Artur Freitas (right) and two of his comrades of the Companhia de Caçadores nº 312. This photograph was reposted with the permission of this elite ex- Portuguese Caçadore.

The world ” Caçadore ” translates to English as “Hunter”, with Caçadore units in the Portuguese Army dating back to 18th century, and earning a legendary status as elite light infantry troops during the Napoleonic Wars. Over the 13 years of the Portuguese Colonial War, these elite troops formed the bulk of the army and performed extremely well as the army was stretched out over a huge geographical region. They pioneered the infamous tactics of helicopter-bourne vertical envelopments, later championed by the Rhodesian Security Forces as the legendary “Fireforce”. They also developed Special Forces units within their structure, the Caçadore especiais (“Special Hunters”). Their expert bushcraft and operational tactics would be closely mirrored by the likes of the Selous Scouts and 32 Battalion in their respective Bush Wars.

Artur was kind enough to provide context to the photograph, explaining the details of this specific mission. Operating in the vicinity of Bolongongo, Quanza Norte, Angola, they encountered a village where a group of communist guerillas had raided and stolen a large amount of personal property from the defenseless inhabitants. When two of the inhabitants attempted to resist the communists, they were summarily shot and killed.

After assessing the situation, Artur and his team tracked down the terrorist crew and quickly dispatched them, recovering all of the stolen goods and capturing two weapons – the ones they pose with in the photograph.

We’d like to thank Artur for his service to Portugal, and Angola during a point in history the Western world (particularly the Anglosphere) is not the most familiar with. The stories of your brothers in arms are worth telling, and we’re honoured to have the chance to share them!