G
G-2
Guest
Pardus,
It was too big for a pm so I made a thread out of it instead. by the way I was wrong the battle of the tunnel took place after the mutilation of those nine Irish soldiers.
It was too big for a pm so I made a thread out of it instead. by the way I was wrong the battle of the tunnel took place after the mutilation of those nine Irish soldiers.
This is laziness, dragged this from IMO. Cross checked story with a mate in mil archives to be sure it was authentic.The Second Battle for the Tunnel Elisabethville, Congo.
On the morning of Saturday, l6th Dec. 1961 the Tunnel was stormed by Irish UN Troops in Elizabethville, one Irish Officer was killed and another Irish soldier died in the assault. The Achievement of the 36th Bn in capturing this vital communications link controlling the railway running north to Jadotville and the road to the Swedish and Irish Camps was undoubtedly, the outstanding feat of the renewed fighting in Elizabethville. It meant that the Katangans had no hope of bringing in re-enforcement's from the north by rail.
Following a Mortar Barrage, the Irish troops of A and B Coys launched their assault. B Coy were under Comdt Bill O'Callaghan (this Officer served in Ennis for over 12 years) The 36th Battalion were commanded by Lieut.Colonel Mick Hogan (this officer was a frequent visitor to Ennis before the l960s.) The Irish soldiers were going against two companies of Katangans, who were in the tunnel itself, firmly entrenched in both sides of it and also concealed in carriages of the train standing on the line. The tunnel was a complete bombproof shelter. An infantry assault was called for and the brunt of this assault was now to fall on the shoulders of the unseasoned troops of the 36th Bn., who found themselves pitched into a major battle almost before they found their feet in the Congo.
They went on towards their objective, knowing in their hearts that it would be death or glory for them on this grey, murky morning. They were young men and they were filled with that strange feeling of tension that comes just before the guns begin to blaze. Deep down they might wonder what was the purpose of it all, why they were fighting Katangans when there was no clash of ideologies as in the Korean War, no personal hatreds - why blood should flow in the quelching mud of that morning. And their hates, their loves and their fears were the same as the ordinary soldiers on any side in any war down the centuries. And like all good soldiers on any side in any battle they might ponder but they knew it was not for them to weigh the big issues but to take their commands without question and fight the battle unflinchingly.
They were in the open ground now and it was sodden, saturated ground. They sank low in it and even crawled on their bellies in it as they picked their way onwards. The driving rain had soaked them through to the skin but their eyes were narrowed and set on the strong point ahead and they forgot their discomfort and thought only of the victory that must be theirs.
The leading Platoon was now in full cry and did not falter even as they saw their leader (Lt.O'Riordan) fall mortally wounded. The drove the Katangans out of the railway carriages. The Katangans now re-grouped their forces and launched a counter attack but the Irish knew that the Tunnel was now theirs and they did not intend to relinquish it. They stood firm against all attacks.
Meanwhile fighting was raging fiercely at other points in Elizabethville-The Swedes spearheaded by armoured cars, advanced on Camp Massart, the gendarmerie stronghold, like the Irish they too were hampered by the rain, which turned the Kampemba river into a raging torrent and bogged down the armoured vehicles. The Katangan gunners tried hard to halt the advance but by 10.30 hours the first Swedish troops smashed thro the gates. The Swedes also broke into the camp at other points and bitter hand to hand fighting followed, the gendarmerie, lead by white officers, defended with great courage as they retreated inch by inch. In the end they had to be smoked out of some of the buildings. Five Swedes were wounded two seriously.
The Gurkhas in the fourth phase cleared the airport road and when moving into the suburbs of the city, clashed with Katangans near the stadium, knocking out an armoured car.
As the fighting neared the presidential palace, Mr.Tshombe fled the capital and arrived at the mining town of Kipushia, near the Rhodesian border. The Federal Prime Minister had offered Mr.Tshombe and his Ministers refuge. By nightfall on Saturday, December, 16th the Katanganise forces were beaten and demoralised and the United Nations had restored the freedom of movement the needed and were more or less in control of the city.
On Sunday, December 17th, Mr.Tshombe returned to the capital and sent a radio message to President Kennedy that he was ready to hold discussions with Mr. Adoula. " Please arrange an immediate end to hostilities" he appealed. Fighting still continued for some days yet as UN Armoured cars patrolled the debris-strewn city but on the 19th December Mr.Tshombe and the American Ambassador arrived at the UN Air Base in Kitona for vital talks, in the meantime U Thant ordered his Commanders in the Congo to agree to a temporary cease-fire.
42 years is a long time to look back but even to day I still remember most of those who took part, some are still with us and some are not.