15 April 2019
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The end of WWII also heralded the start of the end for European colonialism in Africa and Asia. For some, like India, this was a speedy process, for others, like Vietnam, a bloody one.
Author: AL J VENTER
Reviewed by: Duncan Evans
The end of WWII also heralded the start of the end for European colonialism in Africa and Asia. For some, like India, this was a speedy process, for others, like Vietnam, a bloody one. What is little known is that Portugal, now seen as a holiday destination and wine producer, with little reputation for anything else, refused to give up its colonial possessions of Angola, Mozambique and Guinea-Bissau. The result was 13 years of bush warfare in Angola, where ever-increasing numbers of Portugese troops were funnelled into an African war that its soldiers didn’t want to fight.
Still, as the author makes clear, while the Americans were making a mess of their war, Portugal was fighting three of them with better effect. In the end though, the political leadership on the ground in Angola fell apart, just as victory was grasped, leading to a military coup and generations of civil war. This isn’t a huge book, but it gets through all the events and features plenty of illustrations.
• Pen & Sword
• 130 pages • Softback • £14.99
As reviewed in The Armourer April 2019.
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