Operation Mar Verde

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Memorial in memory of the November 22nd 1970 attack

Operation Mar Verde ( Portuguese Operação Mar Verde = Operation Green Sea) was the name of a military strike by the Portuguese armed forces in November 1970 against Guinea .

The operation was carried out by the Special Division No. 23 of the Marines , stationed in Guinea-Bissau from 1969 to 1971 , under the command of the commander (frigate captain) Alpoim Calvão . Guinean dissidents were involved in the operation as teams. Commander in chief was the military governor of the province of Guinea-Bissau (from 1968 to 1973) António de Spínola .

The plan consisted of an amphibious assault on Conakry , the capital of neighboring Guinea , with the aim of freeing Portuguese prisoners from the colonial war, destroying the boats and arming the PAIGC , the African Party for the Independence of Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verdes , and in particular the elimination of their leaders, first and foremost Amílcar Cabral , as well as the Guinean President Sekou Touré , whose regime should be overthrown.

The objectives of the operation, including the execution of the murder orders, were only partially achieved - Amílcar Cabral was out of the country. Sekou Touré's summer residence was destroyed, the presidential palace was undamaged and Touré was unharmed. Likewise, the destruction of the Guinea-Conakry air force was not achieved, the platoon leader of the Portuguese unit in charge of it deserted, and the aircraft ( MiG-17 ) were at an airport in the interior for training purposes.

The prisoners of war were liberated and the speedboats were destroyed. After the liberated embarked, the Portuguese left the Guinean dissidents on their own in Conakry. In Resolution 275, the UN Security Council condemned the Portuguese approach.

Literary processing

The company was founded by Frederick Forsyth in 1974 in his novel The Dogs of War ( The Dogs of War fictionalized).

literature

  • Cord Eberspächer, Gerhard Wiechmann: System conflict in Africa. German-German conflict in the Cold War using the example of Guinea 1969–1972. In: Journal of the SED State Research Association. No. 23, 2008, ISSN  0948-9878 , pp. 30-41.
  • To mar de mistérios. Operacao Mar Verde. In: Aniceto Afonso, Carlos de Matos Gomes: Guerra Colonial. Notícias, Lisbon 2000, ISBN 972-46-1192-2 , pp. 502-505.
  • Antonio Luis Marinho: Operação mar verde. To documento para a história. Actividades, Lisbon 2006, ISBN 972-759-817-X ( Temas & Debates ).
  • Dalila Cabrita Mateus: A PIDE / DGS na guerra colonial (1961–1974). Terramar, Lisbon 2004, ISBN 972-710-369-3 ( Arquivos do século XX 7).
  • Adalbert Rittmüller: Portugal shot, the GDR won, the Federal Republic lost. The role of the GDR in the breakdown of diplomatic relations by Guinea. In: Journal of the SED State Research Association. Issue 27, 2010, pp. 130-147.

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