The Siege at Jadotville: The Irish Army's Forgotten Battle

This is an excellent recount of the Irish and UN mission in the Congo. It was obviously well researched by Declan Power and truly gives a sense of the struggles facing an early UN peace keeping force and in particular the Irish Contingent.

It show the resilience of a tougher generation of soldier and shows how they overcame, lack of military intelligence, lack of equipment and an overwhelming force. It is a true testament to the spirit of the fighting Irish and an incident which seems to have been sweep under the carpet of Irish Military history

A well written and accurate account of both the politics that surround the struggle and the military deployment in country.My only issue is that it beats the Irish war drum a little too hard in places.None the less, well worth having in the library

Little known story of Irish Army (3/3 people found this helpful)

As I write this, it is less than a week since 2,500 members of the Irish Defence Forces paraded in Dublin to mark the 90th anniversary of the 1916 Rising. This is a very different force that was sent out to the Congo in the early 1960's. Previous generations of Oglaigh na hEireann had to wear woolly uniforms in the jungle, but this was the least of their problems.

Declan Power writes an excellent account of how life was for the poorly equiped Irish soldiers in Jadotville. Most Irish people of my generation remember the Niemba ambush and using the term "Baluba" to refer to people of questionable character. What I didn't know about was the hardship and the bravery that these men experienced and went through.

The UN does not come out of this book very well, neither really does Conor Cruise O'Brien. The real heros are the officers and ordinary soldiers who fought this battle with few casualties and none killed.

Well done to Power for writing an account of battle that neither glorifies war or shies away from the bloodshed that ensued. These men have long been forgotten and even 40 years later are not recognised as heros simply because they in the end had to surrender in the face of overwhelming odds. Perhaps this book will go a long way to gaining the recognition richly deserved by this group of brave fighting men.

Fast-paced and based on flawless research (8/8 people found this helpful)

Siege at Jadotville is a terrific book about a forgotten chapter of Irish history. Declan Power uses impeccable sources and extensive research to produce a book, which will appeal to both military buffs and ordinary readers. The story of how 150 Irish soldiers held off thousands of advancing troops is almost impossible to believe. That the Irish UN contingent killed an estimated 300 raiders, without losing a single man was a testament to the bravery of A Company. The book also contains a hugely significant analysis of the failings of this United Nations peace-keeping mission, one which holds valuable lessons today.

The Siege at Jadotville: The Irish Army's Forgotten Battle

Declan Power

Reader Reviews:

The struggle of the UN and Irish (0/0 people found this helpful)

Little known story of Irish Army (3/3 people found this helpful)

Fast-paced and based on flawless research (8/8 people found this helpful)

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