1.ª edição.
Relato dos acontecimentos em Angola reportando ao primeiro ano de Guerra Colonial, da surpresa e espanto geral pelos ataques no norte até à preparação, envio de tropas e sua disposição e controle no terreno. Waring não se limita à descrição das atrocidades cometidas pelos elementos da UPA e da resposta portuguesa; traça o panorama económico e social da Colónia na época, incluindo a escola, saúde, etc.
Obra com interesse histórico, não teve tradução para português. Ilustrada com inúmeras fotografias no texto, muitas delas impublicáveis porque chocantes.
Exemplar muito valorizado pela dedicatória autógrafa do autor.
"On 14th March, Angola was at peace with itself.
Europeans and Africans went about their business as usual and scoffed at those who said that trouble in the Congo would spread South. There was certainly no sign of unrest among the African population. In fact things were so quiet that there were only 2,000 white soldiers and 700 policemen (half of whom were Africans) in the whole Country, a country incidentally as large as Spain, Portugal, France and Germany put together.
Portugal's policy of slow integration seemed to be working well, and everyone was condident that they were building a Luso-African society similar to that achieved in Brasil.
They went to bed with easy minds March 14.
The long knives struck at dawn!
Along a 250 mile stretch in Northern Angola, hordes of terrorists swooped on Europeans and on all the Africans who refused to join with them. In a fantastic orgy of blood they butchered, burned and tortured to death more than 1,300 Europeans and ten times that number of Africans.
The terrorists had the adavantage of surprise and a well laid plain. Their targets were isolated farms where European settlers and their native workers, armed only with a few sporting rifles and shot guns, were no match for the bands of screaming terrorists brandishing two foot long machetes and muzzle-loading guns.
The wave of slaughter lasted for three weeks, during which time many thousands of African joined the terrorists, either in the hope of a rich harvest of plunder, of for fear of the consequences if they refuse. The remaining Europeans and those Africans who remained loyal, found themselves barricaded inside the small towns and villages in Northern Angola.
They had to face constant dawn attacks by terrorits bands whose war cries were «U. P. A.» (Union des Peuples d'Angola), «Lumumba», and «Mazza».
«Mazza» simply means «water», and the terrorists believed that their witch doctor's magic would turn the withe man's bullets to water.
In Portugal the first shock of the news was followed by a hasty mobilisation of troops. The Portuguese army, as a N. A. T. O. ally, was equipped for war in Europe, but not for a war in Africa 5,000 miles away."
(Excerto do Cap. I)
Ronald Waring. "Oficial do exército britânico, serviu no King's Royal Rifle Corps e durante a Segunda Guerra Mundial no Royal Hampshire Regiment; entre 1956 e 1974 leccionou no Instituto de Altos Estudos Militares (IAEM-Pedrouços), após o que regressou a Londres com o posto de coronel, agraciado com o título nobiliárquico de Duque de Valderano."
(Fonte: https://ultramar.terraweb.biz/06livros_RonaldWaring.htm)
Exemplar em brochura, bem conservado. Com alguns (poucos) subinhados.
Raro.
35€
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