Jadotville, << ZHA doh veel or zha DOH vihl >> Battle of, was fought between Irish troops of a United Nations (UN) peacekeeping force and forces rebelling against the government of Congo in September 1961. The west African nation in which the battle was fought is now known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The battle took place in the southern Congo town of Jadotville, now known as Likasi. It consisted of rebel assaults and a five-day siege on the UN garrison at Jadotville, which fell to the rebels. The battle was part of the Congo crisis, a civil war that lasted from 1960 to 1965. The Congo crisis itself was one of the “hot theaters”—that is, places where military action occurred—at the height of the Cold War. The Cold War was an intense rivalry that developed after World War II (1939-1945) between Communist nations led by what was then the Soviet Union and non-Communist nations led by the United States.
Background.
The African nation of Congo plunged into civil unrest shortly after gaining independence from the European nation of Belgium in June 1960. In July, UN military and diplomatic support arrived to reestablish order, but violence between rival Congo groups continued. By early August 1961, agreements had ended most of the violence. However, unrest continued in southern Katanga Province, which had seceded (withdrawn) from Congo in 1960.
In late August and September 1961, UN peacekeeping forces took control of key positions in the Katangan capital of Elisabethville (now Lubumbashi), increasing tensions in the province. At the same time, a company of 157 Irish troops was sent to protect the remote copper-mining town of Jadotville, about 80 miles (130 kilometers) from the main UN force at Elisabethville. Expecting an attack, the Irish troops prepared defenses and stockpiled supplies.
The battle.
On Sept. 13, 1961, Katangan rebels and foreign mercenaries (hired soldiers) surrounded and attacked the Irish troops at Jadotville. Over the next few days, the rebel force swelled to more than 3,000 soldiers. The vastly outnumbered Irish resisted numerous assaults and inflicted heavy casualties (people killed or wounded) on the attackers. A force of UN troops from Ireland, India, and Sweden tried but failed to break through the rebel lines to relieve Jadotville. Running out of ammunition, food, and water, the Irish force at Jadotville surrendered on September 17, ending the battle.
Aftermath.
The attacking Katangan and mercenary forces suffered over 300 killed and many more wounded. Five Irish soldiers at Jadotville were wounded, but none were killed. The UN force sent to relieve the besieged garrison at Jadotville, however, suffered 3 killed and 8 wounded when rebels forced them to turn back, as well as additional casualties during their retreat to Elisabethville. All 157 Irish troops who surrendered were returned safely in a prisoner exchange roughly one month after the battle.
UN troops finally ended the Katanga secession in 1963. The UN withdrew its forces in June 1964, but budding revolts then intensified. Most of the unrest finally ended in 1965.
UN Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjöld, who tried to negotiate a peaceful end to the fighting at Jadotville, was killed on Sept. 18, 1961, when his plane crashed in nearby Northern Rhodesia (now the nation of Zambia). Officials ruled the crash an accident, but many people suspected the plane was shot down by forces sympathetic to the Katangan rebels.
