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In 1961, during the United Nations intervention in the Katangan conflict in the Congo, central Africa, a company of Irish peacekeeping troops was forced to surrender to soldiers loyal to Katanga’s prime minister, Moise Tshombe.
They were isolated, without water, supplies or support when they were attacked and forced to defend themselves in a brutal and bloody five- day battle. Shamefully neglected by their superiors, they were portrayed as cowards upon their return home. In this new and updated edition of Heroes of Jadotville: The Soldiers’ Story, Rose Doyle uses interviews, reports, journals and letters to bring answers and clarity to an episode long ignored. She blows the lid on the real story of what happened in Africa, exposing how Irish peacekeeping soldiers became pawns in an international struggle for control of Katanga and its mineral wealth.
Doyle seeks to grant these soldiers the recognition their bravery deserves.
This is their story. It is a pity that we, who never believed in the use of force, must suffer for the blunders of little dictators and stupid military leaders…We did not come here to shoot Africans, we came to help them…I was not prepared to let my brave men die for nothing. — COMDT PATRICK QUINLAN, JADOTVILLE, SEPTEMBER 1961
ISBN/EAN | 9781848404885 |
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Author | Rose Doyle |
Publisher | New Island |
Publication date | 1 Feb 2016 |
Format | Paperback |