GEORGE NEWS - The Outeniqua MOTH Shellhole was filled to the rafters on Friday 4 April as military veterans gathered for a special story night presented by former Special Forces operators.

The evening was organised by Fort Outeniqua, the local branch of the South African Special Forces Organisation.

The featured tale recounted Operation Gwarri, which took place in the dense, dry and rugged terrain of Angola’s Lubango region in August 1987.

The Angolan Bush War took place from 26 August 1966 to 21 March 1990. Often referred to as the ‘forgotten war’, it spilled over into Angola as the former South African Defence Force conducted cross-border raids to target enemy bases and disrupt their operations. 

The South African Special Force operators were commonly known as ‘recces’, and over decades, the details of recce operations have been kept highly secretive.

With the unit now forming part of the SANDF, and known as the South African Special Forces Brigade, the details of the operations that took place during the Angolan Bush War era are starting to be told, and the veterans are enthusiastic to learn details of the conflicts in which many of them played a role.

Operation Gwarri was run out of 1 Recce Commando in Durban and involved four small teams of two men each, deployed by helicopter to search for what military intelligence predicted was a large enemy base situated southeast of Lubango. 

The initial team was inserted by a Puma helicopter on a low-level night flight. 

The team had to lower themselves and their heavy equipment into the inhospitable terrain of Bicuar National Park, with backpacks weighing approximately 80kg to 110kg, laden with water, ammunition, rations and other operational essentials.

After establishing a suitable rendezvous point in dry, dense and inhospitable terrain, they were joined by a group of additional team members. Apart from the two-man reconnaissance teams, the remaining operators would man the temporary base and relay communications from the two-man teams back to Pretoria.

Justin Vermaak, Renier Coetzee and Henk van Wyk (from Mossel Bay) shared the details of the operation. Coetzee and Vermaak were members of the two-man teams, and Van Wyk was part of the temporary base.

Vermaak, now a successful businessman, picked up the story. He and his teammate, Sergeant Johnny de Gouveia, were the last team to deploy in a westerly direction. 

Early one morning, after having carried their huge packs throughout the night in incredibly difficult conditions, having to avoid detection, they failed to reach their goal position on higher ground. 

Throughout the evening, they had listened carefully for noises, scanned the area with night vision equipment, and then, wearing ‘elephant feet’ to disguise their tracks, moved cautiously to the next cover. Progress had been slower than expected due to the volume of people in the area.

As the sun rose, they were trapped between a road network among enemy positions, and with no real capability as a fighting unit, limited ammunition, and knowing their tracks would be detected, they realised they were in trouble.

Vermaak sent his final radio message to base, stating they intended to try and hide for the entire day, but that the terrain was “busy and open”. He concluded with the words “It’s only a matter of time, it is not for us, it is for 1.1.” (Referring to the Durban-based 1.1 Commando.)

The team were cut off from the world and waiting desperately for their only friend - night-time.

Within hours, their position was compromised, and they soon found themselves in a fierce firefight. Forced to break contact, they ran for their lives. Over the next eight hours, multiple engagements took place as they attempted desperately to outrun and evade the enemy fire. De Gouveia was shot twice, through the heel and in the arm.

By late afternoon, with the sun burning relentlessly, the dehydrated and utterly exhausted operators could run no further. For eight hours, they were chased, and they continuously changed direction to try and confuse the enemy. 

Utterly exhausted and on their last legs, they found a small, dry pan, and Vermaak told De Gouveia that it was over. They had been run to the ground by growing numbers of enemy soldiers and vehicles and were boxed in. The final battle would take place on the pan.

The capacity crowd at the Outeniqua Shell Hole were riveted to Vermaak’s every word. You could hear a pin drop.

The two badly dehydrated men took up an ambush position, bracing for the inevitable, explained Vermaak. De Gouveia handed his last few rounds to Vermaak, keeping only one for himself. He turned to him and said, “You know what this last round is meant for.” Then, with unwavering resolve, they turned to face the pursuing enemy for the final fight. They knew it was a hopeless situation, and the enemy was closing in fast again.

Vermaak had left two empty AK-47 magazines in the pan and clear tracks to make sure the enemy knew they were there. Minutes later, the magazines were spotted, and the enemy, still wary, picked them up. Vermaak fired a shot and killed one of them. Panicking, they immediately dragged their stricken colleague back into the bush and withdrew. There was silence, and minutes turned to hours. 

Night fell, and the two recces had been given an unlikely lifeline.
Boxed in, they heard the enemy set up camp. Once the night fell silent, moving with painstaking care, they threaded the needle between sleeping soldiers and talking guards and broke out of the circle again.

A few more hours stood between them and freedom. After they had asked a local woman for water in desperation, she had refused and sent her child to alert the soldiers, and once again, they came under fire. 

Incredibly, Vermaak kept his sense of direction, and after a final desperate push for safety, they ran into the arms of their waiting recce operators near where their ordeal had began - against all odds, they made it.

For their bravery and perseverance, De Gouveia was awarded the Honoris Crux Silver and Vermaak the Honoris Crux.

Group Editors correspondent Jeff Ayliffe (left) attended the evening and caught up with his old friend, Justin Vermaak. Photo: Jeff AyliffeThe Outeniqua MOTH Shellhole was filled to capacity. Photo: Jeff Ayliffe‘We bring you the latest Garden Route, Hessequa, Karoo news’