Portuguese Colonial War
Guerra Colonial Portuguesa
Part of the Decolonisation of Africa and the Cold War
Guerra Colonial Portuguesa.jpg
Date4 February 1961 – 25 April 1974
(13 years, 2 months and 3 weeks)
Location
Angola, Guinea-Bissau, and Mozambique
Result

Carnation Revolution and End of the Portuguese Empire

  • Portuguese military victory in Angola and Mozambique, military stalemate in Guinea Bissau
Territorial
changes
Portuguese overseas territories in Africa become independent.
Belligerents

PortugalPortugal

Supported by:
  •  South Africa
  •  Rhodesia
  •  Malawi
  •  Swaziland
  •  Spain
  • MPLA
  • FNLA
  • UNITA
  • FLEC
  • PAIGC
  • MozambiqueFRELIMO
Supported by:
  •  Soviet Union
  •  Cuba
  •  China
  •  United States
  •  United Kingdom
  •  Zaire
  •  Algeria
  •  Tunisia
  •  Tanzania
  •  Zambia
  •  Senegal
  •  Guinea
  • Republic of the CongoCongo
  • EgyptEgypt
  • BulgariaBulgaria
  •  Czechoslovakia
  •  Romania
  • BrazilBrazil
  •  Sweden
  •  Yugoslavia
  •  Panama
Commanders and leaders
  • PortugalAntónio de Oliveira Salazar
  • PortugalMarcelo Caetano
  • PortugalAmérico Tomás
Angola:
  • PortugalFrancisco da Costa Gomes (1970-1972)
Portuguese Guinea:
  • PortugalArnaldo Schulz (1964-1968)
  • PortugalAntónio de Spínola (1968-1973)
  • PortugalJosé Manuel Bettencourt Rodrigues (1973-1974)
Mozambique:
  • PortugalAntónio Augusto dos Santos (1964–69)
  • PortugalKaúlza de Arriaga (1969–74)
Angola:
  • Agostinho Neto
  • José Eduardo dos Santos
  • Lúcio Lara
  • Holden Roberto
  • Jonas Savimbi
Portuguese Guinea:
  • Amílcar Cabral †
  • Luís Cabral
  • João Bernardo Vieira
  • Domingos Ramos
  • Pansau Na Isna
  • Francisco Mende
Mozambique:
  • MozambiqueEduardo Mondlane (1962–69) †
  • MozambiqueJoaquim Chissano (1962–75)
  • MozambiqueFilipe Samuel Magaia (1964–66)
  • MozambiqueSamora Machel (1969–75)
Strength
800,000 total men mobilized for military and civilian support service. Average of 107,000 men deployed in Africa every year.

40,000–60,000 guerrillas[circular reference]+30,000 in Angola[circular reference]

  • 10,000 in Portuguese Guinea[circular reference]
  • 10–15,000 in Mozambique[circular reference]
Casualties and losses

31,785 casualties

  • 16,278 killed
    • 8,831 Portuguese killed (of which 6,338 were ethnic Portuguese from mainland Portugal)
    • 7,447 African troops executed by PAIGC
  • 15,507 wounded (physical and/or psychological)

26,000+ casualties

  • 26,000 killed
    • ~10,000 killed in Angola
    • ~6,000 killed in Portuguese Guinea
    • ~10,000 killed in Mozambique
  • Unknown wounded
Civilian casualties: ~110,000 dead
  • 50,000 civilians killed in Mozambique
  • 50,000 civilians killed in Angola
  • 5,000 civilians killed in Portuguese Guinea
  • 5,000 white settlers killed