antiaircraft artillery barrels and Strela-2 MANPADS. In the late 70s, military equipment and weapons began to arrive from the USSR at full speed. In 1979, 25 MiG-17s arrived in the country, and in 1985 the MiG-21bis squadron was formed in the Mozambican Air Force. The officers of the Soviet Airborne Forces trained an airborne battalion, and the border guards deployed four brigades of border troops. A military school in Nampula, a training center in Nakala, a training center for border troops in Inhamban, a school for junior aviation specialists in Beira, and a driving school in Maputo were created.
A step away from Zimbabwe
And in the country there was a civil war, in which several states secretly participated at once. The policy of Zamora Machel, who built socialism in African style, did not lead to an improvement in the quality of life. The nationalization of enterprises, the massive emigration of the skilled white population, and the lack of local literate personnel have turned the country's economy almost into ruins. Several provinces were on the brink of starvation. The locals were surprised to find that they had become much worse off than under the colonialists. Politically, a tough one-party system was formed in the country, all power was concentrated in the hands of the center. In addition, the first thing the new government did was create a large repressive apparatus. Discontent was ripening in the country.
At this moment, the western neighbor - Rhodesia (since 1980 - the Republic of Zimbabwe) actively intervened in politics. It was a unique state formation. The country emerged at the end of the 19th century as a personal initiative of the industrialist and politician Cecil Rhodes. Until 1965, it was ruled by the British crown - not formally a colony. However, power belonged to the white minority. This caused discontent in London, which insistently demanded that the control of the country be transferred to the Africans. White Rhodesians resisted as best they could - as a result, the confrontation resulted in the fact that in 1965 Prime Minister Ian Smith unilaterally declared independence from Great Britain. This act was sharply condemned in the UN - Rhodesia became an unrecognized state. At the same time, the country had a developed economy, political system and well-trained armed forces. The army of Rhodesia was considered one of the most effective in Africa: suffice it to say that during its entire existence - from 1965 to 1980 - it did not lose a single battle, of which there were many. And the special forces carried out such effective operations that they are still being studied in the military schools of the leading countries. One of the special forces of the Armed Forces of Rhodesia was the SAS Regiment - Special Air Service, modeled on the British parent, the 22nd SAS Regiment. This unit was engaged in deep reconnaissance and sabotage: blowing up bridges and railways, destroying fuel depots, raids on partisan camps, raids on the territory of neighboring states.
It was with the help of the RSAC that the opposition movement RENAMO - "Mozambican National Resistance" was formed in Mozambique. The agents selected a certain number of dissatisfied people, of whom they quickly blinded something resembling a political association. Later, the head of Rhodesia's intelligence, Ken Flower, recalled: "Initially, it was a small handful, if not a gang of dissatisfied with the Machel regime." But this group was to become an important political factor - it was supposed to make RENAMO not a polite parliamentary opposition of the Western type, but a partisan army. The combat unit - weapons and training - was taken over by instructors from the RSAC. Very soon RENAMO became an adversary that had to be seriously reckoned with. The RENAMO fighters turned out to be the ideal allies of the Rhodesian saboteurs. It was with their help that RSAS carried out all major operations in Mozambique in the late 1970s.
Written off to the partisans
The country was actually split in two: FRELIMO controlled the cities, and in the countryside, power belonged to RENAMO. The government army tried to smoke the partisans out of their shelters - in response, the militants carried out raids and sabotage. And at the center of it all were the Soviet military.
In July 1979, the office of the chief military adviser in Mozambique received a terrible message: five Soviet officers were killed at once. Information about the circumstances remained scarce until the early 2000s: “On July 26, 1979, four advisers and an interpreter working in the 5th motorized infantry brigade of the FPLM were returning to Beira from the exercise area. On the road, their car was ambushed by armed bandits. The car, fired from a grenade launcher and machine guns, caught fire. All who were in it perished."
Their names:
Lieutenant Colonel Nikolai Vasilievich Zaslavets, born in 1939, advisor to the commander of the motorized infantry brigade of the MNA.
Lieutenant Colonel Zubenko Leonid Fedorovich, born in 1933, advisor to the political commissar of the motorized infantry brigade of the MNA.
Major Markov Pavel Vladimirovich, born in 1938, technical advisor to the deputy commander of the motorized infantry brigade of the MNA.
Major Tarazanov Nikolai Alexandrovich, born in 1939, advisor to the head of the air defense of the motorized infantry brigade of the MNA.
Junior Lieutenant Dmitry Vladimirovich Chizhov, born in 1958, translator.
According to the testimony of the Major of the Soviet Army Adolf Pugachev, who arrived in Mozambique in 1978 to organize a military mobilization structure, the car in which the officers were traveling was probably stopped by imaginary traffic controllers and at that time hit it with a grenade launcher, because the bodies of the dead were cut by shrapnel. Pugachev is one of those who arrived at the scene of the tragedy almost immediately. A few days before this, the MNA brigade, where Pugachev served, was sent to destroy one of the RENAMO groups. Some of the militants were eliminated, but they somehow took refuge in the forests. After the order to return to the location, Major Pugachev decided not to wait for other advisers who were supposed to follow with the column, but left in his car half an hour earlier, which saved him.
All the victims were awarded the Order of the Red Star (posthumously), their bodies were taken to the USSR and buried with military honors.
Friends of black friends
Only in the mid-2000s, it became clear from the declassified documents that the officers did not die at the hands of RENAMO. That short battle became the only open clash in history between the servicemen of the Soviet army and the armed forces of Rhodesia - the car with the Soviet officers was destroyed by the RSAC saboteurs.
How did it all happen? In Rhodesia, at the same time, there was a war of its own. After the proclamation of unilateral independence by Prime Minister Smith, the country found itself in international isolation. However, Rhodesia could survive this fact and, in the future, achieve official recognition. But since the beginning of the 70s, a civil war has flared up in the country. The white population of the country was 300 thousand people, and the blacks were about five million. Power belonged to whites. But two national liberation movements were gaining strength. One was led by Joshua Nkomo, a former trade unionist, and the other by former school teacher Robert Mugabe (who eventually became president after the end of the civil war and the 1980 general election). The movements were taken under their wing by two powers: China and the USSR. Moscow relied on Nkomo and his ZIPRA units, while Beijing relied on Mugabe and the ZANLA army. These movements had only one thing in common - to overthrow the rule of the white minority. Otherwise, they were different. And they even preferred to act from different neighboring countries. The Nkomo guerrillas were based in Zambia, where they were trained by Soviet military experts. And Mugabe's detachments were based in Mozambique, from where, under the leadership of Chinese instructors, they raided Rhodesia. Naturally, the special forces of Rhodesia regularly carried out raids on the territory of these two countries in fact. The Rhodesians did not care about the observance of international law, they simply did not pay attention to the protests. As a rule, commandos spotted partisan training camps, after which an air strike was made on them, followed by landing. Sometimes sabotage groups were thrown into Zambia and Mozambique. This was also the case in the summer of 1979.
Rhodesian intelligence received information about a large ZANLA camp in Mozambique, somewhere in the Chimoio region. According to the information received, there was a base there, which included several camps with a total strength of up to two thousand soldiers. There was information that the highest partisan leadership was often there. The destruction of the camp at once removed a lot of problems for Rhodesia. True, it was not possible to establish exactly where this base was located. Analysts knew that the camp was located by the river east of the Chimoio-Tete road. As a result, it was decided to send a group of SAS special forces for reconnaissance. Also, the saboteurs had to arrange an ambush in the alleged area of the camp in order to capture or destroy someone from the command staff of the militants.
Runaway Ambush
The squadron was commanded by SAS Lieutenant Andrew Sanders, and his deputy was Sergeant Dave Berry. In addition to them, the group included nine more saboteurs and four RENAMO partisans. At the same time, a relay station was deployed near the border with Mozambique by another special forces group - for communication.
On July 24, helicopters airlifted scouts to Mozambique. The next day was spent in reconnaissance of the area and choosing a place for an ambush. It turned out that the ZANLA partisan camp was located about five kilometers away. On the morning of July 26, the SAS group was discovered. The saboteurs had to retreat. The ZANLA command did not dare to organize a tight pursuit, since they did not know who exactly and how many were opposing them. Thanks to this, the group could leave without much haste. In the course of the retreat, the scouts came out to the road, which obviously led to the same camp. When the sound of cars was heard nearby, the commander decided to organize an ambush and destroy the convoy, especially since the special forces had an RPG-7 grenade launcher and Claymore mines with them. After a while, Land Cruisers appeared on the road. And by chance, exactly at the very second when the cars were in the affected area, the second car tried to overtake the first …
The rest happened almost instantly. Sergeant Dave Berry stepped into the road, took aim with an RPG and fired at the first car. The grenade hit the radiator, and the car, which was going at a speed of about 40 kilometers per hour, stopped dead. There were eight people in it - three in the front, five in the back. In addition, in the back of the car was a 200-liter tank of gasoline on which a FRELIMO soldier from security was sitting. The explosion of a grenade threw him from the tank, but despite the shock, the soldier managed to jump to his feet and run into the forest. He was lucky - he was the only survivor. Simultaneously with Berry's shot, special forces opened fire on the car and after three to four seconds the tank in the rear of the Land Cruiser exploded. The car turned into a sheaf of flame.
Other saboteurs shot the driver and passengers of the second Land Cruiser from machine guns, the car also caught fire - an incendiary bullet hit the gas tank. One of the passengers, a couple of seconds before the explosion, managed to jump out of the car and run away. He was struck down in a short burst.
Later, Dave Berry said: “When the grenade hit the radiator, the first car stopped. Everyone immediately opened fire. A few seconds later, the car caught fire, the flame spread to an additional tank of gasoline. A man was sitting on it - an explosion threw him out of the car, all the others died immediately. The second car tried to break through, but a burst from a machine gun cut out everyone who was in it. We could not go to the cars - they burned so badly that the heat was unbearable. Later it became known from radio intercepts that three Russians and a large number of ZANLA militants were killed in that ambush."
The sounds of battle attracted attention in the camp. It was clear to the commandos that the time to withdraw was measured in minutes. The commander contacted the relay station, requesting an urgent evacuation by helicopter. A reconnaissance aircraft, standing in readiness, immediately flew to the scene of the battle to coordinate the operation. Meanwhile, the saboteurs fled to the Rhodesian border, looking out for clearings in the forest along the way, suitable for landing helicopters. Finally, the right place was found. The territory was hastily cleared, the special forces took up a perimeter defense in the tall grass, waiting for the "birds".
But the ZANLA partisans appeared, and the saboteurs had to join the battle. The forces were unequal - against 15 Rhodesians from 50 to 70 militants, armed not only with machine guns, but also with machine guns, mortars, and grenades. The firefight lasted about 10 minutes, after which the special forces began to retreat. At that moment, the radio operator reported that the helicopters for evacuation should come up within minutes. But they could no longer sit on the chosen site. We landed in one of the corn fields and took the group.
This is the Rhodesian version of events. Of course, she can sin with some kind of distortion. Perhaps everything was different: for example, the ambush was organized with the help of "false traffic controllers" from RENAMO, and when the cars stopped, the special forces shot and blew up the cars. Most likely, the SAS saboteurs immediately recognized white people in the cars and deliberately destroyed them, realizing that in socialist Mozambique they could only be citizens of the USSR or the GDR. This was a gross violation of international and humanitarian law, which threatened not just a scandal, but an actual declaration of war. So the report on how the battle went was submitted to the command heavily edited.
One thing is clear. The SAS of Rhodesia is responsible for the deaths of Soviet servicemen. Of course, the episode in Mozambique is unique in its own way. On July 26, 1979, the only documented military clash between the USSR and Rhodesia took place.
