page_title: Battle of Gayaza Hills
section_title: Prelude
hierarchical_section_title: Battle of Gayaza Hills / Prelude
caption_attribution_description: English: Map of south-eastern Uganda with Tanzanian border. Derivative of CIA map https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/cia-maps-publications/Uganda.html
context_page_description: The Battle of Gayaza Hills or the Battle of Kajurungusi was a conflict of the Uganda–Tanzania War that took place in late February 1979 around the Gayaza Hills and Lake Nakivale in southern Uganda, near the town of Gayaza. Tanzanian troops attacked the Ugandan positions in the hills, and though they suffered heavy casualties in an ambush, they successfully captured them by the end of the day.
  Colonel Idi Amin had seized power in a military coup in Uganda in 1971 and established a repressive 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 Mbarara and the Tanzanian border were the Gayaza Hills, which overlooked Lake Nakivale.
context_section_description: The Tanzanians began careful planning for an offensive on the two towns. Major General David Musuguri was appointed commander of the TPDF's 20th Division and tasked with overseeing the advance into Uganda. The TPDF assigned the 201st, the 207th, and the 208th Brigades to attack Masaka, while the 206th Brigade led by Brigadier Silas Mayunga was instructed to move on Mbarara. The TPDF began its advance in mid February. Whereas the Tanzanian forces fighting towards Masaka enjoyed considerable success—particularly at the Battle of Simba Hills—the 206th Brigade struggled in its advance along twisting roads through rough, hilly terrain. The situation was further complicated by the fact that some Ugandan troops were fleeing away from the front lines to Mbarara while reinforcements were being deployed from Mbarara towards the Tanzanian border. Small pockets of resistance delayed the Tanzanians and put their advance behind schedule.
  Approximately 45 kilometres (28 miles) from the border and south of Mbarara was the town of Gayaza. Near the town were the hills of Busaga, Kibingo and Gayaza—collectively known as the Gayaza Hills—which overlooked Lake Nakivale. On 20 February the 206th Brigade, bolstered by a group of Ugandan rebels, occupied the villages of Murema, Kasese and Kigaragara. Ugandan forces retreated from the area and took up position in the Gayaza Hills.
caption: Map of southeastern Uganda showing Masaka and Mbarara
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