These irregular forces were usually held at the local level of Theater of Operations and included various types in terms of origin and dependence: militias of white settlers, native militias and forces, foreign forces from exile, forces of ex-guerrillas, dependent forces the Civil Administration, forces dependent on the armed forces and forces dependent on the PIDE.
Officially the totality of these forces was known by Auxiliary Forces. In Portuguese Guinea, General Spínola introduced the term African Force to designate the irregular forces composed of natives of the province.
In Theater of Operations, the main irregular forces were as follows:
Grupos Especiais (Special Groups) - units of volunteer black soldiers that had commando training.
Tropas Especiais (Special Troops) - the name of the Special Groups in Cabinda.
Fiéis (Faithfuls) - force composed of military and police from Katanga, exiled for opposing the regime of Mobutu; these men fled to Angola with their families in a total of nearly 5,000 people. The Portuguese Army selected 2,000 of these exiles and organized them on 3 Battalions of 5 companies each, with these three battalions placed in Chimbila, Camissombo and Gafaria; they had their own Katangan officers and sergeants.
Leais (Loyals) - a force composed by exiles from Zambia, black soldiers that were against Kenneth Kaunda.
Corpo de Milícias (Militia Corps) - made up of Africans, mainly for self-defense of villages, they were divided into two types: the Regular Militia, defensive, organized in 45 companies of 200 men, and the Special Militias, similar to Special Groups in other colonies, organized in 23 groups of 31 men.
Comandos Africanos (African Commandos) - units of commandos entirely composed by black soldiers, including the officers.
Fuzileiros Especiais Africanos (African Special Marines) - Marine units entirely composed by black soldiers, including the officers.
Portuguese Mozambique
Organização Provincial de Voluntários de Defesa Civil de Moçambique (Provincial Organization of Volunteers of Civil Defence of Mozambique) - an organization similar to the one of Angola, but in much smaller size and importance.
Aviação do Gabinete de Planeamento do Zambeze (Aviation of the Zambezi Planning Office) - civil aviation service, but with a paramilitary organization, responsible for giving air support to the security of Cahora Bassa Dam.
Grupos Especiais (Special Groups) - force similar to that of Angola; at its height in Mozambique there were 84 groups of 90 men each.
Grupos Especiais Paraquedistas (Paratrooper Special Groups) - units of volunteer black soldiers that had paratrooper training; they were organized into 12 groups of 70 men each and were attached to the Air Force.
Grupos Especiais de Pisteiros de Combate (Combat Tracking Special Groups) - special units trained in tracking.
Flechas (Arrows) - force similar to that of Angola.
The Angolan Armed Forces or FAA is the military of Angola. The FAA consist of the Angolan Army, the Angolan Navy and the National Air Force of Angola. Reported total manpower in 2021 was about 107,000. The FAA is headed by the Chief of the General Staff António Egídio de Sousa Santos since 2018, who reports to the Minister of National Defense, currently João Ernesto dos Santos.
Jungle warfare is a term used to cover the special techniques needed for military units to survive and fight in jungle terrain.
The Angolan War of Independence, called in Angola the Luta Armada de Libertação Nacional, began as an uprising against forced cultivation of cotton, and it became a multi-faction struggle for the control of Portugal's overseas province of Angola among three nationalist movements and a separatist movement. The war ended when a leftist military coup in Lisbon in April 1974 overthrew Portugal's Estado Novo dictatorship, and the new regime immediately stopped all military action in the African colonies, declaring its intention to grant them independence without delay.
The Guinea-Bissau War of Independence, or the Bissau-Guinean War of Independence, was an armed independence conflict that took place in Portuguese Guinea between 1963 and 1974. Fought between Portugal and the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde, an armed independence movement backed by Cuba, the Soviet Union, and Yugoslavia, the war is commonly referred to as "Portugal's Vietnam" due to the large numbers of men and amounts of material expended in a long, mostly guerrilla war and the internal political turmoil it created in Portugal. The war ended when Portugal, after the Carnation Revolution of 1974, granted independence to Guinea-Bissau, followed by Cape Verde a year later.
Irregular military is any non-standard military component that is distinct from a country's national armed forces. Being defined by exclusion, there is significant variance in what comes under the term. It can refer to the type of military organization, or to the type of tactics used. An irregular military organization is one which is not part of the regular army organization. Without standard military unit organization, various more general names are often used; such organizations may be called a troop, group, unit, column, band, or force. Irregulars are soldiers or warriors that are members of these organizations, or are members of special military units that employ irregular military tactics. This also applies to irregular infantry and irregular cavalry units.
The Portuguese Colonial War, also known in Portugal as the Overseas War or in the former colonies as the War of Liberation, and also known as the Angolan, Guinea-Bissau and Mozambican War of Independence, was a 13-year-long conflict fought between Portugal's military and the emerging nationalist movements in Portugal's African colonies between 1961 and 1974. The Portuguese ultraconservative regime at the time, the Estado Novo, was overthrown by a military coup in 1974, and the change in government brought the conflict to an end. The war was a decisive ideological struggle in Lusophone Africa, surrounding nations, and mainland Portugal.
Special Operations Group may refer to:
The Portuguese Army is the land component of the Armed Forces of Portugal and is also its largest branch. It is charged with the defence of Portugal, in co-operation with other branches of the Armed Forces. With its origins going back to the 12th century, it can be considered one of the oldest active armies in the world.
Marines, or naval infantry, are typically a military force trained to operate in littoral zones in support of naval operations. Historically, tasks undertaken by marines have included helping maintain discipline and order aboard the ship, the boarding of vessels during combat or capture of prize ships, and providing manpower for raiding ashore in support of the naval objectives. In most countries, the marines are an integral part of that state's navy.
The Commandos are a special forces unit in the Portuguese Army. Presently, their parent unit is the Commando Regiment.
The CTOE - Centro de Tropas de Operações Especiais, based in Lamego, is a unit of the Portuguese Army with the mission of instructing troops in unconventional warfare and counter-terrorism. Until 2006, it was known as CIOE - Centro de Instrução de Operações Especiais.
The Brigada de Reacção Rápida is a unit of the Portuguese Army which was known as BAI - Brigada Aerotransportada Independente until 2006. Its different units are highly trained Paratroopers, Commandos and Special Operations Troops capable of responding to threats in any part of continental Portugal or any other Portuguese overseas territory with quick deployment by air, sea or land. This brigade is the most requested by the Portuguese Government to fulfill international assignments due to its experience and multi-role capability.
The red beret is a military beret worn by many military, paramilitary, commando, and police forces and should not be confused with the maroon beret worn by airborne troops all around the world.
The Flechas were a police tactical unit of the Portuguese secret police that operated in Angola and Mozambique during the Portuguese Colonial War. Unlike most of the other Portuguese special forces that were employed in the several theatres of operations of the conflict, the Flechas were not a de jure military unit but a PIDE/DGS (police) unit.
The Special Groups or GE were small military units (commando) of platoon size, set up from 1966 to 1974 by the Portuguese Armed Forces in Angola and in Mozambique. Later, Paratrooper Special Groups or GEP were formed, these being units able to conduct airborne operations. By 1974 there were 84 GE and 12 GEP, with 7,700 members, operating in Mozambique and 90 GE, with 3,069 members, operating in Angola.
The provincial organization of volunteers and civil defence or OPVDC was a former militia type force in each of the Portuguese Overseas provinces. There were three such organizations raised by the Portuguese Government in their overseas provinces of Portuguese Angola, Portuguese Mozambique and Portuguese Timor.
Fernando Augusto Colaço Leal Robles or Fernando Robles is a Portuguese former Second Lieutenant who participated in initial counterinsurgency operations against insurgent União dos Povos de Angola (UPA) guerrillas operating in northern Angola during 1961, at the onset of the Portuguese Colonial War. He was born in Coimbra.
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