The Kolwezi Rescue was a Foreign Legion airborne operation, which took place in May 1978, in Zaire, now Congo-Kinshasa, to rescue European hostages held in the mining town of Kolwezi by Katangese rebels. The operation was a perfect success, as the hostages were freed with relatively light (military) human casualties.
Location of the city
The city of Kolwezi is located in the heart of the mining region of Shaba, now Katanga, in the south-east of Zaire. Populated by about 100,000 inhabitants in 1978, it is very large (about 40 km²), and divided into districts clearly separated by hills. It is located on important communication routes, on the road and the railway linking Lubumbashi to Dilolo, and has an aerodrome 6 km from the city center.
The taking of hostages by the rebels
In March 1978, following a meeting between Algerians, Angolans and activists of the National Front for the Liberation of Congo, the Zairian secret services were informed of the possibility of a destabilization operation in the Shaba region, a region rich in strategic raw materials. . For several months the Soviet Union has been buying all the cobalt it finds on the free market. This economic information will not be managed by Western intelligence services. The man who must carry out this action is Nathaniel Mbumba. Its militiamen, the "Tigers", are assisted by Cuban and East German officers.
The neighboring region, Katanga, having revolted against the dictator Mobutu, on May 11, 1978, a group of approximately 3 to 4,000 well-armed Katangese rebels from Angola transported by the 2nd Cuban Division through Zambia, neutral country, take about 3,000 Europeans hostage and commit abuses. A platoon of Panhard AML 60s from the Zairian army then joined the rebels.
Between 90 and 280 Europeans are killed (according to estimates). As of May 15, several hundred rebels left the city in stolen vehicles, only 500 men remained, supervised by Cubans. Most are located in the suburbs, in the town of Manika.
President Joseph-Désiré Mobutu then called on the United States, France and Belgium for help.
French-Belgian reaction
Setting up the operation
In order to protect its nationals, France put the 2nd REP (Foreign Parachute Regiment) - commanded by Colonel Philippe Erulin - on alert on May 16 at 12:45 a.m. A meeting between the Belgian and French military authorities took place in Germany in order to to coordinate a common operation. It fails and Belgium decides to send paratroopers in a separate operation, for strictly humanitarian purposes. However, press statements and reports of aircraft movements raise fears of a loss of the element of surprise, essential to the operation. On May 18, at the beginning of the afternoon, the C-130s of the Belgian Air Force (15th Wing) took off from Melsbroek military airport bound for Kamina via Kinshasa. France refused to allow them to fly over French territory and forced the Belgians to circumvent Africa by the West. In doing so, the first Belgian C-130s will only arrive in the afternoon of May 19 in Kamina after having suffered fuel supply problems in the former French colonies. Paris slows down the Belgian operation.
On May 17 during the day, the legionnaires were sent in four DC-8s, belonging to the civil company UTA, from Solenzara to Kinshasa, followed by a Boeing 707 carrying the equipment and the armament. They arrive from 11:15 p.m. the next day. Preparations are made at the Kinshasa military airport, in particular the reception of American military parachutes, for which the companies receive rapid instruction during the night of the 18th to the 19th. The briefing also takes place during the night, and allows the definition of the details of the operation whose plans are designed by the military attaché of the French Embassy, Colonel Gras. The 2 Transalls of the French Air Force and the 4 C-130 Hercules from Zaire took off at 11 a.m. to carry off the first wave while the Belgian paratroopers were regrouping at Kamina.
Operation Skipjack
On May 19 at 2:30 p.m., this one, made up of 405 men (the PC and three companies), jumped from an altitude of 250 meters on the old hippodrome. Six men were injured by small arms fire as soon as the drop took place, another, landing far from his unit, was killed and mutilated in the middle of the street, without having been able to get rid of his parachute.
Immediately, violent street fights begin, making it possible to deliver Europeans held hostage or who had been able to hide. A rebel column, with an AML, was stopped around 3 p.m. near the station by rocket launchers. By rapid overrunning actions, all rebel groups are eliminated.
The city is under Legion control from nightfall at 6 p.m. Units set up at crossroads. During the night, the rebels counter-attack by infiltrating the urban fabric but are stopped by Legion ambushes.
At noon, the first hostages are evacuated through the airfield.
On May 20, Belgian paratroopers landed in Kolwezi around 6:30 am and were stopped by the Foreign Legion. The Belgian paratroopers force the French barrage and enter Kolwezi. They will discover the massacres of the P2 district. The Belgian troops will remain in Katanga for more than a month to supply food to the population of the Kolwezi region and to ensure, in collaboration with the Moroccan troops, the maintenance of order.
On the night of the 19th to the 20th, new fights took place. It was not until the end of the night, at 6:30 a.m., that a second wave of 250 paratroopers was dropped, whereas it had originally been planned for the night of 18 to 19. Jumping east of the city , she takes the rebels from behind and occupies this part of the city in the morning.
In the afternoon of the 20th, the mining town of Metal-Shaba was also taken by the 2nd REP. The 200 rebels are forced to evacuate, but kill a Legionnaire NCO.
The audacity and speed of execution of the operation provided a surprise effect favorable to the legionnaires who seized the city center in stride. In two days, they took control of the city, freed the 2,800 nationals and evacuated them on May 21.
Relief
The region is also under the control of paratroopers, until they are relieved by an African force commanded by Morocco and its partners (Senegal, Togo and Gabon).
Review
About 250 rebels were killed, as well as five legionnaires, a Belgian paratrooper and a Moroccan para-commando, twenty others were injured[1]. The legionnaires also took a thousand small arms, 4 cannons, 15 mortars and 21 rocket launchers, and destroyed 2 AMLs.
Some 700 African civilians and 170 Europeans were killed during this destabilization attempt.
This is the first time that the French army has used the FR-F1 sniper rifle in operations.
This rescue shows the effectiveness of light parachuted troops, when they benefit from the surprise effect during a well-prepared operation (intelligence, speed of design and execution, logistical support).
References and sources
1. ↑ Cahiers du Retex n° 12, p 30
* Pierre Sergent, The Legion jumps on Kolwezi, Presses de la cité, 1978
* (fr)(en) [pdf] General Gaussères, The teachings of Kolwezi - May 1978, Cahiers du Retex n ° 12, supplement to Objectif doctrine 37 (published by the Center de doctrine de l'emploi des forces, French Ministry of Defence). Online:[1], consulted on October 16, 2006, p 27-31.
* Front Line Magazine n°1, September 2006, "1978, the REP jumps on Kolwezi