Battle of Lukaya

Battle of Lukaya
Part of the Uganda-Tanzania War
Date 10th-12th March, 1979 Location Uganda, Lukaya Result Tanzanian Victory
Belligerents
Tanzania	Uganda Libya
Strength
Tanzania: 201st Brigade 208th Brigade	Uganda: Unknown Libya: 15 T-55 Main Battle Tanks 12 Armoured Personnel Carriers Multiple BM-21 Grad MRLs
Casualties and losses
Tanzanian: 100+	Ugandan: 200+soldiers killed Libyan: 200+ soldiers killed

The Battle of Lukaya was part of the Uganda-Tanzania War and was fought between 10–12 March 1979 in Lukaya, Tanzania.

Background

Lukaya was Amin’s primary axis of defence while the secondary axis of defence was through Kalungu-Villa Maria. In his bid to retake Masaka and stabilise the frontline, before launching an offensive to drive the Tanzanian's backwards into their own country, the area between Buganga and Lukaya was declared a concentration and assembly point for his forces, so that they could regroup and gather their strength before counterattacking. Unfortunately for the Ugandan Army, this location was easily in range of Tanzanian artillery. TPDF deployed a brigade of infantry in reserve to defend the town, and had the other TPDF brigades taking position at different points in the surrounding countryside to prepare for an attack that could be launched from multiple directions.

The Battle

A convoy of consisting of hundreds of Libyan soldiers equipped with 15 T-55 tanks, 12 APC’s, plus BM-21 Grad multiple rocket launchers were part of Amin’s plan to recapture Masaka and then drive the TPDF out of Uganda. On 10 March, the Libyans smashed into the 201st Brigade starting a rout which led to the brigade retreating to Masaka. The 201st Brigade later regrouped and launched a counterattack with 208th Brigade supporting them. The TPDF fought the Libyans for until on the 12th March the TPDF broke through the Libyan battle lines.

Aftermath

Around 200 Libyans and another 200 Ugandan soldiers were killed in the battle of Lukaya, where as the Tanzanian army overall fared much better, despite losing many men when the 201st brigade was routed by the Libyan Army, the TPDF received few casualties during its counterattack against the Libyans and Ugandans. The Battle of Lukaya is seen by many as a turning point in the war, as Amin's forces were defeated and sent into retreat leaving the capital exposed and preventing a counterattack against the TPDF.