this foraging consisted of "raids" on villages, where the men would casually walk into town brandishing their weapons, searching for anything of use. Anyone who offered physical resistance would be shot. Lack of proper equipment was one of the key factors in the failure of foreign mercenary units in Angola generally, and in Georgiou's case in particular. The MPLA had Soviet tanks, artillery and crack Cuban troops fighting as their allies. The other two factions had mostly light infantry, not always the best trained and disciplined either. Another factor was leadership inexperience: Georgiou had absolutely no training or experience as a commissioned officer, nor did most of his counterparts in other units. Cuban accounts of the Angolan war speak of the mercenaries in a contemptuous tone. The majority of Cuban veterans of Angola describe the mercenaries they fought as inept soldiers whom they had no difficulty defeating. Trial and execution Georgiou was tried under the jurisdiction of the Angolan MPLA government in the Luanda Trial during June and July 1976. He was charged with illegally entering Angola as a mercenary, along with twelve other defendants. In addition he was charged with involvement in the massacre of fourteen fellow mercenaries at Maquela do Zombo in northern Angola, as well as with the murder and torture of enemy soldiers and civilians in the town of São Salvador. The killings at Maquela occurred after some mercenary recruits had mistakenly opened fire on their colleagues and, fearing retribution by Georgiou and the MPLA, had subsequently fled towards Zaire, taking all the unit’s supplies. Georgiou was convicted and sentenced to death. He was executed on 10 July 1976. Georgiou's sister Panayiota 'Blondie' Georgiades was allowed to visit him during his captivity in Angola. In a BBC interview, she said they spoke mainly about their family and the trial proceedings, conversing in Greek. Georgiou's body was repatriated to England, and he was buried secretly in a cemetery in north London in accordance with the rites of the Greek Orthodox Church. Notes References Further reading — At the time of publication Major Milliard was a Judge Advocate in the United States Army Judge Advocate General's Corps. — Hosted on the website of George Washington University. External links Time 3:28 – 5:56 – Captured and killed FNLA mercenaries possibly from the 14 Feb 76 ambushes of two FNLA patrols in Cuimba. In video clip at time 3:36 –