(Paperback)

In 1961, Portugal found itself fighting a war to retain its colonial possessions and preserve the remnants of its empire. It was almost completely unprepared to do so, and this was particularly evident in its ability to project power and to control the vast colonial spaces in Africa.

(Paperback)

In 1966 Portugal needed a force that could combine mobility with the ability to engage insurgents; one solution was to create horse cavalry units.

(Paperback)

(Paperback)

Portuguese paratroopers (or 'paras') began as a stepchild of the army and found a home in the Portuguese Air Force in 1955. Initially, the post-World War Two Portuguese Army seemed to have had mixed emotions about the need for elite, special-purpose forces that operated in small units with the attendant flexibility and elevated lethality. Shock tro