The Battle of Kolwezi (also Operation Bonite or Operation Leopard) was an airborne operation conducted in May 1978 in then Zaire (Democratic Republic of the Congo now), Central Africa. Its mission was to rescue over 2,000 European hostages held in the city of Kolwezi, an important mining center in the Katanga province of southern Zaire. The hostages were captured by Tigers, the Katangese rebels from the left-wing Congolese National Liberation Front (FNLC).

The operation was successfully carried out by legionnaires from the 2nd Foreign Parachute Regiment (2e REP) of the French Foreign Legion. The Battle of Kolwezi was part of the Second War of Shaba (then title of the Katanga province), fought between Zaire and the FNLC. Because of the successful operation and its international media coverage, the 2e REP became popular across the world.

 

1978 Battle of Kolwezi: Prelude

May 13, 1978

– Kolwezi invaded by rebels
– an important mining center in then southern Zaire
– invaded by around 3-4,000 Katangese rebels
– led by Nathanael Mbumba
– over 2,000 Europeans captured as hostages
– mostly of French and Belgian origin

– rebels started to loot the city
– they also raped girls and women and were killing local residents

– the government of Zaire contacted Belgium, France, Morocco and the U.S.
– it asked them to help Zaire with restoring order

 

May 15-18, 1978

– the majority of rebels left the city
– only about 500 rebels stayed there
– most of them are stationed at Manika
– the outskirts of Kolwezi

 

1978 Battle of Kolwezi

May 17, 1978 – Wednesday

– 2e REP put on alert
– 10:00 AM (10h00), 2e REP put on alert
– 2nd Foreign Parachute Regiment
– commanded by Lt Colonel Philippe Erulin
– the only airborne unit of the Foreign Legion
– being composed of around 750 men at the time
– based at Calvi, Corsica
– France’s rapid reaction force
– part of the 11th Parachute Division (11e DP)

– 08:00 PM (20h00), 2e REP is ready for departure

 

May 18, 1978 – Thursday

– Operation Bonite (Operation Leopard in Zaire)
– 02:20 AM (02h20), Operation Bonite started
– the whole regiment was alerted
– 04:30 AM (04h30), first 2e REP elements left Calvi for Solenzara
– Solenzara Air Base, a French Air Force base
– located in eastern Corsica
– some 80 miles (130 km) south-east of Calvi

– 11:30 AM (11h30), the complete 2e REP at Solenzara
– General Lacaze arrived
– then head of the 11th Parachute Division
– a former commander of the regiment (1967-70)
– he clarified the mission to the legionnaires

– the same day, several aircrafts arrived at Solenzara
– four Douglas DC-8 jet airliners
– a Boeing 707 jet airliner

 
– Movement to Zaire
– later that day, the five jet airliners left Solenzara
– they moved to Kinshasa, the capital of Zaire
– 11:00 PM (23h00), the first jet airliner landed at Kinshasa
– 11:00 AM (11h00), May 19, the last jet airliner landed at Kinshasa

 

 

May 19, 1978 – Friday

– Movement to Kolwezi
– in the morning, preparation of an airborne operation
– at the air base of Kinshasa
– to transport first 2e REP elements to Kolwezi
– at the time, only a half of the regiment was present there
– three companies of the 2e REP
– 1st Company + 2nd Company + 3rd Company
– also a reduced HQ + a medical group

– the 2e REP units boarded five military aircrafts
– four Lockheed C-130 Hercules (Zairian Army)
– a Transall C-160 (French Air Force)

– 10:30 AM (10h30), the first C-130 Hercules left Kinshasa
– followed by the four military aircrafts
– the flight to Kolwezi took four hours
– the town lies 930 miles (1,500 km) south-east of Kinshasa

 
– First jump over Kolwezi
– 03:15 PM (15h15), first legionnaires jumped over Kolwezi
– 381 men together
– they jumped over Drop Zone Alpha
– the drop zone was 875 yeards (800 m) long
– covered by high grass and 16-foot (4 m) termite mounds
– located near the center of the city
– between a Police station and a local hotel
– close to the Old Town of Kolwezi

– the legionnaires were eqipped with U.S. T-10 S parachutes
– they were dropped from two doors, by 20 men
– each Hercules had some 80 legionnaires on board
– that means two dropping waves had to be done

– on the ground, the legionnaires were assembled by their units
– their mission started
– however, six legionnaires were already wounded

– First killed legionnaire
– during the regrouping, a legionnaire missed
– Corporal Robert Arnold
– a young British member of the 1st Company
– the next day, he would be found to be massacred by rebels
– still equipped with his parachute

 
– Battle of Kolwezi
– 2e REP units were sent to occupy several strategic points

– Strategic points to be occupied by 2e REP units

• Jean XXIII Lycée (a high school): 1st Company
• Hospital + Gecamines Factory: 2nd Company + HQ
• Impala Hotel: 3rd Company

– Impala Hotel was used by rebels as their HQ
– in the Hospital, Europeans are held by rebels
– Gecamines Factory, there could be vehicles to motorize the units

– 3rd Company had also another two missions
– to seize a train station in the center of Kolwezi
– to seize an important bridge
– located between the Old Town and the New Town

– when entering the town, a battle started
– urban warfare between rebels and 2e REP legionnaires
– the rebels fought in all main streets
– the fighting took about two hours

 
– Recapture of Kolwezi
– 05:45 PM (17h45), Kolwezi was recaptured
– all strategic points were seized
– the majority of Europeans were rescued
– a large number of rebels were killed
– tens of weapons captured

 
– Second jump over Kolwezi cancellation
– in the evening, the second jump over Kolwezi was cancelled
– 05:55 PM (17h55), the rest of the 2e REP should jump over Kolwezi
– 4th Company
– Reconnaissance Platoon (SER)
– 81 Mortar Platoon (S81)
– the rest of the HQ

– the jump was eventually cancelled
– because of several factors
– it was already dark
– the drop zone wasn’t safe for a night jump
– the strategic points were seized
– the majority of Europeans were rescued
– the rebels were pushed out of the city

– the aircrafts with legionnaires moved to Lubumbashi
– the second largest city of then Zaire
– situated some 155 miles (250 km) south-east of Kolwezi
– the legionnaires of the second wave would spend the night there

 
– Night fights in Kolwezi
– during the night, new fights reopened
– under cover of darkness, the rebels launched attacks
– the fights took all the night
– many rebels were killed
– other weapons were captured

 
– Military equipment from Corsica to Zaire
– in Corsica, 2e REP military equipment loading
– 2e REP vehicles in the vast majority + 80 drivers
– at the Solenzara Air Base
– loaded on board of U.S. Air Force transport aircrafts
– several Lockheed C-141 Starlifter airlifters
– but they weren’t able to transport all vehicles
– a Lockheed C-5 Galaxy aircraft had to arrive
– the then largest military aircraft within the U.S.A.F.
– part of the 3rd Military Airlift Squadron [1]
– the loading of the C-5 Galaxy took all the night + morning of May 20
– May 20, the Lockheed C-5 Galaxy moved to Zaire
– it would land at Lubumbashi, to be unloaded there

– the Lockheed C-5 Galaxy would support the 2e REP until May 24 [2]
– the aircraft continued the flights in, to and out of Libreville, Gabon
– a former colony of France, with a French military base
– it moved between Gabon and Kinshasa and Lubumbashi
– to re-supply the 2e REP legionnaires on a regular basis

[1], [2]: All of these unique information about the Lockheed C-5 Galaxy aircraft and its mission during May 19-24 were provided to the Foreign Legion Info website by John “Jack” Legere (Sergeant, 3rd Military Airlift Squadron at the time of the operation), a crewmember of the aircraft

 

 

May 20, 1978 – Saturday

– Second jump over Kolwezi
– 07:00 AM (07h00), the rest of the 2e REP jumped over Kolwezi
– 4th Company
– Reconnaissance Platoon (Section d’Eclairage et de Reconnaissance, SER)
– 81 Mortar Platoon (Section de Mortiers 81, S81)
– the rest of the HQ
– 256 men together
– HQ + S81 + SER jumped over Drop Zone Alpha

– 4th Company jumped over Drop Zone Bravo
– a newly set up drop zone
– located east of the city
– close to the New Town of Kolwezi

 
– Clearing of Kolwezi
– that day, clearing of Kolwezi continued

– 1st Company cleared the southern part of the Old Town
– several group of rebels were hidden there

– 2nd Company cleared the western part of the Old Town
– Lieutenant Raymond would be wouned

– 3rd Company cleared the New Town
– the unit would later move to Manika
– the outskirts situated south-west of the New Town
– used as the headquarters of remaining rebels

– 4th Company held its position east of Kolwezi
– in the afternoon, it would move to the north-west

– SER + S81 cleared the northern part of the city
– then, they moved to Camp Forrest
– an old police camp north of the New Town

 
– Belgian paratroopers to Kolwezi
– in the morning, Belgian paratroopers landed at Kolwezi
– part of their Operation Red Bean
– members of the 1st Parachute Battalion
– later also 3rd Parachute Battalion
– led by Colonel Depoorter
– having landed (not jumped) at the airport of Kolwezi
– they would support legionnaires in rescuing Europeans
– 2e REP’s HQ co-ordinated that mission
– its men handed Europeans over to Belgians

 
– Battle of Metal Shaba
– 02:30 PM (14h30), a fierce battle at Metal Shaba
– the most violent action taking place at Kolwezi
– it occurred at Metal Shaba, the outskirts of the city
– situated about 3 miles (5 km) north of Kolwezi
– initially, 4th Company got involved
– attacked by over 100 well-equipped rebels hidden there
– Staff Sergeant Daniel was immediatelly killed
– a deputy to the 2nd Platoon leader
– Lieutenant Dary, a future Chief of the Legion (2004-07)
– Corporal Prudence was seriously wounded

– 2nd Company + SER + S81 arrived to support the 4th Company
– a fierce battle started
– it took several hours
– in the evening, around 80 rebels were killed
– several rebel vehicles were destroyed
– many heavy weapons and firearms were captured

 
– First calm night in Kolwezi
– that night, Kolwezi was without fighting
– the town was cleared
– only sporadic shots were heard

 

 

May 21, 1978 – Sunday

– that day, several skirmishes took place

– in the morning, two legionnaires were seriously wounded
– Corporal Pain + Legionnaire Marco

 
– First 2e REP vehicles arrived at Kolwezi
– transported by the Lockheed C-5 Galaxy and C-141 Starlifters
– the regiment would be equipped with them quickly
– to make reconnaissance around the city
– new rebel hideouts were found

 

May 22, 1978 – Monday

– other 2e REP vehicles arrived at Kolwezi
– GMC camions

– a three-company task force was formed
– it moved to Kapata
– the outskirts of the city
– situated several miles south-west of Kolwezi
– a skirmish took place
– 8 rebels were killed

 
– Europeans evacuated
– also that day, the last Europeans were evacuated from Kolwezi
– a joint operation of French and Belgian paratroopers
– it took place May 21-22
– the Europeans were moved to other Zairian cities

 
– Battle of Kolwezi to be over
– that day, the battle officially ended
– however, the operations would continue

 

 

May 23, 1978 – Tuesday

– that day, SER moved to Likasi
– a city located 93 miles (150 km) east of Kolwezi
– the legionnaires would guard Europeans living there

– in the afternoon, an operation at Luilu
– the outskirts of the city
– situated 8 miles (13 km) north-west of Kolwezi
– 1st Company was involved
– some 20 killed Europeans were found
– having been tortured and massacred

– Skirmish of Luilu
– 4:30 PM (16h30), a skirmish took place
– when legionnaires finished their operation
– they were attacked by a small, hidden group of rebels
– Legionnaire Clement was immediatelly killed
– the skirmish lasted about an hour
– all 5 rebels would be killed
– Corporal Harte was fatally wounded
– he would died some time later

 

May 24, 1978 – Wednesday

– the legionnaires got a day off

 

May 25, 1978 – Thursday

– a new operation at Kapata
– the outskirts of the city
– situated several miles south-west of Kolwezi
– the operation was carried out by three companies
– several rebels would be killed
– 2 rebels would be imprisoned

– Red Cross to arrive in Kolwezi
– that day, a Red Cross train arrived in Kolwezi
– with food supplies and medication

 

May 26, 1978 – Friday

– 2e REP moved to Luilu
– the outskirts of the city
– situated 8 miles (13 km) north-west of Kolwezi
– the regiment took a break there

– that day, another two Europeans (Belgians) were rescued

 

May 27, 1978 – Saturday

– 1st Company to leave Kolwezi
– that day, 1st Company left Kolwezi
– it moved to Lubumbashi
– for the company, the operation was over (for a while)

– around Kolwezi, the last reconnaissance took place
– conducted by two companies + S81

– that day, the Battle of Kolwezi was finally over

– however, Senior Corporal Alioui died
– a member of the 2e REP commandos
– most likely, he died accidentally

 

1978 Battle of Kolwezi: Aftermath

May 28, 1978 – Sunday

– 2e REP to leave Kolwezi
– 03:00 AM (03h00), the regiment left Kolwezi
– after a week of operations conducted there
– it moved to Lubumbashi
– in Kolwezi, only 3rd Company + S81 remained

 

June 3, 1978

– tens of newspaper reporters arrived in Kolwezi
– from around the world
– accompanied by Lt Colonel Erulin

 

June 4, 1978

– in Kolwezi, 3rd Company was replaced by 1st Company

 

June 6, 1978

– in Lubumbashi, a military parade
– in honor of the 2e REP

 

June 7, 1978

– 2e REP to leave Zaire for Corsica
– that day, 2e REP left Zaire and returned to Corsica
– 2e REP’s all GMC trucks and Jeeps remained in Zaire
– Moroccan troops (having replaced the legionnaires) would use them

 

June 16, 1978

– 1st Company to leave Zaire
– that day, 1st Company left Zaire and returned to Corsica
– it helped to guard Kolwezi until June 15

 

 
 

1978 Battle of Kolwezi: Results

– more than 2,100 Europeans rescued

– about 170 Europeans were massacred by rebels
– more than 700 local inhabitants were also massacred by rebels

– some 250 rebels were killed
– over 160 rebels were captured

– a Belgian paratrooper was killed

 

2e REP’s losses during the Battle of Kolwezi

5 legionnaires of the regiment were killed:

 

20 men of the regiment were wounded:

– Lieutenant Raymond
– Sergeant Cabrol
– Senior Corporal Senekovic
– Corporal Bareda
– Corporal Courson
– Corporal Dallet
– Corporal Munoz
– Corporal Ovacic
– Corporal Pain
– Corporal Prudence
– Legionnaire Becker
– Legionnaire Demont
– Legionnaire Forestier
– Legionnaire Gilbert
– Legionnaire Jakovic
– Legionnaire Marco
– Legionnaire Rodriguez
– Legionnaire Seeger
– Legionnaire Soral
– Legionnaire Svoboda

 

Unmentioned French losses

– 6 French military personnel have been missed
– sent to Kolwezi on May 13, 1978
– only a notepad of one of those French soldiers was found in Kolwezi
– in the hospital, by 2e REP legionnaires
– these French soldiers have never been found
– there aren’t any known information about their destiny
– they are unmentioned in almost all documents

– Lieutenant Jacques Laissac
– Adjudant-Chef Pierre Van Nuvel
– Adjudant Jacques Bireau
– Adjudant Christian Cesario
– Adjudant Jacques Gomilla
– Adjudant Bernard Laurent

 
 

1978 Battle of Kolwezi: Images

– some additional images to document the battle

 

 
 

 

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Main information & images sources:
Képi blanc magazines (1978)
2e REP’s 2014 REP INFO bulletin
Memorial Gen Web (in French)
FSALE (in French)
Google Maps
Wikipedia.org

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More from the history of the Foreign Legion:
1863 Battle of Camerone
1908 Forthassa Disaster
1932 Turenne Rail Accident
1954 Battle of Dien Bien Phu
1976 Loyada Hostage Rescue Mission
1982 Mont Garbi Accident
 

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More from the history of the Foreign Legion’s paratroopers:
3rd Foreign Parachute Regiment
Parachute Company of 3e REI
1st Heavy Mortar Foreign Parachute Company
CERA – Foreign Airdrop Company
 

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The page was updated on: May 19, 2018

 

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