The account is the result of a meeting of military personnel who, at the invitation of Lusa, at the Pontinha Command Post, in 2014, on the eve of the 40th anniversary of the 25th of April, recalled the 48 hours in the Pontinha "barracks" in which they overthrew the oldest dictatorship in Europe.

This was the second time that the military of April had gathered in the same place. The first, with the six officers - Sanches Osório, Otelo Saraiva de Carvalho, Fisher Lopes Pires, Vítor Crespo, Hugo dos Santos and Garcia dos Santos - was in 1994 and was recorded in the magazine "25 de Abril -- Memórias", published by Lusa.

The second was when 40 years had passed since the coup and only four were still alive, after the death of Fisher Lopes and Hugo dos Santos.

Marcello: "Where am I going?"

Would there have been a revolution without the eavesdropping system set up by Garcia dos Santos? Hardly. In fact, Vítor Crespo even says that, without it, "we would not have won the revolution", and Sanches Osório adds: "Without these communications we would not even be here in Pontinha doing anything."

For example, they would not have known that "the rabbit is in the hole", code for saying that Marcello Caetano was located and surrounded, at the Carmo Barracks, in Lisbon. Many of the successful military actions depended on the eavesdropping.

"The most important eavesdropping, around 05:30/06:00 is when the director-general of PIDE/DGS telephones Marcello Caetano's house, the President of the Council of Ministers, wakes him up to inform him that very serious issues are happening and that the military revolution is on the streets. Marcello Caetano is very distressed. 'And now, where am I going? Am I going to Monsanto again?' Because in the failed coup of March 16th he had taken refuge in the Monsanto air force command. The director of PIDE simply says to Marcello: 'No, no, not Monsanto, you already went there the other time, it is best for Your Excellency to take refuge in the GNR barracks in Largo do Carmo, which the GNR is fixed'. And I found out here, from 06:00, that Marcello Caetano was going to the GNR headquarters", explained Otelo.

"The rabbit is in the hole", at the Carmo Barracks

Captain Salgueiro Maia, at the head of the forces coming from the Santarém barracks and one of the heroes of the 25th of April, ended his mission, which "was to serve as bait for the forces of Terreiro do Paço". He then communicates to Pontinha. He wanted new orders.

Otelo Saraiva de Carvalho, the strategist of the coup, was clear in the telephone conversation to Correia de Campos, who was with the captain of April: "Salgueiro Maia should come over here, along Rua Augusta, reach Rossio, turn onto Rua do Carmo, and surround the GNR headquarters, because the rabbit -- which was the code name given by Garcia dos Santos to Marcello Caetano -- is in the hole".

But Otelo still had to overcome another obstacle. He telephones the general commander of the GNR, Ângelo Ferrari, with an ultimatum, asking him to hand over Marcello Caetano. He receives a denial: "No, comrade, you are mistaken, look, Professor Marcello Caetano is not here. I can have it checked, but he is not here."

Otelo did not let up: "'You don't have to beat around the bush. I know he is there. You have a quarter of an hour to hand over Marcello Caetano. If you do not hand him over, I will have the barracks destroyed'. That was the ultimatum! Fortunately, it did not go ahead. It was just another bluff".

Government 'in the dark', enemy 'at your service' 

A call, intercepted by the April captains through the ingenious communications system set up, allowed them to realize that the political power was unaware of the coup.

"The Minister of Defense called the Minister of State, at 03:00. One said to the other: 'Look, tomorrow Américo Thomaz is going to Tomar, man, and see that he is a pain and that he is going without security, he is not taking anyone, he is going alone'".

The April captains heard everything. The enemy was calm. It was a good sign to move forward.

Another important piece of information obtained through the clandestinely installed network occurred when orders were given, from Pontinha, for the enemy to retreat, in a moment of tension, simulating superior orders.

"We were able to know everything that the others were doing, including, from here, as we had the same equipment as the others, we could enter their networks. And we did", explains Garcia dos Santos.

Leia Também: Manuel Sérgio lembra abertura do desporto, mas critica "Deus-lucro" (Portuguese version)