When it comes to the military history of Africa, it is a checkerboard of a multitude of generally smaller conflicts precipitated by a host of issues, from civil war to ethnic tensions to the demise of colonialism. Having an interest in military history, especially air warfare, I am intrigued by what lies hidden from my knowledge of the people, equipment, motivations, strategies, and the shaping of the history of this continent.

The Africa@War series divides this vast topic into bite-sized, localized fare that brings all of these nuances of the movement of history to light. This title brings to light the erosion of Portugal’s colonial hold on Portuguese Guinea, and the role of air warfare in the conflict.

A Very Brief History the Krankenpanzerwagen

The Krankenpanzerwagen is another lesser-known version of the Sd.Kfz. 251 and as such a lightly armored semi-tracked vehicle—in plain English, it’s an ambulance.

From the manufacturer’s webpage, this is how ICM describes this vehicle:

Sd.Kfz.251/8 Ausf.A WWII German Ambulance

This is the second book about Portuguese forces that I have read, authored by José Augusto Matos (he co-authored Sanctuary Lost, Portugal’s Air War for Guinea 1961-1974, Volume 1, with Matthew M. Hurley). Having read both books, I now better understand the author’s style and attention to detail. This is Zelia Oliveira’s first book in the series. As the title states, this book is the road to the Portuguese Coup of 1974 and covers primarily the period from 1961 to 12 March 1974 in amazing detail (there are ten pages of sources, bibliography, and notes).