| | Africa Addio: (Africa Blood & Guts) Special 08: The Battle of Bowende (Zaire).
(You can download and view the video footage of this in the video section)
This is my favourite excerpt.
When the Congo (Zaire) became independent, there was a lot of trouble. At one point the
communists tried to take it over. So a black leader, decided to hire white mercenaries
to fight for him. He was very confident the whites would kick ass - and they did!
Colonel Mike Hoare is famous for leading these mercenaries. They placed adverts in
newspapers in South Africa and Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), and about 1,000 or
so whites joined. Many believed they might as well get ready for the coming liberation
wars and that the Congo was a good training ground for the coming struggle against
communism/Black liberation.
In this piece, we see 40 white mercenaries, accompanied by black soldiers doing
what the entire Congolese army could not do. They attacked and took Bowende. (I
hope my spelling of it is correct). Just watch what the whites manage to do with
their bit of equipment!
The Mercenaries "air force" consists of two outdated American WWII fighter planes
flown by two Rhodesians whose families were massacred by blacks in Angola. The
Rhodesians fly for free. The black leader hasn't been able to pay them the salary
of $500 per month he promised, and no insurance company will underwrite their
insurance policies... but they fly for free... When they leave, they sign the
accustomed forms: "Destination: Hell. Reason: Personal business." Here the
planes are in action firing their machine guns into communist rebel positions...
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ABG_SP08_01.JPG |
| | The ground force of white mercenaries leading black soldiers advance along a track - such
as the road may be called with heavy jungle growth on
either side. "Get off the trucks and take cover!", shouts the commander as they come under
fire. The machine gun is to the left of the photo.
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ABG_SP08_02.JPG |
| | The machine gunner lays down a hail of fire…
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ABG_SP08_03.JPG |
| | One of the white soldiers runs forward along the track amidst the shooting…
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ABG_SP08_04.JPG |
| | He is followed by the machine gunner who is firing unceasingly as he walks forward…
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ABG_SP08_05.JPG |
| | The machine gunner fires into the heavy bush…
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ABG_SP08_06.JPG |