The Last of Africa’s Cold War Conflicts: Portuguese Guinea and its Guerilla Insurgency,Al J Venter

Portugal was the first European country to colonize Africa. It was also the last to leave, almost five centuries later. During the course of what Lisbon called its “civilizing mission in Africa” the Portuguese weathered numerous insurrections, but none as severe as the guerrilla war first launched in Angola in 1961 and two years later in Portuguese Guinea. While Angola had a solid economic infrastructure, that did not hold for the tiny West African enclave that was to become Guinea-Bissau.

Both Soviets and Cubans believed that because that tiny colony- roughly the size of Belgium – had no resources and a small population, that Lisbon would soon capitulate. They were wrong, because hostilities lasted more than a decade and the 11-year struggle turned into the most intense of Lisbon’s three African colonies.
It was a classic African guerrilla campaign that kicked off in January 1963, but nobody noticed because what was taking place in Vietnam grabbed all the headlines. The Soviet-led guerrilla campaign in Portuguese Guinea was to go on and set the scene for the wars that followed in Rhodesia and present-day Namibia.

-Contents

Prologue

Introduction

Chapter 1 :build-up to the Conflict

Chapter 2 :Fuel to the Fire

Chapter 3 :Death of a Brave Soldier

Chapter 4 :West African Bush Base

Chapter 5 :Jungle Patrol

Chapter 6 The Country and the War

Chapter 7 :A Luta Continua!

Chapter 8 :Principal Adversaries: Cabral and Spinola

Chapter 9 :War in the Air

Chapter 10 :Cuban and Soviet Involvement

Chapter 11 :Landmines and Other Weapons of War

Chapter 12 :Operations Green Sea and Tridente

Chapter 13 :Casualties of War

Chapter 14 What did Lisbon do Wrong?

Appendix: Q and A Session on Portugal’s African Wars

Glossary

Bibliography

-Caractéristiques

Date de parution:11 juin 2020

Éditeur ‏ : ‎ Pen & Sword Military

Langue ‏ : ‎ Anglais

NB.de pages : ‎ 240 pages

ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1526772981

ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1526772985

Poids de l’article ‏ : ‎ 617 g

Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 15.24 x 2.79 x 23.5 cm