no English, or even Portuguese (then still the language of government and the native elite.) The first contingent of mercenaries was mostly made up of professional soldiers, selected by a British private military company (PMC), Security Advisory Services (SAS), run by John Banks, Chris Dempster, and Dave Tomkins. Georgiou resented SAS's own leadership structure within the group, and perceived John Banks, who remained based in Britain, as a personal threat to his own position when Banks did visit Angola. Georgiou became increasingly paranoid and belligerent toward his own men, murdering African soldiers and creating a climate of fear even among the British mercenaries, none of which aided the morale of the FNLA forces or their ability to wage war successfully against the MPLA. The British journalist Patrick Brogan called Georgiou a "psychopathic killer" who executed 14 of his fellow mercenaries for cowardice, and who was extremely brutal to black people. By all accounts, Georgiou killed for pleasure, and at his trial, it was established that he had killed at least 170 Angolans. Georgiou was much hated and feared by the men under his command, and by the FLNA who regarded him as a loose cannon who was just as likely to attack them as he was the MPLA. The second contingent of mercenaries sent from Britain, unlike the first, was made up mostly of working-class men with no military experience. Within a week of their arrival, about a dozen of the second contingent had accidentally maimed themselves by trying to use weapons that they did not fully understand. These undisciplined men quickly realised the perilous situation into which they had been placed, and the instability of their leadership. A group of them consequently seized vehicles and attempted to flee the country, firing on other FNLA forces in the process, including Chris Dempster. The deserters were quickly rounded up by Georgiou's men, and fourteen were summarily executed by firing squad. A third contingent of similarly inept mercenaries was recruited in the US by an American PMC. The "battalion" fought several more dramatic engagements, including successful ambushes of minor MPLA detachments. However, given his limited resources and the fact that many of his men – European and native alike – were untrained, increasingly demoralised amateurs, Georgiou's campaign was ultimately a failure. According to mercenary David Tomkins, the group spent most of its time foraging for food, usable weapons, and ammunition. Much of