Best Desmond Latham Podcasts (2023)

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History of South Africa podcast

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Episode 121 - Lans Hans Janse Van Rensburg’s fatal ivory obsession and the peho slippery snake 20:09

1h ago20:09

20:09

Moshoeshoe’s elder sons were now at a site that was to be named Moriah, 24 miles south of Maseru, chosen by the two French missionaries Arbousset and Casalis for its beauty - and the fact that it was uninhabited. But before we return to what was going on there, we need to swing around southern Africa for a little update about what else was happenin…

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South African Border Wars

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Episode 107 – Reagan, Gorbachev, Ulysses the Bull, Fidel Castro: Diplomacy Breaks Out 21:19

1h ago21:19

21:19

Operation Hooper had ended in failure for the SADF and back in Pretoria, it was time to reassess the political and military situation. What had been achieved after 23 years of war - fighting ostensibly to stop SWAPO from seizing control of Namibia but really a war to buffer the apartheid state from the sweeping post-colonial independence movements.…

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History of South Africa podcast

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Episode 120 - Ploughs in the Platberg, the BaSotho, the MaBuru, MaNyesemane and the BaKhothu 22:09

1h ago22:09

22:09

We join Moshoeshoe just before the arrival of the trekkers, as he sought to build his political power once the Ngwane and other roving bands had been defeated. Mzilikazi was attacking the area which would become known as Lesotho, from his headquarters on the Apies River north of modern Pretoria. His regiments were praying on the Shona people across…

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South African Border Wars

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Episode 106 – Operation Packer/Tumpo 3 and Castro’s obsession 20:48

1h ago20:48

20:48

More than two decades of conflict in Ovamboland and southern Angola had worn down South African military domination - tactical superiority was no longer certain. The initial approach which had been innovative and inspirational, fast, seat of the pants and smart, had slumped into attritional raging bull blow for blow brutality. It was March 1988, ti…

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History of South Africa podcast

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Episode 119 - The saga of Moshoeshoe, how his grandfather was eaten, and mystical advisor Tsapi 20:09

40m ago20:09

20:09

The story of south Africa is incomplete without scrutinising the kingdom of Lesotho, not only because geographic location means the mountains are part of our tale, but also because the entire region is intertwined like lovers, or wrestlers, or snakes that are hell bent on eating each other. Sorry about the graphic description there, but by the time…

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South African Border Wars

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Episode 105 – Citizen Force ou-manne train for the third Battle of Tumpo while Russians drink rice-vodka to forget 21:22

2h ago21:22

21:22

The Third Battle of the Tumpo Triangle was about to begin - the date - 23rd March 1988. The weary 61 Mechanised battalion had withdrawn, the men exhausted after 4 months of shifting about and fighting FAPLA, while their equipment was in worse shape. By 13th March the tattered 20 Brigade of which 61 Mech was part had arrived back at Rundu across the…

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History of South Africa podcast

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Episode 118 - Voortrekkers cross the Orange River carrying ancestral blood from the orient 25:01

7d ago25:01

25:01

Hark! What sound breaks the inscrutable silence of the immense African veld? Dozens of wagons, which would become hundreds. Trundling along at about 5 miles a day, the Voortrekkers were leaving the Cape for their promised lands - albeit yet unidentified. This was a case of being pushed out at least in their minds - culturally, ideologically, fundam…

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South African Border Wars

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Episode 104 – The SAAF raids Lubango and a tired 61 Mech launches the Battle of Tumpo II 21:22

3d ago21:22

21:22

Last episode we heard about the failed first battle of the Tumpo Triangle, officially known as Tumpo one which took place on February 25th 1988. You know that things aren’t going well when battles are numbered, and there would be three attempts at overrunning FAPLA in its defensive positions east of the Cuito River, outside Cuito Cuanavale. Still, …

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History of South Africa podcast

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Episode 117 - The Sixth Frontier War ends in a draw and Trekboers like Louis Trichardt seek the promised land 21:15

3d ago21:15

21:15

There was a great exodus of some people, the movement of the people into the interior of South Africa - a moment that was going to reverberate all the way to the present. The Great Trek as its known had begun by mid-1835, and to be honest, was a medium sized Trek already. It had been a steady flow across the Orange River for decades, led by the tre…

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Plane Crash Diaries

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Episode 35 - The 1986 Aeromexico collision over L.A. that changed aviation 27:02

9d ago27:02

27:02

Episode 35 - The 1986 Aeromexico collision over L.A. that changed aviation by Desmond LathamBy Desmond Latham

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South African Border Wars

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Episode 103 – The First Battle of Tumpo Triangle where 61 Mech faced a fierce FAPLA bombardment 24:14

1M ago24:14

24:14

It was D-Day for the next attack across the open ground east of the Tumpo Triangle, just outside Cuito Cuanavale in southern Angola. The town was now regarded as a moral prerequisite rather than strategic necessity, Luanda’s position here was no surrender, while in Pretoria, the political leadership knew that they could not take the town. This woul…

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History of South Africa podcast

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Episode 116 - A murder most foul and the British wilt as the guerrilla war weakens resolve 25:11

10d ago25:11

25:11

April 1835 is passing swiftly, and still no sign of the 75 000 head of cattle demanded by the British of the amaXhosa - Hintsa remains a hostage of Benjamin D’Urban, although it was Colonel Harry Smith who was looking after the king, as well as his son Sarhili and the king’s brother Bhuru. D’Urban had summarily annexed the troublesome region around…

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Plane Crash Diaries

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Episode 34 - The British Airship accident that was deadlier than The Hindenburg 25:56

15d ago25:56

25:56

The British government was focused on making dirigibles the transport of choice in the 1930s - competing with the Germans to produce the largest, most luxurious and most convenient way to travel across its empire. In the summer of 1930 two variants were created, one designed by a government team known ironically as "the socialist" airship as it was…

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South African Border Wars

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Episode 102 – 32 Battalion strikes Menongue Airfield and a Mirage is shot down 22:29

17d ago22:29

22:29

The South Africans were attacking FAPLA’s 59 Brigade, but had run into an ambush - Cubans operating Soviet tanks had laid up waiting for 4SAI to cut across their hull down positions. These were the T55s of the 3rd Battalion — the commanders and the gunners were Cuban, while the drivers were Angolan. As the SADF had found out earlier on the 14th Feb…

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History of South Africa podcast

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Episode 115 - Hintsa becomes a hostage and the Mfengu become British 23:42

17d ago23:42

23:42

It's early 1835 and Cape Governor Benjamin D’urban an his 2000 men were winding their way through the AMatola mountains, searching for Maqoma and Thyali’s warriors. The going was tough albeit the scenery sublime. These glorious mountains were going to lead to one of the more inglorious moments in British military history. By early April 1835 the Bo…

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South African Border Wars

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Episode 101 – The Valentines Day assault on 59 Brigade and a Cuban tank ambush 22:37

24d ago22:37

22:37

It’s the second week of January 1988 and FAPLAs 21st, 59th and 25th Brigades had taken up the front line in what was to be a three layered defenses ahead of the Tumpo Triangle, where two roads joined just north of the Tumpo River. That was aeast of Cuito Cuanavale. Behind these three Brigades, 16th and 66th hunkered down in expectation of an SADF f…

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History of South Africa podcast

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Episode 114 - The British clamber up the slopes of the Amatolas chasing Xhosa ghosts and the mysterious Mfengu 25:14

24d ago25:14

25:14

We’re going to hear about a man called John Ayliff - a man who has gone down in the annals of South African history about as mixed as a box of smarties. His mission station at Butterworth across the Kei River had been a place of refuge for the Mfengu people - a mysterious group of refugees who had left northern Zululand during the times of Zwide - …

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South African Border Wars

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Episode 100 – FAPLA pushed from their positions along the Chambinga High Ground on Friday 13th 22:27

2M ago22:27

22:27

D-Day for the renewed attack on FAPLA’s 21 Brigade was reset from January 5th to January 13th 1988 - a Friday, for those who suffered from triskaidekaphobia - a fear of Friday the 13th, it merely served to increase their worries. 4 SAI was now being led by Commandant Jan Malan who replaced Leon Marais, 61 Mech was under temporary command of Koos Li…

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History of South Africa podcast

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Episode 113 - Guerrilla warfare throws up a challenge while Jannie Hostage and Ou Blouberg plan their escape 21:35

2M ago21:35

21:35

It’s early 1835 and globally, quite a few fascinating things are going on. For one, America’s National Debt was Zero dollars - for the first and last time in it’s history. It’s president Andrew Jackson survived an assassination attempt in January of that year, also the first but not the last. Mauritius had banned slavery on the 1st February 1835 as…

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South African Border Wars

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Episode 99 – The SAAF tests a top secret weapon while new recruits come to terms with giant moths and skulking MiGs 22:56

1M ago22:56

22:56

We’re approaching the date of Operation Hooper, but first a bit of bad news for the SADF regarding disease. The heavy rains through November and December of 1987 had created a perfect breeding ground for the flies and mosquitoes that carried hepatitis and malaria. This was impacting the morale let alone the operational capacity of the army. The rep…

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History of South Africa podcast

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Episode 112 - Hand-to-hand fighting along the Great Fish River 21:22

1M ago21:22

21:22

The Sixth frontier war was ablaze and now Harry Smith was in Grahamstown rearranging the military furniture. He wasn’t there for long. As a man of action he was determined to chase down the amaXhosa who had begun to retire back east across the Fish River by the end of the first week of January 1835, driving thousands of cattle, sheep and horses bef…

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South African Border Wars

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Episode 98 – Hougaard goes marauding and a Russian commander dies as an ammunition bunker explodes 20:56

1M ago20:56

20:56

When we left off last episode it was the end of Operation Moduler, and Cuban Leader Fidel Castro had begun to consider a negotiated solution to the Namibian and Angolan war. There was a side-show planned before the next major op in Angola. The SADF top brass had finally decided to try and cut off the logistics route west of Cuito Cuanavale through …

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History of South Africa podcast

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Episode 111 - Harry Smith arrives in panic-stricken Grahamstown in January 1835 and stiffens settler spines 23:33

2M ago23:33

23:33

ON December 21st 1834 at least ten thousand warriors under Maqoma and Thyali swept all before them as they raided deep into the Cape colony, across a wide front. Fort Beaufort and Fort Willshire were the main centre of British operations to the north of Grahamstown as the war began. Fort Beaufort was particularly strategic because of its proximity …

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South African Border Wars

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Episode 97 – Castro starts to talk peace but along the Cuito River all hell rains down 23:14

2M ago23:14

23:14

We’re wrapping up Operation Moduler this episode and throwing forward to the next assault on Cuito Cuanavale which was to fixate the South African political leadership at a time when the Cold War was melting away. This was to have a direct effect on the satellite wars such as those in Angola. Assessing this stage of the conflict it all appeared to …

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History of South Africa podcast

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Episode 110 - Sir Harry Smith, his petite guerriere espagnole Lady Smith and the revenge of the amaXhosa 22:07

2M ago22:07

22:07

The Sixth Frontier war had started on 21st December 1834 and this would be a dirty affair - a calamity for the amaXhosa. When it began Hintsa the Xhosa regent did not join in, but something that was first called Maqoma’s war was eventually to be known as Hintsa’s war because of what happened to him. The amaxhosa were assaulting the frontier across …

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South African Border Wars

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Episode 96 – The Chambinga Gallop and the end of Operation Moduler 24:39

2M ago24:39

24:39

FAPLAs 21 and 25 Brigades were manoeuvring around the western edge of the 1370 meter high Viposto high ground which lay south of the Hube and Chambinga Rivers before dawn on the 16th November 1987- and those rivers flowed in an almost direct east to west direction. That meant the Angolan Brigades were now squeezed between the high ground and the ri…

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History of South Africa podcast

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Episode 109 - Maqoma’s war begins as the amaXhosa invade the Colony in December 1834 22:44

2M ago22:44

22:44

It’s December 1834 - the Second of December to be more precise. The British had just emancipated the slaves at the Cape, although real freedom was still some months off as the colonial office decreed that all should first work as apprentices to improve skills before they were set free. On the frontier, a sequence of unfortunate events were to take …

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South African Border Wars

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Episode 95 – 21/25 Brigade makes a dash for the Chambinga Bridge amidst heroics by 32's Van Zyl 24:19

3M ago24:19

24:19

We’re into the final phase of Operation Moduler in November 1987, and the SADF was lining up FAPLAs 16 Brigade after giving them a bloody nose on the 9th. Combat Group Bravo was going to draw FAPLAs attention between the Mianei and Vimpula Rivers, south east of Cuito Cuanavale, but that was a diversion. 59 Brigade was based here, and moving slowly …

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History of South Africa podcast

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Episode 108 - Mzilikazi empties the lower Vaal, Sir Benjamin D’Urban arrives and slaves are emancipated 26:09

2M ago26:09

26:09

A new Governor was in town, the Cape Sheriff, and he was another Peninsular Campaign Veteran called Sir Benjamin D’Urban. In July 1832 Frontier military commander Colonel Henry Somerset went on leave - his father the former governor Lord Charles had died in 1831 and Henry had to head back to the old country to sort out the extensive estate. Andries…

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South African Border Wars

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Episode 94 – South African and Russian tanks go toe-to-toe at the Chambinga river in southern Angola 21:14

2M ago21:14

21:14

It’s early morning November 9th 1987 and the SADF was advancing towards FAPLAs 16th Brigade based at the source of the Chambinga River. The Angolan brigade had received orders to shift eastwards, and the units were about to move when the SADF launched their attack. The first sign of the impending assault was an artillery bombardment and SAAF bombin…

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History of South Africa podcast

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Episode 107 - Dr Andrew Smith, his mysterious Dingane expedition and a bit of XGaoXna- Knysna 24:23

2M ago24:23

24:23

The small settlement of Port Natal had hardly grown by 1830. Dingane had moved his ikhanda which he named uMgungundlovu to the eMakhosini valley, close to Singonyama or Lion hill, just south of the White Umfolozi River. The traders around Port Natal by now had mostly married Khoekhoe or AmaZulu women and were part of the Zulu landscape, but by 1834…

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South African Border Wars

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Episode 93 – Russians claim chemical weapon attack as the SADF pounds FAPLA 20:50

3M ago20:50

20:50

Colonel Deon Ferreira was putting the final touches together for the next phase of Operation Moduler, in late October 1987. The South Africans had reorganised themselves into three combat groups for the upcoming push against FAPLA north of the Lomba River. Combat Group Alpha was initially led by Kobus Smit of 61 Mech, but he was about to be rotated…

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History of South Africa podcast

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Episode 106 - Rustling along the Amatolas in 1830 and Dingane’s black liver 22:35

3M ago22:35

22:35

So here we are - 1830. Maqoma had been ejected from his beloved region below the Amatola mountains of the Eastern Cape, to be replaced by the new Khoekhoe dominated Kat River Settlement - a buffer zone for a buffer zone. It was a time of punitive patrols sent forth by the British to search for rustled cattle, across the Fish River, into amaXhosa te…

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South African Border Wars

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Episode 92 – An indebted Pretoria fixates on Cuito Cuanavale 21:34

4M ago21:34

21:34

At the beginning of October 1987 One Recce moved into the southern Angolan region replacing Five Recce and by the time the SADF top brass had decided the final course of action, a group of 30 Recces flew by C-130 from Durban Air Force base to Rundu It was at Rundu where a critically important meeting had taken place on the 15th October when Army Ch…

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History of South Africa podcast

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Episode 105 - The Kat River Settlement of 1829 and how Maqoma was evicted 24:40

3M ago24:40

24:40

Last we heard about the attack on the Ngwane at Mbholompo west of Umtata, and the destruction of Matiwane’s raiders - sending him home back to Zululand where he was killed by Dingane. After the 1828 battle, Hintsa of the Gcaleka line of the amaXhosa and Nqubencuka who was his rival, fell out spectacularly over the division of the spoils. They had g…

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South African Border Wars

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Episode 91 – Russians on the Lomba and the Olifant Battle Tank 25:51

3M ago25:51

25:51

FAPLA had taken a battering at the Battle of the Lomba River on 3rd October 1987 - the SADF had crushed 47 Brigade, and they had also dealt t21 Brigade a serious blow earlier as you’ve heard. Operation Modular had led to a mauling - and the Angolans began withdrawing northwards. The South Africans had been victorious despite being hopelessly outnum…

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History of South Africa podcast

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Episode 104 - Matiwane’s Ngwane massacred at Mbholompo and Hintsa's ama-Bulu 20:32

3M ago20:32

20:32

South Africa’s history is peppered with chaos and warfare, perhaps more so than is apparent in the modern period. It is fairly difficult to explain how our past intermeshes with the present without focusing on moments of extreme violence, these incidents are part of our psychological make-up without most of us being aware of just how we were forged…

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South African Border Wars

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Episode 90 – FAPLAs 47th Brigade shattered as Operation Moduler continues 22:20

3M ago22:20

22:20

One of the most crucial periods of the Border War was under way - although military strategists didn’t realise this until a little later. It was imperative for FAPLA to take Mavinga, this would have pushed the South Africans much further south - and factored into Luanda’s plan along with the Cubans to begin building longer runways for bombers and f…

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History of South Africa podcast

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Episode 103 - Barend Barends battered and the men in black on the frontier 25:58

4M ago25:58

25:58

Last episode we heard how Jan Bloem and Kora leader Haip had launched a raid on Mzilikazi’s Ndebele people arraigned along the southern reaches of the Vaal River in 1830 - and Mzilikazi’s bloody response where he not only recovered his cattle but killed 50 Kora. This was the first of a series of incidents which convinced Griqua captain Barend Baren…

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South African Border Wars

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Episode 89 – Mirages, MiGs, missiles & the Lomba River tango to the death 23:29

4M ago23:29

23:29

We heard last episode how Operation Modular had begun, and how FAPLAs 21st Brigade had been stopped from crossing the Lomba River by Major Hannes Nortmann and his squadron of Ratels using the experimental ZRT3 rockets in early September 1987. This was happening along a river where the approaches were a mix of tropical grasslands and riverine bush t…

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History of South Africa podcast

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Episode 102 - Tales of the Trans Vaal and how Magaliesberg got its name 24:38

4M ago24:38

24:38

It’s time to delve deeply into the other Ndebele, then what happened when Mzilikazi arrived in the area known as the Trans Vaal - across the Vaal, with his hungry wolves. The development of the highveld to the late 1820s is quite a tale, with the first Tswana people made their way here by the 1100s, although much of the high ground was avoided. How…

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Plane Crash Diaries

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Episode 33 - The 1948 Gatow Air Disaster and other military blunders 24:58

4M ago24:58

24:58

We’re going to look at a few examples of trigger happy pilots and missile operators, starting with the 5th April 1948 Gatow Air Disaster over Berlin as the Cold War ramped up after the Second World War. A British European Airways Vickers VC.1B Viking airliner crashed near RAF Gatow air base, after a Soviet Air Force Yakovlev Yak-3 fighter aircraft …

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South African Border Wars

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Episode 88 – Operation Moduler begins with T54/55s taking on Ratels at the Lomba 23:18

4M ago23:18

23:18

The first phase of Operation Modular has begun. 32 Battalion, the Recces and UNITA are facing 8 FAPLA Brigades in southern Angola, four of these have advanced towards Mavinga. As you hear last episode, FAPLas 21 and 47 Brigade of about 3000 men were on their way to the Lomba River, north west of Mavinga. Chief of the Army Lieutenant General Kat Lie…

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History of South Africa podcast

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Episode 101 - Mnkabayi dresses like a man and Dingane drowns his brother 21:41

4M ago21:41

21:41

Port Natal was steeped in fear and loathing in late 1828 follow in Shaka’s assassination on the 24th September 1828 which had thrown the traders into a panic. They anticipated that Shaka’s death would lead to a civil war, and that they’d be targeted in the coming political storm. Most fled their homesteads and clambered aboard the schooner Elizabet…

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South African Border Wars

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Episode 87 –Crocodiles attack Recces and the Lomba River heavy metal clash looms 24:38

4M ago24:38

24:38

The SADF was now facing a crisis as the MPLA government in Angola was growing increasingly determined to crush UNITA in the south east. The Apartheid government was also facing an internal uprising and new organisations had been developed to deal with these. In this episode we hear about Colonel Piet Muller who commanded Sector 20 in SWA. He had co…

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History of South Africa podcast

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Episode 100 - Ordinance 50 shock, Dr John’s mission and Wesleyans vs polygamy 20:00

4M ago20:00

20:00

For my listeners who’ve lasted a century of podcasts, thank you folks! The series has far exceeded my expectation when it was launched I thought perhaps a few people would respond and that would be that. But no! This series has managed to climb 6 places on Apple’s South African podcast top 20, we’re at 16 on the hit parade and passed 500 000 listen…

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South African Border Wars

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Episode 86 – The SAAF harried in Angola and Soviets import arms from Afghanistan 20:30

5M ago20:30

20:30

We are traveling with 5 Recce and they are planning to attack the SWAPO base that was discovered by some systematic sleuthing by Koos Stadler and Jose da Costa as you heard last episode. The base was north of Tethamutete, east of the Cubango River - and from Menongue, heavily armed, a few hundred SWAPO cadres, perhaps as many as 350 were training a…

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