On 4 January , around 8 am , the SADF attack began supported by artillery . The Ratel-20 personnel carriers had to cross minefields to reach the enemy positions and frequently retreated when encountering the hidden 23 mm AA positions . The SADF artillery was supported by an Alloutte helicopter used in a spotter role , flown by Captain Carl Alberts , who won a Honoris Crux medal when he used his aircraft as bait to identify the 23 mm AA gun positions . FAPLA counterattacked with ten T-55 tanks which succeeded in destroying a Ratel and killing six men , but the tanks were eventually driven off by artillery and finally destroyed by Ratel-90 's in the afternoon . Another medal was won one by Lieutenant Alexander Macaskill trying to rescue the five men in the Ratel . Medic Private Matthew Joseph Fisher was also awarded the Honoris Crux for retrieving a mortally wounded rifleman during the advance on Cuvelai . By the late afternoon , most of the enemy positions were in SADF hands with the remaining FAPLA troops fleeing northwards towards Techamutete
Honoris Crux
Honoris Crux (1975)
Operation Askari