This Osprey volume looks at Portugal's colonial wars in Angola and Mozambique. Unlike France and Britain, Portugal managed to hold on to its African colonies through the 1970s. Part of this had to do with the single-minded nationalism of the Portuguese political leadership, as well as the unusual relationship that the home country had with the African people it ruled. Unlike the experience other countries had, Portugal provided for equal legal status of blacks and whites and Europeans and Africans served together in many of the Army units.
Portugal, which was not a large or rich country, does enjoy a rich military history and it took advantage of it. As a NATO member Portugal had access to modern arms and it configured its small but professional forces to fight the Marxist guerrillas attempting to take over the various colonies and turn them into "worker's paradises"... which of course is not how things worked out. The Portuguese even reorganized Cavalry and Artillery units as counterinsurgency units, a practice that the United States would also take advantage of in Iraq against the islamofascists. Includes some information on FRELIMO, UNITA, FPLA, etc.
The discussion of the campaign in Africa is well done and well illustrated. Definitely worth checking out.
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