Brown Waters of Africa: Portuguese Riverine Warfare, 1961–1974 Martin N
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Naval War College Review Volume 61 Article 12 Number 3 Summer 2008 Brown Waters of Africa: Portuguese Riverine Warfare, 1961–1974 Martin N. Murphy Follow this and additional works at: https://digital-commons.usnwc.edu/nwc-review Recommended Citation Murphy, Martin N. (2008) "Brown Waters of Africa: Portuguese Riverine Warfare, 1961–1974," Naval War College Review: Vol. 61 : No. 3 , Article 12. Available at: https://digital-commons.usnwc.edu/nwc-review/vol61/iss3/12 This Book Review is brought to you for free and open access by the Journals at U.S. Naval War College Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Naval War College Review by an authorized editor of U.S. Naval War College Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. 144 NAVAL WAR COLLEGE REVIEW Murphy: Brown Waters of Africa: Portuguese Riverine Warfare, 1961–1974 lose the body of tradition and law that than rural environments and to seek defines our homeland. sanctuary in the anonymity of cities The editors cover an ambitious amount rather than remote countrysides. In of ground for such a slim volume, and many parts of the world, however, the space available does not permit a rivers remain the principal transport variety of perspectives on each topic. routes, and their control remains of An examination into the U.S. govern- fundamental importance to the success ment’s reactions to racial and political or failure of insurgent movements. unrest at home after the McCarthy era, The last great colonial empire in Africa for instance, would have been welcome. was Portuguese, and a history of the However, the book’s essays seem se- riverine campaigns fought in its defense lected to provoke the reader to explore between 1961 and 1974 is long overdue. their subjects more deeply, and the con- John P. Cann, a retired Marine Corps tributions are uniformly well sup- University professor with a doctorate in ported. The citations provide ample African counterinsurgency from King’s direction for readers wishing to explore College London, shows that the Portu- on their own the issues presented. guese took what they could from British and, particularly, French experiences RANDY L. UNGER Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense and adapted it to suit their particular Homeland Defense & American Security Affairs circumstances and the often limited re- sources at their disposal. After placing the total effort in the stra- tegic context of the Cold War, the his- torical context of twentieth-century Cann, John P. Brown Waters of Africa: Portuguese Portuguese history, and the contempo- Riverine Warfare, 1961–1974. St. Petersburg, Fla.: raneous political context of the regime Hailer, 2007. 248pp. $29.99 of António de Oliveira Salazar, Cann Counterinsurgency warfare is what used demonstrates how the Portuguese navy to be called “colonial warfare.” Al- and naval infantry, the fuzileiros, fought though the association might make an effective campaign in three diverse some people uncomfortable—Ameri- theaters: on the rivers of Angola; on the cans perhaps more than most, given Rovuma River and Lake Niassa in Mo- their aversion to colonialism—much of zambique; and among the estuaries, the strategic intent and many of the tac- deltas, and swamp forests of the West tics, techniques, and procedures of African enclave of Bissau. modern counterinsurgency derive di- Cann recounts with balance and clarity rectly from the colonial wars and police the lessons the Portuguese drew from actions of the past. the experience. Insurgency is political In some respects riverine warfare suf- war where the center of gravity is the fers from the taint of colonialism more population. Consequently, the naval than do other aspects of counterinsur- role differs very little from that of the gency, a prejudice that is currently rein- army. The essence is to develop and forced by the apparent trend for maintain contact with the civilian pop- insurgents who worry the West to cen- ulation so close and regular that it often ter their operations in urban rather amounts to “armed social work.” Published by U.S. Naval War College Digital Commons, 2008 1 BOOK REVIEWS 145 Naval War College Review, Vol. 61 [2008], No. 3, Art. 12 Presence—achieved by living, and con- He also served in the Pentagon for al- ducting river and foot patrols, among most ten years in senior advisory and local people to gain their trust and to leadership roles. build sound knowledge about the en- This edition has been expanded into emy—is equally important, as is, at the sixteen chapters, each adding consider- same time, keeping the insurgents off able value to the publication. One of balancethroughtheuseofdeception the more interesting and vital chapters and irregular patrol patterns, a combi- for properly grasping the workings of nationthePortuguesewereableto “the building” is devoted to “under- achieve because units were deployed in standing the process.” This chapter suc- two-year cycles. cinctly describes the Joint Strategic The Portuguese also learned the impor- Planning System (JSPS), the Planning, tance of joint effort. Wherever the navy Programming, and Budgeting System and army disagreed and failed to oper- (PPBS), and the Joint Requirements ate together, which happened in Bissau Oversight Council (JROC). These enti- particularly, results were affected. Also, ties are extremely complex by their very that no campaign could be isolated natures, but it is vital to understand from the wider political context was a how they all fit together for our na- lesson that became painfully apparent tion’s defense. The authors do a superb following a militarily successful but po- job of simplifying these systems, giving litically damaging raid on Conakry, the additional references for in-depth capital of Guinea, to free hostages and understanding. destroy insurgent sanctuaries. Smith and Gerstein also briefly address In short, all practitioners and students military ethics, touching upon military of riverine warfare will be grateful that interaction with Congress and ethics John P. Cann has written such an excel- within the executive branch. Problems lent account. are identified and solutions are sug- gested, but it is beyond the scope and MARTIN N. MURPHY Corbett Centre for Maritime Policy Studies intention of this book to address these Shrivenham, England issues other than superficially. The reader should already be educated re- garding ethics and ethical behavior; this chapter serves simply to remind us that doing the “right thing” continues to be Smith, Perry M., and Daniel M. Gerstein. Assign- difficult at times. ment Pentagon: How to Excel in a Bureaucracy. 4th As with the earlier editions, the present ed. Washington, D.C.: Potomac Books, 2007. 273pp. $22.95 one addresses many day-to-day busi- ness elements related to serving at the For this, the fourth edition of his well Pentagon. The book allows the reader, received book, Major General Perry M. whether a newly assigned military Smith, U.S. Air Force (Ret.), has added member or civilian, to obtain a prelimi- acoauthor,ColonelDanielM.Gerstein, nary understanding of the complex na- U.S. Army (Ret.). Colonel Gerstein ture of this intense mixture of military served for twenty-six years in combat, and civilian bureaucracies. peace, and humanitarian operations. https://digital-commons.usnwc.edu/nwc-review/vol61/iss3/12 2.