Page 248 - Airpower in 20th Century - Doctrines and Employment

248 airpower in 20 Century doCtrines and employment - national experienCes
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The possibility of helicopter transportation of fresh troops to the scene of action,
whatever was the degree of accessibility to land in that place did change the shape
of warfare and was a factor in the imbalance against the guerrillas. The planning of
this action required special care to achieve some surprise, and being also necessary
the correspondent fire support to minimize the vulnerabilities, particularly in the mo-
ment of departure.
In the guerrilla war it is much more difficult to obtain accurate information about
military targets, because the guerrilla warrior lives mixed with the population. How-
ever, this position of principle often does not correspond with reality, because as the
guerrilla upgrade it creates a closer configuration to the conventional forces. And as
conventional forces they become more vulnerable to the air attacks.
The war ended with the end of the political regime in Portugal, where it resulted
in the formal independence of these territories, followed by a civil war for more
than about twenty years in some countries. The area of cooperation that began to be
developed sooner between Portugal and the new countries was precisely the military
area, which seems to be relevant in a way that this had resulted from the mutual re-
spect and recognition of the role and ethos of the warriors on both sides.