Guinea-Bissau War of Independence

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Part of Portuguese Colonial Wars

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A PAIGC soldier with an AK-47

Date	January 23, 1963 - 1974
Location	Guinea-Bissau, Guinea
Result	Independent Guinea-Bissau.

Belligerents

Commanders

Strength

~35,000

~10,000

Casualties and losses

15,000 dead^[1]

Guinea-Bissau War of Independence was an armed conflict and national liberation struggle in Guinea-Bissau between 1963 and 1974.

1 Background
2 Conflict
3 End of hostilities
4 Independent Guinea-Bissau
5 Footnotes

[edit] Background

For more details on this topic, see History of Guinea-Bissau.

Guinea-Bissau and Cap Verde had been claimed by Portugal since 1446 and was a major trading post for slaves during the 18th century. The interior was however not conquered until the latter half of 19th century. Sporadic fighting continued during and the Bijagós Islands was not captured until 1936. In 1952 by a constitutional amendment Guinea-Bissau became an oversees province.

While there had always been local resistance it was not until 1956 the first liberation movement was founded by Amílcar Cabral and Rafael Barbosa, the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC).

The first major actitive of the PAIGC was a strike by dock-workers in Bissau on August 3, 1959. The colonial police violently repressed the strike and more than 50 people died, the incident became known as the Pijiguiti Massacre. The massacre led to a major upswing of popular support for the PAIGC.

By 1960 it was decided to move headquarters to Conakry in neighboring Guinea in order to prepare for an armed struggle. On April 18, 1961 PAIGC together with FRELIMO of Mozambique, MPLA of Angola and MLSTP of Sao Tome and Principe formed Conference of Nationalist Organizations of the Portuguese Colonies (CONCP) during a conference in Morocco. The main goal of the organization was cooperation of the different national liberation movement in Portuguese colonies.

[edit] Conflict

[edit] Insurgency

The first hostilities broke out in January 1963 when PAIGC guerrilla fighters attacked the Portuguese garrison in Tite, south of the capital Bissau. Similar guerrilla actions quickly spread across the colony, mainly in the south. Portugal responded soundly to the attacks and deployed a large garrison force. During the first years the Portuguese troops took mainly a defensive position.

[edit] Escalation

In 1968 commander António Spínola changed strategy and took the offensive pushing back PAIGC and gaining momentum. Efforts to undermine the organizational structure of the liberation movement also increased and culminated in 1970 with Operation Green Sea, an attempt to overthrow the PAIGC-friendly government of Guinea and cut off supply lines. The coup d'etat failed however several PAIGC ships where destroyed and several large POW camps with Portuguese soldiers was re-taken. This escalated the conflict with Algeria and Nigeria offering support for PAIGC and Soviet warships being sent to the area.

After 1968 Portugal had the upper hand but was constantly attacked by PAIGC troops, now supplied with Soviet material, most notably SA-7 rocket launchers, effetely undermining Portuguese air superiority.

[edit] Assassination of Amílcar Cabral

As part of the efforts to undermine the organizational structure of PAIGC, Portugal had tried to capture Amílcar Cabral for several years. After the failure of capturing him in 1970 the Portuguese started using agents within the PAIGC to remove Cabral. Together with a disgruntled former associate, agents assassinated Amílcar Cabral on January 20, 1973 in Conakry, Guinea. The assassination happened less than 15 months before end of hostilities.

[edit] End of hostilities

On April 25, 1974 the Carnation Revolution, a left-wing military led revolution, broke out in Portugal ending the authoritarian dictatorship of Estado Novo. The new regime quickly ordered cease-fire and began negotiating with PAIGC.

[edit] Independent Guinea-Bissau

Soldiers of PAIGC raises the flag of Guinea-Bissau in 1974.

Portugal granted full independence to Guinea-Bissau on September 10, 1974, after 11½ years of armed conflict. Luís Cabral, half-brother of Amílcar Cabral became president.