An Cosantóir

An Cosantóir November 2016 www.dfmagazine.ie 28 | By DR JAMES MCCAFFERTY DSM, BA (HONS), PHD T he defensive action known as the Siege of Jadot- ville, fought over a period of five days in Septem- ber 1961, has recently been the subject of renewed media interest and a recently released film, as well as having been the subject of several books, journal articles and newspa- per features over the years. The following analysis is based on primary source material at the Irish Defence Forces Military Archives and Belgian Military Archives, and on interviews with Congo veterans who served in Katanga at that time. The purpose is to extrapolate and com- ment upon the essentials of the action; the efforts to relieve the garrison at Jadotville; the outcome for the men involved; and the lessons to be learned. Contemporaneous military actions by Irish troops in Elisabethville and Kamina are not discussed, except where directly relevant. A Company, 35 Infantry Battalion (35 Inf Bn), had been posted to Jadotville on 3rd September 1961, some ten days before hostilities with Katangese forces recommenced. The company of about 155 all-ranks was supported by two Ford armoured cars. Available logistical information does not detail food, water, fuel, or ammunition supplies carried. The 35 Inf Bn transport schedule records that A Coy's assigned transport comprised two buses, two trucks, three jeeps and two cars – all of which were subsequently destroyed in action or captured at Jadotville. A Coy had been detached from its parent unit at Elisabethville, some 120kms south, crossing the river Lufira on the journey. A sole road bridge and a single-track rail bridge, some 12kms distant, traversed this deep and fast river. The nearest UN unit was a composite force of 1 Irish Infantry Group and a Swedish infantry company at Kamina air-base, some 200kms north of Jadotville: this force was actively engaged in defending the air- base from attacking Katangese forces at the same time as A Coy was under siege in Jadotville. Katangese forces had several - possibly up to five - Fouga Magister jet fighter/trainers as air support. UN forces had only fixed-wing transport aircraft and helicopters available: no fight- ers or helicopter gun-ships. Neither the unit history nor OC A Coy's action report make any mention of the preparation of precautionary defences at the Irish camp, but the action report clearly indicates that trenches had been dug about the Irish position. As there had been earlier offensive action by Irish and other UN troops against Katangese forces in August, digging-in at the Irish position in Jadotville sug- gests prudent defensive deployment – "dig-in or die!" To summarise, before the attacks by Katangese forces on the morning of 13 September 1961 A Coy was established in a defended position at Jadotville, with nearest support elements 120kms south and 200kms north; and as both elements were themselves engaged with Katangese forces, relief or support from either force was, to say the least, problematic or unlikely. In addition, the company's assigned transport at Jadotville was in- sufficient to enable a withdrawal, which suggests that additional transport vehicles were used in the movement to Jadotville, and then returned to Elisabethville. A Coy was without air-support, and the river Lufira presented a major obstacle if the bridges were defended or destroyed by Katangese. Before the assault began the road-bridge was blocked by Katangese, who also established strong defensive positions about the northern side of the bridge, and two days later, the rail-bridge was destroyed. The total strength of Irish troops at Jadotville, when the crews of the armoured cars were factored in, was about 170 men, armed with FN SL rifles, Vickers MMGs, Bren LMGs, 81mm mortars and 84mm Carl-Gustav anti- tank recoilless rifles. The two Ford armoured cars were equipped with Vickers MMGs. OC A Coy estimated the Katangese forces at between 4,000 and 5,000 men, equipped with FN SL rifles, MMGs, LMGs and When there are strongholds to your rear, And narrow passes in front, You are on enclosed terrain. And when there is no way out, You are on Death terrain. 'The art of war', by Sun Tzu. Members of A Coy, 35 Inf Bn as prisoners in Jadotville. Photo: Military Archives

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