Battle of Simba Hills

Battle of Simba Hills
Part of the Uganda–Tanzania War
Date February 1979 Location near Kakuuto, Uganda Result Tanzanian victory
Belligerents
Tanzania	Uganda
Commanders and leaders
David Musuguri John Butler Walden
Units involved
201st Brigade 207th Brigade 208th Brigade TPDF Air Wing	1st Infantry Battalion Uganda Army Air Force
Strength
3 brigades	unknown
Casualties and losses
2 killed 200 sick	34–200 killed 19 aircraft destroyed 6 tanks captured

The Battle of Simba Hills or Battle of Kakuuto (Kiswahili: Mapigano ya Kakuuto) was a conflict of the Uganda–Tanzania War that took place over several days in mid-February 1979 around the Simba Hills in southern Uganda, near the town of Kakuuto. Tanzanian troops advanced over the Ugandan border and assaulted the Ugandans' positions, forcing them to retreat.

Colonel Idi Amin had seized power in a military coup in Uganda in 1971 and established a brutal dictatorship. Seven years later he attempted to invade Tanzania to the south. Ugandan troops occupied the Kagera Salient and subsequently murdered local civilians and destroyed property. The attack was eventually repulsed, and Tanzanian President Julius Nyerere, unsatisfied with Amin's refusal to renounce his claims to Tanzanian territory and the international community's failure to strongly condemn the invasion, ordered his forces to advance into southern Uganda with the aim of capturing the towns of Masaka and Mbarara.

Between Masaka and the Tanzanian border was the Lukoma air strip, a military installation which was overlooked by several hills: Nsambya Hill, Kikanda Hill, and the Simba Hills. Each hill was occupied by Ugandan troops. Three Tanzanian brigades were allocated for the advance to Masaka. In mid-February the Tanzanian 207th Brigade penetrated deep swampland to attack Ugandan forces at Katera, driving them away with artillery fire and thus securing the advance of the 201st and 208th Brigades to the Simba Hills. They attacked on 11 February, causing most Ugandan troops to flee. Ugandan aircraft vainly attempted to stop the Tanzanian advance, suffering heavy losses. Lukoma air strip and the surrounding hills fell on 13 February. The Tanzanians were able to successfully attack and seize Masaka eleven days later.