Derg's Ethiopian army Operation "Red Star" offensive against EPLF in
February 1982: After a month-long bombing campaign, over 100,000 troops
threw themselves at the EPLF stronghold in the Sahel mountains.
Supported by new Soviet tanks, helicopter gunships and Katyusha rocket
launcher trucks, they should have been unstoppable. But the Eritreans held
their ground over three months of fighting and inflicted tens of thousands
of casualties in the harsh desert battles.
Unable to maneuver their armor in the winding mountain terrain and facing
determined EPLF resistance, the Ethiopians fell back to the towns on the
plains and licked their wounds. A few months later, they would try again.
By the mid 1980's they had still failed to dislodge the EPLF from its Nacfa
stronghold. The EPLF soon was strong enough to begin offensive operations.
