Siege at Jadotville

The Irish Army’s Forgotten Battle

De: Declan Power

Narrado por: Gerard Doyle

The Irish soldier has never been a stranger to fighting the enemy with the odds stacked against him. The notion of charging into adversity has been a cherished part of Ireland's military history. In September 1961, another chapter should have been written into the annals, but it is a tale that lay shrouded in dust for years.

The men of A Company, 35th Irish Infantry Battalion, arrived in the Congo as a United Nations contingent to help keep the peace. For many it would be their first trip outside their native shores. Some of the troops were teenage boys, their army-issue hobnailed boots still unbroken. They had never heard a shot fired in anger. Others were experienced professional soldiers but were still not prepared for the action that was to take place.

Led by Commandant Pat Quinlan, A Company found themselves tasked with protecting the European population at Jadotville, a small mining town in the Southern Congolese province of Katanga. It fell to A Company to protect those who would later turn against them. On September 13, 1961, the bright morning air of Jadotville was shattered by the sound of automatic gunfire. The men of A Company found their morning mass parade interrupted, and within minutes they went from holding rosaries to rifles as they entered the world of combat. This was to be no Srebrenica; though cut off and surrounded, the men of Jadotville held their ground and fought. This is their story.

Download the accompanying reference guide.©2016 Declan Power (P)2016 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Very Good Story & Narration. One serious gripe.

I really appreciated the story and the presenter. My gripe is about an early statement in it. Paraphrasing here:"The early colonial occupation of Congo by Belgium left it little-changed." All of several books and other documentary accounts I'm aware stress the exceptional brutality and greed with which Belgium's King Leopold II controlled Congo while he alone 'owned' it. The accounts are too gruesome to fathom. I think "little-changed" is an absurd comment & casts some skepticism on the author's accounts, which is an injustice if all the people & events are depicted in an essentially accurate way.

Great Story of an unknown battle!

Great narration and unfolding of a unknown battle in an unfamiliar place at a time when we mostly heard about Russian activities around the globe.

History of the brave Irish left to die by the UN

Typical of the UN and bureaucrats and career minded officers and politicians, sadly this story is just as real today as it was then or in year previous to the Jadotville seige. Posturing bozos maneuvering for political points send willing, brave warriors in to fight ill equipped, with poor intelligence, not knowing who the real enemy is (hint it is always the men in suits on both sides). They order the men to take a tactically inferior position, then fail to give these men on the ground a clear objective. No support is ever given when requested. the men make a noble stand but in the end after much miscommunication, no water or supplies, the CO realizes they have been left for dead and surrenders his unit to prevent their needless slaughter. For saving his soldier's lives the whole unit is black-balled as if the debacle were their fault. Only decades later are they receiving the recognition they deserve. The worst part of the whole mess, and I feel this is often the case in war, the actual warriors who fight, bleed and die, would likely have no issue with one another in a different situation, but the men in suits let their greed spill blood of better men. It was mentioned in another review of this book and it is true that the author states the Russians had placed men on the moon the year before this incident claiming one was Yuri Gagarin. This is completely false, obviously. Gagan was the first human in space but neither he, nor any Soviet Cosmonaut ever set foot on the moon. I am not sure what possessed the author to write such a whacky thing in this book, but I think it should not cast a poor light on what the Irish soldiers or the French and Belgian mercenaries, the African soldiers, or Gurkhas or any of the others who fought in this engagement did. All fought hard and did their jobs well. Their actions have been described in other books as well so should not be doubted simply because the author seems to have lost his marbles momentarily. Enjoy the book!

Down the historical Rabbit hole

This book was amazing, and I am glad I gave it the listen. This had an interesting account that is tremendously frustrating to hear about. No matter who the soldier is, no government should brush them aside for standing so bravely. This book launched me into trying to look up history that I never knew about africa in the sixties and seventies. I highly reccomend this as a first step for anyone looking into military history. Stay strong Ireland.

Fitting tribute to those who fought.

Exhaustive and compelling - a thorough study of the events leading to and during the battle at Jadotville in The Congo in September 1961 with clear, polished, and well-paced reading.

Good listen

Excellent book and a great narration. Very interesting on a little known topic in history.

Basic Historical Error

Said that the Russians put a man on the moon a month before the Irish troops deployed to Africa in May 1961. And claimed Yuri Gagarin was said man. While Gagarin was the first man in space, he was not, nor was any Soviet ever to land on the moon, and the Americans would only finally land a man on the moon in July of 1969. If an author of history can't get two of the most well known and important events of the 20th Century right, why should the rest of their claims of history be trusted?

Amazing story poorly presented

This is a story that deserves to be heard, but I thought it could have been handled in a far more engaging way. Truly, the actual situation was horribly complicated, but I would have hoped the author could have written the events in a way that was both engaging and insightful. That was but the case.

Movie is better

After watching the movie of the siege, I decided to listen to the book, as I found the movie to be riveting and entertaining. Frankly, I find the book to be confusing with details that take away from the main story of the Irish brigade, flat narration, and overall kind of boring. I hate to state this, as this military engagement was pretty incredible, but the author simply did not bring it to life, sorry to say. And I've listened to Gerard Doyle narrate other books; liked him, but with this book, his narration is flat, emotionless, and unengaging. I will finish it, but have to admit that I've skipped over several areas of the book. What a shame, as it's a historical military story that should be conveyed well. If you want to understand what the heck went on without extraneous verbiage, watch the movie.