An Cosantóir

www.military.ie the defence forces magazine | 31 ful enough to tow the weapon and carry crews and ammunition also.) While 38 IrBatt Armoured Car Group reported the good condition of the Ford armoured cars that they had taken-over from 37 IrBatt, their report continues by excoriating their poor radio communica- tions, due to want of an adequate supply of radio batteries. The report states that in the early days of service in Elisabethville, the group car- ried out daily patrols on the three principal routes to and from the city to the airport. Then, at the end of December 1962, when 'the 38 IrBatt took the field on active ser- vice', one section (two armoured cars) of the armoured car group was detached for operations with the Ethiopian battalion. The unit history records the remainder act- ing with the leading elements of 38 IrBatt: This leading section (of armoured car group) actively engaged the enemy on the move from SIMBA HILL to KAFUBA BRIDGE and led the advance of the battalion into KIPUSHI (sic). Regrettably, the armoured car group re- port does not give any details on how they 'actively engaged the enemy'. However, 38 IrBatt statistics on ammunition expendi- ture notes that just under 17,000 rounds of .303in Vickers ammunition were fired. The unit history does not detail infantry action on this advance on Kipushi, nor the use of Vickers machine-guns by infantry elements. The operational orders issued for the period of offensive action from late December 1962 to early January 1963 instruct that on the advance to Kipushi 'Armoured Car Group will lead the advance and search by fire both sides of the road'. It is, therefore, reasonable to deduce that possibly all 17,000 rounds of Vickers am- munition expended by 38 IrBatt were fired by the Ford armoured cars. By 11th February 1963, all of 38 IrBatt had moved to Kolwezi, where they were engaged in patrols in and about the town and its approaches. They also detached an infantry company to Kolwezi airport. When the Katangese Gendarmerie capitulated at end January 1963 the central government's Armée Nationale Congo- laise (ANC) placed registration teams in Kolwezi, where 38 IrBatt 'co-operated with the ANC teams in enlisting ex-gendarmer- ie who wished to join the ANC'. 38 IrBatt remained in Kolwezi, engaged in a peaceful routine of patrolling and guarding, until their repatriation in the period 24th April to 7th May 1963. While clearly involved in aggressive mili- tary operations, the absence of detail on infantry action by 38 IrBatt is regrettable, as, consequently, it cannot be compared with other Irish units in action. While in Kipushi, 38 IrBatt Armoured Car Group recovered from Union Minière work- shops one of the armoured cars that had been lost in the Battle of Jadotville in Sep- tember 1961, and in Kolwezi the battalion occupied the camp that had been used to hold 'A' Coy, 35 IrBatt, as prisoners of war. In November 1962, as 37 & 38 IrBatts were on rotation, a party comprising an officer from 38 IrBatt Armoured Car Group and three officers from 37 IrBatt recovered the remains of Trooper Anthony Browne, missing after the Niemba Ambush on 8th November 1960. Irish newspapers reported on actions involving 38 IrBatt, but not to the same depth as they did on the actions in Elisa- bethville and Jadotville in 1961/2. On 29th December 1962 the Irish Independent car- ried a report headlined 'No reports on Irish involved in Katanga fight- ing' – but on 31st December 1962 it reported 'Details of Irish attack on Simba Hill'. The Irish Times was somewhat more informa- tive: on 29th December 1962 it reported 'Heavy fighting in Katanga: Irish troops committed to action'. Again, on 31st December 1962 and on 2nd January 1963, the paper carried reports on 'Irish troops capture Simba Hill and take Kipushi unopposed' and 'Major UN advance in Katanga: Indian and Irish troops within 15 miles of Jadotville'. Thankfully, the part played by 38 IrBatt in this UN operation, which brought about the final capitulation of Katangese forces in 1963, did not go un-noted by Irish print media. aBout the authoR: Dr James McCaf fer ty DSM, BA (Hons), PhD, served in the Congo with 34, 36 and 39 Inf Bns. His PhD thesis 'Political and military aspects of the Irish Army's service with UN forces in the Congo 1960-64' is based on research using sources in Ireland, Belgium, Britain, France, Por tugal, USA and USSR. A copy of his thesis is lodged in Defence Force Archives. Indian troops manoeuvring an armed vehicle in an area between Elisabethville and Jadotville. 3rd January 1963. UN Photo #184413 A total of 6,000 Irishmen served in the Congo from 1960 – 1964. Irish soldiers engaged in fighting, suffered injuries and fatalities, with 26 losing their lives with nine killed on the 8th November 1960 in one action alone, the Niemba Ambush.

• Cover