Operation Dragon Rouge: Difference between revisions
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== Aftermath == |
== Aftermath == |
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The operation coincided with the arrival of [[Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo|''Armée nationale congolaise'']] (ANC) and other foreign mercenary units—which likely included the hastily-formed 5th Mechanised Brigade and [[Mike Hoare]]'s 5 Commando ANC—at Stanleyville which was quickly captured. Because of growing international pressure, Belgium and the U.S. decided to abandon plans for follow-on operations in Bunia and Watsa, a final rescue operation, Operation Dragon Noir, was carried out in Paulis on 26 November.{{sfn|Odom|1988|p=122}} It took the central government until the end of the year to completely put down the remaining areas of the Simba rebellion. |
The operation coincided with the arrival of [[Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo|''Armée nationale congolaise'']] (ANC) and other foreign mercenary units—which likely included the hastily-formed 5th Mechanised Brigade and [[Mike Hoare]]'s 5 Commando ANC—at Stanleyville which was quickly captured. Because of growing international pressure, Belgium and the U.S. decided to abandon plans for follow-on operations in Bunia and Watsa, a final rescue operation, Operation Dragon Noir, was carried out in [[Isiro|Paulis]] on 26 November.{{sfn|Odom|1988|p=122}} It took the central government until the end of the year to completely put down the remaining areas of the Simba rebellion. |
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Despite the success of the raid, [[Moise Tshombe]]'s prestige was damaged by the joint Belgian–U.S. operation which saw white mercenaries and Western forces intervene once again in the Congo. In particular, Tshombe had lost the support of President [[Joseph Kasa-Vubu]] and Chief of the Army [[Mobutu Sese Seko|Joseph-Desiré Mobutu]] and was dismissed from his post as prime minister in October 1965. |
Despite the success of the raid, [[Moise Tshombe]]'s prestige was damaged by the joint Belgian–U.S. operation which saw white mercenaries and Western forces intervene once again in the Congo. In particular, Tshombe had lost the support of President [[Joseph Kasa-Vubu]] and Chief of the Army [[Mobutu Sese Seko|Joseph-Desiré Mobutu]] and was dismissed from his post as prime minister in October 1965. |
Revision as of 18:08, 3 February 2020
This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (October 2018) |
Operation Dragon Rouge | |||||||
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Part of the Simba rebellion during the Congo Crisis | |||||||
Belgian paratrooper with hostages killed minutes before their arrival | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Simba rebels | |||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
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Strength | |||||||
350 paratroopers[1] 5 C-130 aircraft 128 commandos[2] | 500-600 rebels | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
2 killed 12 wounded | Unknown | ||||||
24 hostages killed |
Operation Dragon Rouge was a hostage rescue operation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo conducted by Belgium and the United States in 1964. The operation was led by the Belgian Paracommando Regiment to rescue hostages held by Simba rebels in the town of Stanleyville.
Background
By 1964, the Léopoldville government, supported by Western powers, was gaining a foothold in its fight to suppress the communist-backed Simba rebellion. Fearing an inevitable defeat, the rebels resorted to taking hostages of the local white population in areas under their control. On 28 October the Simba rebels arrested all Belgians and Americans in Stanleyville.[3] Several hundred hostages were taken to Stanleyville and placed under guard in the Victoria Hotel.
The Léopoldville government turned to Belgium and the United States for help. In response, the Belgian army sent a task force to Léopoldville, airlifted by the U.S. 322nd Air Division. Washington and Brussels worked jointly on a rescue plan. Several ideas were considered and discarded, and all attempts at negotiating with the Simbas had failed.
Operation
The Belgian task force was led by Colonel Charles Laurent.[4] On 24 November 1964, five American C-130 Hercules planes dropped 320 Belgian paratroopers of the Paracommando Regiment onto the airfield at Stanleyville.[1] Once the paratroopers had secured the airfield and cleared the runway they made their way to the Victoria Hotel, prevented Simbas from killing most of the 60 hostages, and evacuated them via the airfield.
At 7h00 the hostages at Residence Victoria were rounded up by the guards and ordered into the street. Around 50 of them had barricaded themselves in their rooms, after having heard the order on Radio Stanleyville at 6h30 to kill all foreigners, but most obediently moved into the street, as they were heading for the airfield. After a short march, when the Simba rebels got word that the airport of Stanleyville was under Belgian control, the hostages were ordered to sit down in the street. After a few minutes, when heavy firing was heard nearby, some of the Simbas opened fire on the seated Belgians and Americans. The Paracommandos intervened and stabilized the situation, of the 250 hostages gathered by the rebels, 18 were already dead, and 40 were heavily wounded. [5]
Dr. Paul Carlson, an American medical missionary, was among those killed during the raid.[6] Around 1,600 foreign nationals and 150 Congolese civilians were evacuated.[7][8] By mid-December, about one month after Operation Dragon Rouge, a total of 185 foreign hostages and thousands of Congolese had been executed by the Simba rebels.[9]
Aftermath
The operation coincided with the arrival of Armée nationale congolaise (ANC) and other foreign mercenary units—which likely included the hastily-formed 5th Mechanised Brigade and Mike Hoare's 5 Commando ANC—at Stanleyville which was quickly captured. Because of growing international pressure, Belgium and the U.S. decided to abandon plans for follow-on operations in Bunia and Watsa, a final rescue operation, Operation Dragon Noir, was carried out in Paulis on 26 November.[10] It took the central government until the end of the year to completely put down the remaining areas of the Simba rebellion.
Despite the success of the raid, Moise Tshombe's prestige was damaged by the joint Belgian–U.S. operation which saw white mercenaries and Western forces intervene once again in the Congo. In particular, Tshombe had lost the support of President Joseph Kasa-Vubu and Chief of the Army Joseph-Desiré Mobutu and was dismissed from his post as prime minister in October 1965.
References
Bibliography
- Closset, A. (1995). Les Compagnons de l'Ommegang (in French). Avin-en-Hesbaye: Aronde. OCLC 123907589.
{{cite book}}
: Invalid|ref=harv
(help) - Ewing, J. R. (1965). "Congo Rescue" (PDF). The Airman. Vol. IX. No. 11. Washington, D.C.: GPO. pp. 10–13. ISSN 0002-2756.
{{cite magazine}}
: Invalid|ref=harv
(help) - Hoyt, M. P. E. (2000). Captive in the Congo: a Consul's Return to the Heart of Darkness. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 9781557503237.
{{cite book}}
: Invalid|ref=harv
(help) - Nothomb, P. (1993). Dans Stanleyville: Journal d'une Prise d'Otage (in French). Louvain-la-Neuve: Duculot. OCLC 716112136.
{{cite book}}
: Invalid|ref=harv
(help) - Odom, T. P. (1988). Dragon Operations: Hostage Rescues in the Congo. Fort Leavenworth: CSI Press. OCLC 58396475.
{{cite book}}
: Invalid|ref=harv
(help) - Reed, D. E. (1965). One Hundred and Eleven Days in Stanleyville. New York: Harper & Row. OCLC 860117853.
{{cite book}}
: Invalid|ref=harv
(help) - Vandewalle, F. (1970). Odyssée et Reconquête de Stanleyville (in French). Brussels: Le Livre Africain. OCLC 586066343.
{{cite book}}
: Invalid|ref=harv
(help) - Verhaegen, B. (1967). "Les rébellions populaires au Congo en 1964". Cah. Études Afr. (in French). 7 (26): 345–59. doi:10.3406/cea.1967.3100.
{{cite journal}}
: Invalid|ref=harv
(help) - Villafana, F. R. (2011). Cold War in the Congo: The Confrontation of Cuban Military Forces. Piscataway: Transaction. ISBN 9781412815222.
{{cite book}}
: Invalid|ref=harv
(help) - Wagoner, F. E. (1980). Dragon Rouge: The Rescue of Hostages in the Congo. Fort Belvoir: DTIC. OCLC 1017224836.
{{cite book}}
: Invalid|ref=harv
(help)
External links
- Media related to Operation Dragon Rouge at Wikimedia Commons
- Il y a 50 ans, à Stanleyville – La Libre Belgique, 3 August 2014 (in French)