War Without End

Coming soon …

As an officer in a conventional army, Des’ story is all the more unique due to the unconventional nature of his career. He played a key role in the formation of Bravo Group … a ragtag, ill-disciplined group of black Portuguese speaking guerrilla fighters extricated from the Angolan civil war which was to become the legendary 32 Battalion. He was the first of many young white platoon leaders who were posted to fill probably the most dangerous platoon leader slots in the Army. Idolised by his black troops, he became an expert at anti-guerrilla warfare as a result of his pioneering the leadership skills required for English and Afrikaans speaking white platoon commanders to lead black Portuguese speaking troops on clandestine missions behind enemy lines.

All the more fascinating are his platoons early deployments behind enemy lines in Southern Angola before Bravo group was integrated into the South African Army. Not being part of the army, his platoon could only be supplied with rations and ammunition … no fire support, no weapons, no casevac. When he requested light machine guns in order to effectively fight the SWAPO guerrilla fighters, he was told “If you want machine guns to kill the enemy, get them from the enemy” ! Remarkably, he and his platoon did just that, being credited with 75 ‘kills’ in a relatively short period of time. He and his troops ‘out-guerrilla’ed’ the guerrillas using their own tactics against them. Amongst many other initiatives, when the air force deemed it too risky to air drop supplies to them, he used donkeys to resupply his platoons. The SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) was to shoot the donkeys if he and his men hit contact so that they would not bolt with their much needed supplies strapped to their backs. Being partial to his particular team of donkey’s, Des made sure he never had to shoot them.

The courage, tenacity and initiative shown by men such as Des in the covert anti-guerrilla missions in the bushveld of Southern Angola in the early days of Bravo Group and 32 Battalion, were what was behind the mystical, and ultimately legendary status of 32 Battalion. Their leadership laid the foundation to what became a remarkable army battalion. It began as a ‘motley mob’ using assorted World War 2 era platoon weapons in Des’ day, then transforming itself into what was one of the best anti-guerrilla units in the world and by the wars end in the late ‘80’s had transformed itself again into a highly effective, conventional, mechanised battalion with armoured Ratel infantry fighting vehicles,G5 &G6 artillery pieces, anti-aircraft guns & missiles and Valkerie multiple rocket launchers. In this configuration, ‘Three-Two’ played a key role in stopping the massive conventional offensive into south eastern Angola by the Angolan Army backed by the Cubans and Soviets in the late ‘80’s … together with 61 Mech and UNITA Three-Two stopped the offensive dead in its tracks.

After his formative years in Three-Two, Des went on to work with CSI (Chief Staff Intelligence), training and fighting with the Angolan guerrilla movement UNITA in southern Angola. Once the dust had settled as it were in this theatre of conflict, he completed his military career in the 1990’s training his former enemy, the Angolan Army.

Amongst other decorations and medals, Des was awarded the coveted Southern Cross medal for his role in the formative years of 32 Battalion … a fitting accolade for a remarkable, un-conventional soldier who is credited by Colonel Jan Breytenbach for having pioneered the cornerstone of what made ‘Three-Two’ the finest fighting unit in the South African Army … white South African officers leading black, Portuguese speaking Angolan troops.

War Without End
Des Burman & Justin Taylor