11 THE FLECHAS INSURGENT HUNTING IN EASTERN ANGOLA, 1965-1974.pdf

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CONTENTS
Glossary
Introduction
Chapter One: Portugal’s War in Africa
Chapter Two: Learning Counterinsurgency
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Text © John P. Cann, 2013
Photographs © as individually credited
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editions of this book.
ISBN 978-1-913336-8-20
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Data
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Note: In order to simplify the use of this book, all names, locations and geographic
designations are as provided in
The Times World Atlas,
or other traditionally accepted
major sources of reference, as of the time of described events. Correspondingly, the term
‘Congo’ designates the area of the former Belgian colony of the Congo Free State, granted
independence as the Democratic Republic of the Congo in June 1960 and in use until 1971
when the country was renamed Republic of Zaire, which, in turn, reverted to Democratic
Republic of the Congo in 1997, and which remains in use today. As such, Congo is not
to be mistaken for the former French colony of Middle Congo (Moyen Congo), o cially
named the Republic of the Congo on its independence in August 1960, also known as
Congo-Brazzaville.
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Chapter Three: The Bushmen
Chapter Four: Flecha Operations
Chapter Five: New Frontiers
Bibliography
Acknowledgements
aF riC a@
W ar V olU M E X i: T hE F lE C haS —
iN S U rgE N T hU N T iN g iN
E aS T E rN aN gola, 1 9 6 5 – 1 9 7 4
GLOSSARY
aldeamento
ANC
assimilado
AU
cacimbo
canhangulo
CCE
chana
chefe de posto
CIA
CIO
CIOE
CMIG-Zero
controlled settlement established by the
Portuguese to protect the population
African National Congress
mostly a
mestiço
who was legally assimilated
into Portuguese culture
African Union
a part of the rainy season characterized by
heavy mist
primitive firearm made with a water pipe for
a barrel
Companhia de Caçadores Especiais
or Company
of Special Hunters
a vast plain characterized by high grass
head of post
Central Intelligence Agency
Central Intelligence Organization
Centro de Instrução de Operações Especiais
or
Centre of Instruction for Special Operations
Centre Militaire d’Instruction Guerrilla-Zero
or
Military Centre of Instruction in Guerrilla
Warfare
Direcção Geral de Segurança
or General
Directorate for Security
SCCI
EEC
ELNA
EPLA
European Economic Community
Exército de Libertação Nacional de Angola
or
Army of National Liberation of Angola
Exército Popular de Libertação de Angola
or
Popular Army for the Liberation of Angola
Forças Armadas Revolucionãrias de Povo
or
Revolutionary Armed Forces of the People
a spray of machine-gun fire
indigenous troops, initially Bushmen in the
east of Angola
Frente de Luta pela Independência da Guiné
or
Front for the Struggle for the Independence of
Guiné
Frente Nacional de Libertação de Angola
or
National Front for the Liberation of Angola
Frente de Libertação de Moçambique
or Front for
the Liberation of Mozambique
Portuguese marine
Grupos Especiais
or Special Groups
Grupos Especiais Páraquedistas
or Special Groups
Parachutists
Grupos Especiais de Pisteiros de Combate
or
Special Groups of Combat Trackers
GRAE
Governo da República de Angola no Exílio
or
Government of the Republic of Angola in
Exile
identity card
Mozambican African National Union
mixed race person
Continental Portugal
reserve officer
Movimento Popular de Libertação de Angola
or
Popular Movement for the Liberation
of Angola
North Atlantic Treaty Organization
Organization of African Unity, now the
African Union
Partido Africano du Indepêndencia da Guiné e
Cabo Verde
or African Party for the
Independence of Guiné and Cape Verde
Polícia Internacional de Defesa do Estado
or
International Police for the Defence
of the State
Serviço de Centralização e Coordenação de
Informações
or Centre for the Centralization
and Coordination of Intelligence
signals intelligence
South West Africa People’s Organization
Portuguese overseas provinces or colonies
União Democrática Nacional de Moçambique
or
National Democratic Union of Mozambique
União Nacional Africana Moçambique
or
Mozambican African National Union
União Nacional do Moçambique Independente
or
National Union of Independent Mozambique
União Nacional para a Independência Total de
Angola
or National Union for the Total
Independence of Angola
União das Populaçôes de Angola
or Union of the
Angolan People
Zimbabwe African National Union
Zimbabwe African People’s Union
Eastern Intervention Zone
Northern Intervention Zone
Eastern Military Zone
guia
MANU
mestiço
metrópole
miliciano
MPLA
NATO
OAU
PAIGC
PIDE
DGS
SIGINT
SWAPO
ultramar
UDENAMO
UNAM
UNAMI
UNITA
FARP
flagelação
Flechas
FLING
FNLA
FRELIMO
fuzileiro
GE
GEP
GEPC
UPA
ZANU
ZAPU
ZIL
ZIN
ZML
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iN T roD U C T ioN
INTRODUCTION
The origin of my interest in the Portuguese campaigns in Africa
began during the period between 1987 and 1992, during which
time I was assigned as a naval officer to augment the staff of the
NATO command, Commander-in-Chief Iberian Atlantic Area,
in Oeiras, Portugal, for its various maritime exercises. All the
Portuguese officers with whom I worked had fought in Africa
during the Portuguese campaign to retain its empire between 1961
and 1974. The stories of their experiences during this lengthy 13-
year war fascinated me, and even today it remains a conflict that
is not well known or understood outside of Portugal and of which
little has been written in English. My subsequent assignments
generated an interest in insurgency and, as a consequence, I
naturally returned to the Portuguese African campaigns when I
had the opportunity to do so.
This volume is about the particular indigenous force known as
the
flechas,
or ‘arrows’, that was established in 1966 in response to an
intelligence-gathering need in the east of Angola. The Portuguese
intelligence apparatus required specialized augmentation in
Angola, and the national security police, known for the acronym
PIDE, was designated to perform these counterinsurgency duties.
PIDE faced initial problems in adjusting to the new environment
and to gathering intelligence on the insurgents’ movements.
The population continued to be terrorized, the local situation
remained confused, and there was a consequent pressing need for
a long-term solution. PIDE continued to experiment with this
uncertain situation in its search for the key. One obstacle to its
efforts was the diversity of languages spoken, as
there are perhaps 15 different dialects. By about
1967, in an attempt to make its reconnaissance
missions more effective, it had begun to use
local auxiliaries with their knowledge of
the immediate terrain, familiarity with the
population, and unique language skills. This
initiative proved partially successful.
This use of auxiliaries began around the city
of Luso in eastern Angola, and employed people
who were born and raised there to go into the
familiar bush and discover what was happening.
These locals could travel easily through the
country for extended periods, blending with
the population and maintaining a low profile.
Initially, these agents were simply supposed to
observe and collect information on insurgents;
however, PIDE found that they were being
captured and tortured, so it began to arm them
for their own defence and train them properly.
It soon discovered that the Bushmen were best
suited for this purpose. These people inhabited
the vast remote area of the Cuando Cubango
district in southeastern Angola, which was also
aptly named ‘Terras
do Fim do Mundo’
(Lands of
the End of the Earth). It is here that the Bushmen lived and were
largely employed, and it is here that the Flechas began.
Flechas operated either independently or as part of a larger,
formal force. They were devastating in spartan, low-profile,
independent operations. These reconnaissance missions were
wide-ranging, deep-penetration patrols in known or suspected
enemy areas. Likewise, they developed great competence in joint
operations with other, formal ground forces. In these situations
they reported not to PIDE but to the local army commander and
were used with their superior tracking skills to guide regular
troops. The ground forces also relied on the Flechas to maintain
the continuity of local operating knowledge in an area, as the
overall experience level of a typical unit tended to degrade with
the constant rotation of its troops.
Flechas were organized into combat groups along the same lines
as the army and received extensively modified training, as Flechas
always seemed to have a unique African way of solving problems.
Their groups never exceeded thirty men, and they invariably
operated in areas where they were familiar with the language and
terrain. In the beginning in 1966 there were eight Flechas, and by
1974 there were upward of 1,000. This is the story of their rise to
fame for their unequalled competence and effectiveness during
wartime and their disappearance with the general cessation of
conflict in southern Africa in the late 1980s. It is an inspiring tale
of a gifted, dedicated, and loyal people betrayed by both Portugal
and their new nationalist governments.
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