Special Groups (Portugal)
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{{Infobox military unit , unit_name=Special Groups
''Grupos Especiais'' , image= , caption= , country=
Portuguese Angola Portuguese Angola refers to Angola during the historic period when it was a territory under Portuguese rule in southwestern Africa. In the same context, it was known until 1951 as Portuguese West Africa (officially the State of West Africa). I ...
,
Portuguese Mozambique Portuguese Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique) or Portuguese East Africa (''África Oriental Portuguesa'') were the common terms by which Mozambique was designated during the period in which it was a Portuguese Empire, Portuguese colony. Portuguese Moz ...
, allegiance={{flag, Portugal, name=Portugal , type=
Commando Royal Marines from 40 Commando on patrol in the Sangin">40_Commando.html" ;"title="Royal Marines from 40 Commando">Royal Marines from 40 Commando on patrol in the Sangin area of Afghanistan are pictured A commando is a combatant, or operativ ...
, branch=
Portuguese Army The Portuguese Army ( pt, Exército Português) is the land component of the Armed Forces of Portugal and is also its largest branch. It is charged with the defence of Portugal, in co-operation with other branches of the Armed Forces. With its ...
, dates=1966-1975 , specialization =
Air assault Air assault is the movement of ground-based military forces by vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft—such as the helicopter—to seize and hold key terrain which has not been fully secured, and to directly engage enemy forces behind e ...

Close-quarters combat Close-quarters combat (CQC) or close-quarters battle (CQB) is a tactical situation that involves a physical fight with firearms involved between multiple combatants at short range. It can occur between military units, police/corrections officers ...

Counterinsurgency Counterinsurgency (COIN) is "the totality of actions aimed at defeating irregular forces". The Oxford English Dictionary defines counterinsurgency as any "military or political action taken against the activities of guerrillas or revolutionar ...

Desert warfare In desert warfare, the heat and lack of water can sometimes be more dangerous than the enemy. The desert terrain is the second most inhospitable to troops following a cold environment. The lack of water, extremes of heat/cold, and lack of cover ma ...

Direct action Direct action originated as a political activist term for economic and political acts in which the actors use their power (e.g. economic or physical) to directly reach certain goals of interest, in contrast to those actions that appeal to oth ...

Forward observer An artillery observer, artillery spotter or forward observer (FO) is responsible for directing artillery and mortar fire onto a target. It may be a ''forward air controller'' (FAC) for close air support (CAS) and spotter for naval gunfire sup ...

Irregular warfare Irregular warfare (IW) is defined in United States joint doctrine as "a violent struggle among state and non-state actors for legitimacy and influence over the relevant populations." Concepts associated with irregular warfare are older than the te ...

Jungle warfare Jungle warfare is a term used to cover the special techniques needed for military units to survive and fight in jungle terrain. It has been the topic of extensive study by military strategists, and was an important part of the planning for bo ...

Mountain warfare Mountain warfare (also known as alpine warfare) is warfare in mountains or similarly rough terrain. Mountain ranges are of strategic importance since they often act as a natural border, and may also be the origin of a water source (for example, t ...

Parachuting Parachuting, including also skydiving, is a method of transiting from a high point in the atmosphere to the surface of Earth with the aid of gravity, involving the control of speed during the descent using a parachute or parachutes. For ...

Patrolling Patrolling is a military tactic. Small groups or individual units are deployed from a larger formation to achieve a specific objective and then return. The tactic of patrolling may be applied to ground troops, armored units, naval units, and co ...

Raiding Raiding may refer to: * The present participle of the verb Raid (disambiguation), which itself has several meanings * Raid (military) * Raid (video games), a group of video game players who join forces * Raiding, Austria, a town in Austria * Par ...

Reconnaissance In military operations, reconnaissance or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, terrain, and other activities. Examples of reconnaissance include patrolling by troops (skirmisher ...

Special operations Special operations (S.O.) are military activities conducted, according to NATO, by "specially designated, organized, selected, trained, and equipped forces using unconventional techniques and modes of employment". Special operations may include ...

Special reconnaissance Special reconnaissance (SR) or Recon Team is conducted by small units of highly trained military personnel, usually from special forces units or military intelligence organizations, who operate behind enemy lines, avoiding direct combat and detect ...

Tracking Tracking may refer to: Science and technology Computing * Tracking, in computer graphics, in match moving (insertion of graphics into footage) * Tracking, composing music with music tracker software * Eye tracking, measuring the position of t ...

Urban warfare Urban warfare is combat conducted in urban areas such as towns and cities. Urban combat differs from combat in the open at both the operational and the tactical levels. Complicating factors in urban warfare include the presence of civilians and t ...
, command_structure=
Portuguese Armed Forces The Portuguese Armed Forces ( pt, Forças Armadas) are the military of Portugal. They include the General Staff of the Armed Forces, the other unified bodies and the three service branches: Portuguese Navy, Portuguese Army and Portuguese Air F ...
, size= , current_commander= , garrison= , ceremonial_chief= , nickname= GE , motto= , colors= , march= , mascot= , battles=
Portuguese Colonial War The Portuguese Colonial War ( pt, Guerra Colonial Portuguesa), also known in Portugal as the Overseas War () or in the former colonies as the War of Liberation (), and also known as the Angolan, Guinea-Bissau and Mozambican War of Independence, ...
, notable_commanders= , anniversaries= The Special Groups or GE (''Grupos Especiais'' in
Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...
) were small military units (commando) of
platoon A platoon is a military unit typically composed of two or more squads, sections, or patrols. Platoon organization varies depending on the country and the branch, but a platoon can be composed of 50 people, although specific platoons may range ...
size, set up from 1966 to 1974 by the
Portuguese Armed Forces The Portuguese Armed Forces ( pt, Forças Armadas) are the military of Portugal. They include the General Staff of the Armed Forces, the other unified bodies and the three service branches: Portuguese Navy, Portuguese Army and Portuguese Air F ...
in
Angola , national_anthem = " Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...
and in
Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...
. Later, Paratrooper Special Groups or GEP (''Grupos Especiais Paraquedistas'') were formed, these being units able to conduct airborne operations. By 1974 there were 84 GE and 12 GEP, with 7,700 members, operating in Mozambique and 90 GE, with 3,069 members, operating in Angola.


Constitution and Training

Although they were trained and operated under the command of the Portuguese African Command (and
Portuguese Air Force , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = 1 July , equipment = , equipment_label ...
for the GEP), the GE were not integrated into the Armed Forces and were considered
paramilitary A paramilitary is an organization whose structure, tactics, training, subculture, and (often) function are similar to those of a professional military, but is not part of a country's official or legitimate armed forces. Paramilitary units carr ...
forces. The GE were made up of local volunteers from African tribes, trained and led by senior Portuguese Army NCOs and officers and some
Rhodesian Rhodesia (, ), officially from 1970 the Republic of Rhodesia, was an unrecognised state in Southern Africa from 1965 to 1979, equivalent in territory to modern Zimbabwe. Rhodesia was the ''de facto'' successor state to the British colony of S ...
veterans from the Second World War. With the exception of the GEP, each GE was usually fully established by members of the same ethnic African group. The GE received a similar training to
commandos Royal Marines from 40 Commando on patrol in the Sangin">40_Commando.html" ;"title="Royal Marines from 40 Commando">Royal Marines from 40 Commando on patrol in the Sangin area of Afghanistan are pictured A commando is a combatant, or operativ ...
and the GEP to
paratroopers A paratrooper is a military parachutist—someone trained to parachute into a military operation, and usually functioning as part of an airborne force. Military parachutists (troops) and parachutes were first used on a large scale during Worl ...
. The GEP were created and used only in Mozambique. Training was at the Company level. A few Rhodesian veterans of the Second World War were tasked with the training, like Squadron Leader (retd) Francis Nicholson of the
No. 237 Squadron RAF No. 237 Squadron was a Royal Air Force aircraft squadron. During the Second World War the unit was formed from No. 1 Squadron Southern Rhodesian Air Force for operations in North Africa. History No. 237 Squadron was formed at RAF Cattewater in A ...
, Major (retd) Richard Brent, Company Sergeant Major Blessed Mbangwa and Platoon Sergeant (retd) Henry Utsaya of the
Rhodesian African Rifles The Rhodesian African Rifles (RAR) was a regiment of the Rhodesian Army. The ranks of the RAR were recruited from the black African population, although officers were generally from the white population. The regiment was formed in May 1940 in the ...
, Colour Sergeant (retd) Tony MacDonald of the
1 Special Service Battalion 1 Special Service Battalion (usually abbreviated to ) is an armoured regiment of the South African Army and only one of two such in its regular force. The Regiment is based at Tempe near Bloemfontein. It was previously known in Afrikaans as () ...
, Platoon Sergeant (retd) Angus Fraser and Corporal (retd) James Harris of the
Rhodesia Regiment The Rhodesia Regiment (RR) was one of the oldest and largest regiments in the Rhodesian Army. It served on the side of the United Kingdom in the Second Boer War and the First and Second World Wars and served the Republic of Rhodesia in the Rhode ...
. Also involved in training and advisory roles were serving Rhodesian Police officers, Senior Sergeant Prosper Ndabingi, Senior Sergeant William Nkomo, Staff Lance Section Officer Piet Cronje and Chief Inspector Richard Davis of the
British South Africa Police The British South Africa Police (BSAP) was, for most of its existence, the police force of Rhodesia (renamed Zimbabwe in 1980). It was formed as a paramilitary force of mounted infantrymen in 1889 by Cecil Rhodes' British South Africa Company, from ...
.


Organization

Each GE or GEP was organized as a combat group (
platoon A platoon is a military unit typically composed of two or more squads, sections, or patrols. Platoon organization varies depending on the country and the branch, but a platoon can be composed of 50 people, although specific platoons may range ...
-sized), consisting of an officer (commander of group), a Sergeant (assistant) and 28 soldiers, organized into 3 sections, each consisting of 2 squads. Section Leaders usually held the rank of Corporal. The commander and Sergeant from each group were typically military or former military personnel. The remaining fighters were local Africans. Usually four GEs or GEPs formed a company. A Company headquarters element had the co-located assistance of two
Alouette II Alouette or alouettes may refer to: Music and literature * "Alouette" (song), a French-language children's song * Alouette, a character in ''The King of Braves GaoGaiGar'' Aerospace * SNCASE Alouette, a utility helicopter developed in France i ...
helicopters loaned from the
Portuguese Air Force , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = 1 July , equipment = , equipment_label ...
or the Police, for transporting, medevac, target location and close air support during individual Platoon or even Section operations. A Company would usually be led by a Portuguese
Major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...
of the Infantry or Artillery with a
Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
as second-in-command, assisted by three
Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...
s, four
Sergeant Major Sergeant major is a senior non-commissioned rank or appointment in many militaries around the world. History In 16th century Spain, the ("sergeant major") was a general officer. He commanded an army's infantry, and ranked about third in the ...
s and eight
Sergeant Sergeant (abbreviated to Sgt. and capitalized when used as a named person's title) is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and other uni ...
s looking after Intelligence, Operations, Training and Logistics, and cover an area of 100 square kilometres and population of 50,000. A Platoon had 2 Rifle Sections armed with
FN FAL The FAL (a French acronym for (English: "Light Automatic Rifle")), is a battle rifle designed in Belgium by Dieudonné Saive and manufactured by FN Herstal (simply known as FN). During the Cold War the FAL was adopted by many countries of th ...
and one 'heavy' section armed with two
Two-inch mortar The Ordnance SBML two-inch mortar, or more commonly, just "two-inch mortar", was a British mortar issued to the British Army and the Commonwealth armies, that saw use during the Second World War and later. It was more portable than larger mort ...
s and two
M67 recoilless rifle The M67 recoilless rifle is a 90 mm (3.55 inch) anti-tank recoilless rifle made in the United States and later in South Korea. It could also be employed in an anti-personnel role with the use of the M590 antipersonnel round. It was designed ...
s. The 2 rifle sections each also had one
FN MAG The FN MAG is a Belgian 7.62 mm general-purpose machine gun, designed in the early 1950s at Fabrique Nationale (FN) by Ernest Vervier. It has been used by more than 80 countries and it has been made under licence in several countries, inc ...
operator with another Rifleman carrying spare ammunition and barrels; and one Rifleman with a
Rifle Grenade A rifle grenade is a grenade that uses a rifle-based launcher to permit a longer effective range than would be possible if the grenade were thrown by hand. The practice of projecting grenades with rifle-mounted launchers was first widely used du ...
enabled
FN FAL The FAL (a French acronym for (English: "Light Automatic Rifle")), is a battle rifle designed in Belgium by Dieudonné Saive and manufactured by FN Herstal (simply known as FN). During the Cold War the FAL was adopted by many countries of th ...
carrying three
ENERGA anti-tank rifle grenade The Energa anti-tank rifle grenade is a rifle-launched anti-tank grenade that is propelled by a ballistite-filled blank cartridge. The name ''Energa'' comes from the firm in Liechtenstein that designed it, the ''Anstalt für die ENtwicklung von ER ...
s in the rifle grenade role. The heavy Section was armed with
FBP submachine gun FBP is a 9 mm submachine gun originally developed from a design first conceived in 1940 by Gonçalves Cardoso, an officer of artillery in the Portuguese Army. The onset of World War II halted development of the weapon, which was further modified ...
s with one lone Rifleman armed with an
FN FAL The FAL (a French acronym for (English: "Light Automatic Rifle")), is a battle rifle designed in Belgium by Dieudonné Saive and manufactured by FN Herstal (simply known as FN). During the Cold War the FAL was adopted by many countries of th ...
. From 1973 onwards, many of the Heavy Sections tended to discard their extra
M67 recoilless rifle The M67 recoilless rifle is a 90 mm (3.55 inch) anti-tank recoilless rifle made in the United States and later in South Korea. It could also be employed in an anti-personnel role with the use of the M590 antipersonnel round. It was designed ...
in favour of a single
M2 Browning The M2 machine gun or Browning .50 caliber machine gun (informally, "Ma Deuce") is a heavy machine gun that was designed towards the end of World War I by John Browning. Its design is similar to Browning's earlier M1919 Browning machine gun, w ...
Heavy Machine Gun, mounted on a jeep. Each Platoon was armed with two
AN/MPQ-4 The Radar Set AN/MPQ-4 was a US Army counter-battery radar primarily used to find the location of enemy mortars and larger artillery in a secondary role. Built by General Electric, it first entered service in 1958, replacing the earlier and much ...
counter mortar Radars, with which the Platoon Leader could track the location of enemy mortars and call in Artillery and Air support. The Headquarters' Platoon of the Company also had a Heavy Section used a flying firefighting squad for all Platoons, armed with 2
M2 Browning The M2 machine gun or Browning .50 caliber machine gun (informally, "Ma Deuce") is a heavy machine gun that was designed towards the end of World War I by John Browning. Its design is similar to Browning's earlier M1919 Browning machine gun, w ...
HMGs and 1 mounted on two jeeps and a single
M40 recoilless rifle The M40 recoilless rifle is a portable, crew-served 105 mm recoilless rifle made in the United States. Intended primarily as an anti-tank weapon, it could also be employed in an antipersonnel role with the use of an antipersonnel-tracer fl ...
on a jeep, commanded by a Sergeant. The Heavy Section could be deployed into operation by helicopters. While the GEP were all grouped together under a single parent unit the Batalhão de Grupos Especiais Páraquedistas (Battalion of Special Groups Paratroopers), the GE were dispersed, operating under the command of several regular Army units and employed as their intervention sub-units.


Symbols and uniforms

The GE had, as a standard uniform, a completely black
battledress A combat uniform, also called field uniform, battledress or military fatigues, is a casual type of uniform used by military, police, fire and other public uniformed services for everyday fieldwork and combat duty purposes, as opposed to dress ...
. However, they often used the camouflaged uniform of the Portuguese Army in the field. As headgear, the GE used a Yellow beret and one GEP garnet red beret, both with the emblem of GE (Shield of Mozambique Province on a dagger and surrounded by a laurel wreath). The GEP wore the Portuguese Air Force paratroopers camouflaged uniform and a Maroon beret. The GEP was the first Portuguese military force to use a red beret, prior to the commandos who only officially adopted its use in 1974.


See also

*
Flechas The Flechas (Portuguese for ''Arrows'') were a elite paramilitary tactical unit of the Portuguese secret police (PIDE, latter renamed DGS) that operated in Angola and Mozambique during the Portuguese Colonial War. Unlike most of the other Portugue ...
*
Portuguese irregular forces in the Overseas War In various theaters of operations in the Portuguese Colonial War arose at the outset the need to create various types of irregular forces to help the Portuguese Armed Forces. These irregular forces were usually held at the local level of Theater ...
*
Portuguese Colonial War The Portuguese Colonial War ( pt, Guerra Colonial Portuguesa), also known in Portugal as the Overseas War () or in the former colonies as the War of Liberation (), and also known as the Angolan, Guinea-Bissau and Mozambican War of Independence, ...


External links


GRUPOS ESPECIAIS PÁRA-QUEDISTAS (GEP – MOÇAMBIQUE)
(Portuguese} Special forces of Portugal