Operation Dragon Rouge

Operation Dragon Rouge
Part of the Simba Rebellion and the Congo Crisis
A Belgian paratrooper taking cover near the bodies of massacred hostages
Date November 24-27, 1964 Location Stanleyville, Congo-Léopoldville (modern-day Kisangani, Democratic Republic of the Congo) Result Operation successful; most hostages rescued
Belligerents
Belgium United States Supported by: Congo-Léopoldville	Simba rebels
Commanders and leaders
Charles Laurent	Christophe Gbenye
Unknown
Units involved
Belgian 1st Para-Commando Regiment
322nd Air Division, USAF
Strength
350 Belgian paratroopers	300-500 Simbas
c. 1,800 Belgian and other European hostages
Casualties and losses
2 killed, 12 wounded	Unknown
24 hostages killed

Operation Dragon Rouge (Template:Lang-en, Template:Lang-fr, Template:Lang-nl) was a hostage rescue operation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo conducted by Belgium and the United States in November 1964. The operation, relying heavily on paratroopers from the Belgian Paracommando Regiment, aimed to retrieve hostages held by Communist Simba rebels in Stanleyville (modern-day Kisangani).

Background

By 1964, the Léopoldville government, supported by western powers, was gradually defeating the communist-backed Simba rebellion through the use of mercenaries and extreme brutality. Fearing defeat, the rebels started taking hostages of the local white population in areas under their control. Several hundred hostages were taken to Stanleyville and placed under guard in the Victoria Hotel.

A hysterical hostage is transported to a departing aircraft

The Léopoldville government turned to Belgium and the United States for help. In response, the Belgian army sent a task force to Léopoldville, airlifted by the 322nd Air Division of the United States Air Force (USAF). Washington and Brussels tried to come up with a rescue plan. Several ideas were considered and discarded, while attempts at negotiating with the Simbas failed.

Before Dragon Rouge could be launched, the aircraft and crews had to be recalled from their normal missions throughout Europe. By the evening of November 16, all 15 Hercules were back at Evreux and the crews were on 'crew rest' for an 'important' mission. At 1740 Greenwich Mean Time-'Zulu time-on November 17, the first C-130 took off from Evreux, bound for Klinebrogel, Belgium. Aboard the first plane were Colonel Gradwell, Captain Donald R. Strobaugh, commander of the 5th Aerial Port Squadron (APRON) combat control team, and sergeant Robert J. Dias, a radio repairman with the 5th APRON. Like the C-130 crews, Strobaugh had been called back to Evreux from duties elsewhere in Europe. Other than certain key officers, no one aboard the airplanes knew where they were going until after they were airborne with no problems requiring them to turn back. Each navigator had been given a sealed envelope, with instructions not to open it until the airplane's altitude exceeded 2,000 feet.

At Klinebrogel, elements of the Belgian 1st Para-Commando Regiment, including the 1st Para-Commando Battalion, a company from the 2nd Battalion and a detachment from the 3rd, were loaded aboard the C-130s, along with their equipment. At 2240Z, the first Hercules departed Klinebrogel for a fuel stop at Morn Air Base on the southern coast of Spain, then on to Ascension Island in the South Atlantic. The first airplane arrived at Ascension at 1310Z on November 18.At Ascension, Captain Strobaugh instructed the Belgians on the use of the PRC-41 and PRC-47 radio sets he had brought for Evreux for communication between the men on the ground and the planes overhead. He also instructed 21 Belgian jumpmasters on C-130 jump techniques-few of the Belgian paras had ever jumped from the Hercules-then supervised as they trained the remainder of the force.

For the next three days, the joint rescue force waited while communications were passed back and force between there and Washington by a TAC C-130 'Talking Bird' that joined the mission at Ascension. On November 20, a special briefing of the various commanders was held to determine exactly how the assault was to be performed. Once it was firmed, Captain Strobaugh transmitted the plan to Washington. At 1800Z, the force was put on alert; 30 minutes later, the launch order came over the teletype. Ad hour later, at 1935Z, Chalk One (tactical airlift missions are designated by 'chalk' numbers, after the practice of numbering loads with chalk) departed Ascension bound for Kamina, an airfield in the southern Congo, with the other 13 C-130s right behind.

The Operation

The task force was led by the Belgian colonel Charles Laurent.

At daybreak, the first Hercules arrived at Kamina after a nine-hour flight across part of the Atlantic and halfway across Africa. The field was obscured by fog, but English-speaking air traffic controllers directed each plane to the airport in turn. Once the force was on the ground more briefings were held, including an update on the mission's status by Colonel Clayton Issacson, commander of JTF Leo and now in overall command of Dragon Rouge and other activities in the Congo. Then the Dragon Rouge force went into another waiting period while Belgium and the United States continued their efforts to win the hostages' freedom through negotiations.

On Monday evening, November 23, the rescue force relaxed at Kamina in one of the hangars. At 2230Z (2030 local time), the teletype machines in the 'Talking Bird' began clattering as messages came in from Washington and Brussels. Dragon Rouge was on, with takeoff scheduled for 0045Z, so as to arrive over the Stanleyville airport at dawn. The first C-130, flown by Captain Huey Long's Standardizations/Evacuation crew from the 777th Troop Carrier Squadron, lifted off form Kamina's long runway right on time, followed at 20-second intervals by the other 11 planes of the assault force. The sixth airplane in the formation, piloted by Captain William 'Mack' Secord, lost a 20-man life raft from a wing storage compartment after takeoff. Secord left the formation and went back to Kamina for a spare airplane. The rest of the Dragon Rouge formation proceeded northbound at high altitude, following the Congo River, descending to treetop altitudes as the planes neared revel territory.

Nearing Stanleyville, lead navigator John Coble led the formation south of the city, still at low altitude, so as to approach from the west. As the formation reached the one-minute warning point, two B-26s made a low pass over the airport. Laurent and 299 of his men jumped over Stanleyville airport exactly at dawn.

The jump plane crews were briefed to expect only small-arms fire over the airport. Instead, they were greeted by tracers from Chinese-made 12.7mm antiaircraft machine guns. In spite of the unexpected fire, the American pilots held their course as they dropped their troopers right on the narrow drop zone beside the runway, then came back around for another pass to allow the 20 jumpmasters to exit, along with the bundles of extra equipment. Only the first five airplanes in the formation dropped at that time: Dragons Six and Seven were rigged to either drop or land with equipment (Secord's Dragon Six had gone back to Kamina and was still en route), while Dragons Eight, Nine and Eleven orbited nearly, their troops at the ready to jump in if needed, or land when the field was secure.

Once on the ground, the Para-Commandos began rushing to secure the field so rescue force aircraft could land. Within 30 minutes the Belgians managed to eliminate all resistance at the airport and within 10 minutes had cleared away about 300 water-filled 55-gallon drums and 11 wheel-less vehicles that had been placed on the runway as obstacles. To Captain Strobaugh, who was serving aboard Dragon Nine as jumpmaster, the Belgians' efforts were 'nothing short of miraculous.' At 0450Z, the first C-130 landed at Stanleyville and discharged a load of equipment and troops, then took off again to fly to Leopoldville-where the drop planes had already gone-for refueling and to await word to return to Stanleyville and evacuate refugees. Dragon One remained overhead, serving as a command ship for Colonel Gradwell. Colonel Issacson also made an appearance over Stanleyville in one of the JTF Leo aircraft, using the call sign 'Dragon Chief.'

After Dragon Seven landed and took off again, Dragons Eight, Nine, Eleven and Ten followed in that order. Each crew offloaded their troopers and then took off again for Leopoldville; no more than three airplanes were to be on the ground at one time. The last two planes, Six and Twelve, flown respectively by Secord and Captain B.J. Nunnally, were told to remain on the ground to bring out the first hostages when they were brought out of town. Dragon One continued orbiting over the airport at 2,000 feet. Navigator Coble was uncomfortable about being so low over a combat zone; he had served four temporary duty tours in South Vietnam flying C-123s. The rest of the crew laughed, calling him "combat happy" until they suddenly felt and heard the sound of bullets striking the airplane. Seven rounds hit the Hercules, knocking out hydraulics and leaving two large holes in the wing fuel tanks. With Gradwell's approval, Long headed his C-130 for Leopold for repairs.

Once the airport was secure, the Belgian rescue force headed for downtown Stanleyville, where the hostages were known to be held. The hostages themselves were awakened by the wounds of the battle at the airport and the alarmed Simbas who came after them shouting: "Your brothers have come from the sky! Now you will be killed!" Dressed in manes of monkey fur and feathers, the Simbas bashed down the doors of the Victoria Hotel with spears and gun butts, and then roughly hustled their white hostages out into the streets. For more than an hour, the hostages had been hearing sounds of airplanes engines and gunfire while others not in captivity saw parachutes falling from the sky over the airport. Knowing that the Simbas had threatened to kill everyone under their control in the event of a rescue attempt, they were fearful.

Now the Simbas ordered the 250 Americans and Belgians from the Victoria Hotel out into the broad streets of the city and began marching them toward the city park and toward the Patrice Lumumba 'monument'-a large photograph of the late prime minister-where the rebels had already slain more than 100 Congolese during recent weeks. The hostages still entertained some hope; they were being marched in the direction of the airport, leading some to believe that the rebel commander intended to turn them over to the rescue force unharmed. Then, rebel-operated Radio Stanleyville shrilled out a message: "Ciyuga! Ciyuga! Kill! Kill! Kill them all! Have no scruples! Men, women, children-kill them all!"

Simba Colonel Joseph Opepe, who had befriended some of the hostages, tried in vain to stop the Simbas from carrying out the orders screamed over the radios. Many of the Simbas were drunk from a mixture of alcohol and hemp. According to some survivors, the signal to fire came from a deaf-mute ex-boxer known as 'Major Bubu,' who served as a personal bodyguard to rebel defense minister Gaston Soumialot. Whoever gave the word, the rebels suddenly started firing into the assembled hostages with rifles and automatic weapons. The firing was not random; the rebels deliberately chose women and children as their first targets.

After an initial volley, the rebels temporarily ceased firing. Marcel Debuisson, a Belgian engineer, heard one of the Simba officers say, "Now we'll turn them over and finish off the ones left alive." Debuisson prayed for a miracle and his prayers were answered. "To my amazement," he told news reporters afterward, "It happened. Round the corner of the square walked a single Belgian paratrooper, sub-machine gun on his hip." The rebels saw the Belgian red beret as well; immediately they turned and fled. What the Belgians found in Sergeant Kitele Avenue was not a pretty sight. About 30 whites had been killed, while dozens of others were wounded. Two Americans were among the slain: Dr. Paul Carlson and Phyliss Rine, a missionary from Ohio. The sight of the bloodshed left the Belgians angered, as would be the white mercenaries who came into the city a few hours later, spearheading a ground assault from the east.

Back at the airport, the situation was still far from calm. More than 300 rebels occupied positions near the runway. As many hostages were freed, they were returned to the airport for evacuation. The first group arrived at the airport around 0945 and was loaded aboard the two waiting C-130s. The most badly wounded were loaded on Dragon Twelve, the hospital plane. Many of the hostages were wounded, while all were terrified and in a state of shock. Captain Mack Secord took off first with what he reckoned as 'around a hundred' hostages aboard. As he taxied for takeoff, the plane passed by a clump of elephant grass. Three Simbas leaped from the grass and ran alongside the plane, trying to force their way inside, although nobody aboard it was aware of it at the time. One of the rebels fired a burst from his sub-machine gun straight up into the wing. Secord took off with fuel streaming from the wing and headed for Leopoldville, where he landed with no flaps, no prop-reverse and on only three engines.

Although the Belgians spoke English, they were not used to speaking with rapid-talking Americans, many of whom were Southerners with distinct accents. To eliminate possible confusion, Colonel Laurent asked Captain Strobaugh and Sergeant Dias to take charge of communications with the American air crewmen and radio operators.

With the airport secure and the freed hostages beginning to make their way there, Strobaugh requested an airlift to take them out, along with air support for the strike forces. In addition to the American C-130s, Belgian Douglas DC-6s joined the airlift. Several airplanes landed with bullet holes received while on landing approach. Periodically throughout the day, Strobaugh had to direct aircraft to orbit nearby while the Belgians repulsed attacks on the airport. As the last C-130 of the day landed at 1545Z, impacting mortar rounds signaled the start of a 150-man rebel assault on the west end of the airport. The Belgians repulsed five separate attacks as the airplane landed on the east end of the runway. Thirty minutes later, a Belgian DC-6 came in with a damaged engine that forced it to remain on the ground overnight.

Rebel opposition continued in the vicinity of the Stanleyville airport on November 25 as snipers took potshots at Belgian and Congolese national troops. Early that morning, sniper fire killed one of the Belgian officers from the stranded DC-6. Less than an hour later, a sniper's bullets hit the control tower. On November 26, the evacuation of whites and some Congolese from the city resumed. Over the two-day period 41 sorties by the American C-130s and Belgian DC-6s brought out more than 1,800 American and European whites, as well as some 300 Congolese civilians.

Late in the evening, seven C-130s flew into Stanleyville to pick up troops for another rescue mission to the town of Paulis, 225 miles to the northwest. Early on the morning of Thanksgiving Day, the seven-plane flight took off on Operation Dragon Noir, a repeat of Tuesday's mission. Arriving over Paulis at daybreak, the crews found their objective enshrouded in fog. The Belgians jumped anyway, making their descent into mist that obscured the ground. Every trooper landed on the designated drop zone. As soon as the fog lifted, the C-130s began landing on the dirt runway, their propellers stirring up a thick red cloud of dist as the pilots brought them into reverse after touchdown. The scene was one that would be repeated by many of those some crews in the same planes in Vietnam, where American involvement was starting to escalate. One pilot, Major Joe Hildebrand, reversed his prop while the plane was still airborne; the resulting hard landing flamed out all four engines of his 'Herky-bird.'

At Paulis, the paratroopers found the condition of the hostages to be as bad as-or worse than-at Stanleyville. An American missionary had been systematically tortured and beaten until death mercifully brought relief. Meanwhile, back at Stanleyville, the Belgians and mercenaries who made their way into the city shortly after the parachute assault found more white victims. A missionary family from New Zealand was brought to the airport. The father had been slain, the mother cut with machetes, while the two young daughters had scalp wounds inflicted by the Simbas. Only the two sons were spared injury.

Such senseless carnage caused the mercenaries and even the well-disciplined Belgian paratroopers to lose their restraint. Most rebels they encountered were slain on the spot. Congolese government soldiers frequently exhibited the same lack of concern for human life as their brothers on the other side, in one case kicking to death a Simba "priest" captured near the airport.

Aftermath and legacy

Belgian paratroopers on Stanleyville airfield after the operation

On the evening of the November 27, the last Belgian troopers were withdrawn from Stanleyville and flown to Kamina to begin the first leg of their journey home. Their departure was somewhat premature, largely due to a huge outcry of discontent in the Third World over Belgian and American intervention in Africa, as demonstrators made their feelings known. Sometimes the demonstrations got out of hand, as in Cairo, Egypt, where the new John F. Kennedy library was burned to the ground in protest over the "white presence" in Africa. A well-organized propaganda effort in Communist and Third World nations placed the blame for the atrocities in Stanleyville solely on American and Belgian shoulders. Some nations, including China and Cuba, pledged aid to the Congo rebels.

But even though the fighting in the Congo would continue for several months, with many Belgians and a few hundred other whites left behind who slain by the Simba rebels, Operation Dragon Rouge was over. On the morning of November 29, the rescue force departed Africa for Ascension. From there, it flew to the Canary Islands, then on to Melsbroek Airfield, outside of Brussels. There the rescuers were welcomed home by several hundred high-ranking officers, news reporters, television camera crews and relatives. King Baudouin received the Belgian paratroopers and American aircrews at a review on the flight line, and presented Colonels Laurent and Gradwell with the Order of Leopold II. After the ceremony, the Americans were taken on a tour of the city. Later, the American crewmen would all be awarded Air Medals for their role in the mission, while the 1964 McKay Trophy, an annual award for the most meritorious flight of the year by U.S. Air Force planes, would be awarded to the Dragon Rouge force.

Despite the success of the raid, Moise Tshombe's prestige was damaged by the joint Belgian-US operation which saw white mercenaries and western forces intervene once again in the Congo. In particular, Tshombe had lost the support of President Joseph Kasa Vubu and Chief of the Army Joseph-Desiré Mobutu and was dismissed from his post as prime minister the following year in October 1965.

For the American and Belgian military personnel involved in Dragon Rouge, the operation was one that all would remember with pride. Even thought the rescue was not without cost to the Belgians, the mission had been an overall success, resulting in the release of hundreds of hostages who doubtless would have been killed had it not occurred.

On December 11, 1964, the Belgian politician Paul-Henri Spaak was called to the United Nations to respond to accusations of neocolonialism and imperialism by Eastern Block countries.

Bibliography

• Colonel BEM Hre André Closset, Les Compagnons de l’Ommegang, 1995, Editions de l’Aronde.
• Colonel E. R. Vandewalle, Odyssée et reconquête de Stanleyville , Brussels 1970, 459 pp
• Patrick Nothomb, Dans Stanleyville, journal d'une prise d'otage, Duculot, 1993
• Documentary series: Ce jour là episode 8, Nos paras sautent sur Stanleyville, RTBF, 2011, 90 minutes

External links

• "Ce jour-là, le 24 novembre 1964: les paras sautent sur Stanleyville / Vidéo". RTBF.be.