Blood Brothers. To Battleground Smokeshell and Back

Title: Blood Brothers
Subtitle: To Battleground Smokeshell and Back
Author: Deon Lamprecht
Publisher: Jonathan Ball Publishers
Johannesburg, South Africa 2024
ISBN 9781928248187 / ISBN 978-1-92-824818-7
Softcover, 14 x 21 cm, 256 pages, numerous b/w images, text in English

About: Blood brothers. To battleground Smokeshell and back

On 10 June 1980, during the Border War, the SADF’s 61 Mechanised Battalion Group attacked a complex of SWAPO military bases in southern Angola. A long day of bloody fighting ensued. Second Lieutenant Paul Louw led Platoon 1, in four Ratel infantry fighting vehicles, to an objective called Smokeshell. After emerging from a dry riverbed, the young national servicemen suddenly found themselves facing a heavily defended enemy position and under deadly fire. In the ensuing chaos of that day, 12 troopies of Louw’s platoon of 44 were killed and he himself was wounded.

The 18-year-old HP Ferreira was shot through the pelvis by a 14,5 mm anti-aircraft round and also hit by AK-47 bullets. He miraculously survived. Blood Brothers - To Battleground Smokeshell and Back records the dramatic events of that horrific day, in the words of the survivors of the battle, and follows members of Louw’s platoon on their long journey of healing and recovery. It investigates the human cost of war after the last shots have been fired and follows the veterans as they return to the battleground four decades later in search of peace.

Over time, the challenges, flaws, successes and lessons of the attack on the objective at the battleground Smokeshell have been chewed over by many a prominent historian, strategist and esteemed career officer. This book is a humble effort to relate the story of Smokeshell to a wider audience and a much younger generation in the words of a few national servicemen, the survivors of Platoon 1, Bravo Company, which for all practical purposes ceased to exist on 10 June 1980. And, equally important, the book attempts to tell the story of their lifelong journey of healing after that day of blood and fire in the Angolan bush.

Deon Lamprecht is an award-winning journalist and author. He has written two popular books on the Border War: Tannie Pompie se oorlog (2015) and Die Brug (2020). This is the first time his work will be translated into English. In his career at The Pretoria News, Beeld and Rapport, he reported on a wide range of topics. He was news editor for Beeld, co-founder of Media24’s Africa office and the company’s representative in Washington, DC. He is currently a rewriter at Huisgenoot.

Content: Blood brothers. To battleground Smokeshell and back

Author's note
PART 1 - THE ROAD TO SMOKESHELL
Demons of the bush
Braaivleis, rugby, sunny skies and ... army
The commandant and the lieutenant
The place of the camelthorn trees
Secret plans and premonitions of doom
Blood and fire in the bush
Heartbreak and heroism
A night on the killing field
PART 2 - BEYOND SMOKESHELL
HP and Phia
Marco and Pamela
Paul and Lynette
Other paths to healing: Gareth and Jan
PART 3 - BACK TO THE KILLING FIELD
The quest
Old friends reunited and healing in the bush
Reflections