Archive of BMW Motorrad Club Cape (2006 - 2019)

Singers need a song. Generals need a war.

And so it happened that General Andy ‘Andyman’ Connell (CME, ORE) – Club Member Exceptional, Off-road Rider Extraordinaire – over a glass of well-matured pinotage decided that peace lasted long enough now. He was itching. It was time to have a war.

Now, General Connel is not by nature an aggressive commander. He is someone who cares, more of the humanitarian kind. So, instead of arranging a war, he based his battle plan on a softer approach. He decided to liberate the hamlet of Infanta on the Breede River in the Cape Overberg. This, in his strategic mind, would be done by means of a pre-emptive strike on Sunday 29 June 2014.

Even today, nobody knows for sure why he chose to liberate Infanta of all places. And nobody even thought of asking him why Infanta had to be liberated. It is, after all, only a small holiday spot with one or two full-time inhabitants and a lovely pizza restaurant on the banks of a river.

The call-up and mobilisation instructions went out. On said Sunday morning at 09:00 Bravo, 23 of his best men grouped at the rendezvous in their TWAT-AV’s (two-wheel all-terrain assault vehicles) for the order group and to get further instructions. One of them came with a tail-gunner riding in support with him on his TWAT-AV.

The seriousness of the pre-emptive strike became a reality when the general started giving orders with: “This is not a beginner’s off-road ride. If you’re unsure, then rather turn back now.”

I braced myself. It was going to be tough.

Orders were in detail. The operation would consist of three phases – the advance, the pre-emptive strike, and the withdrawal. The force would be split up in two battle groups – Alpha and Bravo Groups – to make command and control easier during the advance phase. The same would apply for the strike. The first group to arrive at the target would go in for the strike while the second group would be responsible for mopping up before re-grouping with the main force.

The strike group mounted their TWAT-AV’s at around 09:15 Bravo and crossed the advance line at 09:18 Bravo.

A principle of the advance is that of maintenance of momentum. For the strike, the principle of surprise is of utmost importance. The general cleverly combined these two principles as he led his strike group initially on the N2 on tar. In doing so we were able to move rather quickly and, at the same time, blend in with other traffic. Not even the best surveillance equipment that the enemy at Infanta may have, would pick us up.

Then another cunning, tactical move that only the general would think of. He made the group turn off shortly before the Houwhoek Pass to follow a rugged farm road from there to Bot River. “Far-sightedness and imagination. The general thinks of everything,” I said to myself as I negotiated the rather technical terrain. “We are well hidden behind the mountain range for the first part of the advance. This stealth movement can only be in our favour as, again, we were hidden from being picked up by enemy observation from Infanta 200 km away.”

 We had to re-join the N2 for a while after this and turned off shortly after Caledon to follow wonderful gravel approach roads to the target. As good generals do, he must have considered the role that the weather would play on the day of the operation. The roads dried off after the recent rains, but only enough. We were maintaining momentum without the discomfort of riding in someone else’s dust. More important, there was no trail of dust that would give away the presence of the rapidly approaching force.

I felt relaxed and safe as I negotiated the advance route. I trusted my general and I felt comfortable on my TWAT-AV. I was in good, professional hands.

In the crisp Overberg air with its fields of green, alternated by sections of starting-to-become bright yellow harvest, we sped past groups of local population excitedly waving at us, spurring us on the accomplish our mission. Flocks of sheep lazily grazing in soft pastures would look up as we approached them as if to acknowledge the presence of this mighty force.  

Cattle trembled and game frolicked with excitement as we roared past. Noble horses would look at us, encouraging us to push ahead. “Strange how nature picks up the presence of something new, something so strong,” I observed as I sped along on our mission to liberate Infanta.

 We would regroup at regular intervals to make sure that the force remained intact. At the same time we did not waste time. We had to maintain the momentum.

 We, Bravo Group, went in for the strike at 13:10 Bravo. As expected, we did not encounter any resistance. Victory was easy and a given as no enemy would have the courage to withstand a force so strong. We triumphantly entered the little village and secured the target. We then regrouped at The Boathouse – the pizza place on the banks of the Breed River – where the troops settled down for liquid refreshments and pizza.

Although Phase 2 of the operation went smoothly, we were concerned about the absence of our general and the rest of our strike group. They turned up shortly afterwards, the general riding passenger on one of the other TWAT-AV’s. It proved that his command TWAT-AV had a failure during the advance. He had to secure and leave it on a farm with some local population, to be recovered later on. 

The General (appropriately in blue battle dress. See sign above...)

I returned earlier from the operational area as I still had other commitments during the evening. I’m therefore not able to give a situation report on how the withdrawal went. However, based on a SITREP received from the general later that evening, he and his group arrived safely back in the administrative area during the afternoon.

During my own debriefing session after the operation, I realised what a good trip I’ve had. I’ve enjoyed a day of excellent riding in a superb part of our country – the Overberg. More important, I reconnected with old comrades and got to know new ones – all sharing the same passion for adventure riding on our dual purpose BMW motorcycles. It was a delight to be part of this elite and exhilarated group of 23 hand-picked men, together with one hand-picked partner of one of them, who executed the operation that our general had planned for us. It was good to be operational again.

General, we thank you for your prudence to declare a war of this magnitude, for your detailed planning of the operation, and for ordering us along to execute and enjoy what you had in store for us. As always, it was an honour to serve under your command. We salute you!