Operation Saluting October

Operation Saluting October (Portuguese: Operação Saudemos Outubro, alternatively translated as Operation Salute to October) was an offensive carried out by the People's Armed Forces of Liberation of Angola (FAPLA) against the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) and its armed wing, the Armed Forces of the Liberation of Angola (FALA), during the Angolan Civil War. The preliminary phase of the operation commenced in July 1987. The principal FAPLA objective was to advance two hundred kilometres from its bases at Cuito Cuanavale to seize the strategically vital FALA logistics centre at Mavinga. In the meantime, a number of secondary movements towards the smaller FALA-held settlements of Cangamba and Cassamba were initiated to draw FALA troops away from Mavinga. The capture of Mavinga was projected to cause the collapse of FALA's entire southeastern front, and pave the way for a second offensive on UNITA's political and military headquarters at Jamba. "Saluting October" was a reference to the seventieth anniversary of the Russian October Revolution.

Eight FAPLA combined arms brigades, supported by Soviet logistical personnel and advisers, as well as Soviet and Cuban pilots based out of Menongue, participated in the operation. FAPLA's 47, 16, 21, and 59 Brigades spearheaded the offensive, while 8, 13, 25, and 66 Brigades formed the rearguard and defended the increasingly lengthy supply lines needed to support the four leading brigades. Saluting October triggered an immediate military response from South Africa, which launched Operation Moduler to halt the offensive. In late September 1987, the FAPLA advance stalled short of Mavinga at the Lomba River, where the leading brigades encountered strong resistance from a South African expeditionary force deployed to aid FALA. Saluting October ended on October 7, when all participating FAPLA units were ordered to withdraw towards Cuito Cuanavale.