Langley, Virginia: December 1975

'Jesus, what a mess!'

'Stockwell did warn us sir..'

'Yeah well, fat lot of notice we all took'

'The South Africans have been cooking something up with Savimbi in Huambo province sir...'

'Where the hell's that Epstein? Christ, I couldn't find the goddamn shitty country on a map six months ago and now it's the biggest clusterfuck since Saigon...'

'Here sir. They've been training UNITA to operate as a stay behind guerilla army as the Cubans advance to the southern border. They've even managed to do a deal with the Bulgarians to get hardware for Savimbi.'

'The Bulgarians? I thought they played for the other team?'

'They do, seems they'll sell their grand daughters for greenbacks and apparently the President's son in law did a deal in Vienna through his mistress to sell a stack of small arms and ammunition to a dealer that was fronting for BOSS'

'Sounds like our kind of guy..'

'Yes sir, he's a Dutchman that has connections in Pretoria...'

'I meant the son in law Epstein'

'Er..quite sir..'

'Anyway, there's a freighter bound for South West Africa with the arms on board.

'Great, so what do they want from us?'

'Er...money sir'

Pause for Thought

Although I've been off work this past week I haven't done as much on 'War for Slow Readers' as I intended. I've almost completed painting Colonel Shannon and his associates, together with a couple of HMG armed jeeps and some Unimogs. I couldn't resist starting to paint the first elements of the Cuban airforce, a MiG 21 and a MiL 8 but nothing is finished.

I've been distracted by reading about another favourite period of mine, the English Civil War (more accurately the British Civil Wars), specifically Lindsay Davis's epic novel 'Rebels & Traitors' which I've thoroughly enjoyed. I even fought a battle between the Scots Covenanters and the Royalists last night - set in North Lancashire in 1644.

I've had plenty of time to think and to look at my map of Angola though. Painting Colonel Shannon has got me to thinking there is a substantial sub plot here in northern Angola which could spawn a mini campaign all of its own.

We're on the brink of either a successful FNLA thrust on Luanda or an ignominious defeat for Shannon, possibly at the hands of Cuban forces, if they arrive in time. Even if Shannon enters the capital there is every prospect of prolonged street fighting a la Bierut.

Other aspects to consider are the influence of the international press corps, the actvities of a Soviet mole in the South African armed forces, and increased CIA and MI6 involvement in support of the FNLA.