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Flechas
The Flechas ( Portuguese for ''Arrows'') were an elite paramilitary tactical unit of the Portuguese secret police (PIDE, latter renamed DGS) that operated in Angola and Mozambique during the Portuguese Colonial War. Unlike most of the other Portuguese special forces that were employed in the several theatres of operations of the conflict, the Flechas were not a ''de jure'' military unit but a PIDE/DGS (secret police) unit. Flechas were organized as platoon-sized units consisting of local tribesmen and rebel defectors. They sometimes patrolled in captured uniforms and were rewarded with cash bounties for every guerrilla or guerrilla weapon they captured. Flechas had a reputation for atrocities, brutality, torture, and summary executions. History Flechas units were created and employed in Angola, during the Portuguese Colonial War, under the command of the PIDE (renamed DGS in 1969). Despite being a paramilitary police force, they were thus a police unit, not being under militar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Portuguese Colonial War
The Portuguese Colonial War (), also known in Portugal as the Overseas War () or in the Portuguese Empire, former colonies as the War of Liberation (), and also known as the Angolan War of Independence, Angolan, Guinea-Bissau War of Independence, Guinea-Bissau and Mozambican War of Independence, was a 13-year-long conflict fought between Portuguese military history, Portugal's military and the emerging Nationalism, nationalist movements in Portugal's African colonies between 1961 and 1974. The Portuguese regime at the time, the , was overthrown by a military Carnation Revolution, coup in 1974, and the change in government brought the conflict to an end. The war was a decisive Ideology, ideological struggle in Lusophone Africa, surrounding nations, and mainland Portugal. The prevalent Portuguese and international historical approach considers the Portuguese Colonial War as was perceived at the time—a single conflict fought in the three separate Angolan War of Independence, Angol ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Military Beret
Troops began wearing berets as a part of the headgear of military uniforms in some European countries during the 19th century; since the mid-20th century, they have become a component of the uniforms of many armed forces throughout the world. Military berets are usually pushed to the right to free the shoulder that bears the rifle on most soldiers, but the armies of some countries, mostly within Europe, South America, and Asia, have influenced the push to the left (i.e. "French pull"). In many countries, berets have become associated with Military elite, elite units, who often wear berets in specific colours. For instance, the maroon beret is mostly traditional headgear for airborne forces around the world, with a few exceptions—for example, the Russian Airborne Troops, who wear a sky-blue beret, and the Portuguese Paratroopers who wear a green beret. History The use of beret-like headgear as a civilian headdress dates back hundreds of years, an early example being the Scottis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
PIDE
The International and State Defense Police (; PIDE) was a Portuguese security agency that existed during the '' Estado Novo'' regime of António de Oliveira Salazar. Formally, the main roles of the PIDE were the border, immigration and emigration control and internal and external state security. Over time, it came to be known for its secret police activities. The agency that would later become the PIDE was established by the Decree-Law 22992 of August 1933, as the State Surveillance and Defense Police (Polícia de Vigilância e Defesa do Estado) or PVDE. It resulted from the merger of two former agencies, the Portuguese International Police and the Political and Social Defense Police. PVDE was founded by Captain Agostinho Lourenço, who in 1956 would become the president of Interpol. The PVDE was transformed into the PIDE in 1945. PIDE was itself transformed into the Directorate-General of Security or DGS in 1968. After the 25 April 1974 Carnation Revolution, DGS was disban ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Frente Leste
Frente Leste (Portuguese for Eastern Front) was the name of the theater of Portuguese Armed Forces' anti-guerrilla operations in the East of Angola (by then a Portuguese overseas territory), during the Portuguese Colonial War (1961-1974). After the success of the Portuguese military in the Eastern front by 1973, it started to be known as the Eastern Zone, since guerrilla warfare episodes were nonexistent. Through economic and social promotion campaigns, including the construction of healthcare, education, sanitation, transport and security infrastructure, the construction of new villages, the training of new black military units like the Flechas, and the foreign units known as the Fiéis (former gendarmes from Zaire) and the Leais (refugees from Zambia), the Portuguese operations in the late stage of the anti-guerrilla war in Portuguese Angola, eradicated all the main sources of conflict in the territory.António Pires Nunes, Angola, 1966-74: vitória militar no leste, , 9789728563 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mozambican Civil War
The Mozambican Civil War () was a civil war fought in Mozambique from 1977 to 1992 due to a combination of local strife and the polarizing effects of Cold War politics. The fighting was between Mozambique's ruling Marxist Front for the Liberation of Mozambique, Mozambique Liberation Front (FRELIMO), the Rhodesia backed anti-communist insurgent forces of the Mozambican National Resistance (RENAMO), and a number of smaller factions such as the Revolutionary Party of Mozambique, PRM, Mozambican National Union, UNAMO, Mozambique Revolutionary Committee, COREMO, Union of the Peoples of Mozambique, UNIPOMO, and Mozambique Democratic United Front, FUMO. RENAMO opposed FRELIMO's attempts to establish a Socialist state, socialist one-party state, and was heavily backed by the anti-communist governments of Rhodesia and South Africa who supported them in order to undermine FRELIMO's support for militant nationalist organisations in their own countries. Over one million Mozambicans were ki ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Selous Scouts
The Selous Scouts was a special forces unit of the Rhodesian Army that operated during the Rhodesian Bush War from 1973 until the reconstitution of the country as Zimbabwe in 1980. It was mainly responsible for infiltrating the black majority population of Rhodesia and collecting intelligence on insurgents so that they could be attacked by regular elements of the security forces. The unit did this by forming small teams that posed as insurgents and usually included captured insurgents. Over time, the Selous Scouts increasingly attacked insurgents themselves and operated in the countries that neighboured Rhodesia. The unit developed a reputation for brutality and was responsible for attacking and killing civilians. The Selous Scouts were also involved in the Rhodesian chemical and biological weapons program and used poisons and biological agents in some of its operations. The methods used by the unit led to the deaths of large numbers of insurgents, but proved counter-productiv ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Koevoet
Koevoet (, Afrikaans for ''Crowbar (tool), crowbar'', also known as Operation K or SWAPOL-COIN) was the counterinsurgency branch of the South West African Police (SWAPOL). Its formations included white South African police officers, usually seconded from the South African Security Branch or Special Task Force (SAPS), Special Task Force, and black volunteers from Ovamboland. Koevoet was patterned after the Selous Scouts, a multiracial Rhodesian military unit which specialised in counter-insurgency operations. Its title was an allusion to the metaphor of "prying" insurgents from the civilian population. Koevoet was active during the South African Border War between 1979 and 1989, during which it carried out hundreds of search and destroy operations against the People's Liberation Army of Namibia (PLAN). Koevoet's methods were controversial, and the unit was accused of committing numerous atrocities against civilians. Over the course of the war, it killed or captured 3,225 insurge ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Area Of Responsibility
Area of responsibility (AOR) is a pre-defined geographic region assigned to Combatant commanders of the Unified Command Plan (UCP), that are used to define an area with specific geographic boundaries where they have the authority to plan and conduct operations; for which a force, or component commander bears a certain responsibility. The term may also be used in other countries worldwide but it originated within the United States Armed Forces. This system is designed to allow a single commander to exercise command and control of all military forces in the AOR, regardless of their branch of service. George W. Bush signed the U.S. Unified Command Plan (UCP) 2008 on 17 December 2008, establishing the up-to-date boundaries for the newest Command, United States Africa Command (USAFRICOM), and all changes to boundaries of the other Commands.DefenseLINK-Unified Command Plan"The World with Commanders' Area of Responsibility". Retrieved 29 December 2009. U.S. Unified Command Plan (UCP ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lizard (camouflage)
The lizard pattern (TAP47 pattern or Leopard pattern for the French) is a family of many related designs of military camouflage pattern, first used by the French Army on uniforms from 1947 to the late 1980s. It was based on the British paratroopers' Denison smock. The use of the pattern is widespread in Africa, despite its association with France, because armed factions and militaries tend to obtain them from whichever source has it available. There are two major types of lizard pattern, horizontal like the original French design, and vertical like the early variant developed by Portugal. In addition, the Vietnam War tiger stripe camouflage pattern is descended from Lizard. Evolution of lizard patterns Lizard patterns have two overlapping prints, generally green and brown, printed with gaps so that a third dyed color, such as a lighter green or khaki, makes up a large part of the pattern. In this, it is printed like earlier British patterns used on that country's Paratroopers ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
FRELIMO
FRELIMO (; from , ) is a democratic socialist political party in Mozambique. It has governed the country since its independence from Portugal in 1975. Founded in 1962, FRELIMO began as a nationalist movement fighting for the self-determination and independence of Mozambique from Portuguese colonial rule. During its anti-colonial struggle, FRELIMO managed to maintain friendly relations with both the Soviet Union and China, and received military and economic assistance from both. Independence was achieved in June 1975 after the Carnation Revolution in Lisbon the previous year. FRELIMO formally became a political party during its 3rd Party Congress in February 1977, and adopted Marxism–Leninism as its official ideology and FRELIMO Party () as its official name. FRELIMO has been the ruling party of Mozambique since then, initially as the sole legal party in a one-party system and later as the democratically elected government in a dominant-party system. FRELIMO fought a protra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Carnation Revolution
The Carnation Revolution (), code-named Operation Historic Turn (), also known as the 25 April (), was a military coup by military officers that overthrew the Estado Novo government on 25 April 1974 in Portugal. The coup produced major social, economic, territorial, demographic, and political changes in Portugal and its overseas colonies through the Ongoing Revolutionary Process (''Processo Revolucionário em Curso''). It resulted in the Portuguese transition to democracy and the end of the Portuguese Colonial War. The revolution began as a coup organised by the Armed Forces Movement (, MFA), composed of military officers who opposed the regime, but it was soon coupled with an unanticipated popular civil resistance campaign. Negotiations with African independence movements began, and by the end of 1974, Portuguese troops were withdrawn from Portuguese Guinea, which became a UN member state as Guinea-Bissau. This was followed in 1975 by the independence of Cape Verde, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
