Two main events characterise and sum up in their content and consequences the development of our national liberation struggle – of activity in our combatant organisation – in 1964: the battle of Como and the First Party Congress, held in the month of February in one of the liberated areas in the south of the country.

The coincidence in time and the geographical proximity of these two events (we held the Party Congress from 13 to 17 February 1964, at the very moment when the battle of Como was reaching its climax no more than 15 kilometres from this coastal island) constitute striking evidence of the dynamic interdependence of two fundamental aspects of our struggle: armed action and political action. It shows likewise the success and progress already achieved by our fight for liberty at the start of 1964, that is one year after the launching of armed struggle.

The battle of Como

As our communiques at the time reported, even down to details, the facts concerning the battle of Como, we will limit ourselves in this account to the essential aspects of this now historic event for our people. To recapture the island of Como – the first stretch of national territory liberated by our forces – had from the start of 1964 become a fundamental – even vital – need in the context of the military and political plans of the Portuguese authorities. And this primarily because this island was the essential launching pad for the reconquest and effective control of the liberated South. Moreover, because of the effects that such a reconquest would have at the political, level – above all among our people – given that the population of this island, like that of the Mores zone, was known throughout the country for its fierce commitment to the struggle and indefatigable zeal for the cause of our party.

When they had had recourse to all the means available – air force, navy, infantry (with a total of 3 000 well-equipped men, including about 2 000 elite soldiers and officers transferred from Angola) – the Portuguese colonialists launched the reconquest of the island in January 1964. The Portuguese General Staff travelled from Lisbon to Bissau to follow the operations close at hand.