Second Shaban War

This study is a historical analysis of the 1978 Shaba Province Invasion in Zaire that culminated in three independent rescue missions to save expatriate mine workers from being killed as hostages. The study encompasses earlier crises in the country, tracing the origins and history of the Katangan Gendarmerie from its creation in 1960 to the invasion of 1978. For the first time, this study includes the entire Western response to the invasion: the initial airborne operation by the Zairian Army; the airborne assault by the French Foreign Legion’s 2nd Parachute Regiment; and the air assault landing by the Belgian Paracommando Regiment. In doing so, it addresses the abortive Zairian airborne operation that set off the massacre of expatriate mine workers and forced a European reaction to the murders. Next the thesis examines the French response to the crisis through the use of primary source materials such as the operations orders, daily journals, and after action reports. The study then addresses the Belgian response to the crisis through the Belgian Army’s official publications, the Belgian news media, and personal documents of the then Regimental operations officer. Overall, the thesis uses United States Department of State message traffic to document the actions taken during the invasion.This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work.This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.