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The Operation Gordian Knot (''Operação Nó Górdio'') was the largest and most expensive Portuguese military campaign in the Portuguese overseas province of Mozambique, East Africa. It was performed in 1970, during the Portuguese Colonial War (1961–1974). The objectives of the campaign were to seal off the independentist guerrillas' infiltration routes across the Tanzanian border and to destroy permanent guerrilla bases in Mozambique. Gordian Knot was a seven-month campaign employing ultimately thirty-five thousand men, and was almost successful since it destroyed most guerrilla camps located in northern Mozambique's countryside and captured large numbers of rebels and armament, forcing the FRELIMO insurgents to retreat from their outposts in the territory.〔 (Parte 2 - Operação "NÓ-GÓRDIO" ), RTPN (youtube.com)〕〔 (Parte 3 - Operação "NÓ-GÓRDIO" ), RTPN (youtube.com)〕〔 (Parte 4 - Operação "NÓ-GÓRDIO" ), RTPN (youtube.com)〕〔 (Parte 5 - Operação "NÓ-GÓRDIO" ), RTPN (youtube.com)〕〔 (Parte 6 - Operação "NÓ-GÓRDIO" ), RTPN (youtube.com)〕 ==Independentist guerrilla== The communist-inspired independentist guerrilla (FRELIMO), soon realized the difficulties they would encounter in militarily defeating the Portuguese forces on the battlefield and for this reason Frelimo's strategy took on an aspect that was relatively unique. With no real working class or Mozambican military to isolate from the Portuguese regime and ultimately from which to gain support as in the case of a typical Marxist-Leninist strategy, Frelimo leaders adopted a Maoist strategy. The Maoist insurgency is typically three-staged: *The first or organizational stage is to create networks of guerrilla political/progaganda groups to win popular support and to train terrorist teams to intimidate sections of the population which may be hesitant to support the insurgency or which support the targeted government outright. The intent is to neutralize any area of the population which will not support the insurgency at the outset and to organize the areas of the population which will provide support. *The second stage, or open guerrilla warfare, begins with armed resistance by small bands of guerrillas operating in rural areas where terrain is rugged and government control is weak. Initially, this stage is characterized by low level hit and run tactics designed to highlight the strength and organization of the insurgent movement and expose the weaknesses of the government. As more of the population is won over to the insurgency the magnitude of the armed resistance and guerrilla warfare is increased to include greater segments of the countryside and more lucrative targets. The rate of increase in the guerrilla effort is dictated solely by the response of the government. If the government responds in a forceful, well-organized fashion, the insurgency may remain in an early stage two mode of operation for a prolonged period of time or may even revert to stage one. The intent of stage two, however, is to continue to gather popular support and gain control of the countryside, isolating government forces in small areas, mainly urban, and making them pay a heavy price when they venture into guerrilla controlled areas. *The third stage of a Maoist insurgency is an evolution into open civil war, where the guerrilla forces take on the appearance of a regular army and conventional warfare is more predominant. The intent here is to openly defeat and displace the existing government authority if it has not already come apart from within. This was the strategy Frelimo adopted from the outset with a notable exception. Frelimo were never able to move to the third stage of the Maoist strategy. The Portuguese held military supremacy during the entire war, and even the majority of the native population, particularly those living in the urban centers and the littoral strip, were supportive of the centuries-long established ruling authority. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Operation Gordian Knot」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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