António Augusto dos Santos

António Augusto dos Santos was a Portuguese General and commander of the Portuguese forces in Mozambique from 1964 until he was relieved of command in 1969. On the outbreak of the Mozambican War of Independence in 1964, Augusto dos Santos commanded the Portuguese forces in that Portuguese territory and favored the use of African units training by Portuguese regulars rather than committing the regulars to battle themselves.

The lack of success in eradicating completely the FRELIMO guerrillas who were fighting for the independence of Mozambique, with one seventh of the population and one fifth of the country (scarcely populated areas of the remote countryside) in FRELIMO hands by 1967, Augusto dos Santos was relieved of command in 1969 and General Kaúlza de Arriaga took over in 1970 with larger success for the Portuguese in the counterinsurgency operations (Gordian Knot Operation). A year later, Augusto dos Santos began serving as the Portuguese Army Chief of Staff (Chefes do Estado-Maior do Exército), a post he held until the military coup in Lisbon on 25 April 1974, which overthrew the Portuguese government headed by Marcelo Caetano and would put to an end the Portuguese Colonial War (1961-1974) shortly after.