Angola_Dragoons
Dragoons of Angola
Portuguese Army cavalry unit, 1966–1975
The 1st Cavalry Group (Portuguese: Grupo de Cavalaria n.º 1), until 1968 the Reconnaissance Group of Angola (Portuguese: Grupo de Reconhecimento de Angola), and commonly known as the Dragoons of Angola (Portuguese: Dragões de Angola), was an elite cavalry (horseborne) unit of the Portuguese Army, that operated in the Angolan War of Independence against the communist guerrillas. The unit started to be raised in 1966 and was disbanded in 1975 due to the events of the Carnation Revolution in Lisbon, the end of the Portuguese Colonial War and the independence of Angola. In military history, it was probably one of the last units of real dragoons to be used in combat operations, excluding the Rhodesian Grey's Scouts.
A similar unit was being raised to operate in the Mozambican War of Independence, when it ended in 1974.
The designation "Dragoons of Angola" was just an honorary title. The official name of the unit was "Reconnaissance Group of Angola" until 1968 and then "1st Cavalry Group".