You know you're an Irishman when outnumbered 20-1 and surrounded you radio back a request for...

1.4K

•

"The Katangese attacked in waves of 600 or so, preceded by bombardment from 81-mm mortars and a French 75-mm field gun. The Irish soldiers successfully defended against successive waves of attackers from their defensive positions. The Irish Support Platoon knocked out most of the Katangese mortar and artillery positions with accurate counter-battery fire from 60-mm mortars. After withstanding four days of repeated attacks, the Irish fired on identified Katangese mortar and machine gun positions with several hours of continuous and concentrated fire from their own mortars and machine guns."

"The Irish fire proved accurate and effective. White mercenary officers were reportedly observed shooting native gendarmes to stem the rout caused in Katangese lines.[9] The Katangese asked Quinlan for a cease-fire, as their forces had been seriously diminished. By this time, their effective strength may have been reduced to 2,000 men. Quinlan agreed. A series of battles took place at a pinch point called the Lufira Bridge. It carried the Jadotville to Elizabethville Highway across the Lufira River. The Katangese forces dug in here and brought heavy and sustained ground and air fire onto the relief column, killing several Indian UN troops, injuring a number of Irish UN troops, and ultimately forcing the column off the bridge.[12]"

"'A' Company, 35th Battalion suffered five wounded in action during the six days of the siege. The Katangese, on the other hand, suffered heavy losses. Up to 300 were killed, including 30 mercenaries, and an indeterminate number were wounded, with figures ranging from 300 to 1,000. But Quinlan had no access to resupply and reinforcements and, with his transport destroyed by the Fouga Magister jet, a break-out was virtually impossible."

"At one stage in the conflict, a mission to bring in water by air was successful, but due to the use of contaminated containers (previously used to store petrol), the water was largely undrinkable. Quinlan lacked any clear direction or communication from his superiors, and the Katangese gradually infringed on the cease-fire agreement to undermine A Company's position. In the end, with his position untenable, without any clear orders or promise of assistance, having run out of ammunition and food, and low on water, Quinlan accepted the second offer to surrender to the Katangese.[1] The Irish were held as hostages for approximately one month, in an effort to extort terms of ceasefire that were embarrassing to the UN.[13] The Katangese and their mercenary allies bartered the Irish soldiers for prisoners in the custody of the Congolese government of Joseph Kasa-Vubu. After being released,the troops were returned to their base in Elizabethville"

Source: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Jadotville

(There's also a pretty decent film on Netflix)

"The Katangese attacked while many of the Irish troops were attending an open air Mass. Expecting to take the men off guard, the first attackers moved in rapidly but were spotted by an alert sentry. A warning shot by Sergeant Billy Ready alerted the company to the threat. (Ready was wounded in the following exchange of fire.) A five-day battle ensued. A combined force of mercenaries, Belgian settlers, and local Luba tribesmen attacked the Irish. The attackers had a strength of 3,000 to 5,000 men, mostly bands of Luba warriors, but also many Belgian, French, and Rhodesian mercenaries armed with a mix of light and heavy armament. They also had air support from a Fouga Magister trainer jet, fitted with underwing bombs and machine guns. For the most part, the Irish UN soldiers were armed with only light personal weapons, a small number of water-cooled Vickers machine guns, and 60mm mortars. The besieged Irish radioed to their headquarters: "We will hold out until our last bullet is spent. Could do with some whiskey". "The Katangese attacked in waves of 600 or so, preceded by bombardment from 81-mm mortars and a French 75-mm field gun. The Irish soldiers successfully defended against successive waves of attackers from their defensive positions. The Irish Support Platoon knocked out most of the Katangese mortar and artillery positions with accurate counter-battery fire from 60-mm mortars. After withstanding four days of repeated attacks, the Irish fired on identified Katangese mortar and machine gun positions with several hours of continuous and concentrated fire from their own mortars and machine guns." "The Irish fire proved accurate and effective. White mercenary officers were reportedly observed shooting native gendarmes to stem the rout caused in Katangese lines.[9] The Katangese asked Quinlan for a cease-fire, as their forces had been seriously diminished. By this time, their effective strength may have been reduced to 2,000 men. Quinlan agreed. A series of battles took place at a pinch point called the Lufira Bridge. It carried the Jadotville to Elizabethville Highway across the Lufira River. The Katangese forces dug in here and brought heavy and sustained ground and air fire onto the relief column, killing several Indian UN troops, injuring a number of Irish UN troops, and ultimately forcing the column off the bridge.[12]" "'A' Company, 35th Battalion suffered five wounded in action during the six days of the siege. The Katangese, on the other hand, suffered heavy losses. Up to 300 were killed, including 30 mercenaries, and an indeterminate number were wounded, with figures ranging from 300 to 1,000. But Quinlan had no access to resupply and reinforcements and, with his transport destroyed by the Fouga Magister jet, a break-out was virtually impossible." "At one stage in the conflict, a mission to bring in water by air was successful, but due to the use of contaminated containers (previously used to store petrol), the water was largely undrinkable. Quinlan lacked any clear direction or communication from his superiors, and the Katangese gradually infringed on the cease-fire agreement to undermine A Company's position. In the end, with his position untenable, without any clear orders or promise of assistance, having run out of ammunition and food, and low on water, Quinlan accepted the second offer to surrender to the Katangese.[1] The Irish were held as hostages for approximately one month, in an effort to extort terms of ceasefire that were embarrassing to the UN.[13] The Katangese and their mercenary allies bartered the Irish soldiers for prisoners in the custody of the Congolese government of Joseph Kasa-Vubu. After being released,the troops were returned to their base in Elizabethville" Source: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Jadotville (There's also a pretty decent film on Netflix)

(post is archived)