Problems In Uwanda (Modern African Imagi-nations)

The Uwandan Chief of Staff ended the meeting, and the nation's military leaders quietly exited the room.  They did not look like the leaders of a victorious army.

The General sat back down at the table, considering the situation.   Quite simply, Uwanda had exceeded their operational reach.  Despite the successes, they had suffered greater losses of equipment than they had anticipated.  The advance had not really gone as expected.  

Uwanda now controls a significant swathe of Mugabian territory, but Mugabia had not retreated from the occupied Pettu lands.  In fact, the Pettu lands on both sides of the border, may be the only territory that Mugabian forces have firm hold of.  Mugabia's air force may have been destroyed, but their ground forces still significantly outnumber Uwanda in both men and equipment. 

Added to that is the fact that Uwanda is now functionally at war with both Cuba and the Soviet Union.  Cuban ground forces reinforce Muabian forces along the way to the capitol, and Soviet airborne troops and equipment had arrived to back up the already substantial Presidential Guard.

Through they had not yet encountered Uwandan aircraft, Soviet Mig-23s were patrolling the skies over Mugabia, coming ever closer to Uwanda's air  patrols.  It was not yet known how many Mig-23s had arrived, but a small number of Minsk's Yak-38s had visited two Mugabian airports and may be supplanting the Mig23s.  It was also known that both Mig17s and Mig21s were going to soon be delivered to Mugabia.  If the advantage in the air hadn't yet been lost, it soon would be.

Obvious deficiencies in Uwanda's organization had been exposed, but those deficiencies could not be addressed in the short term.  Currently, a lack of infantry anti-tank weapons,  desperately insufficient artillery, and obsolescent World War II era vehicles was what Uwanda had to fight with.  How had so many victories resulted in so much desperation?

Uwanda had restricted the use of its air supremacy in an effort to keep civilian casualties low, with the belief that this would help them gain international support.  With the exception of American air to air missiles routed through West Germany, thus far, there had been very little support.

In fact, the lack of civilian casualties may have hampered gaining support, as despite the official protests to the war, the UN simply wasn't interested in tending to a conflict that brought harm to so few.  The Soviet involvement now gained the attention of NATO, but with Soviet boots on the ground, NATO would not be committing any kind of forces.  Troops of East and West would not meet in a war of so little consequence.

On the home front, the war was unpopular.  The people expected a lightning strike and immediate resolution to the problem.  Most felt that the Pettu land was not worthy of a proper war, and the President was feeling the pressure.  Ironically, the Fat Man in Mugabia seemed to enjoy the opposite effect, with the war serving to unify the populace and stabilize their president's control.

The General considered all of this, as the meeting had ended without a solution to the problem.  He doubted that tomorrow's meeting would end differently.