The poorly equipped FNLA guerillas, even with Zairian and foreign mercenary support were no match for the highly trained Cuban soldiers that supported the MPLA and were soon routed and forced to retreat into their strongholds in the north and back into Zaire.  Further south the MPLA faced attacks from both the FNLA and UNITA and starting in October a massive invasion by the South African Defense Force (SADF) from South-West Africa (modern Namibia).  Without Cuban support, the MPLA in the south quickly folded to the SADF and within a month the southern front was only 120 miles from Luanda.