Portugal's Bush War in Mozambique

by Al J. Venter

Overview

A new account of how Portugal fought a bush war in Mozambique for over a decade.

Portugal fought a bush war in Mozambique — one of the most beautiful countries in the world — for over a decade. The small European nation was ranged against formidable odds and in the end was unable to muster the resources required to effectively take on the might of the Soviet Union and its collaborators—every single communist country on the planet and almost all of Black Africa. Yet, Al Venter argues, Portugal did not actually lose the war, and indeed fought in difficult terrain with a good degree of success over an extended period. It was radical domestic politics that heralded the end. Mozambique is once again embroiled in a guerrilla war, this time against a large force of Islamic militants, many from Somalia and some Arab countries, and unequivocally backed by Islamic State and the lessons of Mozambique’s bush war are still relevant today.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781612009377
Publisher:	Casemate Publishers
Publication date:	07/07/2023
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	314
Sales rank:	1,008,066
File size:	11 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Al J. Venter is a specialist military writer and has had 50 books published. He started his career with Geneva’s Interavia Group, then owners of International Defence Review, to cover military developments in the Middle East and Africa. Venter has been writing on these and related issues such as guerrilla warfare, insurgency, the Middle East and conflict in general for half a century. He was involved with Jane’s Information Group for more than 30 years and was a stringer for the BBC, NBC News (New York) as well as London’s Daily Express and Sunday Express. He branched into television work in the early 1980s and produced more than 100 documentaries, many of which were internationally flighted. His one-hour film, 'Africa’s Killing Fields' (on the Ugandan civil war), was shown nationwide in the United States on the PBS network. Other films include an hour-long program on the fifth anniversary of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, as well as 'AIDS: The African Connection', nominated for China’s Pink Magnolia Award. His last major book was 'Portugal’s Guerrilla Wars in Africa', nominated in 2013 for New York’s Arthur Goodzeit military history book award. It has gone into three editions, including translation into Portuguese.

Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER ONE – Mozambique : Yesterday and Today
CHAPTER TWO – Lisbon’s Five Century Maritime Legacy
CHAPTER THREE – The Early Colonial Period in Portuguese East Africa
CHAPTER FOUR – Germany's Invasion During the Great War
CHAPTER FIVE – The Late Colonial Period
CHAPTER SIX – A Broader Assessment of Africa’s Colonial Wars
CHAPTER SEVEN – Tete Convoy in Mozambique’s War
CHAPTER EIGHT – Mozambique’s Military Contradictions
CHAPTER NINE – How Others Viewed This Portuguese Conflict
CHAPTER TEN – The Legend of a Guerrilla Fighter
CHAPTER ELEVEN - The Role of African Troops in Lisbon’s Wars
CHAPTER TWELVE – The Portuguese Air Force in Mozambique
CHAPTER THIRTEEN – Old Timer of Portugal’s Air Wars
CHAPTER FOURTEEN – Zambezi – Fulcrum of Guerrilla Operations
CHAPTER FIFTEEN – Rhodesian Involvement in the War
CHAPTER SIXTEEN – Enemies
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN –The Landmine War
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN – War Wounded
CHAPTER NINETEEN – Why Portugal Lost its African Possessions
CHAPTER TWENTY – Portugal’s Forces Leave Africa
BIBLIOGRAPHY
GLOSSARY
INDEX

Editorial Reviews

"The lessons journalist Venter describes from Mozambique’s 'Bush War' are extremely important as our democratic nations move deeper into the new century."

ARGunners.com