Tanzanian troops attacked the Ugandan positions in the hills, and though suffering heavy casualties in an ambush, they successfully captured the area by the end of the day.

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.

The ambush remained one of the few military operations well-executed by the Uganda Army during the entire war, while the casualties the Tanzanians suffered represented their largest loss in a single engagement.

In 1971 Colonel Idi Amin launched a military coup that overthrew the President of Uganda, Milton Obote, precipitating a deterioration of relations with the neighbouring state of Tanzania.

Uganda Army troops subsequently pillaged the area they occupied, murdering civilians, stealing cattle, and destroying property, triggering the flight of 40,000 inhabitants southward.

[4] In January 1979 the Tanzania People's Defence Force (TPDF) seized the Ugandan border town of Mutukula to counter any further threats to Kagera.

Major General David Musuguri was appointed commander of the TPDF's 20th Division and tasked with overseeing the advance into Uganda.

[10] 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.

[16] Once the Tanzanians' flanking manoeuvre was achieved the two battalions were able to put enough pressure on the Ugandans to allow Nshimani to withdraw his men to higher ground.

[9] The Tanzanian soldiers who survived the ambush were dubbed the "Red Army" by their comrades in recognition of their intense combat experience.

[17] Nyerere originally planned to halt his forces in southern Uganda and allow the Ugandan rebels to attack Kampala and overthrow Amin, as he feared that scenes of Tanzanian troops occupying the city would reflect poorly on his country's image abroad.

However, Ugandan rebel forces did not have the strength to defeat Libyan troops sent to Amin's aid, so Nyerere decided to use the TPDF to take Kampala.