Mozambican War of Independence
Encyclopedia
The Mozambican War of Independence was an armed conflict between the guerrilla forces of the Mozambique Liberation Front or FRELIMO (Frente de Libertação de Moçambique), and Portugal
. The war officially started on September 25, 1964, and ended with a cease fire on September 8, 1974, resulting in a negotiated independence in 1975.
Portugal's wars against independence guerrilla fighters in its 400-year-old African territories
erupted in 1961 in Angola
. In Mozambique, the conflict erupted in 1964 as a result of unrest and frustration amongst many indigenous Mozambican
populations, who perceived foreign rule to be a form of exploitation and mistreatment, which served only to further Portuguese economic interests in the region. Many Mozambicans also resented Portugal's policies towards indigenous people, which resulted in discrimination, traditional lifestyle turning difficult for many African indigenes, and limited access to Portuguese-style education and skilled employment. As successful self-determination
movements spread throughout Africa after World War II, many Mozambicans became progressively nationalistic
in outlook, and increasingly frustrated by the nation's continued subservience to foreign rule. For the other side, many enculturated indigenous Africans who were fully integrated into the Portugal-ruled social organization of Portuguese Mozambique, in particular those from the urban centers, reacted to the independentist claims with a mix of discomfort and suspicion. The ethnic Portuguese of the territory, which included most of the ruling authorities, responded with increased military presence and fast-paced development projects.
A mass exile of Mozambique's political intelligentsia
to neighbouring countries provided havens from which radical Mozambicans could plan actions and foment political unrest in their homeland. The formation of the Mozambican guerrilla organisation FRELIMO
and the support of the Soviet Union, China and Cuba
through arms and advisors, led to the outbreak of violence that was to last over a decade.
From a military standpoint, the Portuguese regular army held the upper hand during all the conflict against the independentist guerrilla forces. Despite their disadvantaged position, FRELIMO insurgents were victorious, after a leftist military coup
in Lisbon that overthrew the dictatorship in Portugal. Mozambique succeeded in achieving independence on June 25, 1975, after the coup d'état in Portugal known as the Carnation Revolution
, thus ending 470 years of Portuguese colonial
rule in the East African region. According to historians of the Revolution, the military coup in Portugal was in part fuelled by protests concerning the conduct of Portuguese troops in their treatment of some local Mozambican populace. However, the role of the growing communist influence over the group of Portuguese military insurgents who led the Lisbon's military coup, and, on the other hand, the pressure of the international community over the direction of the Portuguese Colonial War
in general, were main causes for the final outcome.
hunter and gatherers, ancestors of the Khoisani peoples, were the first known inhabitants of the region that is now Mozambique, followed in the first and fourth centuries CE by Bantu
-speaking peoples who migrated there across the Zambezi River. In 1498, Portuguese explorers landed on the Mozambican coastline. Portugal's influence in East Africa grew throughout the 16th century; she established a number of colonies known collectively as Portuguese East Africa
. Slavery and gold became profitable for the Europeans; however, influence was largely exercised through individual settlers and there was no centralised administration and, in the meantime, Portugal had turned her attention to India and Brazil
.
By the 19th century, European colonialism in Africa had reached its height. Having lost control of the vast territory of Brazil
in South America, the Portuguese began to focus on expanding their African outposts. This brought them into direct conflict with the British. Since David Livingstone
had returned to the area in 1858 in an attempt to foster trade routes, British interest in Mozambique had risen, alarming the Portuguese government. During the 19th century, much of Eastern Africa was still being brought under British control, and in order to facilitate this, Britain required several concessions from the Portuguese colony. As a result, in an attempt to avoid a naval conflict with the superior British Royal Navy
, Portugal adjusted the borders of her colony and the modern borders of Mozambique were established in May 1881. Control of Mozambique was left to various organisations such as the Mozambique Company, the Zambezi Company and the Niassa Company
which were financed and provided with cheap labour by the British Empire
to work mines and construct railways. These companies penetrated inland from the coastline, setting up plantations and taxing the local populace who had until then resisted encroachment by the colonists.
The resisting Gaza Empire
, a collection of indigenous tribes who inhabited the area that now constitutes Mozambique and Zimbabwe
, was defeated in 1895, and the remaining inland tribes were eventually defeated by 1902; in that same year, Portugal established Lourenço Marques
as the capital. In 1926, political and economic crisis in Portugal led to the establishment of the Second Republic (later to become the Estado Novo), and a revival of interest in the African colonies. Calls for self determination in Mozambique arose shortly after World War II, in light of the independence granted to many other colonies worldwide in the great wave of decolonisation.
Mozambique was marked by large disparities between the wealthy Portuguese and the majority of the large rural indigenous African population. Being largely illiterate and preserving their local traditions and ways of life, skilled employment opportunities and roles in administration and government were rare for these numerous tribal
populations, leaving them few or no opportunities in the urban modern life. However, many indigenous peoples saw their culture and tradition being overwhelmed by the alien culture of Portugal. Vocal political dissidents opposed to Portuguese rule and claiming independence
were typically forced into exile. The Portuguese government forced the Mozambican farmers to grow rice or cotton for export, providing little return with which the farmers could support themselves. Many other workers—over 250,000 by 1960—were sent to diamond or gold mines. By 1950, only 4,353 Mozambicans out of 5,733,000 had been granted the right to vote by the Portuguese colonial government. The rift between Portuguese settlers and Mozambican locals is illustrated in one way by the small number of individuals with mixed Portuguese and Mozambican heritage (mestico), numbering a mere 31,465 in a population of 8–10 million in 1960 according to that year's census.
The Marxist-Leninist Mozambique Liberation Front or FRELIMO (Frente de Libertação de Moçambique) was formed in Dar es Salaam
, the largest city in neighbouring Tanzania
, on June 25, 1962. It was created during a conference, by a number of political figures that had been forced into exile, by the merging of various existing nationalist groups, including the Mozambican African National Union, National African Union of Independent Mozambique and the National Democratic Union of Mozambique
which had been formed two years earlier. It was only in exile that such political movements could develop, due to the strength of Portugal's grip on dissident activity within Mozambique itself. A year later, in 1963, FRELIMO set up headquarters in Dar es Salaam
, Tanzania, under the leadership of sociologist Eduardo Mondlane
, and began to call for independence from Portugal. After two years of organisation and failing political manoeuvres in an attempt to seek a peaceful independence, Mondlane began in 1964 a campaign of guerrilla warfare
in an attempt to achieve independence for Mozambique.
Originally, the United States offered support to the nationalist groups in Africa. This support was ostensibly in keeping with Wilsonian
principles, which advocated self-determination and independence for colonised nations. The United Nations also put pressure on Portugal to move for decolonisation Portugal, however, threatening to withdraw from NATO, put a stop to this support and pressure, and the nationalist groups in Mozambique were forced to turn to help from the Soviet bloc.
, and, in particular, in the late 1950s, the Soviet Union and People's Republic of China adopted a strategy of destabilisation of Western powers by disruption of their hold on African colonies. Nikita Khrushchev
, in particular, viewed the 'underdeveloped third of mankind' as a means to weaken the West. For the Soviets, Africa represented a chance to create a rift between western powers and their colonial assets, and create pro-communist states in Africa with which to foster future relations.
Prior to the formation of FRELIMO, the Soviet position regarding the nationalist movements in Mozambique was one of confusion. There were multiple independence movements, and they had no sure knowledge that any would succeed. The nationalist groups in Mozambique, like those across Africa during the period, received training and equipment from the Soviet Union.
Eduardo Mondlane's successor, future President of Mozambique
, Samora Machel
, acknowledged assistance from both Moscow and Peking, describing them as "the only ones who will really help us. … They have fought armed struggles, and whatever they have learned that is relevant to Mozambique we will use." Guerrillas received tuition in subversion and political warfare as well as military aid, specifically shipments of 122 mm artillery rockets in 1972, with 1600 advisors from Russia, Cuba
and East Germany. The Soviet Union continued to support the new FRELIMO government against counterrevolution
in the years after 1975. By 1981, there were 230 Soviet and 800 Cuban military
advisers still in the country. Cuba's involvement in Mozambique was as part of a continuing effort to export the anti-imperialist ideology of the Cuban Revolution
and forge desperately needed new allies. Cuba provided support to liberation movements and leftist governments in numerous African countries, including Angola
, Ethiopia, Guinea-Bissau
and Congo-Brazzaville
.
At the war's outset, FRELIMO had little hope for a conventional military victory, with a mere 7000 combatants against a far larger Portuguese force. Their hopes rested on urging the local populace to support the insurgency, in order to force a negotiated independence from Lisbon
. Portugal fought its own version of protracted warfare, and a large military force was sent by the Portuguese government to quell the unrest, with troop numbers rising from 8,000 to 24,000 between 1964 and 1967. The number of local soldiers recruited for the Portuguese cause rose to 23,000 in the same period. 860 Special Forces operatives were also being trained in Commando Instruction Centres
by 1969.
The military wing of FRELIMO was commanded by Filipe Samuel Magaia
, whose forces received training from Algeria
. The FRELIMO guerrillas were armed with a variety of weapons, many provided by the Soviet Union and China. Common weapons included the Mosin-Nagant
bolt-action rifle, SKS
and AK47 automatic rifles and the Soviet PPSh-41
. Machine guns such as the Degtyarev light machine gun
were widely used, along with the DShK
and the SG-43 Gorunov
. FRELIMO were supported by mortars, recoilless rifle
s, RPG-2
s and RPG-7
s, Anti-aircraft weapons such as the ZPU-4
and from 1974 the Strela 2
. In the dying stages of the conflict, FRELIMO would be provided with a limited number of SA-7
MANPAD Shoulder-launched missile launchers
from China; however, these would never shoot down a Portuguese plane. Only one Portuguese aircraft was lost in combat during the conflict, when Lt. Emilio Lourenço's G.91R-4
was destroyed by premature detonation of his own ordinance.
The Portuguese forces, in contrast, were under the command of General António Augusto dos Santos, a man with strong faith in new counter-insurgency theories. Augusto dos Santos supported a collaboration with Rhodesia
to create African Scout units and other special forces teams, with Rhodesian forces even conducting their own independent operations during the conflict. Due to Portuguese policy of retaining up-to-date equipment for the metropole
while shipping obsolete equipment to the colonies, the Portuguese soldiers fighting in the opening stages of the conflict were equipped with World War II radios and the old Mauser rifle. As the fighting progressed, the need for more modern equipment was rapidly recognised, and the Heckler & Koch G3
and FN FAL
rifles were adopted as the standard battlefield weapon, along with the AR-10
for paratroopers. The MG42
and, then in 1968, the HK21
were the Portuguese heavier machine guns, with 60, 81 and 120 mm mortars, howitzers and the Panhard AML
, Panhard EBR
, Fox
and Chaimite
armoured vehicles supporting the infantry.
Although helicopters were not used in Mozambique to the same extent as they were in Vietnam
, the Alouette III
was the most widely used, although the Puma
was also used with great success. Other aircraft were employed: for air support
the T6
and the Fiat G.91
were used; for reconnaissance
, the Dornier Do 27
. In the transport role, the Portuguese Air Force
used mainly the Nord Noratlas
and the C-47
. The Portuguese Navy
also made extensive use of patrol boats, landing craft
s, and inflatable Zodiacs
.
In 1964, weak-hearted attempts at peaceful negotiation by FRELIMO were abandoned and, on September 25, 1964, Eduardo Mondlane began to launch guerrilla attacks on targets in northern Mozambique from his base in Tanzania. FRELIMO soldiers, with logistical assistance from the local population, attacked the administrative post at Chai Chai in the province of Cabo Delgado. FRELIMO militants were able to evade pursuit and surveillance by employing classic guerrilla tactics: ambushing patrols, sabotaging communication and railroad lines, and making hit-and-run attacks against colonial outposts before rapidly fading into accessible backwater areas. The insurgents were typically armed with rifles and machine pistols, and the attackers took full advantage of the monsoon
season in order to evade pursuit. During heavy rains, it was much more difficult to track insurgents by air, negating Portugal's air superiority, and Portuguese troops and vehicles found movement during rain storms difficult. In contrast, the insurgent troops, with lighter equipment, were able to flee into the bush (the mato) amongst an ethnically similar populace into which they could melt away. Furthermore, the FRELIMO forces were able to forage food from the surroundings and local villages, and were thus not hampered by long supply lines.
With the initial FRELIMO attacks in Chai Chai, the fighting spread to Niassa and Tete at the centre of Mozambique. During the early stages of the conflict, FRELIMO activity was reduced to small, platoon-sized engagements, harassments and raids on Portuguese installations. The FRELIMO soldiers often operated in small groups of ten to fifteen soldiers. The scattered nature of FRELIMO's initial attacks was an attempt to disperse the Portuguese forces.
The Portuguese troops began to suffer losses in November, fighting in the northern region of Xilama. With increasing support from the populace, and the low number of Portuguese regular troops, FRELIMO was quickly able to advance south towards Meponda and Mandimba, linking to Tete with the aid of forces from the neighbouring Republic of Malawi, which had become a fully independent member of the Commonwealth of Nations
on July 6, 1964. Despite the increasing range of FRELIMO operations, attacks were still limited to small strike teams attacking lightly defending administrative outposts, with the FRELIMO lines of communication and supply utilising canoes along the Ruvuma River
and Lake Malawi
.
It was not until 1965 that recruitment of fighters increased along with popular support, and the strike teams were able to increase in size. The increase in popular support was in part due to FRELIMO agencies' offer of help to exiled Mozambicans, who had fled the conflict by travelling to nearby Tanzania. Like similar conflicts against the French and United States forces
in Vietnam, the insurgents also used landmines to a great extent to injure the Portuguese forces, thus straining the armed forces' infrastructure and demoralising soldiers.
FRELIMO attack groups had also begun to grow in size to include over 100 soldiers in certain cases, and the insurgents also began to accept women fighters into their ranks. On either October 10 or October 11, 1966, on returning to Tanzania after inspecting the front lines, Filipe Samuel Magaia was shot dead by Lourenço Matola, a fellow FRELIMO guerrilla who was said to be in the employ of the Portuguese.
One seventh of the population and one fifth of the territory were in FRELIMO hands by 1967; at this time there were approximately 8000 guerrillas in combat. During this period, Mondlane urged further expansion of the war effort, but also sought to retain the small strike groups. With the increasing cost of supply, more and more territory liberated from the Portuguese, and the adoption of measures to win the support of the population, it was at this time that Mondlane sought assistance from abroad, specifically the Soviet Union and China; from these benefactors, he obtained large-calibre machine guns, anti-aircraft rifles and 75 mm recoilless rifles and 122 mm rockets.
In 1968, the second Congress of FRELIMO was a propaganda victory for the insurgents, despite attempts by the Portuguese, who enjoyed air superiority throughout the conflict, to bomb the location of the meeting late in the day. This gave FRELIMO further weight to wield in the United Nations.
Due to both the technological gap between civilisations and the centuries-long colonial era
, Portugal was a driving force in the development and shaping of all Portuguese Africa since the 15th century. In the 1960s and early 1970s, to counter the increasing insurgency of FRELIMO forces and show to the Portuguese people and the world that the territory was totally under control, the Portuguese government accelerated its major development program to expand and upgrade the infrastructure of Portuguese Mozambique by creating new roads, railways, bridges, dams, irrigation systems, schools and hospitals to stimulate an even higher level of economic growth and support from the populace.
As part of this redevelopment program, construction of the Cahora Bassa Dam
began in 1969. This particular project became intrinsically linked with Portugal's concerns over security in the overseas colonies. The Portuguese government viewed the construction of the dam as testimony to Portugal's "civilising mission" and intended for the dam to reaffirm Mozambican belief in the strength and security of the Portuguese colonial government. To this end, Portugal sent three thousand new troops and over one million landmines to Mozambique to defend the building project.
Realising the symbolic significance of the dam to the Portuguese, FRELIMO proceeded to spend seven years attempting to halt its construction by force. No direct attacks were ever successful, but FRELIMO had some success in attacking convoys en route to the site. FRELIMO also lodged a protest with the United Nations about the project, and their cause was aided by negative reports of Portuguese actions in Mozambique. In spite of the subsequent withdrawal of much foreign financial support for the dam, it was finally completed in December 1974. The dam's intended propaganda value to the Portuguese was overshadowed by the adverse Mozambican public reaction to the extensive dispersal of the indigenous populace, who were forced to relocate from their homes to allow for the construction project. The dam also deprived farmers of the critical annual floods, which would otherwise re-fertilise the plantations.
was killed by explosives smuggled into his locale. Many sources state that, in an attempt to rectify the situation in Mozambique, the Portuguese secret police assassinated Mondlane by sending a parcel to his office in Dar Es Salaam. Inside the parcel was a book containing an explosive device, which detonated upon opening. Other sources state that Eduardo was killed when an explosive device detonated underneath his chair at the FRELIMO headquarters, and that the faction responsible was never identified. The original investigations levelled accusations at Silverio Nungo (who was later executed) and Lazaro Kavandame, FRELIMO leader in Cabo Delgado. The latter had made no secret of his distrust of Mondlane, seeing him as too conservative a leader, and the Tanzanian police also accused him of working with PIDE
(Portugal's secret police
) to assassinate Mondlane. Kavandame himself surrendered to the Portuguese in April of that year.
Although the exact details of the assassination remain disputed, the involvement of the Portuguese government, particularly Aginter Press
or PIDE, is generally accepted by most historians and biographers and is supported by the Portuguese stay behind Gladio-esque
army, known as Aginter Press, that suggested in 1990 that they were responsible for the assassination. Initially, however, due to the uncertainty regarding who was responsible, Mondlane's death did create great suspicion within the ranks of the FRELIMO itself and a short power struggle which resulted in a dramatic swing to the political left. : Mondlane's immediate successor was, in fact, the moderate Rev. Uria Simango
, who had served under him, as FRELIMO's vice-President, from its formation until 1969. In the post-assassination power-struggle, Simango was ousted by the more hardline Samora Machel
and Marcelino dos Santos
, expelled from FRELIMO and eventually arrested and executed, post-Independence, in 1975.
taking over officially in March 1970. Kaúlza de Arriaga favoured a more direct method of fighting the insurgents, and the established policy of using African counter-insurgency forces was rejected in favour of the deployment of regular Portuguese forces accompanied by a small number of African fighters. Indigenous personnel were still recruited for special operations, such as the Special Groups of Parachutists in 1973, though their role less significant under the new commander. His tactics were partially influenced by a meeting with United States General William Westmoreland
.
By 1972, however, there was growing pressure from other commanders, particularly Kaúlza de Arriaga's second in command, General Francisco da Costa Gomes
, for the use of African soldiers in Flechas
units. Flechas units (Arrows) were also employed in Angola and were units under the command of the Portuguese PIDE
. Composed of local tribesmen, the units specialised in tracking, reconnaissance and anti-terrorist operations. Costa Gomes argued that African soldiers were cheaper and were better able to create a relationship with the local populace, a tactic similar to the 'hearts and minds
' strategy being used by United States forces
in Vietnam
at the time. These Flechas units saw action in the territory at the very end stages of the conflict, following the dismissal of Kaúlza de Arriaga
on the eve of the Portuguese coup
in 1974 – the Carnation Revolution. The units were to continue to cause problems for the FRELIMO even after the Revolution and Portuguese withdrawal, when the country splintered into civil war
.
There were, in fact, a number of Portuguese special forces units that were unique to either the Mozambican conflict or the Portuguese Colonial War
as a whole:
During the entire period of 1970–1974, FRELIMO intensified guerrilla operations, specialising in urban terrorism. The use of landmines also intensified, with sources stating that they had become responsible for two out of every three Portuguese casualties. During the conflict, FRELIMO used a variety of anti-tank
and anti-personnel
mines, including the PMN (Black Widow)
, TM-46
, and POMZ
. Even amphibious mines were used, such as the PDM
. Mine psychosis, an acute fear of landmines, was rampant in the Portuguese forces. This fear, coupled with the frustration of taking casualties without ever seeing the enemy forces, damaged morale and significantly hampered progress.
On June 10, 1970, a major counter-offensive was launched by the Portuguese army. The Gordian Knot Operation
(Portuguese: Operação Nó Górdio) targeted permanent insurgent camps and the infiltration routes across the Tanzanian border in the north of Mozambique over a period of seven months. The operation involved some 35,000 Portuguese troops, particularly elite units like paratroopers, commandos, marines and naval fusiliers.
The Portuguese had excellent coordination between light bombers, helicopters and reinforced ground patrols. They utilised American tactics of quick airborne (helibourne) assaults supported by heavy aerial bombardments of FRELIMO camps by the Portuguese Air Force
(Força Aérea Portuguesa or FAP) to surround and eliminate the guerrillas. These bombardments were accompanied by the use of heavy artillery. The Portuguese also used cavalry units to cover the flanks of patrols and where the terrain was too difficult to motor transport, and units of captured or deserted guerrillas to penetrate their former bases.
Problems for the Portuguese arose almost immediately when the offensive coincided with the beginning of the monsoon season, creating additional logistical difficulties. Not only were the Portuguese soldiers badly equipped, but there was very poor cooperation, if any at all, between the FAP and the army. Thus, the army lacked close air support from the FAP. Mounting Portuguese casualties began to outweigh FRELIMO casualties, leading to further political intervention from Lisbon.
The Portuguese eventually reported 651 as killed (a figure of some 440 was most likely closer to reality), and 1,840 captured, for the loss of 132 Portuguese. Gen. Arriaga also claimed his troops to have destroyed 61 guerrilla bases and 165 camps, while 40 tons of ammunition had been captured in the first two months. Although "Gordian Knot" was to remain the most effective Portuguese offensive of the conflict, weakening guerrillas to such a degree that they would no longer be a significant threat, the operation was still deemed a failure by some military officers and the government.
By 1972, the Portuguese military had changed its strategy, adapting the British/American search and destroy
operations utilising small shock troop sweeps. They also initiated a hearts and minds campaign, named the Aldeamentos Programme, which was a forced relocation program. But on November 9, 1972, FRELIMO – not numbering more but 8,000 fighters – launched a large offensive in Tete Province. The response from the Portuguese military was fierce, leading to reprisal attacks in an attempt to unbalance the local population's continuing faith in FRELIMO.
Reportedly, on December 16, 1972, Portuguese troops killed the inhabitants of the Mozambican village of Wiriyamu, 30 kilometers from the city of Tete
. Referred to as the 'Wiriyamu Massacre', it is alleged that Portuguese soldiers killed between 60 and 400 villagers accused of being FRELIMO sympathizers. Many of the victims were women and children. The massacre was recounted in July 1973 by the British Catholic priest, Father Adrian Hastings, and two other Spanish missionary priests. However, later counter-claims have been made in a report of Archbishop of Dar es Salaam Laurean Rugambwa that alleging that the killings were carried out by FRELIMO combatants, not Portuguese forces. In addition, others claimed that the alleged massacres by Portuguese military forces were fabricated to tar the reputation of the Portugese state abroad.
By 1973, FRELIMO were also mining civilian towns and villages in an attempt to undermine the civilian confidence in the Portuguese forces. "Aldeamentos: agua para todos" (Resettlement villages: water for everyone) was a commonly seen message in the rural areas, as the Portuguese sought to relocate and resettle the indigenous population, in order to isolate the FRELIMO from its civilian base Conversely, Mondlane's policy of mercy towards civilian Portuguese settlers was abandoned in 1973 by the new commander, Machel. "Panic, demoralisation, abandonment, and a sense of futility – all were reactions among whites in Mozambique" stated conflict historian T. H. Henricksen in 1983. This change in tactic led to protests by Portuguese settlers against the Lisbon government, a telltale sign of the conflict's unpopularity. Combined with the news of the Wiriyamu massacre and that of renewed FRELIMO onslaughts through 1973 and early 1974, the worsening situation in Mozambique would later contribute to the downfall of the Portuguese government in 1974. A Portuguese journalist argued:
, which was created in the late 1960s, and the Revolutionary Brigades (BR), a left-wing organisation, worked to resist the colonial wars. They had carried out multiple sabotages and bombings against military targets, such as the attack on the Tancos
air base that destroyed several helicopters on March 8, 1971, and the attack on the NATO headquarters at Oeiras in October of the same year. The attack on the Portuguese ship Niassa illustrated the role of the colonial wars in this unrest. Niassa (named after a Mozambican province) was preparing to leave Lisbon with troops to be deployed in Guinea
. By the time of the Carnation Revolution, 100,000 draft dodgers had been recorded.
Fighting colonial wars in Portuguese colonies had absorbed forty-four percent of the overall Portuguese budget. This led to an obvious diversion of funds from necessary infrastructural developments in Portugal itself. This contributed to the growing unrest in the European nation. However, Portugal's GDP growth during the colonial war
period (1961–1974), was strong and reached a 6% rate (a percentual GDP growth which weren't achieved in any other comparable period after 1974). The African overseas provinces of Portugal's GDP growth was also widely notable and the construction of infrastructure were at a record high during the time war. The unpopularity of the Colonial Wars among many Portuguese, led to the formation of several magazines and newspapers, such as Cadernos Circunstância, Cadernos Necessários, Tempo e Modo, and Polémica, which had university support and called for political solutions to Portugal's colonial problems.
The growing unrest in Portugal culminated on April 25, 1974, when the Carnation Revolution
, a peaceful leftist military coup d'état in Lisbon
, ousted the incumbent Portuguese government of Marcelo Caetano
. Thousands of Portuguese citizens left Mozambique, and the new head of government, General António de Spínola
, called for a ceasefire
. With the change of government in Lisbon, many soldiers refused to continue fighting, often remaining in their barracks instead of going on patrol. Negotiations between the Portuguese
administration culminated in the Lusaka Agreement signed on September 7, 1974, which provided for a complete hand-over of power to FRELIMO, uncontested by elections.
Formal independence was set for June 25, 1975, the 13th anniversary of the founding of FRELIMO.
, the Portuguese were not typical settlers. While most European colonies in Africa were "settled" and colonized by whites in the early 1900s, some white families and colonial institutions in those Portuguese-ruled territories had been there for generations. However, the fear of reprisals and the pro-communist ideologies by the FRELIMO government resulted in the exodus of thousands of Portuguese citizens of European, African and mixed ethnicity from the newly-independent territory to Portugal and other places. In Mozambique, most ethnic Portuguese considered themselves Mozambicans.
About 300,000 white ethnic Portuguese citizens
from Mozambique left the territory overnight as refugees (in Portugal they were known as retornados). Cities, towns and villages which were founded by the Portuguese and prospered under Portuguese rule, saw their Portuguese names changed after independence – Lourenço Marques to Maputo
, Vila Pery to Chimoio
, Vila Cabral to Lichinga
, or Vila Junqueiro to Gurúè
, are just a few examples. The statues to Portuguese heroes were removed from their sites in all urban centres. With the exodus of trained Portuguese personnel, the newly-independent country had no skilled professionals to maintain its infrastructure, and so the economy plummeted. Privileged commercial links were established with several communist countries by the FRELIMO government on the expense of Portugal which lost influence in the region.
Samora Machel
became Mozambique's first president. The Reverend Uria Simango
, his wife, and other FRELIMO dissidents were arrested in 1975 and liquidated without trial at some unknown date. Within about two years, war restarted with the Mozambican Civil War
against the rebel insurgency of RENAMO. Mozambique faced severe problems after independence. Economic and social recession
, Marxist totalitarianism
, corruption, poverty, inequality
and failed central planning eroded the initial revolutionary fervour. Peace returned only in 1992, and the country became relatively stable for the first time in decades.
Portuguese Armed Forces
The armed forces of Portugal, commonly known as the Portuguese Armed Forces encompasses a Navy , an Army and an Air Force...
. The war officially started on September 25, 1964, and ended with a cease fire on September 8, 1974, resulting in a negotiated independence in 1975.
Portugal's wars against independence guerrilla fighters in its 400-year-old African territories
Portuguese Empire
The Portuguese Empire , also known as the Portuguese Overseas Empire or the Portuguese Colonial Empire , was the first global empire in history...
erupted in 1961 in Angola
Angolan War of Independence
The Angolan War of Independence began as an uprising against forced cotton cultivation, and became a multi-faction struggle for control of Portugal's Overseas Province of Angola with three nationalist movements and a separatist movement...
. In Mozambique, the conflict erupted in 1964 as a result of unrest and frustration amongst many indigenous Mozambican
Mozambique
Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique , is a country in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west and Swaziland and South Africa to the southwest...
populations, who perceived foreign rule to be a form of exploitation and mistreatment, which served only to further Portuguese economic interests in the region. Many Mozambicans also resented Portugal's policies towards indigenous people, which resulted in discrimination, traditional lifestyle turning difficult for many African indigenes, and limited access to Portuguese-style education and skilled employment. As successful self-determination
Self-determination
Self-determination is the principle in international law that nations have the right to freely choose their sovereignty and international political status with no external compulsion or external interference...
movements spread throughout Africa after World War II, many Mozambicans became progressively nationalistic
Nationalism
Nationalism is a political ideology that involves a strong identification of a group of individuals with a political entity defined in national terms, i.e. a nation. In the 'modernist' image of the nation, it is nationalism that creates national identity. There are various definitions for what...
in outlook, and increasingly frustrated by the nation's continued subservience to foreign rule. For the other side, many enculturated indigenous Africans who were fully integrated into the Portugal-ruled social organization of Portuguese Mozambique, in particular those from the urban centers, reacted to the independentist claims with a mix of discomfort and suspicion. The ethnic Portuguese of the territory, which included most of the ruling authorities, responded with increased military presence and fast-paced development projects.
A mass exile of Mozambique's political intelligentsia
Intelligentsia
The intelligentsia is a social class of people engaged in complex, mental and creative labor directed to the development and dissemination of culture, encompassing intellectuals and social groups close to them...
to neighbouring countries provided havens from which radical Mozambicans could plan actions and foment political unrest in their homeland. The formation of the Mozambican guerrilla organisation FRELIMO
Mozambican Liberation Front
The Liberation Front of Mozambique, , from the Portuguese Frente de Libertação de Moçambique, was a liberation movement which was founded in 1962 to fight for the independence of the Portuguese Overseas Province of Mozambique...
and the support of the Soviet Union, China and Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
through arms and advisors, led to the outbreak of violence that was to last over a decade.
From a military standpoint, the Portuguese regular army held the upper hand during all the conflict against the independentist guerrilla forces. Despite their disadvantaged position, FRELIMO insurgents were victorious, after a leftist military coup
Carnation Revolution
The Carnation Revolution , also referred to as the 25 de Abril , was a military coup started on 25 April 1974, in Lisbon, Portugal, coupled with an unanticipated and extensive campaign of civil resistance...
in Lisbon that overthrew the dictatorship in Portugal. Mozambique succeeded in achieving independence on June 25, 1975, after the coup d'état in Portugal known as the Carnation Revolution
Carnation Revolution
The Carnation Revolution , also referred to as the 25 de Abril , was a military coup started on 25 April 1974, in Lisbon, Portugal, coupled with an unanticipated and extensive campaign of civil resistance...
, thus ending 470 years of Portuguese colonial
Portuguese Empire
The Portuguese Empire , also known as the Portuguese Overseas Empire or the Portuguese Colonial Empire , was the first global empire in history...
rule in the East African region. According to historians of the Revolution, the military coup in Portugal was in part fuelled by protests concerning the conduct of Portuguese troops in their treatment of some local Mozambican populace. However, the role of the growing communist influence over the group of Portuguese military insurgents who led the Lisbon's military coup, and, on the other hand, the pressure of the international community over the direction of the Portuguese Colonial War
Portuguese Colonial War
The Portuguese Colonial War , also known in Portugal as the Overseas War or in the former colonies as the War of liberation , was fought between Portugal's military and the emerging nationalist movements in Portugal's African colonies between 1961 and 1974, when the Portuguese regime was...
in general, were main causes for the final outcome.
A Portuguese colony
SanBushmen
The indigenous people of Southern Africa, whose territory spans most areas of South Africa, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Mozambique, Swaziland, Botswana, Namibia, and Angola, are variously referred to as Bushmen, San, Sho, Barwa, Kung, or Khwe...
hunter and gatherers, ancestors of the Khoisani peoples, were the first known inhabitants of the region that is now Mozambique, followed in the first and fourth centuries CE by Bantu
Bantu languages
The Bantu languages constitute a traditional sub-branch of the Niger–Congo languages. There are about 250 Bantu languages by the criterion of mutual intelligibility, though the distinction between language and dialect is often unclear, and Ethnologue counts 535 languages...
-speaking peoples who migrated there across the Zambezi River. In 1498, Portuguese explorers landed on the Mozambican coastline. Portugal's influence in East Africa grew throughout the 16th century; she established a number of colonies known collectively as Portuguese East Africa
Portuguese East Africa
Mozambique or Portuguese East Africa was the common name by which the Portuguese Empire's territorial expansion in East Africa was known across different periods of time...
. Slavery and gold became profitable for the Europeans; however, influence was largely exercised through individual settlers and there was no centralised administration and, in the meantime, Portugal had turned her attention to India and Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
.
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
in South America, the Portuguese began to focus on expanding their African outposts. This brought them into direct conflict with the British. Since David Livingstone
David Livingstone
David Livingstone was a Scottish Congregationalist pioneer medical missionary with the London Missionary Society and an explorer in Africa. His meeting with H. M. Stanley gave rise to the popular quotation, "Dr...
had returned to the area in 1858 in an attempt to foster trade routes, British interest in Mozambique had risen, alarming the Portuguese government. During the 19th century, much of Eastern Africa was still being brought under British control, and in order to facilitate this, Britain required several concessions from the Portuguese colony. As a result, in an attempt to avoid a naval conflict with the superior British Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
, Portugal adjusted the borders of her colony and the modern borders of Mozambique were established in May 1881. Control of Mozambique was left to various organisations such as the Mozambique Company, the Zambezi Company and the Niassa Company
Niassa Company
The Nyassa Company, in Portuguese the Companhia do Nyassa, and sometimes spelled "Niassa", was a royal company in the Portuguese colony of Mozambique, then known as Portuguese East Africa, that had the concession of the lands that include the present provinces of Cabo Delgado and Niassa between...
which were financed and provided with cheap labour by the British Empire
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
to work mines and construct railways. These companies penetrated inland from the coastline, setting up plantations and taxing the local populace who had until then resisted encroachment by the colonists.
Gaza Empire
The Gaza empire was an African empire established by the powerful general, Soshangane, and was located in southeastern Africa in the area of southern Mozambique and southeastern Zimbabwe...
, a collection of indigenous tribes who inhabited the area that now constitutes Mozambique and Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...
, was defeated in 1895, and the remaining inland tribes were eventually defeated by 1902; in that same year, Portugal established Lourenço Marques
Maputo
Maputo, also known as Lourenço Marques, is the capital and largest city of Mozambique. It is known as the City of Acacias in reference to acacia trees commonly found along its avenues and the Pearl of the Indian Ocean. It was famous for the inscription "This is Portugal" on the walkway of its...
as the capital. In 1926, political and economic crisis in Portugal led to the establishment of the Second Republic (later to become the Estado Novo), and a revival of interest in the African colonies. Calls for self determination in Mozambique arose shortly after World War II, in light of the independence granted to many other colonies worldwide in the great wave of decolonisation.
Rise of FRELIMO
Portugal designated Mozambique an overseas territory in 1951 in order to show to the world that the colony had a greater autonomy. It was called the Overseas Province of Mozambique (Província Ultramarina de Moçambique). Nonetheless, Portugal still maintained strong control over its overseas province. The increasing number of newly independent African nations after World War II, coupled with the ongoing mistreatment of the indigenous population encouraged the growth of nationalist sentiments within Mozambique.Tribe
A tribe, viewed historically or developmentally, consists of a social group existing before the development of, or outside of, states.Many anthropologists use the term tribal society to refer to societies organized largely on the basis of kinship, especially corporate descent groups .Some theorists...
populations, leaving them few or no opportunities in the urban modern life. However, many indigenous peoples saw their culture and tradition being overwhelmed by the alien culture of Portugal. Vocal political dissidents opposed to Portuguese rule and claiming independence
Independence
Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state in which its residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory....
were typically forced into exile. The Portuguese government forced the Mozambican farmers to grow rice or cotton for export, providing little return with which the farmers could support themselves. Many other workers—over 250,000 by 1960—were sent to diamond or gold mines. By 1950, only 4,353 Mozambicans out of 5,733,000 had been granted the right to vote by the Portuguese colonial government. The rift between Portuguese settlers and Mozambican locals is illustrated in one way by the small number of individuals with mixed Portuguese and Mozambican heritage (mestico), numbering a mere 31,465 in a population of 8–10 million in 1960 according to that year's census.
The Marxist-Leninist Mozambique Liberation Front or FRELIMO (Frente de Libertação de Moçambique) was formed in Dar es Salaam
Dar es Salaam
Dar es Salaam , formerly Mzizima, is the largest city in Tanzania. It is also the country's richest city and a regionally important economic centre. Dar es Salaam is actually an administrative province within Tanzania, and consists of three local government areas or administrative districts: ...
, the largest city in neighbouring Tanzania
Tanzania
The United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...
, on June 25, 1962. It was created during a conference, by a number of political figures that had been forced into exile, by the merging of various existing nationalist groups, including the Mozambican African National Union, National African Union of Independent Mozambique and the National Democratic Union of Mozambique
National Democratic Union of Mozambique
The National Democratic Union of Mozambique was a nationalist organization founded in Salisbury, Southern Rhodesia in 1960. It was led by Adelino Gwambe and consisted mostly of migrant workers and disgruntled students who had fled central and southern regions of Mozambique. It was formed to...
which had been formed two years earlier. It was only in exile that such political movements could develop, due to the strength of Portugal's grip on dissident activity within Mozambique itself. A year later, in 1963, FRELIMO set up headquarters in Dar es Salaam
Dar es Salaam
Dar es Salaam , formerly Mzizima, is the largest city in Tanzania. It is also the country's richest city and a regionally important economic centre. Dar es Salaam is actually an administrative province within Tanzania, and consists of three local government areas or administrative districts: ...
, Tanzania, under the leadership of sociologist Eduardo Mondlane
Eduardo Mondlane
Eduardo Chivambo Mondlane served as President of the Mozambican Liberation Front from 1962, the year that FRELIMO was founded in Tanzania, until his assassination in 1969.-Early life:...
, and began to call for independence from Portugal. After two years of organisation and failing political manoeuvres in an attempt to seek a peaceful independence, Mondlane began in 1964 a campaign of guerrilla warfare
Guerrilla warfare
Guerrilla warfare is a form of irregular warfare and refers to conflicts in which a small group of combatants including, but not limited to, armed civilians use military tactics, such as ambushes, sabotage, raids, the element of surprise, and extraordinary mobility to harass a larger and...
in an attempt to achieve independence for Mozambique.
Originally, the United States offered support to the nationalist groups in Africa. This support was ostensibly in keeping with Wilsonian
Wilsonian
Wilsonianism or Wilsonian are words used to describe a certain type of ideological perspectives on foreign policy. The term comes from the ideology of United States President Woodrow Wilson and his famous Fourteen Points that he believed would help create world peace if implemented.Common...
principles, which advocated self-determination and independence for colonised nations. The United Nations also put pressure on Portugal to move for decolonisation Portugal, however, threatening to withdraw from NATO, put a stop to this support and pressure, and the nationalist groups in Mozambique were forced to turn to help from the Soviet bloc.
Support from the Soviet Union
During the Cold WarCold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
, and, in particular, in the late 1950s, the Soviet Union and People's Republic of China adopted a strategy of destabilisation of Western powers by disruption of their hold on African colonies. Nikita Khrushchev
Nikita Khrushchev
Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev led the Soviet Union during part of the Cold War. He served as First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964, and as Chairman of the Council of Ministers, or Premier, from 1958 to 1964...
, in particular, viewed the 'underdeveloped third of mankind' as a means to weaken the West. For the Soviets, Africa represented a chance to create a rift between western powers and their colonial assets, and create pro-communist states in Africa with which to foster future relations.
Prior to the formation of FRELIMO, the Soviet position regarding the nationalist movements in Mozambique was one of confusion. There were multiple independence movements, and they had no sure knowledge that any would succeed. The nationalist groups in Mozambique, like those across Africa during the period, received training and equipment from the Soviet Union.
Eduardo Mondlane's successor, future President of Mozambique
Heads of state of Mozambique
-Presidents of Mozambique :-Affiliations:FRELIMO = Frente de Libertação de Moçambique...
, Samora Machel
Samora Machel
Samora Moisés Machel was a Mozambican military commander, revolutionary socialist leader and eventual President of Mozambique...
, acknowledged assistance from both Moscow and Peking, describing them as "the only ones who will really help us. … They have fought armed struggles, and whatever they have learned that is relevant to Mozambique we will use." Guerrillas received tuition in subversion and political warfare as well as military aid, specifically shipments of 122 mm artillery rockets in 1972, with 1600 advisors from Russia, Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
and East Germany. The Soviet Union continued to support the new FRELIMO government against counterrevolution
Counterrevolutionary
A counter-revolutionary is anyone who opposes a revolution, particularly those who act after a revolution to try to overturn or reverse it, in full or in part...
in the years after 1975. By 1981, there were 230 Soviet and 800 Cuban military
Military of Cuba
The Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces consist of ground forces, naval forces, air and air defence forces, and other paramilitary bodies including the Territorial Troops Militia , Revolutionary Armed Forces , and Youth Labor Army .The armed forces has long been the...
advisers still in the country. Cuba's involvement in Mozambique was as part of a continuing effort to export the anti-imperialist ideology of the Cuban Revolution
Cuban Revolution
The Cuban Revolution was an armed revolt by Fidel Castro's 26th of July Movement against the regime of Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista between 1953 and 1959. Batista was finally ousted on 1 January 1959, and was replaced by a revolutionary government led by Castro...
and forge desperately needed new allies. Cuba provided support to liberation movements and leftist governments in numerous African countries, including Angola
Angola
Angola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city...
, Ethiopia, Guinea-Bissau
Guinea-Bissau
The Republic of Guinea-Bissau is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Senegal to the north, and Guinea to the south and east, with the Atlantic Ocean to its west....
and Congo-Brazzaville
People's Republic of the Congo
The People's Republic of the Congo was a self-declared Marxist-Leninist socialist state that was established in 1970 in the Republic of the Congo...
.
Insurgency under Mondlane (1964–69)
Lisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
. Portugal fought its own version of protracted warfare, and a large military force was sent by the Portuguese government to quell the unrest, with troop numbers rising from 8,000 to 24,000 between 1964 and 1967. The number of local soldiers recruited for the Portuguese cause rose to 23,000 in the same period. 860 Special Forces operatives were also being trained in Commando Instruction Centres
Comandos
For the denomination of "commando" see commando; for the Argentine special operations unit see Amphibious Commandos Group; for other special forces with "Commando" in their names see list of special forces units....
by 1969.
The military wing of FRELIMO was commanded by Filipe Samuel Magaia
Filipe Samuel Magaia
Filipe Samuel Magaia was a Mozambican politician, guerrilla leader and Secretary of Defense for the Mozambican FRELIMO organisation during the Mozambican War of Independence...
, whose forces received training from Algeria
Algeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
. The FRELIMO guerrillas were armed with a variety of weapons, many provided by the Soviet Union and China. Common weapons included the Mosin-Nagant
Mosin-Nagant
The Mosin–Nagant is a bolt-action, internal magazine-fed, military rifle invented under the government commission by Russian and Belgian inventors, and used by the armed forces of the Russian Empire, the Soviet Union and various other nations....
bolt-action rifle, SKS
SKS
The SKS is a Soviet semi-automatic rifle chambered for the 7.62x39mm round, designed in 1943 by Sergei Gavrilovich Simonov. SKS-45 is an acronym for Samozaryadnyj Karabin sistemy Simonova, 1945 Simonov system, 1945), or SKS 45. The Sks is a scaled down version of the PTRS-41 anti-tank rifle also...
and AK47 automatic rifles and the Soviet PPSh-41
PPSh-41
The PPSh-41 was a Soviet submachine gun designed by Georgi Shpagin as an inexpensive, simplified alternative to the PPD-40. Intended for use by minimally-trained conscript soldiers, the PPSh was a magazine-fed selective-fire submachine gun using an open-bolt, blowback action...
. Machine guns such as the Degtyarev light machine gun
Degtyarev light machine gun
The Пулемёт Дегтярёвa Пехотный or DP was a light machine gun firing the 7.62x54mmR cartridge that was used by the Soviet Union starting in 1928. It was cheap and easy to manufacture - early models had fewer than 80 parts and could be built by unskilled labour. The DP was especially able to...
were widely used, along with the DShK
DShK
The DShK 1938 is a Soviet heavy machine gun firing the 12.7x108mm cartridge. The weapon was also used as a heavy infantry machine gun, in which case it was frequently deployed with a two-wheeled mounting and a single-sheet armour-plate shield...
and the SG-43 Gorunov
SG-43 Gorunov
The SG-43 Goryunov was a Soviet medium machine gun that was introduced during the Second World War and is chambered for the 7.62x54mmR cartridge. It was introduced in 1943 as replacement for the older M1910 Maxim machine guns and was mounted on wheeled mounts, tripods and vehicles...
. FRELIMO were supported by mortars, recoilless rifle
Recoilless rifle
A recoilless rifle or recoilless gun is a lightweight weapon that fires a heavier projectile than would be practical to fire from a recoiling weapon of comparable size. Technically, only devices that use a rifled barrel are recoilless rifles. Smoothbore variants are recoilless guns...
s, RPG-2
RPG-2
The RPG-2 was the first rocket-propelled grenade launcher designed in the Soviet Union.-Development:The RPG-2 , was a man-portable, shoulder-launched rocket-propelled grenade anti-armor weapon...
s and RPG-7
RPG-7
The RPG-7 is a widely-produced, portable, unguided, shoulder-launched, anti-tank rocket-propelled grenade launcher. Originally the RPG-7 and its predecessor, the RPG-2, were designed by the Soviet Union, and now manufactured by the Bazalt company...
s, Anti-aircraft weapons such as the ZPU-4
ZPU-4
The ZPU-4 is a towed, quadruple-barreled anti-aircraft gun based on the Soviet KPV 14.5 mm machine gun. It entered service with the Soviet Union in 1949 and is used by over 50 countries worldwide...
and from 1974 the Strela 2
Strela 2
The 9K32 “Strela-2” is a man-portable, shoulder-fired, low-altitude surface-to-air missile system with a high explosive warhead and passive infrared homing guidance...
. In the dying stages of the conflict, FRELIMO would be provided with a limited number of SA-7
Strela 2
The 9K32 “Strela-2” is a man-portable, shoulder-fired, low-altitude surface-to-air missile system with a high explosive warhead and passive infrared homing guidance...
MANPAD Shoulder-launched missile launchers
Shoulder-launched missile weapon
A shoulder-fired missile, shoulder-launched missile or man-portable missile is a projectile fired at a target, small enough to be carried by a single person, and fired while held on one's shoulder...
from China; however, these would never shoot down a Portuguese plane. Only one Portuguese aircraft was lost in combat during the conflict, when Lt. Emilio Lourenço's G.91R-4
Aeritalia G.91
The Fiat G.91 was an Italian jet fighter aircraft. It was the winner of the NATO competition in 1953 as standard equipment for Allied air forces. It entered in operational service with the Italian Air Force in 1961, with West Germany's Luftwaffe, in 1962, and later with the Portuguese Air Force....
was destroyed by premature detonation of his own ordinance.
Rhodesia
Rhodesia , officially the Republic of Rhodesia from 1970, was an unrecognised state located in southern Africa that existed between 1965 and 1979 following its Unilateral Declaration of Independence from the United Kingdom on 11 November 1965...
to create African Scout units and other special forces teams, with Rhodesian forces even conducting their own independent operations during the conflict. Due to Portuguese policy of retaining up-to-date equipment for the metropole
Metropole
The metropole, from the Greek Metropolis 'mother city' was the name given to the British metropolitan centre of the British Empire, i.e. the United Kingdom itself...
while shipping obsolete equipment to the colonies, the Portuguese soldiers fighting in the opening stages of the conflict were equipped with World War II radios and the old Mauser rifle. As the fighting progressed, the need for more modern equipment was rapidly recognised, and the Heckler & Koch G3
Heckler & Koch G3
The G3 is a 7.62mm battle rifle developed in the 1950s by the German armament manufacturer Heckler & Koch GmbH in collaboration with the Spanish state-owned design and development agency CETME ....
and FN FAL
FN FAL
The Fusil Automatique Léger or FAL is a self-loading, selective fire battle rifle produced by the Belgian armaments manufacturer Fabrique Nationale de Herstal . During the Cold War it was adopted by many North Atlantic Treaty Organization countries, with the notable exception of the United States...
rifles were adopted as the standard battlefield weapon, along with the AR-10
AR-10
The AR-10 is an American 7.62 mm battle rifle developed by Eugene Stoner in the late 1950s at ArmaLite, then a division of the Fairchild Aircraft Corporation...
for paratroopers. The MG42
MG42
The MG 42 is a 7.9mm universal machine gun that was developed in Nazi Germany and entered service with the Wehrmacht in 1942...
and, then in 1968, the HK21
HK21
The HK21 is a German 7.62mm general-purpose machine gun, developed in 1961 by small arms manufacturer Heckler & Koch and based on the G3 battle rifle. The weapon is in use with the armed forces of several Asian, African and Latin American countries. It was also license-manufactured by Fábrica do...
were the Portuguese heavier machine guns, with 60, 81 and 120 mm mortars, howitzers and the Panhard AML
Panhard AML
-Former Operators:: unknown number of AML-60s and AML-90s in service between 1960-1975.: 34 Eland 90s and Eland 60s in service with the Rhodesian Security Forces in 1979, passed on to successor state.-Trivia:...
, Panhard EBR
Panhard EBR
The Panhard EBR is a light armoured car designed by Panhard for the French Army and later used across the globe, notably by the French Army during the Algerian War and the Portuguese Army during the Portuguese Colonial War in Angola, Mozambique and Guinea-Bissau.The EBR is an 8x8 wheeled...
, Fox
Fox Armoured Reconnaissance Vehicle
The FV721 Fox Combat Vehicle Reconnaissance was a 4x4 armoured car deployed by the British Army as a replacement for the Ferret scout car and the Saladin Armoured Car...
and Chaimite
Bravia Chaimite
The Bravia Chaimite is an armored vehicle built by the Portuguese company Bravia and used by the Portuguese Army in the Portuguese colonial wars in Angola, Mozambique and Portuguese Guinea, from 1967 to 1974 when it ended....
armoured vehicles supporting the infantry.
Although helicopters were not used in Mozambique to the same extent as they were in Vietnam
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
, the Alouette III
Aérospatiale Alouette III
The Aérospatiale Alouette III is a single-engine, light utility helicopter developed by Sud Aviation. It was manufactured by Aérospatiale of France, and under licence by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited in India as Hal Chetak and Industria Aeronautică Română in Romania.The Alouette III is the...
was the most widely used, although the Puma
Aérospatiale Puma
The Aérospatiale SA 330 Puma is a four-bladed, twin-engined medium transport/utility helicopter. The Puma was originally manufactured by Sud Aviation of France.-Development:...
was also used with great success. Other aircraft were employed: for air support
Air Support
Air Support is a 1992 computer game for the Amiga and Atari ST. It is a top-down strategy game, with a first-person mode available for special missions. The game takes place during a retrofuturistic 21st century where all wars are fought in virtual reality. The game was given mostly positive...
the T6
T-6 Texan
The North American Aviation T-6 Texan was a single-engine advanced trainer aircraft used to train pilots of the United States Army Air Forces, United States Navy, Royal Air Force and other air forces of the British Commonwealth during World War II and into the 1950s...
and the Fiat G.91
Aeritalia G.91
The Fiat G.91 was an Italian jet fighter aircraft. It was the winner of the NATO competition in 1953 as standard equipment for Allied air forces. It entered in operational service with the Italian Air Force in 1961, with West Germany's Luftwaffe, in 1962, and later with the Portuguese Air Force....
were used; for reconnaissance
Reconnaissance
Reconnaissance is the military term for exploring beyond the area occupied by friendly forces to gain information about enemy forces or features of the environment....
, the Dornier Do 27
Dornier Do 27
-See also:-Bibliography:*Green, William. Macdonald Aircraft Handbook. London. Macdonald & Co. Ltd., 1964.*Jackson, Paul A. German Military Aviation 1956-1976. Hinckley, Leicestershire, UK: Midland Counties Publications, 1976. ISBN 0-904597-03-2.-External links:**...
. In the transport role, the Portuguese Air Force
Portuguese Air Force
The Portuguese Air Force is the air force of Portugal. Formed on July 1, 1952, with the Aeronáutica Militar and Aviação Naval united in a single independent Air Force, it is one of the three branches of the Portuguese Armed Forces and its origins dates back to 1912, when the military aviation...
used mainly the Nord Noratlas
Nord Noratlas
The Nord Noratlas was a 1950s French military transport aircraft intended to replace the older types in service at the end of World War II. Several hundred were produced in a run lasting over a decade, finding a wide variety of uses.-Development:...
and the C-47
C-47 Skytrain
The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota is a military transport aircraft that was developed from the Douglas DC-3 airliner. It was used extensively by the Allies during World War II and remained in front line operations through the 1950s with a few remaining in operation to this day.-Design and...
. The Portuguese Navy
Portuguese Navy
The Portuguese Navy is the naval branch of the Portuguese Armed Forces which, in cooperation and integrated with the other branches of the Portuguese military, is charged with the military defence of Portugal....
also made extensive use of patrol boats, landing craft
Landing craft
Landing craft are boats and seagoing vessels used to convey a landing force from the sea to the shore during an amphibious assault. Most renowned are those used to storm the beaches of Normandy, the Mediterranean, and many Pacific islands during WWII...
s, and inflatable Zodiacs
Inflatable boat
An inflatable boat is a lightweight boat constructed with its sides and bow made of flexible tubes containing pressurised gas. For smaller boats, the floor and hull beneath it is often flexible. On boats longer than , the floor often consists of three to five rigid plywood or aluminium sheets fixed...
.
Monsoon
Monsoon is traditionally defined as a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation, but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with the asymmetric heating of land and sea...
season in order to evade pursuit. During heavy rains, it was much more difficult to track insurgents by air, negating Portugal's air superiority, and Portuguese troops and vehicles found movement during rain storms difficult. In contrast, the insurgent troops, with lighter equipment, were able to flee into the bush (the mato) amongst an ethnically similar populace into which they could melt away. Furthermore, the FRELIMO forces were able to forage food from the surroundings and local villages, and were thus not hampered by long supply lines.
With the initial FRELIMO attacks in Chai Chai, the fighting spread to Niassa and Tete at the centre of Mozambique. During the early stages of the conflict, FRELIMO activity was reduced to small, platoon-sized engagements, harassments and raids on Portuguese installations. The FRELIMO soldiers often operated in small groups of ten to fifteen soldiers. The scattered nature of FRELIMO's initial attacks was an attempt to disperse the Portuguese forces.
The Portuguese troops began to suffer losses in November, fighting in the northern region of Xilama. With increasing support from the populace, and the low number of Portuguese regular troops, FRELIMO was quickly able to advance south towards Meponda and Mandimba, linking to Tete with the aid of forces from the neighbouring Republic of Malawi, which had become a fully independent member of the Commonwealth of Nations
Commonwealth of Nations
The Commonwealth of Nations, normally referred to as the Commonwealth and formerly known as the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of fifty-four independent member states...
on July 6, 1964. Despite the increasing range of FRELIMO operations, attacks were still limited to small strike teams attacking lightly defending administrative outposts, with the FRELIMO lines of communication and supply utilising canoes along the Ruvuma River
Ruvuma River
Ruvuma River, formerly also known as the Rovuma River, is a river in East Africa, forming during the greater part of its course the border between Tanzania and Mozambique . It is long, with a drainage basin in size...
and Lake Malawi
Lake Malawi
Lake Malawi , is an African Great Lake and the southernmost lake in the Great Rift Valley system of East Africa. This lake, the third largest in Africa and the eighth largest lake in the world, is located between Malawi, Mozambique, and Tanzania...
.
It was not until 1965 that recruitment of fighters increased along with popular support, and the strike teams were able to increase in size. The increase in popular support was in part due to FRELIMO agencies' offer of help to exiled Mozambicans, who had fled the conflict by travelling to nearby Tanzania. Like similar conflicts against the French and United States forces
Military of the United States
The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. They consist of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Coast Guard.The United States has a strong tradition of civilian control of the military...
in Vietnam, the insurgents also used landmines to a great extent to injure the Portuguese forces, thus straining the armed forces' infrastructure and demoralising soldiers.
One seventh of the population and one fifth of the territory were in FRELIMO hands by 1967; at this time there were approximately 8000 guerrillas in combat. During this period, Mondlane urged further expansion of the war effort, but also sought to retain the small strike groups. With the increasing cost of supply, more and more territory liberated from the Portuguese, and the adoption of measures to win the support of the population, it was at this time that Mondlane sought assistance from abroad, specifically the Soviet Union and China; from these benefactors, he obtained large-calibre machine guns, anti-aircraft rifles and 75 mm recoilless rifles and 122 mm rockets.
In 1968, the second Congress of FRELIMO was a propaganda victory for the insurgents, despite attempts by the Portuguese, who enjoyed air superiority throughout the conflict, to bomb the location of the meeting late in the day. This gave FRELIMO further weight to wield in the United Nations.
Portuguese development program
Portuguese Empire
The Portuguese Empire , also known as the Portuguese Overseas Empire or the Portuguese Colonial Empire , was the first global empire in history...
, Portugal was a driving force in the development and shaping of all Portuguese Africa since the 15th century. In the 1960s and early 1970s, to counter the increasing insurgency of FRELIMO forces and show to the Portuguese people and the world that the territory was totally under control, the Portuguese government accelerated its major development program to expand and upgrade the infrastructure of Portuguese Mozambique by creating new roads, railways, bridges, dams, irrigation systems, schools and hospitals to stimulate an even higher level of economic growth and support from the populace.
As part of this redevelopment program, construction of the Cahora Bassa Dam
Cahora Bassa Dam
The Cahora Bassa Dam system is the largest hydroelectric scheme in southern Africa with the powerhouse containing five turbines. It is one of the three major dams on the Zambezi river system, the others being Kariba and Itezhi-Tezhi. However, Itezhi-Tezhi is not on the main stream of the Zambezi,...
began in 1969. This particular project became intrinsically linked with Portugal's concerns over security in the overseas colonies. The Portuguese government viewed the construction of the dam as testimony to Portugal's "civilising mission" and intended for the dam to reaffirm Mozambican belief in the strength and security of the Portuguese colonial government. To this end, Portugal sent three thousand new troops and over one million landmines to Mozambique to defend the building project.
Realising the symbolic significance of the dam to the Portuguese, FRELIMO proceeded to spend seven years attempting to halt its construction by force. No direct attacks were ever successful, but FRELIMO had some success in attacking convoys en route to the site. FRELIMO also lodged a protest with the United Nations about the project, and their cause was aided by negative reports of Portuguese actions in Mozambique. In spite of the subsequent withdrawal of much foreign financial support for the dam, it was finally completed in December 1974. The dam's intended propaganda value to the Portuguese was overshadowed by the adverse Mozambican public reaction to the extensive dispersal of the indigenous populace, who were forced to relocate from their homes to allow for the construction project. The dam also deprived farmers of the critical annual floods, which would otherwise re-fertilise the plantations.
Assassination of Eduardo Mondlane
On February 3, 1969, Eduardo MondlaneEduardo Mondlane
Eduardo Chivambo Mondlane served as President of the Mozambican Liberation Front from 1962, the year that FRELIMO was founded in Tanzania, until his assassination in 1969.-Early life:...
was killed by explosives smuggled into his locale. Many sources state that, in an attempt to rectify the situation in Mozambique, the Portuguese secret police assassinated Mondlane by sending a parcel to his office in Dar Es Salaam. Inside the parcel was a book containing an explosive device, which detonated upon opening. Other sources state that Eduardo was killed when an explosive device detonated underneath his chair at the FRELIMO headquarters, and that the faction responsible was never identified. The original investigations levelled accusations at Silverio Nungo (who was later executed) and Lazaro Kavandame, FRELIMO leader in Cabo Delgado. The latter had made no secret of his distrust of Mondlane, seeing him as too conservative a leader, and the Tanzanian police also accused him of working with PIDE
PIDE
In 1969, Marcello Caetano changed the name PIDE to DGS . The death of Salazar and the subsequent ascension of Caetano brought some attempts at democratization, in order to avoid popular insurgency against censorship, the ongoing colonial war and the general restriction of civil rights...
(Portugal's secret police
Secret police
Secret police are a police agency which operates in secrecy and beyond the law to protect the political power of an individual dictator or an authoritarian political regime....
) to assassinate Mondlane. Kavandame himself surrendered to the Portuguese in April of that year.
Although the exact details of the assassination remain disputed, the involvement of the Portuguese government, particularly Aginter Press
Aginter Press
Aginter Press, also known under the name Central Order and Tradition , was a pseudo press agency set up in Lisbon, Portugal in September 1966, under Oliveira Salazar's dictatorship...
or PIDE, is generally accepted by most historians and biographers and is supported by the Portuguese stay behind Gladio-esque
Operation Gladio
Operation Gladio is the codename for a clandestine NATO "stay-behind" operation in Italy after World War II. Its purpose was to continue anti-communist actions in the event of a shift to a Communist party led government...
army, known as Aginter Press, that suggested in 1990 that they were responsible for the assassination. Initially, however, due to the uncertainty regarding who was responsible, Mondlane's death did create great suspicion within the ranks of the FRELIMO itself and a short power struggle which resulted in a dramatic swing to the political left. : Mondlane's immediate successor was, in fact, the moderate Rev. Uria Simango
Uria Simango
The reverend Uria Timoteo Simango The reverend Uria Timoteo Simango The reverend Uria Timoteo Simango (born March 15, 1926 was a Mozambican Presbyterian minister and prominent leader of the Mozambique Liberation Front FRELIMO during the liberation struggle against Portuguese colonial rule...
, who had served under him, as FRELIMO's vice-President, from its formation until 1969. In the post-assassination power-struggle, Simango was ousted by the more hardline Samora Machel
Samora Machel
Samora Moisés Machel was a Mozambican military commander, revolutionary socialist leader and eventual President of Mozambique...
and Marcelino dos Santos
Marcelino dos Santos
Marcelino dos Santos is a Mozambican poet, revolutionary, and statesman. As a young man he travelled to Portugal, and Paris, France for an education. He was a founding member of the Frente de Libertacao de Mocambique , in 1962; and served as the party's deputy president from 1969 to 1977...
, expelled from FRELIMO and eventually arrested and executed, post-Independence, in 1975.
Continuing war (1969–74)
In 1969, General António Augusto dos Santos was relieved of command, with General Kaúlza de ArriagaKaúlza de Arriaga
Kaúlza de Oliveira de Arriaga, OA, GCC, OC, OIH was a Portuguese General, writer, professor and politician...
taking over officially in March 1970. Kaúlza de Arriaga favoured a more direct method of fighting the insurgents, and the established policy of using African counter-insurgency forces was rejected in favour of the deployment of regular Portuguese forces accompanied by a small number of African fighters. Indigenous personnel were still recruited for special operations, such as the Special Groups of Parachutists in 1973, though their role less significant under the new commander. His tactics were partially influenced by a meeting with United States General William Westmoreland
William Westmoreland
William Childs Westmoreland was a United States Army General, who commanded US military operations in the Vietnam War at its peak , during the Tet Offensive. He adopted a strategy of attrition against the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam and the North Vietnamese Army. He later served as...
.
By 1972, however, there was growing pressure from other commanders, particularly Kaúlza de Arriaga's second in command, General Francisco da Costa Gomes
Francisco da Costa Gomes
Francisco da Costa Gomes, ComTE, GOA |Chaves]], 30 June 1914 – Lisbon, Lapa, 31 July 2001), was a Portuguese military officer and politician, the 15th President of the Portuguese Republic .-Life:...
, for the use of African soldiers in Flechas
Flechas
Flechas were a Portuguese special forces unit created during the Portuguese Colonial War. Flechas were platoon-sized units consisting of local tribesmen and rebel defectors who specialised in tracking, reconnaissance and pseudo-terrorist operations...
units. Flechas units (Arrows) were also employed in Angola and were units under the command of the Portuguese PIDE
PIDE
In 1969, Marcello Caetano changed the name PIDE to DGS . The death of Salazar and the subsequent ascension of Caetano brought some attempts at democratization, in order to avoid popular insurgency against censorship, the ongoing colonial war and the general restriction of civil rights...
. Composed of local tribesmen, the units specialised in tracking, reconnaissance and anti-terrorist operations. Costa Gomes argued that African soldiers were cheaper and were better able to create a relationship with the local populace, a tactic similar to the 'hearts and minds
Hearts and Minds (Vietnam)
Hearts and Minds refers to a short lived campaign by the United States military during the Vietnam War intended to win the popular support of the Vietnamese people.-History:...
' strategy being used by United States forces
Military of the United States
The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. They consist of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Coast Guard.The United States has a strong tradition of civilian control of the military...
in Vietnam
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
at the time. These Flechas units saw action in the territory at the very end stages of the conflict, following the dismissal of Kaúlza de Arriaga
Kaúlza de Arriaga
Kaúlza de Oliveira de Arriaga, OA, GCC, OC, OIH was a Portuguese General, writer, professor and politician...
on the eve of the Portuguese coup
Carnation Revolution
The Carnation Revolution , also referred to as the 25 de Abril , was a military coup started on 25 April 1974, in Lisbon, Portugal, coupled with an unanticipated and extensive campaign of civil resistance...
in 1974 – the Carnation Revolution. The units were to continue to cause problems for the FRELIMO even after the Revolution and Portuguese withdrawal, when the country splintered into civil war
Mozambican Civil War
The Mozambican Civil War began in 1977, two years after the end of the war of independence. The ruling party, Front for Liberation of Mozambique , was violently opposed from 1977 by the Rhodesian- and South African-funded Mozambique Resistance Movement...
.
There were, in fact, a number of Portuguese special forces units that were unique to either the Mozambican conflict or the Portuguese Colonial War
Portuguese Colonial War
The Portuguese Colonial War , also known in Portugal as the Overseas War or in the former colonies as the War of liberation , was fought between Portugal's military and the emerging nationalist movements in Portugal's African colonies between 1961 and 1974, when the Portuguese regime was...
as a whole:
- Special Groups (Grupos Especiais): units similar to the ones used in Angola
- Paratrooper Special Groups (Grupos Especiais Pára-Quedistas): units of volunteer black soldiers that had paratrooper training
- Combat Tracking Special Groups (Grupos Especiais de Pisteiros de Combate): special units trained in tracking
- Flechas: Local tribesmen and rebel defectors specialised in tracking, reconnaissance and terrorist operations. They sometimes patrolled in captured uniforms and are rewarded with cash bounties for every guerrilla or guerrilla weapon they capture.
During the entire period of 1970–1974, FRELIMO intensified guerrilla operations, specialising in urban terrorism. The use of landmines also intensified, with sources stating that they had become responsible for two out of every three Portuguese casualties. During the conflict, FRELIMO used a variety of anti-tank
Anti-tank mine
An anti-tank mine, , is a type of land mine designed to damage or destroy vehicles including tanks and armored fighting vehicles....
and anti-personnel
Anti-personnel mine
Anti-personnel mines are a form of land mine designed for use against humans, as opposed to anti-tank mines, which are designed for use against vehicles...
mines, including the PMN (Black Widow)
PMN mine
The PMN series of blast anti-personnel mines were designed and manufactured in Russia. They are one of the most widely used and commonly found devices during demining operations.-PMN-1:...
, TM-46
TM-46 mine
The TM-46 mine is a large circular metal cased Russian anti-tank mine. The TMN-46 is a variant of the mine fitted with a secondary fuze well on the bottom which is slightly off-set from the centre of the mine. This secondary fuze well can be fitted with a pull-fuze which functions as an...
, and POMZ
POMZ
The POMZ, POMZ-2 and POMZ-2M are three types of Russian-made stake mounted anti-personnel fragmentation mine. The POMZ mine was used during the Second World War. It was superseded by the POMZ-2, and later by the improved POMZ-2M...
. Even amphibious mines were used, such as the PDM
PDM series of amphibious mines
The PDM amphibious mines were a series of Russian anti-vehicle mines that could be used on or in beaches, rivers, lakes and shallow coastal waters up to five meters deep.-PDM-1:...
. Mine psychosis, an acute fear of landmines, was rampant in the Portuguese forces. This fear, coupled with the frustration of taking casualties without ever seeing the enemy forces, damaged morale and significantly hampered progress.
Gordian Knot Operation
The Operation Gordian Knot was the largest and most expensive Portuguese military campaign in the Portuguese overseas province of Mozambique, East Africa. It was performed in 1970, during the Portuguese Colonial War...
(Portuguese: Operação Nó Górdio) targeted permanent insurgent camps and the infiltration routes across the Tanzanian border in the north of Mozambique over a period of seven months. The operation involved some 35,000 Portuguese troops, particularly elite units like paratroopers, commandos, marines and naval fusiliers.
The Portuguese had excellent coordination between light bombers, helicopters and reinforced ground patrols. They utilised American tactics of quick airborne (helibourne) assaults supported by heavy aerial bombardments of FRELIMO camps by the Portuguese Air Force
Portuguese Air Force
The Portuguese Air Force is the air force of Portugal. Formed on July 1, 1952, with the Aeronáutica Militar and Aviação Naval united in a single independent Air Force, it is one of the three branches of the Portuguese Armed Forces and its origins dates back to 1912, when the military aviation...
(Força Aérea Portuguesa or FAP) to surround and eliminate the guerrillas. These bombardments were accompanied by the use of heavy artillery. The Portuguese also used cavalry units to cover the flanks of patrols and where the terrain was too difficult to motor transport, and units of captured or deserted guerrillas to penetrate their former bases.
Problems for the Portuguese arose almost immediately when the offensive coincided with the beginning of the monsoon season, creating additional logistical difficulties. Not only were the Portuguese soldiers badly equipped, but there was very poor cooperation, if any at all, between the FAP and the army. Thus, the army lacked close air support from the FAP. Mounting Portuguese casualties began to outweigh FRELIMO casualties, leading to further political intervention from Lisbon.
By 1972, the Portuguese military had changed its strategy, adapting the British/American search and destroy
Search and destroy
Search and Destroy, Seek and Destroy, or even simply S&D, refers to a military strategy that became a notorious component of the Vietnam War. The idea was to insert ground forces into hostile territory, search out the enemy, destroy them, and withdraw immediately afterward...
operations utilising small shock troop sweeps. They also initiated a hearts and minds campaign, named the Aldeamentos Programme, which was a forced relocation program. But on November 9, 1972, FRELIMO – not numbering more but 8,000 fighters – launched a large offensive in Tete Province. The response from the Portuguese military was fierce, leading to reprisal attacks in an attempt to unbalance the local population's continuing faith in FRELIMO.
Reportedly, on December 16, 1972, Portuguese troops killed the inhabitants of the Mozambican village of Wiriyamu, 30 kilometers from the city of Tete
Tete
-External links:* *...
. Referred to as the 'Wiriyamu Massacre', it is alleged that Portuguese soldiers killed between 60 and 400 villagers accused of being FRELIMO sympathizers. Many of the victims were women and children. The massacre was recounted in July 1973 by the British Catholic priest, Father Adrian Hastings, and two other Spanish missionary priests. However, later counter-claims have been made in a report of Archbishop of Dar es Salaam Laurean Rugambwa that alleging that the killings were carried out by FRELIMO combatants, not Portuguese forces. In addition, others claimed that the alleged massacres by Portuguese military forces were fabricated to tar the reputation of the Portugese state abroad.
By 1973, FRELIMO were also mining civilian towns and villages in an attempt to undermine the civilian confidence in the Portuguese forces. "Aldeamentos: agua para todos" (Resettlement villages: water for everyone) was a commonly seen message in the rural areas, as the Portuguese sought to relocate and resettle the indigenous population, in order to isolate the FRELIMO from its civilian base Conversely, Mondlane's policy of mercy towards civilian Portuguese settlers was abandoned in 1973 by the new commander, Machel. "Panic, demoralisation, abandonment, and a sense of futility – all were reactions among whites in Mozambique" stated conflict historian T. H. Henricksen in 1983. This change in tactic led to protests by Portuguese settlers against the Lisbon government, a telltale sign of the conflict's unpopularity. Combined with the news of the Wiriyamu massacre and that of renewed FRELIMO onslaughts through 1973 and early 1974, the worsening situation in Mozambique would later contribute to the downfall of the Portuguese government in 1974. A Portuguese journalist argued:
Political instability and ceasefire (1974–75)
Back in Lisbon, the 'Armed Revolutionary Action' branch of the Portuguese Communist PartyPortuguese Communist Party
The Portuguese Communist Party is a major left-wing political party in Portugal. It is a Marxist-Leninist party, and its organization is based upon democratic centralism. The party also considers itself to be patriotic and internationalist....
, which was created in the late 1960s, and the Revolutionary Brigades (BR), a left-wing organisation, worked to resist the colonial wars. They had carried out multiple sabotages and bombings against military targets, such as the attack on the Tancos
Tancos
Tancos is a Portuguese parish, located in the municipality of Vila Nova da Barquinha. It has a population of 295 inhabitants and a total area of 1.56 km².Tancos is the location of a major air base and a military academy....
air base that destroyed several helicopters on March 8, 1971, and the attack on the NATO headquarters at Oeiras in October of the same year. The attack on the Portuguese ship Niassa illustrated the role of the colonial wars in this unrest. Niassa (named after a Mozambican province) was preparing to leave Lisbon with troops to be deployed in Guinea
Guinea
Guinea , officially the Republic of Guinea , is a country in West Africa. Formerly known as French Guinea , it is today sometimes called Guinea-Conakry to distinguish it from its neighbour Guinea-Bissau. Guinea is divided into eight administrative regions and subdivided into thirty-three prefectures...
. By the time of the Carnation Revolution, 100,000 draft dodgers had been recorded.
Portuguese Colonial War
The Portuguese Colonial War , also known in Portugal as the Overseas War or in the former colonies as the War of liberation , was fought between Portugal's military and the emerging nationalist movements in Portugal's African colonies between 1961 and 1974, when the Portuguese regime was...
period (1961–1974), was strong and reached a 6% rate (a percentual GDP growth which weren't achieved in any other comparable period after 1974). The African overseas provinces of Portugal's GDP growth was also widely notable and the construction of infrastructure were at a record high during the time war. The unpopularity of the Colonial Wars among many Portuguese, led to the formation of several magazines and newspapers, such as Cadernos Circunstância, Cadernos Necessários, Tempo e Modo, and Polémica, which had university support and called for political solutions to Portugal's colonial problems.
The growing unrest in Portugal culminated on April 25, 1974, when the Carnation Revolution
Carnation Revolution
The Carnation Revolution , also referred to as the 25 de Abril , was a military coup started on 25 April 1974, in Lisbon, Portugal, coupled with an unanticipated and extensive campaign of civil resistance...
, a peaceful leftist military coup d'état in Lisbon
Lisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
, ousted the incumbent Portuguese government of Marcelo Caetano
Marcelo Caetano
Marcelo José das Neves Alves Caetano, GCTE, GCC, also spelled Marcello Caetano , was a Portuguese politician and scholar, who was the last prime minister of the Estado Novo regime, from 1968 until his overthrow in the Carnation Revolution of 1974....
. Thousands of Portuguese citizens left Mozambique, and the new head of government, General António de Spínola
António de Spínola
António Sebastião Ribeiro de Spínola , GCTE, ComA was a Portuguese soldier, conservative politician and author, who was important in the transition to democracy following the Portuguese Carnation...
, called for a ceasefire
Ceasefire
A ceasefire is a temporary stoppage of a war in which each side agrees with the other to suspend aggressive actions. Ceasefires may be declared as part of a formal treaty, but they have also been called as part of an informal understanding between opposing forces...
. With the change of government in Lisbon, many soldiers refused to continue fighting, often remaining in their barracks instead of going on patrol. Negotiations between the Portuguese
administration culminated in the Lusaka Agreement signed on September 7, 1974, which provided for a complete hand-over of power to FRELIMO, uncontested by elections.
Formal independence was set for June 25, 1975, the 13th anniversary of the founding of FRELIMO.
The aftermath
In MozambiquePortuguese East Africa
Mozambique or Portuguese East Africa was the common name by which the Portuguese Empire's territorial expansion in East Africa was known across different periods of time...
, the Portuguese were not typical settlers. While most European colonies in Africa were "settled" and colonized by whites in the early 1900s, some white families and colonial institutions in those Portuguese-ruled territories had been there for generations. However, the fear of reprisals and the pro-communist ideologies by the FRELIMO government resulted in the exodus of thousands of Portuguese citizens of European, African and mixed ethnicity from the newly-independent territory to Portugal and other places. In Mozambique, most ethnic Portuguese considered themselves Mozambicans.
About 300,000 white ethnic Portuguese citizens
White African
White Africans are people of European descent living in Africa, who identify themselves as White....
from Mozambique left the territory overnight as refugees (in Portugal they were known as retornados). Cities, towns and villages which were founded by the Portuguese and prospered under Portuguese rule, saw their Portuguese names changed after independence – Lourenço Marques to Maputo
Maputo
Maputo, also known as Lourenço Marques, is the capital and largest city of Mozambique. It is known as the City of Acacias in reference to acacia trees commonly found along its avenues and the Pearl of the Indian Ocean. It was famous for the inscription "This is Portugal" on the walkway of its...
, Vila Pery to Chimoio
Chimoio
Chimoio is the capital of Manica Province in Mozambique. It is the fifth-largest city in Mozambique.Chimoio's name under Portuguese administration was Vila Pery. Vila Pery developed under Portuguese rule as an important agricultural and textiles centre.The town lies on the railway line from Beira...
, Vila Cabral to Lichinga
Lichinga
Lichinga is the capital city of Niassa Province of Mozambique. It lies on the Lichinga Plateau at an altitude of 1360 metre, east of Lake Niassa . The town was founded as Vila Cabral as a farming and military settlement...
, or Vila Junqueiro to Gurúè
Gurúè
Gurúè is located in the northern part of Mozambique, near the center of the province of Zambezia. It is the country's largest tea estate...
, are just a few examples. The statues to Portuguese heroes were removed from their sites in all urban centres. With the exodus of trained Portuguese personnel, the newly-independent country had no skilled professionals to maintain its infrastructure, and so the economy plummeted. Privileged commercial links were established with several communist countries by the FRELIMO government on the expense of Portugal which lost influence in the region.
Samora Machel
Samora Machel
Samora Moisés Machel was a Mozambican military commander, revolutionary socialist leader and eventual President of Mozambique...
became Mozambique's first president. The Reverend Uria Simango
Uria Simango
The reverend Uria Timoteo Simango The reverend Uria Timoteo Simango The reverend Uria Timoteo Simango (born March 15, 1926 was a Mozambican Presbyterian minister and prominent leader of the Mozambique Liberation Front FRELIMO during the liberation struggle against Portuguese colonial rule...
, his wife, and other FRELIMO dissidents were arrested in 1975 and liquidated without trial at some unknown date. Within about two years, war restarted with the Mozambican Civil War
Mozambican Civil War
The Mozambican Civil War began in 1977, two years after the end of the war of independence. The ruling party, Front for Liberation of Mozambique , was violently opposed from 1977 by the Rhodesian- and South African-funded Mozambique Resistance Movement...
against the rebel insurgency of RENAMO. Mozambique faced severe problems after independence. Economic and social recession
Recession
In economics, a recession is a business cycle contraction, a general slowdown in economic activity. During recessions, many macroeconomic indicators vary in a similar way...
, Marxist totalitarianism
Totalitarianism
Totalitarianism is a political system where the state recognizes no limits to its authority and strives to regulate every aspect of public and private life wherever feasible...
, corruption, poverty, inequality
Economic inequality
Economic inequality comprises all disparities in the distribution of economic assets and income. The term typically refers to inequality among individuals and groups within a society, but can also refer to inequality among countries. The issue of economic inequality is related to the ideas of...
and failed central planning eroded the initial revolutionary fervour. Peace returned only in 1992, and the country became relatively stable for the first time in decades.
External links
Guerra Colonial: 1961–1974 – State-supported historical site of the Portuguese Colonial War (Portugal) The official FRELIMO site (Mozambique)- Time magazine, Dismantling the Portuguese Empire