angola 1970s mercenaries colonel mad dog callan

8
EO]UIEIAT Dogs of Mercenary soldiering is often portrayed as a glamorous, lucrative business. After Mike Hoare's celebrated white mercenary operations during the 196Os, the 'dogs of war' became the subject of sF adventure movies and the fanciful novels of Wilbur Smith. The reality is very different. ln 1976 a large group of mainly British mercenaries travelled to Angola to fight the communist MPLA. For many it was to be a one-way trip. 5 6 Ex-Paras, SAS, Royal Marines - -frwanted for interesting work abroad. Tel: Camberley SS+S0." This advertisement, which appeared in all the national newspapers in 1976, was the start of an ill-fated chain of events that would later be considered one of the greatest mercenary catastrophes in modern history. The world's media would shortly be covering the horrific stories of mercen- aries massacring their own colleagues as weli as unarmed prisoners, civilians and Angolan soldiers fighting on the side of the mercenaries. Even now, the ex- perienced professional mercenary re- gards the Angolan fiasco, as it is-now often referred to, as a lesson in what hap- pens when you have a so-called 'mer- cenary army' consisting mainly of soldieis(!1 wilh little o, ,ro"military ex- perience, romantic adventurers, crimi- nals and non-combatants. The feeling is so strong that many experienced free- lance soldiers do not regard g5 per cent of those who participated in the Angolan fiasco as mercenaries. The advertisement had been placed by Security Advisory Service, a small and relatively insignificant company based in Camberley, Surrey. SAS, as they liked to be referred to, was in the business of recruiting mercenaries. The founder and head of this company was none other than the infamous John Banks, an ex- 34 by Alan Malcher member of the Parachute Regiment who after being dishonourably discharged had, for a short time, become a mercen- ary before deciding that it was far safer and much more lucrative to recruit the men who took the risks fighting in Third World countries. To illustrate Banks' character, let me recount a telephone conversation I recall receiving from him in 1976, several months before Angola. The conversation went something like this: "Hi . . . John here. Fancy a little week- end job?" "What is it?" "Go in with a small team and blow up a little oil well. Quite straightforward. Two thousand pounds before you go and another five if you return. What do you say?" "Bollocks." Armchair commandos During this period, SAS also had several other operations in the pipeline, including recruiting mercenaries to fight against the Rhodesian Army as well as attacking remote farms and settlements. This, however, had been unearthed by the appropriate authorities and the mer- cenaries did not even get as far as London Airport. But, even with Banks' bad track record, the mistrust and, in some cases, stark hatred directed towards him from the clandestine world of the professional mercenary, Angola seemed a different proposition. Firstly, the men would be fighting on the 'right' side against the well-armed and experienced Cuban/ Soviet-backed MPLA who were increas- ingly strengthening their hold on Angola. Secondly, the calibre of men that Banks was looking for was ideal for a small-scale guerrilla campaign. The initial meeting, held at the Head Office of SAS in Camberley, was impres- sive. All the men present had served either in the Parachute Regiment, the Marines or the SAS, just as the advertise- ment had stated: it certainly looked as if Banks had assembled men who would form an 6lite and venerable unit. Banks began the briefing. The notorious'Colonel Callan'was an ex- paratrooper called Costas Georgiou, thrown out of the British Army for armed robbery during a tour of Northern lreland. He took the name from the Edward Woodward TV spy series.

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Angolan 1970s mercenaries

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EO]UIEIAT

Dogs ofMercenary soldiering is oftenportrayed as a glamorous,lucrative business. After MikeHoare's celebrated whitemercenary operations duringthe 196Os, the 'dogs of war'became the subject of sF

adventure movies and thefanciful novels of Wilbur Smith.The reality is very different. ln1976 a large group of mainlyBritish mercenaries travelled toAngola to fight the communistMPLA. For many it was to be aone-way trip.

5 6 Ex-Paras, SAS, Royal Marines --frwanted for interesting work

abroad. Tel: Camberley SS+S0." Thisadvertisement, which appeared in all thenational newspapers in 1976, was thestart of an ill-fated chain of events thatwould later be considered one of thegreatest mercenary catastrophes inmodern history.

The world's media would shortly becovering the horrific stories of mercen-aries massacring their own colleagues asweli as unarmed prisoners, civilians andAngolan soldiers fighting on the side ofthe mercenaries. Even now, the ex-perienced professional mercenary re-gards the Angolan fiasco, as it is-nowoften referred to, as a lesson in what hap-pens when you have a so-called 'mer-cenary army' consisting mainly ofsoldieis(!1 wilh little o, ,ro"military ex-perience, romantic adventurers, crimi-nals and non-combatants. The feeling isso strong that many experienced free-lance soldiers do not regard g5 per cent ofthose who participated in the Angolanfiasco as mercenaries.

The advertisement had been placed bySecurity Advisory Service, a small andrelatively insignificant company basedin Camberley, Surrey. SAS, as they likedto be referred to, was in the business ofrecruiting mercenaries. The founder andhead of this company was none otherthan the infamous John Banks, an ex-

34

by Alan Malcher

member of the Parachute Regiment whoafter being dishonourably dischargedhad, for a short time, become a mercen-ary before deciding that it was far saferand much more lucrative to recruit themen who took the risks fighting in ThirdWorld countries.

To illustrate Banks' character, let merecount a telephone conversation I recallreceiving from him in 1976, severalmonths before Angola. The conversationwent something like this:

"Hi . . . John here. Fancy a little week-end job?"

"What is it?""Go in with a small team and blow up a

little oil well. Quite straightforward. Twothousand pounds before you go andanother five if you return. What do yousay?"

"Bollocks."

Armchair commandosDuring this period, SAS also had

several other operations in the pipeline,including recruiting mercenaries to fightagainst the Rhodesian Army as well asattacking remote farms and settlements.This, however, had been unearthed bythe appropriate authorities and the mer-cenaries did not even get as far as LondonAirport.

But, even with Banks' bad trackrecord, the mistrust and, in some cases,stark hatred directed towards him fromthe clandestine world of the professionalmercenary, Angola seemed a differentproposition. Firstly, the men would befighting on the 'right' side against thewell-armed and experienced Cuban/Soviet-backed MPLA who were increas-ingly strengthening their hold onAngola. Secondly, the calibre of men thatBanks was looking for was ideal for asmall-scale guerrilla campaign.

The initial meeting, held at the HeadOffice of SAS in Camberley, was impres-sive. All the men present had servedeither in the Parachute Regiment, theMarines or the SAS, just as the advertise-ment had stated: it certainly looked as ifBanks had assembled men who wouldform an 6lite and venerable unit. Banksbegan the briefing.

The notorious'Colonel Callan'was an ex-paratrooper called Costas Georgiou, thrownout of the British Army for armed robberyduring a tour of Northern lreland. He tookthe name from the Edward Woodward TVspy series.

Right: The squalid tale breaks in the BritishprEss. 'Callait' had massacred some of theuntrained would'be mercenaries after theyfired on their own side bY mistake.

"The MPLA is backed bY the Soviet. nion and Cuba, is weli equipped and is-ncreasingly getting a tighter-grip on theCentral African state of Angola." In 1976ierv of us had ever heard of Angola, letelone the MPLA.

Banks continued, "You will be fightinga numerically superior enemy who is,,-ery well equipped. Naturally, qqr_ng:onventionai taciics against the MPLArrould be foolhardy, not to say suicidal. Ian after men who have been trained to-n'e and fight many miles behind enemyrines, men who can harass enemy posi-.ions and convoys, men who can ambush:he enemy befoie disappearing into the:ush. What is required is men who canrght a guerrilla war and that is why theinanciers of this venture have insisted.hat we only recruit those who have.erved with the Paras, the Marines or theSAS."

The opening talk was brief but effec-:ive. Nof only did Banks appeal to a cer--ain sense of justice - fighting a com-::runist force that was attacking a

lefenceless country - but the tacticssounded ideal for such a campaign. We:il knew how difficult it was for a con-," entional military force to defend itselfagainst a highly"skilied guerrilla almy:ilat relied on siealth and awesome fire-rower before disappearing into the bush- an enemy whom theY never saw but-rne that was inflicting heavy casualties;

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depriving them of sleep and supplies offood and ammunition; and regularlytaking out key personnel, thus {eprivingthem of leadership. Possibly, however,the final motivating factor was the f,150per week we were offered - excellentmoney for 1976.

At first it seemed as if we were to bepart of a successful mercenary campaign- we had the men capable of fightingbehind enemy lines and the tactics wereideal for this type of environment. Wewould be a professional fighting force.However, unbeknown to us, other brief-ing sessions were taking place aroundthe country and the men being recruitedwere certainly not ex-members of theBritish or any other army: they weren'teven members of the TA.

Non-combatant recruitsApart from their lack of basic military

experience, not to mention the addi-tional skills necessarv for a soldierundertaking deep pen'etration opera-tions, many were recruited as non-com-batants who had been told that theywould be teaching Africans how to repairmotor vehicles! Others had joinedbecause they thought, quite wrongly,that the mercenary life was glamorous,while others joined simply because theywere trying to escape the aftermath ofvarious crimes. Although at first SAShad looked for men of the right calibre,greed had now taken over as they literal-Iy recruited anybody, just to obtain thef,25O per man from the client. At times,these men would prove to be moredangerous to us than the enemy.

Most of the ex-regulars, includingmyself, had our own kit which wepacked ready for the flight. I had severalOG shirts, lightweight denims, DSMboots, face veil and a cut-down bush hat.Like the other lads who had served in ahot environment,I also packed two addi-tional 5B pattern water bottles and

36

holders. Although an additional weight,water is a luxury in climates such as theone we were travelling to and could veryeasily be a life-saver. Very few of us wentwithout our own personal escape andevasion kits, packed in old tobacco tins,As this operation wore on, many of thelads would be using their personalisedkits in order to evade a pursuing enemywho was out for blood.

On our arrival at Kinshasa near thenorthern border of Angola, I met a fellowmercenary, an ex-Marine who had comein on an earlier commercial flight. Hethought it amusing that the passenger hewas sitting next to was reading Forsyth'sDogs of War. Little knowing that he wasalmost surrounded by real life 'dogs ofw&r', the passenger turned to the Marineand said, "Good book, but far-fetched.You could never recruit that number ofmercenaries." He then declared that theaverage man during his lifetime wouldnever come face to face with a mercenaryas there were only a handful in theworld!

We had been in Zaire, approximatelythree miles from the Angolan border, forsome 48 hours before we came across thefirst indications that this operation mightnot be all it had seemed. The stoieswhere we would be issued with ourpersonal kit and weapons turned out tobe a tumbled-down, rusty corrugatediron shack with half its roof missing,

Military surplusInside were a mountain of DMS and

ammunition boots thrown into onecorner, along with a variety of denimsand OG shirts. In another corner was asecond mountain, this time of weapons.While rummaging through this pile ofweapons, which looked as if they hadbeen neglected for years, we came across.303 Lee Enfields, SMG Sterlings, Stens,Bren guns, M16s, M1s, FNs, a variety ofshotguns, Piets and boxes of a6 grenades

which were already primed as well as

being covered in grease. Further examin.ation revealed that not only had none ojthese weapons been cleaned for severalyears but many had wrong-calibreammunition jammed inside them.

Many hours were spent salvaging whalweapons we could. After cleaning themmany were eventually made from canni.balised parts from those considered to betoo time-consuming to make serviceable

Soviet supplied T-34 tanks were deliveredto the MPLA. The flow of heavy weaponsand Cuban troops doomed the lightly armedanti-communist forces to a rapid defeat.

Fortunately, however, many of the veryold arms were thrown to one side afterAngolan soldiers delivered a variety ofcaptured weapons, consisting mainly ofAK-47s.I was fortunate to have a BelgianFN, which I had almost rebuilt from threeothers, and a 9-mm Browning HP.

All this time, the would-be adventu-rers were complaining and squabblingamongst themselves, searching for theflashiest-looking guns whilst the handfulof ex-regulars were just getting on withthe business of selecting the best of a badlot and stripping them of parts to makeone good weapon.

Eventually, however, even the idiotsgot themselves sorted out and now, fullykitted, we boarded a four-ton Dodge lorryfor the trip to Neggage. On arrival at thevillage we saw another srn.ull group ofmercenaries, and one of the lads pointedout a medic who was busily attending toseveral patients with shrapnel wounds."That's Costas Georgiou", he said. "AtDepot he was one of the best recruits, butafter being posted to 1 Para the silly pratgot caught trying to hold up a Post Officeduring a tour in Ulster."

I had heard the story while I was in theParas but this was the first time that I hadseen the man. Little did either of us knowthat this insignificant-Iooking individualwould shortlybecome world famous andbe mentioned in many books on mer-cenaries, even to the present day.

We moved out of the village in theearly hours of the following day. Afterclambering aboard the same four-ton lor-ries, we set off on the slow, bumpy trip towhat would be our base camp. The roadswere treacherous, with deep potholesand slippery mud - the result of a recent

Callan's arsenal1 'Colonel Callan's idiosyncratic choice of hardware included a US MI carbine.2 After his arrival in Angola, Callan sported a Luger 9-mm pistol on his hip.3 British Army OG shirt.4 Parachute Regiment Belt. Despite being thrown out, 'Callan' remained proud of his service withre Paras,5 Browning .So-cal machine-gun. This was soon supplemented by captured Soviet 12.7-mm

. eapons.

the road and slowly approached the en-campment on foot, making use of everyavailable piece of cover. While the Portu-guese opened up with a Bren gun and anFN, Callan fired a 66 rocket launcher atone of the T-34s, immobilising it. Againwith the 66, Callan fired at the StalinOrgans, which were parked very close to-gether. The one hit caused an enormousexplosion as all four suddenly eruptedinto a ball of flame which engulfed bothmen and equipment. Callan, togetherwith his two colleagues, made a hastyescape in the Land Rover, leaving death,destruction and confusion behind them.It was later estimated that over half theCuban soldiers had been killed, the restall being wounded in varying degrees.

As I say, this was the story we heard.Holden Roberto, Head of the FNLA, alsoheard it, and believed it. He immediatelv,

:ronsoon - causing the rear wheels toslide uncontrollably across the road.leorgiou, who would later be known to:re world as Colonel Callan, overslept=rd awoke to find the camp practicallyieserted. He came across two Portuguese:rercenaries who had also overslept and. -'gether they managed to find a service-.:1e Land Rover in which they sped off at*-eh speed in an attempt to catch up with

-e rest of us. They hacl only been tiavell-.-r for a short time when they came=-:oss a large enemy encampment con-

sisting of some 600 Cuban soldiers andSoviet advisers, six T-34 tanks and fourStalin Organ MRLs.

Mysterious fateWhat happened next is, of course,

hearsay. It is the story that went round atthe time but it cannot be corroboratedsince no-one knows what happened tothe two mercenaries. Anyway, as I heardit, what happened was that 'Callan' andthe two other men pulled to the side of

EOMBATand against the advice of many, madeCallan field commander of the FNLA, adecision which would not onlynepdlessly cost the lives of many but alsomake the mercenary element of theFNLA an impotent force whose en-deavours were doomed to failure.

Callan, a dishonourably dischargedprivate soldier of the Paras with little orno leadership experience, had now beenmade full colonel with all the power thatthat involved. The few pro1essionalsamongst us knew that in the BritishArmy he might possibly have made cor-poral level, and we knew many lance cor-porals and even privates in the Paraswho could knock spots off the so-calledColonel Callan in not only tactics andmotivating the men but also in leader-ship skills and man management.

Callan formed the men who hadserved in the three Special Forces (Paras,S4S, Marines) into 'killer groups' whoserole was mainly to set up ambushes andharass the enemy. As part of a four-manpatrol, I had cairied o-ut about 20 suchambushes behind enemy lines, attackedfive enemy tank formations and infil-trated numerous enemy positiqns andwas now, like the other men opeiating insmall groups way inside hostile territory,beginning to feel the strain because offatigue.

lnitial successesDuring this period, the operation was

going well and we were very effective inthe guerrilla role, but as time pressed onthe need for more men to replace thoseup-country became more and more des-perate. On one occasion we were lying inwait for the enemy, whom we- kn-ewwould be coming along the small dirttrack near Catotaa. We were not after the

Above; Cuban and Angolan MPLAcommunist troops weapons training inCabinda province. ln the USA, PreiidentCafier ruled out full assisfance to the anti-communist forces. Secret CIA operationshad little impact, so the white mercenarieswere the FNLA's only effective allies.

As we got up to disappear into the bush,leaving the enemy with nothing to attack,Dave Watson, an ex-SAS officer was hitin the head by a high-velocity round andwas killed instantly, The other three of usmade a mad dash to the safe hides we hadestablished about two miles away, and aswe made our way speedily through thebush we could hear the explosions andscreams as our pursuers stumbled acrossthe various IEDs protecting our with-drawal. The grenade and trip wire, alongwith the grenade and fuse wire to con-fuse, were both effective.

armour this time, although if we got the

:i:*'tf-',l bilxiXl*Sig:il'*ixi::;l Promoted to Gaptainflict casualties and instil fear into the On arrival at our lying-up point, aeremy. "" '" .,u"# iT,'::iff#Xioll',1t4:fi;::il*": was traiaed and one had never even seen

We had concealed IEDs in areas where seveial minutes before he got back to us military service. I was speechless.the enemy-was lilely to take cover after because Roberto was wiifi him at the Andi, continued, ..Ail the guys thatwe opened up on them. The explosive time and had tal<en an interest in ouract! have b6en sent out are the sam-e l somecharge was rel-atjyqly small, tlie i4!a vities.. The message ffnally crackled thought they were being recruited tobeing not to kjll but to maim. We through - Roberto, with Calian's agree- trainjhenatives to repair dars;others arereasoned that at least one man would be ment, had commissioned me in the field: iust low-life vobbos i,r,ho thi::I becausetied.up looking after each wounded I was now a captain. Furthermore, Iwas Gey can smaih a glass in someone's facesoldier and, sickening as it sounds, it is lold, I would riceive 50 additional men duiine a pub brail,l. thev can ffsht oro-better to have a man in excruciathg pain the following afternoon and an RV was perly.i Hi paused to alldw me to"male acrawUng over the ground lookircg fbi his arranged. Things appeared to be Iooking iom-ment 6ut I was slill dumbstruck.foot-which has just been blown off. or up - ie wouldiooir have the manpowei "Callan's gone fuckirg mad since we'veholding in his eirtails, than killing him td deliver a decisive blow againlt the been recei-ving these n6n-combatants. Heoutriglit with no screams of agony.-Such enemy armour. " wauted to try'out a new Smith & Wessonsights and sounds make other soldiers .45 Magnuri the other day so he called

flIfi:,ll"J,H:ll'HTf,',TlTiih'i',.: Untrained replacemenh ffiH:fii';llf,:f,'*tr.H!"'1'n'* *

tent. The next day, after lying low and keep- Andy also told me thaa Callatr hadThe ambush was fast and ferocious. As ing the RV uniler observalion for several gathered around }:-im some very shange

predicted. many of the enemy made for hours, I saw a familiar face: it was Andy inen- men who had been dishoirourablyhollows in the-ground ald tle base of McKenzie. I had served with him in th'e discharged hom the Army, men withnearby trees and, as soon as they thought Paras. had heard that he was in Angola serious

"psychiatric problenis. men withthey ri,ere safe behind cover, th"e char[es but had not met up with him previou"sly. records ior"serious ciimes ofviolence etc.were- triggered off by conce-aled- com- After exchanging greetings. Andy broke Andy said that in his view things couldmand wire. wired up to an old Chinese the bad news - apart hom the faat that I only'get worse and it would be i case ofgenerator about the s'ize of a camera bag. was only getting lour men, none of them erreiSi man for himself making for the

Mercenary souvenirs1 Browning 9-mm pistol.2 Escape and evasion kit which proved=ssential after the operation collapsed.3 Loca! daggers and trinkets.4 For real knifework, British Sykes-Fairbairn:-r#n:#J dassers were carried by several

5 Weapons and ammunition came from all over the.', crld market and included lsrael 7.G2-mmammo.6 Foot powder.7 Loaded Browning magazine.

rorder. After pointing to the non-com-:atants now under my command, he.aid, "Like lambs to the slaughter. Theyion't know the first thing abbut escape=ld evasion. I'd be surprised if any bf::]em could even fire a ri-fle." Here I was,teep inside enemy,held terrain, out-:umbered by at least 200 to one or even:rore, and most of my men would have-:ruble casually walking over Dartmoor- r the Brecon Beacons, let alone operat--rq in this environment, fighting awell-,:ained army of infantry and armour.

-\s we marched back towards our

hides, a quick glance at my new men ver-ified my worst suspicions - we were inthe shit. They looked as if they werestrolling dowri their local high stieet: noweapons at the _ready, not even lookingaround to see if there were any enemyforces in the vicinity. I stopped the patroland gave them a stiff talking to - not awise course of action when you considerthe hostile environment we were in, butnecessary in the circumstances.

Euery man for himselfOn our arrival at the lying up point, I

told my only two experienced men, DaveTaylor ex-Marines and Peter Davidsonex-Para, that they would have to take twomen each, talk them through the princi-ples of ambush and weap"on haidling,

keep an eye on them during fire fightsand, if necessary, kick a few aises. Not anideal situation for a small force engagedmany miles behind the lines with nofriendly forces to come to our rescue.Dave and Peter were switched-on guysand they had already decided to do thisas soon as they had seen the calibre of themen.

Before Andy had left, he had given mea handwritten note from Roberto, en-dorsed by Callan, confirrrring my com-mission, together with a captain's epau-Iettes. Under normal circumstances,these would have been discarded butthere was no doubt in my mind that if wewere captured our non-combatantswould immediately attempt to savethemselves by identifying me as theofficer in charge and so, to try and instil

3g

Mercenary weapons 19761 Sterling L34Al silenced 9-mmSMG, used by British Special Forces.2 A favourite in both Africa and Asia: theSwedish $mm'Garl Gustav' SMG.3 Better suited to Antiques Roadshowthan an African bush war: the World War llPIAT anti-tank rocket launcher.4 The mercenaries managed to find some66-mm LAW rockets to replace thePlATs, but many turned out to be duds.5 Another World War ll relic: 3O3 Brengun, which was part of the promised'modern weapons' supply,6 The 7.62-mm GETME rifle was left inAngola by the departing Portuguese forcesin 1975.7 Another source of frustration anddanger: the radio equipment was aspoor as the weapons supply.

some discipline, I wore my rank. Callingover Dave and Peter, I told them I haddecided on a small ambush, again on theCatotaa dirt track - colloquially referredto as the Zambesi Club RV - and in-structed them to talk the men through theforthcoming operation.

That night, while our recruits were onstag, the three of us sat huddled aroundthe radio set listening to what could onlybe described as chaos over the net. The

wrong. So far, God was with us, and 45minutes later we had reached theambush position_without coming acrossany enemy patrols. We spread out alonghigh ground, ready to ambush a smallpatrol that had been spotted by our onlyspotter aircraft, an old Cessna 150 whichwas unfit to fly and was liable to fall outof the sky at any time due to metalfatigue.

sions and thick, black smoke. Unknownto us, another $oup had also spotted theconvoy and attacked. I suddenly sawAndy McKenzie and Callan, with threeother men I did not recognise, in themiddle of the convoy firing 66s andFN7s. My plan of action now had to bechanged and I ordered the men to setdown covering fire. We hit one of theOrgans, which burst into flames and tookout at least 60 Cubans. Some died in-stantly, while others - their uniforms onfire - ran around in circles like headlesschickens.

As the fire fight continued, all our 66shad been used, two tanks had been des-troyed and Cuban soldiers were lyingmotionless either on the road or downbankings. One tank commander waslying half out of the turret of his T-54,flames licking around his body.

As Callan and Andy began to with-draw, Callan suddenly fell to the ground.Two men immediately ran to his aid anddragged him into the bush. I gave theorder to bug out, and as we tabbedthrough the bush Dave and Peter laidIEDs to cover our withdrawal. From'thesound of the chaos behind us, they onceagain did the trick.

:xt,','.",:'*:sr:Jl'.1111;':Tl,t'$ ?# Tan ks i n sig htseams. There were garbled messages thatour main base camp had been overrun byCuban armour, then we heard Callanshouting and swearing, demanding thatthe non-cbmbatants be disarmed andtaken prisoner. What the fuck was goingon?

It was still dark when we set off insingle file, through the bush to theambush position. Dave took the lead. I re-member praying that if we had to bug outby peeling off (i.e. each man firing doubletap to keep the enemies' heads downwhile the man in front doubles back) thenon-combatants would remember thedrills and not open up on the man whowas doubling back - so much could go

At least 30 minutes passed before weheard the noise of powerful engines anda metallic clanging - tanks! The spotterplane had got it wrong. What we thoughtwould be a small and insignificant con-voy, ideal for testing out the new men,turned out to consist of at least 500Cuban soldiers, with Soviet advisors, 14T-54 tanks, APCs and five Stalin Organsbeing towed behind four-ton lorries. Idecided that we would have to hit andthen run. If the Organs were loaded, theywould devastate a wide area, so theywould be our primary target.

As the vehicles drew nearer, all hellbroke loose further up the line with thesounds of automatic weapons, explo-

After we had regrouped some twomiles from the am6ush^site, the radiorackled to life and told of the massacrerf rs British mercenaries. Every man wasrrdered_to escape to neighbouiirrg Zaire.. took the handset and" asked fbr con-irmation of these orders. The answeringi-oice was unidentifiable but its ownerobviously kr._ry me, and was possibly\IcAleese, and I was informed that Cai-lan had been relieved of his commandand was to be shot on sight. He wished us_Eood luck with our escape.

Untrained soldiersIt would have been advantageous to

.raye r^l"pt by day and moved 6y night9ut, qfte-r attempting this one night, iare:ound that the untrained men

*rnoved

:hrough.the bush like a herd of elephants.In addition, if we had been invol,ied in a.-r1e fight at night, there was a good possi-:ility that these men would ihoof their:olleagues in the ensuing panic.

Three long days later,"#e reached the-.atety of the border. It was a further fivelays before we learned of the massacres:hat ha.d taken place while we were qlanyniles inside enemy-controlled teriain.\Iost of this information was gleaned:rom British newspapr.r

".rd, inter-

:lational television coverage of the trialsrf those mercenaries unforiunate enough.o have been captured by an enemy r.*1-:rg revenge on a tiny army who had:aused heavy casualties to a well-armedand disciplined military machine.

It was at this time thai we learned what::ad thrown Callan into such a rage that:le had screamed over the radio tiat ail::on-combatants should be dfsarmed andarrested. Several of his men had no mili-:ary experience and had been recruitedthey thought) to train a Third World-ountry in vehicle maintenance and:ther trades. As far as thev were con-:erned, they had not been

"recruited to

:ght a war and so had refused to fieht and-:ad stayed. a.lon-e at the base cimp in\Iaquela while the other men went out:n patrol.

Shot by mistakeLate that night, some of the men re_

:urned from patrol in a Land Rover. Onesignalled with his torch that thev were:riendly but the non-combata"is mls--rnderstood the signal an_d immediatelyrssumed the vehicle was hostile _ in fait:hey believed the tight was from the first-n a column of tanks. As the minutes.icked past, fear and imagination took: r'er from logic and many -now believed:nat they could actually hear the column- t Cuban tanks and infantry bearingrown on them.

It was in this climate of panic that 22_', ear-old Phil Davies pi&ed ,p a 66l::cket launcher and fired it. The'rocket.lammed through the radiator and. ngine block of the Land Rover, the'" -olence of the impact scattering the four::cupants. Amazingly, no-one- was in_

{

jured but the fear had turned into a mad,uncontrollable fever as the non-comba-tants opened up with a vast assortment ofsmall arms before clamberinq aboard lor-ries and driving at full speedlowards theborder. L

_ Comfng across Terry Wilson, an ex-SAS soldier commanding a small detach-ment of Angolan soldiers, they told theirtale of being attacked by a laiqe force ofCubans. They added they had knocked,out a couple of tanks before retreatingbut, even so, Maquela had been overrun.This information was radioed to Callanwho immediately ordered Wilson andhis men to mine the roads, thus prevent-ing the enemy outflanking them and cut-ting off their retreat to Ziire. Callan alsoordered the non-combatants to RV withhim.

By the time this RV took place, Callanhad learned the truth of theincident. Heordered everyone back to Maquela and,once there, instructed the 20'non-com-batants to lay.down their weapons andstrip to their underwear. IdentifvinsDavies as the one who had fired ori tfrELand Rover, Callan shot him three timesat-point-blank range. He then offered theothers another chance to fieht: six tookhim up. The other 13 wJre orderedaboard a lorry to be taken away for exe-cution. In charge of the firing squad,chosen by Callan, was a friend"of his, ahomicidal maniac by the name of SammyCopeland., Sent with the execution partywas another vehicle containing pbrtu-guese. mercenaries, armed with a heavymachine-gun, whose orders apparentlywere to shoot down any memLer of thilfiring squad who showed reluctance fortheir allotted task.

Copeland told the 13 to run towardsthe bush. Armed with an Uzi sub-machine-gun, Copeland screamed withdelight as the rounds tore into the help-less men. He then reminded the firingsquad that if they did not open up theyltoo, would suffer a similar fate. At leaittwo of the men, one of them AndyMcKenzie, both deliberately aimed tomiss but Copeland himself us"ed up threemagazines during the massacre.

Roberto and McAleese, informed ofthese events, convened a court martial atwhich Copeland was found guilty and

Callan's chief henchman, Sammy Copeland,sported a l2-gauge shotgun with-ammobandoliers draped arouid him tike aMexican bandit and a 9-mm Browning pistolon his hip. He used an llzi SMG to massacreu nwi I I i n g mercen ari es.

sentenced to death. In a bid to escape,Copeland qade a run for it - he manag^edto cover a fair distance before a haii ofgunfire from his designated executionparty brought him down.

The bjginning of the end was now sig-nalled. The mercenaries were no longer a

{shting force: the ex-regulars were u"singtheir skills in escape aid -evasion to geiback across the bor-ders, while other mendied in ambushes as the Cubans en-circled the escaping army. Thirteen menwere captured and put on trial, with theworld's media invitbd to attend.

Firing squadsCallan was sentenced to death by firing

squad, and rightly so, but other mercen-aries, including Andy McKenzie, wereunfortunate to suffer the same fate.Andy, prior to his capture, had beenseriously wounded, leading to amputa-tion of his right leg. But even befor-e thestump. hgd a chance to heal, Andy wasshot sitting in a wheelchair. The othermen were sentenced to long terms of im-prisonment. Although sentenced to up to25 years some served only eight, but theconditions in which they werE kept wereso vile that this was lons .roreli to en-sure they all suffered chionic iiinesses.. Although the Angolan episode was

doomed as soon as the recruiters becamegreedy and enlisted men with little or noexperience_, the handful of ex-regularBritish soldiers from the three specialistunits showed the world what iould bedone with a few skilled men fighting anumerically superior enemy, in- hosiileterrain. []

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