Description
The first full account of an African secession that introduced the up to date mercenary–and killed the head of the United Nations
In King Leopold II’s infamous Congo “Free” State on the turn of the century, severed hands became a type of currency. But some Belgians didn’t appear to have a sense of historical shame, as they connived for an independent Katanga state in 1960 to give protection to Belgian mining interests. What happened next used to be strange. Katanga 1960-63 tells, for the first time, the full story of the Congolese province that declared independence and found itself at war with the world. The Congo had no intention of allowing the renegade region to secede, and neither did the CIA, the KGB, or the United Nations. It used to be a fantastically uneven battle. The UN fielded soldiers from twenty nations, The usa paid the bills, and the Soviets intrigued in the back of the scenes. Yet to everyone’s surprise the new nation’s rag-tag army of local gendarmes, jungle tribesmen and, controversially, European mercenaries, refused to give in. For two and a half years Katanga, the scrawniest underdog ever to fight a war, held off the world with guerrilla warfare, two-faced diplomacy, and a few shady financial backing. It even looked as if the Katangese might win.
In King Leopold II’s infamous Congo “Free” State on the turn of the century, severed hands became a type of currency. But some Belgians didn’t appear to have a sense of historical shame, as they connived for an independent Katanga state in 1960 to give protection to Belgian mining interests. What happened next used to be strange. Katanga 1960-63 tells, for the first time, the full story of the Congolese province that declared independence and found itself at war with the world. The Congo had no intention of allowing the renegade region to secede, and neither did the CIA, the KGB, or the United Nations. It used to be a fantastically uneven battle. The UN fielded soldiers from twenty nations, The usa paid the bills, and the Soviets intrigued in the back of the scenes. Yet to everyone’s surprise the new nation’s rag-tag army of local gendarmes, jungle tribesmen and, controversially, European mercenaries, refused to give in. For two and a half years Katanga, the scrawniest underdog ever to fight a war, held off the world with guerrilla warfare, two-faced diplomacy, and a few shady financial backing. It even looked as if the Katangese might win.
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