Wars & Rumors of War III. [Conclusion]

This is coolbert:

A third unreported and unheralded war raged throughout the decade of the 1980's. A series of military engagements between the armed forces of Libya and Chad sometimes referred to as the "Toyota War".

On face value, a war of grossly mismatched opponents.

A relatively wealthy nation, Libya, invading without provocation and occupying a portion of a very poor, destitute, and relatively powerless neighbor. Chad.

[Chad did have the backing and support of France in this unfair contest.]

A war fought over alleged mineral wealth. In this case, that area of Chad directly abutting Libya, about 100,000 square kilometers [1000 km. X 100 km.], was invaded and occupied by the Libyan military. This is the Aouzou Strip. Land, again, containing an abundance of uranium ore??




[purportedly rich in mineral wealth, primarily uranium ore. For the Islamic atomic bomb that Colonel Khaddafi ["The Colonel"] wanted to build. An atomic bomb to be used against Israel!!]

The Aouzou Strip has to be one of the most harshest, desolate, GOD-forsaken pieces of real estate on the planet. In the middle of the Sahara desert, basically uninhabited, but desired by a megalomaniac [Khaddafi] with megalomania ambitions.

[there are various spellings to the Colonel's name. I have chosen Khaddafi for this blog entry.]

These two mismatched combatants, Libya and Chad engaged in combat over a period of seven years. Libya consolidating their occupation of the Aouzou Strip, and the various forces of the Chadian government, bolstered by a modest French military presence, seeking to oust the invader.

Libya had, on paper, a formidable military machine. Wealthy Libya was able to buy, primarily from the Soviets, a whole range of equipment that made it, again, on paper, a formidable battlefield opponent. It is reputed that at one time, the Colonel had sitting out in the desert as many as 10,000 armored vehicles. This in a way is just absurd. The whole nation of Libya has a population of only about 6 million persons, with an army numbering, "some 45,000 men, including 25,000 draftees".

[this figure is pretty much in line with the equation that says that a nation should only be able to adequately support an army with one division of ten thousand men per one million citizens.]

Most of those 10,000 armored vehicles, to include about 3,000 top-of-the-line tanks, just ended up sitting in the desert rusting and getting coated with sand. Maintenance was not possible or feasible, given the limited number of trained personnel available.

The army of Chad, again, was very small, under-equipped, under-trained, and faced with divided loyalties [there were partisans of Khaddafi that fought under a Libyan flag].

It was not until 1987 that the guerilla-like army of Chad was able to gain the upper hand over the vastly superior [on paper] forces of "The Colonel".

This was the Battle of Fada.

The weapon of choice for the forces of Chad was the Toyota pick-up truck with recoilless rifles and anti-tank-guide-missiles [ATGM] mounted on it!! Employed with great effectiveness by an agile and determined guerilla strike force. Against a ponderous, poorly led, and dispirited Libyan Army.

"a large number of Toyota Pickup [trucks], and antitank and antiaircraft missile launchers, such as MILAN ATGWs. The FANT assault under the command of Hassane Djamous deployed almost 3000 soldiers for the coming battle."

A battle that resulted in a stupendous, humiliating loss for the forces of "The Colonel".

"In a short but brutal engagement the FANT almost annihilated the Libyan armored brigade that defended Fada: 784 Libyans died, 92 T-55 and 33 BMP-1 tanks were destroyed, and 13 T-55 and 18 BMP-1 captured, together with 81 Libyan soldiers. Chadian losses were minimal: only 18 soldiers died and three Toyotas were destroyed."

[You, Colonel Khaddafi, YOU NOTHING BUT PAPER TIGER!!!!]

This was a rout from which the Libyan military seems NOT to have ever recovered from. About $1 billon dollars worth of military equipment was captured intact by the forces of Chad. Libyan officers present appear to have behaved in a craven and cowardly manner, beating feet and leaving the enlisted men to fend for themselves. A long line of dead Libyan soldiers was later found in the desert, having tried to walk back to Libya and safety, NONE OF THEM MAKING IT. ALL SUCCUMBING TO THE SAHARA DESERT AND THIRST!!!

This is what is called a debacle of the first magnitude. And all this from a guerilla force armed with Toyota pick-up trucks!! Could not have happened to a better man, "The Colonel". Too bad for those unfortunates in the desert. When you have megalomaniac in charge, that is what happens.

coolbert.