It was fought Hostile_encounter between the South African Defence Force ( SADF ) and the People 's Liberation Army of Namibia ( PLAN ) , an armed wing of the South West African People 's Organisation ( SWAPO ) .

Following several decades of unsuccessful petitioning Request through the United Nations and the International Court of Justice for Namibian independence , SWAPO formed Creating the PLAN in 1962 with material assistance Assistance from the Soviet Union , the People 's Republic of China , and sympathetic African states such as Tanzania , Ghana , and Algeria .