Hello ladies and gents this is the Viking telling you that today we are talking about
The Great Toyota War
In the 1970s and 1980s Libya led by Colonel Muammar Gaddafi’s used its financial resources to support insurgencies, coup d’ états and radical governments across Africa. The most significant being in Chad, which was fuelled by a desired to achieve strategic importance and resources for his regime. Which led Colonel Gaddafi to support northern groups in Chad, who were reacting to the repressive government run by southerners, with Libyan support they formed the National Liberation Front of Chad.
Libyan involvement on behalf of various northern groups escalated in the early 1970s and from 1983 until 1987. Gaddafi’s regime conducted intervention ranging from significant financial and military support for various armed factions within Chad to broad-scale involvement of Libyan armed forces, leading to Tripoli to claim sovereignty over the Aouzou Strip. Which is a section of land on Libya’s Border within Chad, the area is mostly made up of desert, with a small population in the town of Oasisi Aouzou, the area was rumoured to have uranium deposits.
The Libyan claims of sovereignty were based on the 1935 treaty between Italy and France, the two colonial powers that ruled Chad and Libya respectively. Shortly after the intervention, Gaddafi was able to enter negotiations and buy the strip for $40 million from President Francois Tombalbaye government. For three years Libya and friendly rebel groups were able to occupy the strip and Libya was able to expand their presence into northern regions of Chad.
However, the removal of Tombalbaye’s government and the installation of a new government led by Hissene Habre who had support from the United States and France opposed Libya’s occupation of the Northern regions of Chad. Furthermore, it did not recognise the agreement with Libya over the Aouzou Strip which ultimately led to war.
One of the critical parts of Chad’s war strategy was the use of Toyota Hilux and Land Cruiser that were used during the last phase of the Chadian–Libyan conflict and provided a major turning point in the war. The Chadians did not have a conventual force, but they were provided with 400 Toyota Hilux and Land Cruiser that could be equipped with anti-tank missiles and heavy machine guns. The Libyan military was made up of mostly conventual Soviet-made equipment made of tanks, armoured personnel carriers, modern artillery, fixed-wing jets and attack helicopters.
The Libyan military forces on paper were formidable against the Chads, but they had severe flaws. The Libyans were only set up for providing support to Chadians rebel groups that were their allies. However, in 1987 they lost the support of the rebels that were valuable for the knowledge of the area and their fighting skill. Libya’s forces in Chad were mostly made up of conscripts who had no desire for war in a foreign land, and the military command structure was unclear due to Gaddafi’s fear of a coup d’ état against his regime from the military. While the Chadians were highly motivated and well a organise force.
The first organised use of the Toyota’s was at the Battle of Fada, in January 1987. A Libyan armoured brigade was destroyed, with about 800 Libyans dead, and a large number of Soviet tanks destroyed. The military losses that Chadians faced were eighteen killed and four pickup trucks destroyed; this was a massive success for Chadians. The Chadians force’s used diversionary tactics to attack the Libyan’s, using French air support they managed to keep Libyan aircraft grounded.
Then when the Chadians did attack the use of a diversionary tactic, made it appear that they were attacking from one direction. But the Chadian forces approached from another direction at high speed. This made it hard for the Libyans to target Toyota’s as they were fast and agile vehicle’s. Then the Chadians used missiles and machine guns attached to their Toyotas, destroying the Libyan forces, who were caught by surprise by the tactic.
Then in March 1987, the Chadian attacked a Libyan airbase at Ouadi Doum which was a heavily fortified with 5,000 soldiers and protected with Soviet munitions a minefield. The Chadians discovered that if they drove at high speed over the mines, they did not go off. The airbase fell with similar tactics that were used in the Battle of Fadua.
Estimates put the Chadian victories in the first three months of 1987, had led to more than 3,000 Libyan soldiers had been killed, captured, or deserted. Large numbers of tanks, armoured personnel carriers, artillery, fixed-wing aircraft, and helicopters were captured or destroyed. In some cases, Libya sent its own aircraft to bomb abandoned Libyan equipment to stop its use to the Chadians.
In August 1987, the Chadians carried on their offensive into the Aouzu strip and occupied the town of Aouzou. Libya in retaliation used aircraft to bomb towns in the north; the French did not provide support as the operation to take hold of the Aouzou strip was against the French wishes. Libya managed to counterattack and take back the in of town of Aouzou. This was achieved by a switch in tactics by the Libyans to Toyota tactics with the use of 4x4 and close air support and abandoning the use of tracked armour.
In retaliation, the Chadians attacked a Libyan airbase in Libya know as the Battle of Maaten al-Sarra to try and stop Libyan close air support, as without French air support this would be a serious threat. The attack lead to the destruction of 32 Libyan aircraft and 1,000 Libyan’s were killed with 300 captured. This attack led to France to withdraw further support as they felt this could lead to a significant disbalance in the region if Libya were attacked further, leading to Chadians to lose intelligence and logistical support, causing to suffer considerable advantage for the Chadians.
With Gaddafi wanting an end to the war with increasing domestic opposition and international pressure and Habre on the other side without further French assistance bought an end to the Toyota war with a ceasefire signed in 1987. The two countries agreed in 1990 that the case for sovereignty should be referred to the International Court of Justice. In 1994 Gaddafi accepted the decision by the International Court of justice in favour of Chadian sovereignty over the Aouzou strip, and it the area was returned to Chad.
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