Siege of Jadotville: Left Alone

Battle

 The Siege of Jadotville was a battle between Katanga and the Irish Army. The Siege of Jadotville took place in September 1961. The lightly armed Irish soldiers, besieged in Jadotville. The Katangese attacked while many of the Irish troops were attending an open-air Mass. Leaving the Irish with not even 200 men. Belgian settlers and local Luba tribesmen attacked the Irish. The attackers had a strength of 3,000-5,000 men, mostly of Luba warriors. The Katangese attacked in waves of 600 or so, preceded by 81mm mortars.  The Irish soldiers successfully defended against successive waves of attackers from their positions. They also had the help of Swedish UN troops which made them 500 strong. The Irish Support Platoon knocked out most of the Katangese mortar. 'A' Company, 35th Battalion(Irish) 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 unknown number were wounded, with figures ranging from 300-1,000. 

Surrender

The outnumbered Irish company was eventually forced to surrender after ammunition and supplies were exhausted, but not before inflicting heavy casualties on the Katangese and their mercenaries. They were held as prisoners of war for approximately one month, with no loss of life. It was the last engagement of the United Nations Operation in the Congo peacekeeping mission to use Irish and Swedish troops in hostile action. Reports of Irish soldiers being killed was inaccurate. The Irish soldiers was later honored with Purple Hearts and a documentary movie.

 I believe that the Irish did a amazing job fighting the battle considering they didn't have any heavy artillery or men. They used most of the bullets twice just to survive the six days. They were held as prisoners and no one was injured. They did a amazing job having each other back.



Fore more info please go to: Siege of Jadotville