Entry 14
By: Mailman653

FNLA Mercenary, Angola 1975

Angola's independence wars against Portuguese colonial rule found significant numbers of mercenaries being recruited into the anti-Portuguese causes. The Frente Nacional de Libertacao de Angola (FNLA) in particular attracted many mercenary soldiers from a variety of Western and African nations. By virtue of their non-orthodox status, mercenaries tended to dress in whatever was at hand. In Angola that usually meant Soviet or US army surplus or captured Portuguese equipment. Some 11,000 Portuguese troops were killed within the three territories of Angola, Mozambique and Portuguese Guinea by 1975. In Angola, the FNLA's objectives were severely weakened by a lack of political and military strategy. When independence did finally come to Angola in 1975, it was the Marxist MPLA which took power, despite the fact that the FNLA had been supported in its cause by both the USA and South Africa. In the ensuing civil war on the Portuguese departure, the FNLA were beaten comprehensively by the MPLA forces.