This is the second volume on the Brazil’s Araguaia War. The author, Antonio Luis Sapienza wrote,

In Volume 1, the military regimes that ruled Brazil during the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s were examined. This included an overview of the various guerilla groups operating within Brazil, as well as an analysis of the military strength of the Brazilian armed forces. This current volume focuses on the operational aspects of the conflict, detailing the guerilla actions and the military operations that ultimately dismantled these groups. The efforts targeted not only the guerillas in the Amazon region but also the urban factions. The military government’s directive was explicitly to ‘wipe them off the map’ at any cost, or, as they phrased it, to ‘root out the communist cancer’ – a mission that was ruthlessly executed.

The final chapter of this volume analyzes the factors that led to the catastrophic failure of the guerilla movements in Brazil, particularly those in the Amazon and their urban logistical support networks. Unlike Argentina, where top military leaders faced trials and convictions for alleged war crimes, Brazil saw no such accountability when its military relinquished power. As a result, the repression of guerilla forces remains a taboo subject among Brazilian military circles, rarely discussed or investigated. Few have dared to publicly share their perspectives on this contentious history. This volume seeks to shed light on that dark and often-looked chapter in Brazil’s past.

Readers are fortunate that author Antonio Luis Sapienza continues his insightful writing on events that those in power wish to wipe away from history. Antonio Luis delves deeply into Central and South American twentieth century conflicts that have shaped that part of our world today. The author’s impressive over 18 books in this series served him well to tell this bloody story.

This 60-page book is a part of Helion & Company’s @War Series. Araguaia War

Volume 2: Counterinsurgency Operations Against the Communist Guerilla in Brazil, 1967-1974. Counterinsurgency and Legacy: The Struggle for Control in Araguaia (Helion No. HEL2070, Latin America@ War No. 46) is outlined in the familiar @War format and has 158 black and white photographs, 16 color photographs, 18 color profiles, one each black and white and color map, five tables, supporting text, and detailed captions.

The book is composed of the following sections:

• Abbreviations and Acronyms
• Acknowledgements
• Introduction
• The Fight Against the Araguaia Guerilla
  • Background
  • The Organization of the Araguaia Guerilla Force (Força de Guerilha do
  • Araguaia, FOGUERA)
  • Beginnings
  • The Military Operations
  • Operação Carajás 70 (Operation Carajás 70)
  • Operação Mesopotâmia (Operation Mesopotamia)
  • Operação Peixe I, II, III, IV & V (Operation Fish I, II, III, IV & V)
  • Operação Cigana (Operation Gipsy)
  • Military Deployment in Araguaia
  • Operação Papagaio (Operation Parrot)
  • Operação Sucuri (Operation Anaconda)
  • Operação Marajoara (Operation Marajoara)
  • Aerial Missions during Operation Marajoara
  • Operação Limpeza (Operation Cleanup)
• The Aftermath
  • Epilogue
• Appendices
  • Interview with Brazilian Air Force Colonel Pedro Corrêa Cabral, veteran of the Araguaia Campaign against the guerrilla
• V. Personnel and Casualties of the Araguaia War
• Notes
• Sources
• About the Author

Guerillas and revolutions do not form and operate in a vacuum. The Paulistas, as the rural locals called the guerillas, mainly came from the large Brazilian cities of São Paulo and Minas Gerais.

When one of the guerrilla’s told a local caboclo (mixed indigenous Brazilian and European ancestry) that one of the Cid’s nephews was good with a machete, he received the answer, ‘He must be really good with a pen’, as he looked to intellectual to be fighting in the jungle (the machete being the traditional symbol of a Brazilian peasant working in agriculture, while the pen symbolized university students).

The Brazilian military’s initial operations against the guerillas were equally amateurish using conventional methods against an insurgency. The Brazilian military was a quick study and quickly adapted their techniques and tactics to combat the communist guerillas successfully. The author does an incredible job of breaking down this complex and confusing counter-insurgency war that was largely unknown to not only the world, but in Brazil as well. The guerillas were hunted down ruthlessly and most disappeared, along with the records. This is a fascinating story of a relatively short counterinsurgency from 1967-1974 and shows how the military successfully deployed and can defeat a threat when given the resources. It also showcased the abuses incurred when a government is not beholden to its people.

Former President General Emílio Garrastazu Médici, after 10 years of leaving power, declared in a public statement: “It was a war, after which it was possible to return peace to Brazil. I put an end to terrorism in this country. If we did not accept war, if we did not act drastically, we would still have terrorism today.”

Modelers will find good photographs and color profiles of mainly American foreign assistance equipment and vehicles sold to Brazil. Among the pages are the GMC-Biselli DUWK, the EE-9 Cascavel (Brazilian six wheeled vehicle based on the M8 Greyhound), M41 Walker Bulldog, B-26 Invader, Lockheed P2V-5 (P-2E) Neptune, Stinson L-9A Voyager, Cessna L-19E Bird Dog, North American T-6, Bell 47G Sioux helicopter, Bell UH-1D and H models, Bell 206A helicopter, DHC-5A Caribou/Buffalo (Brazilian C-115 Bufalo), C-130s, PBY-5A Catalinas, C-47s, and soldiers and marines in the field. The aircraft, particularly, are resplendent in the unique Brazilian star and fin flashes in the national colors of dark green and yellow, with blue and white.

Profuse thanks to Casemate and IPMS-USA for providing the review sample.