Startling in its innovation and daringly suicidal, Operation Dingo was not only the Fireforce concept writ large but the prototype for all the major Rhodesian airborne attacks on the external bases of Rhodesian African nationalist insurgents in the neighbouring territories of Mozambique and Zambia until such operations ceased in late 1979.Fireforce as a military concept is a 'vertical envelopment' of the enemy (first practised by SAS paratroopers in Mozambique in 1973), with the 20mm cannon being the principle weapon of attack, mounted in an Alouette III K-Car ('Killer car'), flown by the air force commander, with the army commander on board directing his ground troops deployed from G-Cars (Alouette III troop-carrying gunships and latterly Bell 'Hueys' in 1979) and parachuted from DC-3 Dakotas. In support would be propeller-driven ground-attack aircraft and on call would be Canberra bombers, Hawker Hunter and Vampire jets.On 23 November 1977, the Rhodesian Air Force and 184 SAS and RLI paratroopers attacked 10,000 ZANLA cadres based at 'New Farm', Chimoio, 90 kilometres inside Mozambique. Two days later, the same force attacked 4,000 guerrillas at Tembué, another ZANLA base, over 200 kilometres inside Mozambique, north of Tete on the Zambezi River. Estimates of ZANLA losses vary wildly; however, a figure exceeding 6,000 casualties is realistic. The Rhodesians suffered two dead, eight wounded and lost one aircraft. It would produce the biggest SAS-led external battle of the Rhodesian bush war. Read more

Between 1961 and 1974 Portugal fought a war to retain its African colonies of Angola, Guinea-Bissau, and Mozambique. Collectively known as the Campaigns for Africa, the origin of the conflict stems from the post-World War II atmosphere of nationalism and anti-colonial fervour. The Angolan insurgency began in 1961, followed by unrest in Guinea-Bissau in 1963 and Mozambique in 1964. Portugal’s initial actions in Angola were based on foot-slogging by infantry, considered the best method of addressing an insurgency, not only to hunt the enemy but also to keep contact with the population. But in the vast areas of Angola – the majority of which was unsuited to wheeled vehicles – this tactical approach was too painful, and for Portugal the number of troops available was limited. The helicopter was a possible solution, but it was beyond Portugal’s finance resources and it had a tendency to fly over those areas where it was vital to communicate with the population and secure its loyalty. When in 1966 the enemy guerrillas sought a new front in eastern Angola, Portugal needed a force that could combine mobility over rough terrain with the ability to engage insurgents, while maintaining strong links with the population. One of the adaptive solutions to this challenge was found in the past: create horse cavalry units in the form of dragoons that were equally trained for cavalry or infantry service, just as their historical predecessors fought. In this particular case, adaptive tactics involved adjusting existing military methods and means from the traditional and available inventory to craft a solution that would deny eastern Angola to insurgents and support the population there. This story is about imaginative thinking that, instead of a ‘forced abandonment of the old’, led to a ‘resurrection of the old’. Read more

Three Wise Monkeys presents a startling new way of viewing the entangled, often hidden, economic, political and social dynamics that informed the rise of 20th-century South Africa, often at the expense of neighbouring Mozambique. It is history that transcends state boundaries to take the reader into previously uncharted domains of the recent past. This 3-volume work was published as a box set but is also available as individual volumes.Three Wise Monkeys culminates with volume 3, 'The Quest for Wealth Without Work', a forensic examination of South Africa's long struggle to suppress gambling, and especially lotteries. The opposition of the Calvinist churches - both Afrikaans- and English-speaking - had its counterpart in the eager embrace of games of chance by the white working class on the Witwatersrand. Focusing on the career of Rufe Naylor, an Australian bookmaker, horse dealer and entrepreneur who, with the help of a defrocked Portuguese Catholic priest, ran the Lourenço Marques Lottery, Volume 3 shows how the efforts of church and state to control the leisure time and morals of the working class, intersected with the need to ensure the flow of cheap mine labour from Mozambique. Ultimately, in the suppression of the Lourenço Marques Lottery - and in campaigns against pinball machines, dog racing and other 'social evils' - can be seen the emerging outlines of the apartheid police state. Read more

Three Wise Monkeys presents a startling new way of viewing the entangled, often hidden, economic, political and social dynamics that informed the rise of 20th-century South Africa, often at the expense of neighbouring Mozambique. It is history that transcends state boundaries to take the reader into previously uncharted domains of the recent past. This 3-volume work was published as a box set but is also available as individual volumes.Volume 1, 'The Making of an African Economic Tragedy', looks at the Portuguese colonisation of Mozambique, and the gradual transformation of the colony into a reservoir of cheap labour, first during the Atlantic slave trade and then during the rise of the voracious Rand mining industry. In a relatively short period during the late 19th century, Mozambique went from being a sleepy imperial backwater, its economy focused on the Indian Ocean, to a weak client feeding into the South African economy, which was being transformed by the discoveries of first diamonds and then gold. The desperately poor Sul do Save region in southern Mozambique became the hunting ground for agents recruiting labour for the Witwatersrand mines, and a grim trade in black bodies defined this unequal relationship. A profound imbalance was created between the two territories, with Mozambique locked into financial dependence on its neighbour to the west. In effect, the South African mining industry got to own a large part of the harbour infrastructure in the capital, Lourenço Marques. The story of Mozambique's finances, and particularly of its 'central bank', the Banco Nacional UItramarino, illustrates how the colony's commercial economy and sluggish administration were no match for the power of the Rand mining houses and British sterling.Mozambique was colonised twice over - first by Portugal and then by South Africa. Read more

The author of the bestselling Secret SAS Missions in Africa and its sequel, SAS Action in Africa,continues the fight againstcommunist terrorist groups. Drawing on first-hand experiences, Michael Graham describes operations against communist-backed terrorists in Angola and Mozambique, aiding the Portuguese and Renamo against the MPLA and Frelimo respectively. Back in Southern Rhodesia SAS General Peter Walls, realizing the danger that Mugabe and ZANU represented, appealed directly to British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. This correspondence, published here for the first time, changed nothing and years of corruption and genocide followed. Although C Squadron was disbanded in 1980 many members joined the South African special forces. Operations undertaken included unsuccessful and costly destabilization attempts against Mugabe and missions into Mozambique including the assassination of Samora Machel. By 1986 deteriorating relationships with the South African authorities resulted in the break-up of the SAS teams who dispersed worldwide. Had Mike Graham not written his three action-packed books, C Squadron SAS’s superb fighting record might never have been revealed. For those who are fascinated by special forces soldiering his accounts are “must reads.”“Takes us into the African bush to fight communist terrorists during the late 1960s and 1970s. His stories are sometimes hair-raising, sometimes amusing, but always interesting and worth reading.” —Beating Tsundoku“This account of SAS actions in Africa as part of the Cold War is lively interesting, nicely written and feels authentic. The photographs are particularly interesting in support of the text. A fascinating read.” —Firetrench Read more

A historical overview of the operations undertaken by the Rhodesian Special Air Service in the second half of the twentieth century.   This gripping action-packed book is the eagerly awaited sequel to the best-selling Secret SAS Missions in Africa. C Squadron SAS, comprising dedicated battle-hardened veterans, operated against ruthless terrorist groups, trained and equipped by the Chinese and Russians between 1968 and 1980.   The author, who rose to be the Squadron Second-in-Command, is superbly qualified to tell the inside story of their daring and deadly operations undertaken regardless of international borders in former Southern Rhodesia, Zambia, Angola and Mozambique. These include actively supporting Renamo, who were bitterly opposed to the Marxist/Leninist Frelimo regime in Mozambique. Operation DINGO, the Squadron’s largest mission, destroyed a large ZANU training base and almost tipped the balance of power against Mugabe. We learn the story behind the shooting down of two civilian aircraft in what is now Zimbabwe and the special force follow-up to exact revenge. Also described are anti-poaching operations against breakaway groups intent on trading ivory and rhino horns.   With its fast pace, colorful characters and behind-the-lines operations, SAS Action in Africa is a superb and thrilling read. Read more

One of the world's greatest revolutionary leaders, Amílcar Cabral's long and arduous campaign for the liberation of Portuguese-dominated Africa is explored in this vivid compilation of his most influential speeches and writings.Unity and Struggle is the compelling account of Amílcar Cabral's fight against imperialism, discrimination and injustice, as well as his progressive advocacy for religious toleration and gender equality - all of which combined to make him one of Africa's foremost political leaders.Introduction by Basil Davidson.'One of the most lucid and brilliant leaders in Africa' Fidel Castro 'Figures like Amílcar Cabral... helped us to imagine the horizons of freedom in far broader terms than were available to us through what we now call "civil rights discourse".' Angela Davis Read more

The untold story of Rhodesian special forces and their defense of British Colonies in Africa during the Cold War, told by a soldier who was there. In Secret SAS Missions in Africa, a former senior member of the little-known C (Rhodesia) Squadron of Britain’s Special Air Service recounts their military operations in Africa during the Cold War. The Squadron was involved in almost continuous anti-communist operations over the period 1968 to 1980. In the unstable final stages of British colonial rule, the Squadron was constantly on the move. African nationalist movements, backed by Russia and China, posed a constant and deadly threat to colonial regimes. Small detachments of the SAS, with highly developed bush warfare skills, proved devastatingly effective at countering rebel factions in Kenya, Mozambique, Rhodesia, and elsewhere on the continent. Read more

Portugal's three wars in Africa in Angola, Mozambique and Portuguese Guinea (Guiné-Bissau today) lasted almost 13 years - longer than the United States Army fought in Vietnam. Yet they are among the most underreported conflicts of the modern era. Commonly referred to as Lisbon's Overseas War (Guerra do Ultramar) or in the former colonies, the War of Liberation (Guerra de Libertação), these struggles played a seminal role in ending white rule in Southern Africa. Though hardly on the scale of hostilities being fought in South East Asia, the casualty count by the time a military coup d'état took place in Lisbon in April 1974 was significant. It was certainly enough to cause Portugal to call a halt to violence and pull all its troops back to the Metropolis. Ultimately, Lisbon was to move out of Africa altogether, when hundreds of thousands of Portuguese nationals returned to Europe, the majority having left everything they owned behind. Independence for all the former colonies, including the Atlantic islands, followed soon afterwards. Lisbon ruled its African territories for more than five centuries, not always undisputed by its black and mestizo subjects, but effectively enough to create a lasting Lusitanian tradition. That imprint is indelible and remains engraved in language, social mores and cultural traditions that sometimes have more in common with Europe than with Africa. Today, most of the newspapers in Luanda, Maputo - formerly Lourenco Marques - and Bissau are in Portuguese, as is the language taught in their schools and used by their respective representatives in international bodies to which they all subscribe. Indeed, on a recent visit to Central Mozambique in 2013, a youthful member of the American Peace Corps told this author that despite having been embroiled in conflict with the Portuguese for many years in the 1960s and 1970s, he found the local people with whom he came into contact inordinately fond of their erstwhile 'colonial overlords'. As a foreign correspondent, Al Venter covered all three wars over more than a decade, spending lengthy periods in the territories while going on operations with the Portuguese army, marines and air force. In the process he wrote several books on these conflicts, including a report on the conflict in Portuguese Guinea for the Munger Africana Library of the California Institute of Technology. Portugal's Guerrilla Wars in Africa represents an amalgam of these efforts. At the same time, this book is not an official history, but rather a journalist's perspective of military events as viewed by somebody who has made a career of reporting on overseas wars, Africa's especially. Venter's camera was always at hand; most of the images used between these covers are his. His approach is both intrusive and personal and he would like to believe that he has managed to record for posterity a tiny but vital segment of African history. Read more

This comprehensive overview traces the evolution of modern Mozambique, from its early modern origins in the Indian Ocean trading system and the Portuguese maritime empire to the fifteen-year civil war that followed independence and its continued after-effects. Though peace was achieved in 1992 through international mediation, Mozambique's remarkable recovery has shown signs of stalling. Malyn Newitt explores the historical roots of Mozambican disunity and hampered development, beginning with the divisive effects of the slave trade, the drawing of colonial frontiers in the 1890s and the lasting particularities of the north, centre and south, inherited from the compartmentalised approach of concession companies. Following the nationalist guerrillas' victory against the Portuguese in 1975, these regional divisions resurfaced in a civil war pitting the south against the north and centre, over attempts at far-reaching socioeconomic change. The settlement of the early 1990s is now under threat from a revived insurgency, and the ghosts of the past remain. This book seeks to distill this complex history, and to understand why, twenty-five years after the Peace Accord, Mozambicans still remain among the poorest people in the world. Read more

Mikhail Kalashnikov himself, inventor of the famous assault rifle, here tells his life story for the first time. The result is a remarkable portrait of a man of ingenuity and vitality in the context of the often frightening and terribly unforgiving Russia of the twentieth century. Read more

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

Age of Concrete is a history of the making of houses and homes in the subúrbios of Maputo (Lourenço Marques), Mozambique, from the late 1940s to the present. Often dismissed as undifferentiated, ahistorical “slums,” these neighborhoods are in fact an open-air archive that reveals some of people’s highest aspirations. At first people built in reeds. Then they built in wood and zinc panels. And finally, even when it was illegal, they risked building in concrete block, making permanent homes in a place where their presence was often excruciatingly precarious. Unlike many histories of the built environment in African cities, Age of Concrete focuses on ordinary homebuilders and dwellers. David Morton thus models a different way of thinking about urban politics during the era of decolonization, when one of the central dramas was the construction of the urban stage itself. It shaped how people related not only to each other but also to the colonial state and later to the independent state as it stumbled into being. Original, deeply researched, and beautifully composed, this book speaks in innovative ways to scholarship on urban history, colonialism and decolonization, and the postcolonial state. Replete with rare photographs and other materials from private collections, Age of Concrete establishes Morton as one of a handful of scholars breaking new ground on how we understand Africa’s cities. Read more

During World War II, Portugal played its cards uncommonly well as a neutral and subsequently became a member of NATO. This membership resulted in a modernizing of its navy and its integration into the Atlantic Alliance. By 1960, when other colonial powers were abandoning their empires, Portugal made the decision to cling to its possessions, as they had been Portuguese for over 400 years. Without them Portugal saw itself as only a small European country, whereas with them, it would be a great nation. Portugal ultimately would fight a 13-year debilitating war against various nationalist movements in Africa to retain its possessions. By the mid-1950s, it became apparent to the Portuguese Navy that it would fight in Africa, and it began to make preparations. Ultimately, it would perform a near wholesale conversion from the blue water or oceanic navy that supported NATO to a brown water or riverine one to fight in Africa. This is the story of that conversion and the great "battle of the rivers" in Africa. This naval reorientation was a remarkable achievement, in that Portugal not only learned to fight a new kind of war, it built a navy to accomplish this and did so while shouldering its NATO commitments. The Portuguese Navy in developing a specialized naval force clearly foresaw the paramount economic, military, and psychological importance of controlling the interior waterways of Africa, for the infrastructure there was universally primitive. While there was generally a road network radiating from the colonial capital, the primary routes used clandestinely by insurgents were chiefly the waterways. The job of the navy was to foreclose enemy use of these lines of communication, and this it did with great success. The lessons from this experience tend to be forgotten, as this war was overshadowed by the U.S. conflict in Vietnam. Today, however, riverine operations are experiencing a renaissance in reaction to the "war of the weak." While modern boats are more technologically advanced, and their crews use newer and better equipment and weapons, the problems and their solutions remain largely the same. The operating environment remains the rivers, bayous, salt pans, canals, lakes, and deltas extending inland from the coast. The population remains a vulnerable target, and the need to establish a permissive environment continues as the primary goal. Clearly, the legacy of the Portuguese "brown water navy" remains relevant today. Read more

Dive into the captivating world of Mozambique with our newly released book, "The History of Mozambique: From Swahili Shores to Modern Mozambique." This text-only masterpiece takes you on a remarkable journey through the ages, unraveling the secrets, struggles, and triumphs that have shaped this diverse and vibrant nation.Explore Mozambique's ancient civilizations, from the indigenous peoples who first called this land home to the enduring legacies of the Bantu migrations and the Swahili Coast. Journey through the rise and fall of kingdoms like Great Zimbabwe, and witness the impact of Arab traders on Mozambique's coastal city-states.Follow the course of Mozambique's history through the lens of colonialism, the slave trade, and the nation's relentless struggle for independence. Delve into the complexities of post-colonial reconstruction and reconciliation, and witness Mozambique's emergence as a modern, democratic nation facing the challenges of the 21st century.This text-only book offers a deep and comprehensive exploration of Mozambique's past, shedding light on its geography, culture, cuisine, and natural wonders. From the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Ilha de Mozambique to the stunning coral reefs of the Quirimbas and Bazaruto Archipelagos, you'll embark on a visual and intellectual journey through this incredible nation.Immerse yourself in Mozambique's diverse cuisine, savoring exotic flavors and discovering authentic recipes that bring the nation's culinary heritage to life. Explore its national parks and wildlife conservation efforts, and learn about the unique challenges and successes of preserving Mozambique's natural wonders.From the historic city of Beira to the cultural hub of Nampula, from the enigmatic ruins of Songo Mnara to the gateway city of Tete, and finally to the modern capital of Maputo, this book provides an in-depth exploration of Mozambique's regions, cities, and their significance in the nation's history."The History of Mozambique: From Swahili Shores to Modern Mozambique" is a text-only treasure trove of knowledge and insights. It's a must-read for history enthusiasts, travelers, and anyone curious about this remarkable nation's past and present.Don't miss out on this opportunity to embark on a fascinating journey through the history of Mozambique. Get your copy today and uncover the hidden treasures of this extraordinary nation! Read more

"Undoubtedly one of the most, if not the most, effective counter-insurgency units in the history of warfare" - Lt-Col Robert Brown, Soldier of Fortune Magazine "Its members consisted of some of the finest guerrilla-fighting men in the western world, unconventional in many ways, disregardful of parade-ground discipline, unorthodox in their dress, yet a force so tightly knit in the face of danger that those who knew anything about them could only marvel"– The Citizen. Formed in 1973 by the legendary Lieutenant-Colonel Ron Reid-Daly at the behest of Rhodesian military supremo General Peter Walls, the Selous Scouts were to write their name into the annals of military history as one of the finest counterinsurgency units of all time, through their innovative pseudo-guerrilla tactics, brilliant reconnaissance operations into Zambia and Botswana and daring flying-column raids into Mozambique. Feared and hated by the liberation movements ZIPRA and ZANLA, the Scouts wreaked untold havoc and destruction on their Soviet- and Chinese-backed enemies, accounting for 68% of guerrilla casualties within Rhodesia alone during the bitter bush war of the 1970s. Uniquely ahead of its time, the regiment, a brotherhood of men that traversed cultural and racial barriers with their Shona motto of“Pamwe Chete” (together only), was to produce the type of soldier that earned for the unit one Grand Cross of Valour, nine Silver Crosses and 22 Bronze Crosses of Rhodesia. About the Author Peter Baxter is an author, amateur historian and African field, mountain and heritage travel guide. Born in Kenya, Peter has lived and travelled over much of southern and central Africa and has guided in all the major mountain ranges south of the equator. Peter lives in the United States, working on the marketing of African heritage travel as well as a variety of book projects. He is married with three children. Read more

The sixteen-year-long war in Mozambique between the Frelimo government and Renamo rebels remains one of the most overlooked and misunderstood of the conflicts that raged across Africa during the height of the Cold War. While usually viewed as a mere sideshow to more high-profile wars in Angola, Rhodesia and within apartheid South Africa itself, it nonetheless is noteworthy in its complexity, duration and destructiveness. Before it was all over in 1992 at least one million Mozambicans would be dead, millions more homeless and the country lying in ruins. Ultimately Frelimo would get its victory not on the battlefield but rather at the polling booth in 1994. Based on more than a decade of meticulous research, a review of thousands of pages of military records and documents, and dozens of in-depth interviews with political leaders, diplomats, generals, and soldiers and sailors, this book tells the story of the war from the perspective of those who fought it and lived it. It follows Renamo's growth from its Rhodesian roots in 1977 as a weapon against Robert Mugabe's Zimbabwean nationalist guerrillas operating from Mozambique through South African patronage in the early 1980s to Renamo's evolution as a self-sufficient nationalist insurgency. In tracing the ebb and flow of the conflict from the rugged mountains and savannah forests of central Mozambique across the hot, humid Zambezi River valley and down to the very outskirts of the Mozambican capital in the far south, it examines the operational strategy of Frelimo and Renamo commanders in the field, the battles they fought and the lives of their troops. In doing so it highlights personal struggles, each side's successes and failures, and the missed opportunities to decisively turn the tide of war. Accordingly, this book provides the first real comprehensive military history of a war too long neglected and underappreciated in the chronicles of modern African history. Read more

Africa: A Guide for Teachers and Families is a carefully organized resource for teaching children and adolescents about African culture. This book is divided into geographical regions so each can be highlighted and contrasted. The songs, fairy tales, mythologies, biographies, art, and recipes are highlighted with practical activities for each grade including kindergarten. This is an invaluable book for teachers in elementary and high school as well as for home school parents. Based on this extensive, well-researched book, Waldorf teachers have created a full unit on Africa. Teachers and parents will welcome this updated and expanded 2022 edition of the successful book, Hear the Voice of the Griot!.This new and exciting edition makes the music, history, animals, and people of Africa come alive – as well as offering things you can make and do. Check out the interactive connections to YouTube videos, bringing Africa into your home and classroom. Read more

Powerful, instructive, and full of humanity, this book challenges the current understanding of the war that has turned Mozambique-a naturally rich country-into the world's poorest nation. Before going to Mozambique, William Finnegan saw the war, like so many foreign observers, through a South African lens, viewing the conflict as apartheid's "forward defense." This lens was shattered by what he witnessed and what he heard from Mozambicans, especially those who had lived with the bandidos armado, the "armed bandits" otherwise known as the Renamo rebels. The shifting, wrenching, ground-level stories that people told combine to form an account of the war more local and nuanced, more complex, more African-than anything that has been politically convenient to describe.A Complicated War combines frontline reporting, personal narrative, political analysis, and comparative scholarship to present a picture of a Mozambique harrowed by profound local conflicts-ethnic, religious, political and personal. Finnegan writes that South Africa's domination and destabilization are basic elements of Mozambique's plight, but he offers a subtle description and analysis that will allow us to see the post-apartheid region from a new, more realistic, if less comfortable, point of view. Read more