Dragoons of Angola

Portuguese Army cavalry unit, 1966–1975

1st Cavalry Group

Grupo de Cavalaria n.º 1 (Portuguese)

The insignia for the 1st Cavalry Group following their renaming in 1968.

Active| 1966–1975
Country| Portugal (Portuguese Angola)
Allegiance|  Portugal
Branch| Army
Type| Dragoons
Role| Air assault
Attrition warfare
Cavalry tactics
Charge
Close-quarters combat
Combined arms
Counterinsurgency
Desert warfare
Forward observer
Irregular warfare
Jungle warfare
Maneuver warfare
Patrolling
Raiding
Reconnaissance
Screening
Shock tactics
Tracking
Size| Battalion
Part of| Military Region of Angola
Engagements| Portuguese Colonial War

Military unit

The 1st Cavalry Group (Portuguese: Grupo de Cavalaria n.º 1), until 1968 the Reconnaissance Group of Angola (Portuguese: Grupo de Reconhecimento de Angola), and commonly known as the Dragoons of Angola (Portuguese: Dragões de Angola), was an elite cavalry (horseborne) unit of the Portuguese Army, that operated in the Angolan War of Independence against the communist guerrillas. The unit started to be raised in 1966 and was disbanded in 1975 due to the events of the Carnation Revolution in Lisbon, the end of the Portuguese Colonial War and the independence of Angola. In military history, it was probably one of the last units of real dragoons to be used in combat operations, excluding the Rhodesian Grey's Scouts.

A similar unit was being raised to operate in the Mozambican War of Independence, when it ended in 1974.

The designation "Dragoons of Angola" was just an honorary title. The official name of the unit was "Reconnaissance Group of Angola" until 1968 and then "1st Cavalry Group".

## History

[edit]

Portugal had historically employed units of dragoons in its colonies from the 18th through to the early 20th centuries. Particularly in Angola, squadrons of dragoons fought in the pacification campaigns of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, as well as in the World War I.

In 1966, the Portuguese Army created an experimental horse platoon, to operate against the guerrillas in the high grass region of the Eastern Angola. Each soldier of this unit was armed with a G3 battle rifle to use in combat on foot, and with a Walther P38 semi-automatic pistol to use while on horseback.[1] The troops on horseback were able to operate in difficult terrain (unsuited for motor vehicles), were less vulnerable to land mines and had the advantage of being able to control the area around them, with a clear view over the grass (which foot troops did not have). Moreover, these unconventional troops created a psychological impact over the enemy, who were not accustomed to dealing with horse troops and had no kind of training or strategy with which to face them.[1]

The experimental horse platoon was so successful that its entire parent battalion (the Reconnaissance Group of Angola) was transformed from an armoured reconnaissance unit equipped mainly with Panhard EBR armoured cars to a three squadron horse battalion known as the "Dragoons of Angola". One of the typical operations carried out by the Dragoons of Angola, in cooperation with airmobile forces, consisting of the dragoons chasing the guerrillas and pushing them into one direction, with the airmobile troops being launched from helicopter in the enemy rear, getting it trapped between the two forces.[2]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b Abbott & Volstad 1988.
2. ^ Cann 2005.

## Sources

[edit]

* Abbott, Peter; Volstad, Ronald (1988). Modern African Wars (2) - Angola and Mozambique 1961–74. Osprey Publishing.
* Cann, Jonh P. (2005). Counterinsurgency in Africa: The Portuguese Way of War, 1961-1974. Hailer Publishing.

## Links

[edit]

* Dragões de Angola (1961-1975) (in Portuguese)

Portuguese Colonial War

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Portuguese Colonial War

Background|

* Portuguese Empire
* Portuguese Angola
* Portuguese Mozambique
* Portuguese Guinea
* Estado Novo
* Annexation of Goa

Belligerents|

| Insurgents/aligned|

* MPLA
* FNLA
* UNITA
* FLEC
* FRELIMO
* PAIGC
* FLING
* United States
* Soviet Union
* China
* Cuba
* Zaire
* Algeria
* Tunisia
* Tanzania
* Zambia
* Senegal
* Guinea
* Congo
* Bulgaria
* Czechoslovakia
* Romania
* Israel
* Morocco

|

Portugal/aligned|

* Portugal
* South Africa
* Rhodesia
* Spain

Political leaders|

* pt
* Américo Tomás
* António de Oliveira Salazar
* Marcelo Caetano
* mpla
* Agostinho Neto
* Lúcio Lara
* fnla
* Holden Roberto
* unita
* Jonas Savimbi
* flec
* Luis Ranque Franque
* frelimo
* Eduardo Mondlane
* Samora Machel
* paigc
* Amílcar Cabral
* Aristides Pereira
* Luís Cabral

Military commanders|

* pt
* Francisco da Costa Gomes
* António de Spínola
* Kaúlza de Arriaga
* mpla
* Daniel Chipenda
* frelimo
* Filipe Samuel Magaia
* paigc
* João Bernardo Vieira

Order of battle|

* Portuguese Armed Forces
* Army
* Navy
* Air Force
* Irregulars
* People's Army of Liberation of Angola
* National Liberation Army of Angola
* Armed Forces of Liberation of Angola
* Revolutionary Armed Forces of the People
* Popular Forces of the Liberation of Mozambique

Military operations

| Angola
(4 February 1961 – 25 April 1974)|

* Strike in Baixa do Cassange
* Viriato
* Esmeralda
* Frente Leste

|

Guinea
(January 23, 1963 – September 10, 1974)|

* Pidjiguiti massacre
* Tridente
* Grifo
* Ciclone II
* Vulcano
* Gata Pequena
* Jove
* Cheche Disaster
* Mar Verde
* Ametista Real

Mozambique
(25 September 1964 – 8 September 1974)|

* Mueda Massacre
* Águia
* Marte
* Zeta
* Nó Górdio
* Abanadela
* Penada
* Marosca

Diplomatic front|

* Conference of Nationalist Organizations of the Portuguese Colonies
* United Nations Security Council Resolution 180
* Alcora Exercise
* United Nations Security Council Resolution 312
* United Nations Security Council Resolution 322
* United Nations Security Council Resolution 374

Aftermath|

* Carnation Revolution
* Alvor Agreement
* 24/20 order
* Lusaka Accord
* United Nations Security Council Resolution 374
* Angolan Civil War
* Mozambican Civil War
* Impact in Africa

Popular culture|

* No, or the Vain Glory of Command
* April Captains
* The Two Faces of War
* A Guerra

Other|

* Portuguese Commandos
* Flechas
* Processo Revolucionário Em Curso
* Retornados
* Angola–Portugal relations
* Portuguese Angolans
* Mozambique–Portugal relations
* Portuguese Mozambicans
* Heckler & Koch G3
* Bravia Chaimite
* Dragoons of Angola
* Museum of the Armed Forces (Angola)
* RENAMO
* League of Combatants
* Portuguese Paratroop Nurses

* Category

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