They Live by the Sword

Abstract

With the lifting of restrictions on information regarding South Africa's role in the Angolan and Namibian conflicts several books on this subject have been published, one of the latest being They Live by the Sword. It is the history of 32 Battalion, from the time of its formation in 1975 until the implementation of UN Resolution 435 and South West Africa's transition to an independent Namibia 14 years later. In the process the roles played by the other participants are revealed. FAPLA (military arm of the MPLA) supported by the Cubans who with SWAPO formed the enemy from the North, whilst the original FNLA, UNITA and South Africa's own SADF constituted the defendents in the South. It was from a FNLA Battalion that the 32 Battallion was formed. Col Jan Breytenbach, a highly experienced South African soldier was the founding commander of 32 Battalion and this is his second book since his retirement from active service in 1987.