 At the war 's outset , FRELIMO had little hope for a conventional military victory , with a mere 7000 combatants against a far larger Portuguese force . Their hopes rested on urging the local populace to support the insurgency , in order to force a negotiated independence from Lisbon . Portugal fought its own version of protracted warfare , and a large military force was sent by the Portuguese government to quell the unrest , with troop numbers rising from 8 @,@ 000 to 24 @,@ 000 between 1964 and 1967 . The number of local soldiers recruited for the Portuguese cause rose to 23 @,@ 000 in the same period . 860 Special Forces operatives were also being trained in Commando <unk> <unk> by 1969 . 
