The Irish of Jadotville *
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Advance of Katanga *
_________against*
_____ Irish delay *
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Date: September 13, 1961 *
Site: Jadotville - Katanga *
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On 11 July 1960, the Republic of Katanga declared it's independence from Congo;  the secession being backed by the Union Minière du Haut Katanga, a Belgian mining company.*
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The Katangese state quickly proceeded to raise an army -- the Katanga Gendarmerie -- with the training efforts of Belgian military advisors and mercenaries of various nationalities.*
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UN Security Council Resolutions  passed in the summer of 1960 provided for a peacekeeping force to be deployed to the Congo/Katanga region.*
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In September 1961, a contigent of 155 Irish Troops (A Company) arrived in the mining town of Jadotville, from whence the Uranium that the atomic bombs dropped on Japan in 1945 had come from.*
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On the morning of 13 September 1961, the Katangese attacked while the Irish were attending an open air mass. The subsequent five day battle lasted until 17 September, when the Irish were forced to surrender, low on ammunition, food and water. Subsequently, the Irish were held as prisoners for a month before being released as part of a prisoner exchange with the Congo government.
