Portal:Military history of Africa

The Military history of Africa Portal

War memorial square in Massawa, Eritrea

The military history of Africa is one of the oldest and most diverse military histories. Africa is a continent of diverse regions with diverse people speaking hundreds of different languages with many different cultures and religions. These differences have been the source of much conflict.

Like the history of Africa, African military history is often divided by region. North Africa was part of the Mediterranean cultures and was integral to the military history of antiquity. The military history of modern Africa may be divided into three broad time periods: pre-colonial, colonial, and post-colonial.

Featured article

A fragmentary statue of Ahmose I.

Ahmose I (sometimes written Amosis I and meaning The Moon is Born) was a pharaoh of ancient Egypt and the founder of the Eighteenth dynasty. He was a member of the Theban royal house, the son of pharaoh Tao II Seqenenre and brother of the last pharaoh of the Seventeenth dynasty, King Kamose. Sometime during the reign of his father or grandfather, Thebes rebelled against the Hyksos, the rulers of Lower Egypt. When he was seven his father was killed,^[1] and when he was about ten his brother died of unknown causes, after reigning only three years. Ahmose I assumed the throne after the death of his brother,^[2] and upon coronation became known as Neb-pehty-re (The Lord of Strength is Re).

During his reign, he completed the conquest and expulsion of the Hyksos from the delta region, restored Theban rule over the whole of Egypt and successfully reasserted Egyptian power in its formerly subject territories of Nubia and Canaan.^[3] He then reorganized the administration of the country, reopened quarries, mines and trade routes and began massive construction projects of a type that had not been undertaken since the time of the Middle Kingdom. This building program culminated in the construction of the last pyramid built by native Egyptian rulers. Ahmose's reign laid the foundations for the New Kingdom, under which Egyptian power reached its peak. His reign is usually dated to about 1550–1525 BC.

References

Selected biography

Kaúlza de Arriaga (January 18, 1915 - February 3, 2004) was a Portuguese Brigadier General, writer, professor and politician. He was minister of National Defense between 1953 and 1955 and he was commander of the Terrestrial Forces in Moçambique from 1969 until 1974 during the Mozambican War of Independence.

Arriaga completed a course in mathematics and engineering and then volunteered for the Portuguese Army on November 1, 1935. He took a Military and Civil Engineering course in the Military Academy which he graduated from in 1939, and was assigned to the general staff of the Portuguese Institute of Military Studies. Here he petitioned for reforms to the conscription system, as well as training and the integration of paratroopers into the Portuguese Air Force. Arriaga commanded the Portuguese forces in the Mozambican conflict from 1969 until 1974, taking over from General Augusto dos Santos and organising the ill-fated Operation Knot Górdio in 1970.

Arrigaga took a decisive role in the Carnation Revolution of April 25, 1974 in Lisbon. he held a number of political positions during the unrest, including Head of the Ministry of Defense Cabinet, Undersecretary of State for Aeronautics, professor of the Institute of High Military Studies, president of the Nuclear Energy commission and executive president of the oil company Angol SA. he was president of an extremely right wing political party during elections in 1980.

Quotes

"In view of my services in Africa, I have the chance of dying by poison. Two generals have brought it with them. It is fatal in three seconds. If I take the poison, none of the usual steps will be taken against my family; that is, against you. They will also leave my staff alone." — Statement from Rommel's suicide note, choosing death by cyanide, rather than one involving the threatened persecution of his family and staff, after being implicated in a plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler.

Equipment

Aérospatiale SA-318 BW Alouette II

The Alouette II is a light helicopter originally manufactured by Sud Aviation and later Aérospatiale of France. The Alouette II is the first helicopter to use a gas turbine instead of a conventional heavier piston engine.

It was mostly used for military purposes in observation, photography, air/sea rescue, liaison and training but it has also carried anti-tank missiles and homing torpedoes. As a civilian helicopter it was put to use as a casualty evacuation (with two external stretcher panniers), crop-spraying and flying crane (with a 500kg external sling load).

Alouette II is used by Angola, Benin, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Côte d'Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Guinea-Bissau, Morocco, Senegal, Togo and Tunisia.

Selected picture

On this day...

22 May

• No military event recorded.

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