The Congo: Changing Guard

His farewell to his troops was a bit pompous, but not in the least over stated: “It has been an honor to have led you in the four glorious campaigns in which the Fifth Commando changed the face of the Congo and altered the course of history.” With that, Lieut. Colonel Mike Hoare, 47, last week said goodbye to his 250-man force of white mercenaries and departed the Congo for a round-the-world cruise on his 38-ft. yacht.

Trouble was, the excitement had about run out. When Hoare was hired by Premier Moise Tshombe 1½ years ago, Communist-backed rebel Simbas controlled almost half the Congo, including the major centers of Stanleyville and Albertville. Hoare hit them so fast and so hard that he often was able to take towns by simply telephoning ahead and saying that he was coming in. His Fifth Commando helped to rescue nearly 1,800 European hostages, smashed the Simbas’ resistance, and ended the threat of a Communist victory.

The Simbas—or what is left of them —are scattered throughout the bush. Yet some of them are still heavily armed and capable of menacing rural villages. The job of keeping them under control now passes to Major John Peters, 38, a onetime street fighter from the grimy English mill city of Leeds. A specialist in coping with sticky situations, Peters was called upon to break the Simbas’ front line at Baraka, the toughest battle the mercenaries ever fought. Peters stood up, gripped his officers’ baton (he never draws his pistol in battle), and led an attack that broke the Simbas’ line in 20 minutes.

He took a bullet in the calf in that charge, but fought on for two days before withdrawing to have the slug removed. Hoare may never be missed.