Portugal had historically employed units of dragoons in its colonies from the 18th through to the early 20th centuries. Particularly in Angola, squadrons of dragoons fought in the pacification campaigns of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, as well as in the
World War I. In 1966, the Portuguese Army created an experimental horse
platoon, to operate against the guerrillas in the high grass region of the Eastern
Angola. Each soldier of this unit was armed with a
G3 battle rifle to use in combat on foot, and with a
Walther P38 semi-automatic pistol to use while on horseback. The troops on horseback were able to operate in difficult terrain (unsuited for motor vehicles), were less vulnerable to land mines and had the advantage of being able to control the area around them, with a clear view over the grass (which foot troops did not have). Moreover, these unconventional troops created a psychological impact over the enemy, who were not accustomed to dealing with horse troops and had no kind of training or strategy with which to face them. The experimental horse platoon was so successful that its entire parent battalion (the Reconnaissance Group of Angola) was transformed from an armoured reconnaissance unit equipped mainly with
Panhard EBR armoured cars to a three
squadron horse battalion known as the "Dragoons of Angola". One of the typical operations carried out by the Dragoons of Angola, in cooperation with airmobile forces, consisting of the dragoons chasing the guerrillas and pushing them into one direction, with the airmobile troops being launched from helicopter in the enemy rear, getting it trapped between the two forces. ==References==