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Mata do Tossi is the name of a relatively small forest between the Kirongosi Lagoon and the Lomba River, some 80 km west of Mavinga. I had never heard of the name and most likely is not in any map. That was the name given by the Ganguelas to a small area in the right hand bank of the River Lomba, and almost unheard of until it became famous amongst the people that went through hell in that area.

My formal introduction to the Tossi (I used to cross it before the war in my hunting trips with Chico Salazar) occurred very earlier in my military career, less than a week after arriving at Mavinga. One afternoon the Captain called me to his office and instructed me to prepare a combat group to intercept an enemy supply column known to be travelling from Zambia to the source of the Lomba river.

That would be my first mission and I could hardly wait. I called the three sergeants of my platoon and instructed them to prepare the men to leave at first light. I also selected some of my old friends from the special groups (GE's). Not many I decided. All together, our group comprised of 30 army and 10 GE's personnel.

Mavinga - The green buildings are the barracks

Until that date, the MPLA gerrilla groups operated in small numbers of 5 to 10 trained guerrillas and some poorly trained and armed militiamen. Not a match for 40 eager blokes... that was the spirit.

Next morning I inspected the troops before boarding the Berliet's (multi fuel army trucks) and noticed how lightly armed the soldiers were. No machine guns, no mortar or rocket launchers. “Why bother carrying them, we don't need ...” everybody said.

That was the beginning of my first major lesson in leadership: if you are in command, do what you think it is right not what others think you should. When the judgement time comes you will stand alone to face the music. On that morning I didn't want to look maçarico (derogative name given to fresh troops) and went along with the general opinion. Later on I discovered that some soldiers did not even carried the full compliment of ammunition for their rifles.

We boarded the Berliet's and headed to Kirongosi. The plan was to be launched on the north side of the Kirongosi lagoon and cross the chana (savanna) between that and the Tossi forest and reach the Lomba river. Once there we would follow the river until detecting the trail of the column.

Half way through our trip to Kirongosi one of the trucks broke down and we decided to continue with one truck to the Kirongosi and send it back to get the rest of the troops. It was later in the afternoon when we finally got everyone at the starting point. We started our mission from the Kirongosi lagoon just across from where in past times, the Kirongosi Angola Safari camp was situated. The night was fast approaching when we reached the chana that separated us from the Tossi forest.

Until there we had seen no traces of the enemy and therefore we camped in style: fires burning and people sitting around the fire happily exchanging tales and jokes.

 

Kirongosi Lagoon, close to the drop off point

Next morning, after a healthy breakfast of army biscuits, chocolate milk and tinned beans with chouriço we crossed the savanna and entered the Tossi. As soon as we entered the Tossi we were ambushed by a small group that run away as soon as we counter attacked. For the rest of the day the enemy group kept annoying us but always avoiding real confrontation. We went after them all day and as the day wore out we noticed that we were approaching the Lomba river and a place known for its cacimbas (water holes). At 4 pm we decided to give up the chase and headed to the water holes to fill our canteens. The water remaining in our bottles, if any, was hot after a day under the scorching sun of the Angolan eastern plains. We contacted the base and informed them of our intentions of abandoning the chase and find a place to spend the night. As we approached the water holes we started hearing sporadic gun shots all around us, but at the time water was the only thing on our minds.

 

Picada - the type of roads in the Cuando Cubango

We arrived at the water holes, placed the troops into a circle and started getting ready to spend the night. I pumped up my air mattress, opened a box of biscuits that Filomena cooked for me and laid down for a well deserved rest. The small arms fire continued to be heard in the distance but nothing seemed to raise our concerns.

After a while, Chissanga, my GE's friend, with his beard platted and decorated with missangas (beads) came to talk to me. He was not happy with the gun fire around us and recommended to leave the place. He reminded me that the water holes were a well known resting place and therefore we would be exposed to an attack if we camped there for the night. I agreed and asked him to tell everybody to start getting ready to shift camp.

Chissanga started walking away when we heard the unmistakable sound of the shells leaving the mortar tubes and I saw with disbelieve my friend being hit by a RPG rocket. I grabbed the first gun I could lay my hands on and dived away from the mattress just in time to see the soil in front of me erupting under the impact of the mortar shells.

The precision of the mortar fire indicated that they had been previously aimed at the water holes in the anticipation of us camping there. The gun fire was intense and I crawled behind a tree trying to comprehend what was happening. I remember looking up and seeing the trunk of the tree where I was hiding splitting open over my head. It took me several seconds to realise that a bullet had just gone through. Under extreme pressure the brain (mine at least does) seems to work extremely fast, reviewing the millions of things going through your mind and therefore you get the impression that the world around you moves in “slow motion”.