MAP

Operation Maria

Portuguese Navy ships arrived in the southern reaches of the Mozambique Channel in early March, while the war across their former colony raged. A wire from Lisbon announced their intention: the rescue of Portuguese people trapped in Mozambique. The answer from Lourenço Marques was stark and final: no permission to land would be granted.

Thus, the machinery of war went into motion. Portuguese ships and Marines had orders not to take no for an answer. The Portuguese Navy swiftly adopted a war footing, and the stage for the Battle of Lourenço Marques was set.

General Spínola’s small navy sortied before it could be destroyed at port, leaving to guard the bay and, hopefully, provide a moving target for the attacking Portuguese. Reconnaissance flights undertaken by the Portuguese were sighted, and calls went out to Beira to send aloft the Mozambican Air Force, such as it existed. Their 30 OV-10s lumbered into the air, accompanied by 30 PA-48s. All were ground-attack planes, designed for counterinsurgency work. It was all they had, however.

The air battle commenced well to the east of Lourenço Marques. The F6F Hellcats and F4U Corsairs employed by the Portuguese Navy well outclassed their assailants, and many were swiftly shot down as they struggled to dogfight with the purpose-built fighters. They did outnumber the Portuguese heavily, though, and a number got through and dropped high explosive bombs on the Navy. The first few bombs landed short of the NRP Viana do Castelo, for which the offending planes paid dearly-- three were shot down as they pulled off by the ship’s SAM battery, splashing harmlessly into the sea well beyond their target. In the mean time, however, a head-on attack by an Mozambican PA-48 slammed two 250lb bombs into the bridge of the NRP Bartolomeu Dias, killing the entire bridge crew and knocking the frigate out of the fight while the chain of command sorted itself out and damage control crews got the ship into working order again.

More planes began to slip through as jets intervened in the dogfighting on the behalf of the Mozambicans. De Havilland Vampires and Hawker Hunters appeared, streaking high over the western horizon and diving into the fight. The air fight intensified greatly, with many more planes being shot down. Soon, the Portuguese air complement was beginning to feel the same pain they’d inflicted on the Mozambican Air Force. They retreated within the AA bubble of the fleet, but were pursued by the jets and numerous MAF planes had already slipped behind them and dropped bombs in and amongst the fleet. Two high explosive bombs hit the carrier NRP Republica, the second putting a hole in the flight deck and starting fires on board. The corvettes were small enough and fast enough to evade the bombing, and none of the bombers targeted the hosiptal ships or cargo ships.

By the end of the air battle, Portugal had lost no ships but suffered a direct bomb hit on one frigate and two bomb hits on their carrier, rendering further flight operations dicey.

On to the land battle. Two landing ships continued towards the coast, escorted by the corvettes and frigates. The carrier had turned back, limping towards Madagascar with a slight escort of two frigates and a handful of corvettes.

Four thousand Portuguese Marines rode these ships, many prepared to be ferried ashore by motor launches alongside the fifteen bigger landing ships. First, they had to find the Mozambican Navy-- not a difficult task, as overflying planes vectored them towards the onrushing Portuguese fleet. A naval battle ensued, with several Mozambican patrol boats being sunk for no gain. They retreated to guard the harbor mouth, and the Portuguese continued on their course for the coast.

Landings at Marracuene occurred under fire from the newly-raised 1st Guards Regiment of Lourenço Marques, which was ill-equipped but not surpassed by zeal. Though Spínola was not a popular figure in Mozambique by any stretch, the prospect of Portuguese invasion created strange, very temporary alliances as erstwhile guerillas appeared to assist in repelling the Portuguese landings. So it was that the brigade of Portuguese Marines found themselves pinned on the beaches by persistent automatic weapons fire and aerial attack, sustaining severe casualties as the surviving OV-10s and PA-48s extracted a terrible price for the losses they took in the aerial fight earlier that day.

Motor launches from the nearby frigates soon began extracting desperate Portuguese soldiers from the beaches, as those still on the ships outright refused to be carted to the slaughter. Several landing ships suffered light damage but extracted who they could before reversing off the sand and limped back to rejoin the fleet. Numerous Marines were left behind in the disorderly retreat, leaving them to be captured by the 1st Guards Regiment. At sunset, the uneasy alliance broke and the guerillas vanished into the woods again.

Losses:

Portugal-

11 F6F Hellcat

21 F4U Corsair

NRP Bartolomeu Dias damaged

NRP Republica damaged

475 Marines dead

530 Marines wounded

463 Marines captured

Mozambique-

5 PT Boats

18 OV-10s

15 PA-48

397 killed and wounded, 1st Guards Regiment

Air Volunteers-

2 Hawker Hunter

4 De Havilland Vampire

Northern Chaos

General Spínola’s efforts to consolidate continued. The exclave occupied by his troops in the far north would be evacuated per his order, but even as the order went out over the wire FRELIMO troops, buoyed by many many weapons and recruits as they marched for the coast bore down on them. The three brigades-- vastly reduced in strength to effectively two-- began their southward march but could not be aware that they would soon enough be caught.

The Battle of Muaguide was a small one, noteworthy solely because it further damaged the understrength brigades attempting to retreat and left one of Spínola’s brigades isolated on a peninsula on the coast, holding a rather strong position at Quisanga. FRELIMO lacked the means to collapse the pocket, but Spínola could not break the encirclement by land.

The two escaped “brigades” reached the Lurio River line in no small part due to the sacrifices undertaken by the 1st Brigade, which dominated FRELIMO’s attention. They amalgamated into one full-strength brigade and made ready to defend the river line after their harrowing ordeal.

They didn’t know it had already been breached.

Making full use of the Nanripo crossing secured late last year, EXTRACA formations crossed the Lurio River with ease and proceeded southward. Utilizing vast stores of arms “donated” by sympathizers within FRELIMO, EXTRACA began arming and organizing the population, raising a new regiment-strength formation in Mecuburi and moving two similarly strong formations deep behind the Lurio line.

In July, the Mozambican Air Force was compelled to evacuate its planes from Nampula Airfield out of concern of encroaching EXTRACA soldiers, marching south from Mecuburi. In the process of departing the base commander ordered the airstrip torn up and the control tower demolished, which was achieved with explosives borrowed from the nearby 5th Brigade. Nampula Airfield was, effectively, rendered useless.

Spínola’s 4th Brigade now had a long forced march over 86 kilometers to Alpua, where they arrived in time to drive off EXTRACA and prevent their encroachment to the east. 5th Brigade relocated from Lapala to Namina, skirmishing with and overwhelming EXTRACA organizers attempting to raise another fighting force in the town. They captured numerous weapons of mixed Chinese and Yugoslav manufacture. Checked in the east and west, EXTRACA merely continued south and arrived at a vacated Nampula, capturing the “capital of the north” of Mozambique with few shots fired. Swiftly they set to work recruiting new soldiers in their war against Spínola’s regime, anticipating a counterattack soon after the new year on their new position.

EXTRACA had also swung against FRELIMO, far behind the lines. EXTRACA raiders, seeking more arms, swept into an arms depot in Lichinga and stole vast amounts of the same sorts of weapons. They had advanced knowledge of the location of the weapons and were in-and-out before a significant FRELIMO response could be organized from Metangula in the north. Consequently, EXTRACA could continue to expand their operations in the interior of Mozambique.

FRELIMO was not idle in the south, however, advancing on the renegade enclave in Cuamba. A large force surrounded the town and began negotiating the surrender of the garrison. They did secure the freedom of Cuamba, but on the condition none of the renegade brigade were punished for any alleged crimes committed. At the conclusion of negotiations, the brigade disbanded and returned home-- for the most part. Some kept their weapons and would remain a persistent thorn in the sides of locals for the rest of the year.

The two FRELIMO formations ended the year in Mutuali and Molumbo, well within Spínola’s territory.

All’s… Something on the Western Front

Around Tete, things simply got worse. The FRELIMO adherents in the north-west switched allegiances again to EXTRACA, joining EXTRACA in an assault on Tete. The assault was more diversionary, however, as large numbers of EXTRACA fighters crossed the Condedezi River near its headwaters and brushed aside pickets set up by the 6th Brigade. Spínola’s forces could do little more but keep abreast of how deeply their line was penetrated while being held in place by persistent EXTRACA assaults. EXTRACA ended the year in Mutarara, raising more fighters with their stolen weapons and revolutionary zeal.

The Center Holds

One region Spínola saw unadulterated success in was the center. His offensives against RENAMO were met with… RENAMO giving ground and fading into the forested interior of the country. Few shots were fired, and the RENAMO fighters fell back. Spínola’s men became hesitant, concerned they were being led into a trap, but advanced nonetheless. They reached their goals with minimal bloodshed.

Across Spínola’s territory the effort to conscript settlers proved successful enough as numerous battalion-strength units were formed in larger population centers. Ill-trained but armed and led well, the settler battalions departed for the frontlines with instructions to remember the Pemba Massacre and visit the same horrors onto the locals in revolt. The war was not taking a kinder, gentler direction as of the end of 1971.