Battle of Simba Hills

Kakuuto

Lukoma

Katera

Map of Uganda showing important locations of the battle

The TPDF began its advance in mid February.[6] The 207th Brigade moved out from Minziro, Tanzania.[9] There were two routes from Minziro to Katera: the first was a road that went directly to the locale, the second was a narrow trail that meandered through swampland. Fearing that the first way was predictable and would expose his troops to Ugandan tank fire, Brigadier John Butler Walden ordered his unit to travel down the footpath.[15] A handful of soldiers who had grown up in the lakeside villages near Bukoba and thus cognizant of local language and culture were recruited as advance scouts. Equipped with normal clothing and rare goods to win favour with the locals, they moved out to gather information on the path's condition. The scouting party returned the next day, its members exhausted and ill. They reported that the trail had been flooded by heavy rains and was rendered impassable. Walden nevertheless decided that the trail was still the best option for the advance, and ordered the 207th Brigade to proceed.[16] Many heavy weapons—too cumbersome for transport down the path—were left behind by the Tanzanians in Minziro.[10]

Walden set out with his troops on the eight kilometre trek from Minziro to his first objective, Bulembe Hill, which was in Tanzania. The trek lasted 10 and a half hours, longer than was expected, and involved the brigade dealing with mosquitoes and tsetse flies and wading through shoulder-deep water. The unit briefly rested atop Bulembe Hill before departing north for Katera, which was 28 kilometres away. The 207th Brigade traveled through Sango Bay swamps for 50 hours in deep water. Despite supplies being carried on the soldiers' heads, the wet conditions ruined their ammunition and rations and temporarily disabled radios. The local TPDF headquarters lost contact with the unit, and feared that it had been ambushed and destroyed. The 207th Brigade exited the swamp on the third day near Katera and was able to re-establish radio contact with its headquarters. Though no Tanzanian soldiers had died during the trek, 200 fell ill and were evacuated via helicopter.[17] Since the men of the 207th Brigade were exhausted, Tanzanian commanders postponed their attack on Katera until dawn.[17] Instead, they bombarded the peninsula with BM-21 Grad multiple rocket launchers[18] over the night. The following morning the 207th Brigade advanced into the area, finding that the Ugandan forces had retreated.[17] Some withdrew to the Simba Hills. Intercepts of Ugandan radio communications indicated that 43 soldiers were killed in the bombardment.[10]

Once the Tanzanians had secured Katera, the TPDF's 201st and 208th Brigades began advancing towards the Simba Hills. The capture of Katera made the Uganda Army aware of a Tanzanian offensive, but it could not determine the precise direction or timing of the next assault.[17] The night before the attack on the Simba Hills, several Tanzanian brigadiers assembled for a final meeting and began drinking alcohol. After becoming intoxicated, they decided they should trick Ugandan forces into thinking they were facing foreign troops. Once reunited with their units, the brigadiers broadcast over the radio—which they knew was monitored by the Ugandans—that "the Cubans", "the Israelis" and "the Americans" were in position to attack. Immediately thereafter Ugandan troops began withdrawing en masse from the area.[13] On 11 February the TPDF assaulted the hills,[19] reinforced by the 207th Brigade coming from the east.[14] Amin announced over Radio Uganda that Cuban, Israeli, and American troops were being used against him. At the hills, the Ugandan troops were routed and devastated by artillery strikes;[13] only those that felt trapped—particularly the 1st Infantry Battalion—offered substantial resistance. In contrast to the relatively light resistance offered by Ugandan ground forces, the Uganda Army Air Force repeatedly launched bombing raids against the Tanzanians at Simba Hills,[19] at one point forcing some Tanzanian troops to scatter.[20] The TPDF's SA-7 man-portable air-defense system teams responded, and later claimed to have shot down 19 Ugandan aircraft. The Tanzanian Air Wing also bombed Ugandan positions during the battle.[19]

In an effort to expedite their progress while under the threat of air attack, Tanzanian troops deployed missile launchers and fired them on Ugandan positions, overwhelming the defenders.[20] Detachments from the 201st and 208th Brigades assumed positions north of the hills, cutting off the Ugandans' retreat. The TPDF finally secured the hills and the Lukoma air strip on 13 February. According to American journalists Tony Avirgan and Martha Honey, between 100 and 200 Ugandan soldiers were killed in battle.[13] According to Tanzanian journalist Baldwin Mzirai, 34 Ugandan soldiers were killed at the hills. Two Tanzanians also died in the fighting.[20] The Tanzanians seized six medium tanks and captured or destroyed several armoured personnel carriers and artillery pieces during the fighting.[21]