On November 24, 1964, a dozen C130 aircraft were slowly flying over the Congo river in a close
formation while the fog covered them as they made their way to the colonial city of Stanleyville.
The aircraft were carrying an elite group of Belgian
commandos under Operation Dragon Rouge with one daring objective:
to rescue over 2,000 American and European prisoners captured by Communist rebels.
Time was running out, and they had to act fast. The rebels, nicknamed the Lions,
had brutal tactics and committed unspeakable acts of violence, so every second counted.
Finally, at 6:00am, the Belgian paratroopers ventured into the
jungle and attempted to pull off one of history's largest hostage rescue operations…
Civil Unrest By 1960, the Congo was ready
to achieve independence from the iron grip of the Belgians. Under the leadership of King Leopold I,
the Europeans had seized control of the territory going back to the mid-19th century.
However, the Congo, rich in gold, diamonds, uranium, copper, and other precious minerals,
was shocked by a civil war that would destabilize its central government.
The now-independent Republic of the Congo became a Cold War proxy war.
The President asked the Russians for help, and, shortly afterwards, the Americans got involved
to support the rebels who opposed the new government backed by the Soviet Union.
Four years later, in 1964, political unrest loomed large over the nation, while the United States
put a new president that was disobeyed and confronted by several regions. The
United Nations then sent troops to the capital, Léopoldville, to impose order, but it was futile.
Christophe Gbenye, an indoctrinated Communist, declared himself the President of Congo and formed
a savage tribe that swept over the country. They were called the Simba or Simbas,
the Swahili word for “lion.” Ruthless assassins wore leopard skins, palm leaves,
and other relics that they considered would make them immune to bullets. Furthermore, the
Simba practiced cannibalism because they believed eating human hearts gave them supernatural powers.
To fight off the Simbas that put his Army into perpetual retreat,
Congolese President Moise Tshombe hired South African Major Michael Hoare, a World War 2 veteran
known as Mad Mike who had earned a ruthless reputation in all of Africa, as he had fought
in Burma under Brigadier General Orde Wingate, the creator of the Chindit deep-penetration forces.
President Tshombe asked Mad Mike to raise an army of mercenaries to assist the Congolese Army.
Hoare then called over 300 white mercenaries to arms, and the unit was dubbed 5 Commando.
However, despite Mad Mike’s reputation, his unit would not be enough to subjugate the enemy,
which led Tshombe to request United States assistance.
At the time, the Domino Theory was in full swing. It was the geopolitical threat that if one country
or region fell into the sphere of influence of Communism, others would soon follow. The
menace was real and palpable, and the US was not willing to let Communism expand across Africa.
Consequently, President Lyndon Johnson answered the call by assembling Joint Task Force Leo,
a Strike Command task force composed of three Tactical Air Command C-130s.
In addition, a platoon of paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne was assigned to the task force
to protect the aircraft while on the ground, and Johnson also sent a secondary military aid
composed of Cuban expatriate mercenaries hired by the CIA to fly T28 Trojans and B26 Intruders.
A Hostage Situation In August of 1964, the Simbas
captured Stanleyville. At first, they treated the white and American population with respect,
but once they became aware of the American support for their enemy, they turned violent.
The Congolese Army had begun making gains, and the rebels could not allow it. With the tide slowly
turning against them thanks to US support, the Simbas started taking the white people hostage.
Also, the black Congolese who supported the government and sheltered any whites
were tortured without mercy. In September, US Consul Michael
Hoyt was taken hostage with the rest of his staff and sent to the Victoria Hotel,
where others were held as bargaining chips. From then on, the ruthless Simbas
began incarcerating every white person they could find, including women and children.
The rebels eventually mustered people from over 20 countries, including Doctor Paul Carlson from the
Protestant Relief Agency, who was accused of being an undercover agent for the CIA. In addition,
middle-class Congolese lost their lives by the thousands for having ties with the whites.
By early November, the Simbas threatened to end the lives of all their prisoners if
the United States did not withdraw its support from the Congolese government.
Then, concerned about the escalating crisis and the fate of hundreds of civilians,
nuns, priests, and children, the US and Belgium tried to negotiate with the Simbas,
albeit to no benefit. The Communist rebels refused to talk,
and consequently, the US and Belgium prepared a top-secret military intervention.
They were going to fight their way into Stanleyville to save the hostages.
The Red Dragon
The plan called for the use of an elite group of paratroopers that would be directly airlifted
to the Congo to rescue the hostages. The US would supply the aircraft and the Belgians
would provide the paratroopers. The operation was codenamed Dragon Rouge, or Red Dragon.
Brigadier General Robert D. Forman, commander of the 322nd Air Division, prepared the operation and
gave Colonel Burgess Gradwell the green light to lead the ground forces and rescue the hostages.
The operation would comprise 600 paratroopers and over 14 aircraft to airlift everyone. The
men involved were briefed on November 20 about the secrecy of the operation and got ready for combat.
On the morning of November 24, 1964, Captain Marck Secord was inspecting the thick jungle
canopy surrounding the Congo River through the cockpit of his C130.
Minutes later, once the fog cleared, Secord gave the green light for the Belgian paratroopers
to drop into the Sabena airport and secure it before more aircraft could land men and supplies.
The rest of the aircraft crews were greeted by tracer fire from
Chinese 12.7-millimeter anti-aircraft machine guns, but half an hour later,
the soldiers secured the airport, and the supplies landed shortly after.
Captain Donald Strobaugh, the commander of the 5th Aerial Port Squadron combat control team,
made sure his men regrouped before proceeding to the city and rescuing the hostages.
Meanwhile, at Stanleyville, the Simbas had heard and seen the approaching enemy aircraft
and decided to take over 250 whites to the Lumumba monument to execute them. As they approached the
location, a Belgian civilian heard a rebel radio operator shouting to put everyone down.
Although some of the Simbas tried to stop their comrades, the rest of the men opened fire
without compassion. Then, as they reloaded for a second round, one of the survivors saw a Belgian
paratrooper with a submachine gun around a corner. More paratroopers soon joined him,
and the so-called bravery of the rebels instantly went away.
Most of them vanished through the streets and fled before the Belgians had a chance to gun them down.
The sight that greeted the paratroopers was disconcerting,
and they went after the Simbas seeking vengeance. After half an hour, the commandos cleared the
area and got ready to extract the first group of survivors by the afternoon.
Time for Extractions
At 10:00am, the first convoy of survivors arrived at the airport and boarded a C130.
However, about 300 rebels approached the runway and breached the defenses of the Belgians.
As the aircraft was getting ready for take-off, the rebels opened fire and damaged one of the
engines and the wings. Still, the aircraft was able to take off, and soon, other Belgian DC6s
joined the airlift to accelerate the evacuation. By nightfall, Captain Strobaugh and his men
struggled to hold off a 150-man rebel assault with mortars, while the Simbas placed snipers
to pick off Belgians and Congolese friendlies. One officer lost his life during the confrontations.
The evacuation resumed on the morning of November 26, and during the two days, the C130s and DC6s
flew 41 sorties, rescuing over 1,800 Americans and Europeans and over 300 VIP Congolese.
Then, by the evening, another C130 flew directly into the town of Paulis,
close to Stanleyville, to pick up other hostages, and the Belgian paratroopers jumped in the
middle of a thick fog that limited visibility. However, they all landed successfully and carried
on with their mission inside Paulis while the hired mercenaries at Stanleyville rescued other
hostages and made their way into the inner city. Both the Belgians and the mercenaries were deeply
impacted by the violence inflicted by the rebels and responded as such with no mercy.
The Chaos Continues On November 27, 1964,
the Belgians finally withdrew from Stanleyville and flew to Kamina on their way home.
Although the top-secret mission had successfully rescinded the Americans,
Europeans, and Congolese from the onslaught of the revolution,
the operation was not well-received by smaller countries, as they considered the
American and Belgian intervention as another act of imperialism.
In addition, several Communist movements made use of propaganda to put the operation to shame.
The violence in Congo would rage on for several months, resulting in more senseless losses,
and on November 29, King Baudouin awarded several of the men involved in Operation Dragon Rouge
with the Order of Leopold II to remember one of the largest rescue operations in history.
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Was there another solution to solve the crisis? Stay tuned for more!