Brown Waters of Africa: Portugese Riverine Warfare 1961-1974 - Couverture souple

Cann, John P.

Couverture souple

ISBN 10 : 1908916567 ISBN 13 : 9781908916563

Editeur : Helion & Company, 2012

Synopsis

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 modernising 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 specialised 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.

A propos du livre

Revue de presse :

An excellent book and one that should be studied for those interested in expanding their knowledge of non-traditional uses of naval assets in an asymmetric environment. Highly recommended. --Canadian Naval Review

Superb ... well-sourced, and benefits from resources provided by the Portuguese Admiralty. --African Studies Quarterly

À propos de cette édition

• Éditeur: Helion & Company
• Date d'édition: 2012
• ISBN 10: 1908916567
• ISBN 13: 9781908916563
• Reliure: Broché
• Nombre de pages: 264