21 January 1963 (remnants reconstituted as the FLNC)
Service branches
Katangese Army Katangese Air Force
Leadership
Commander-in-Chief
President Moïse Tshombe
Secretary of State of National Defense
Joseph Yav
Commander
Jean-Marie Crèvecoeur (1st) Norbert Muké Ferdinand Tshipola
Personnel
Active personnel
14,000–17,000 (1963)
Related articles
History
Congo Crisis
The Katangese Gendarmerie (French: Gendarmerie Katangaise), officially the Katangese Armed Forces (French: Forces Armées Katangaises), was the paramilitary force of the unrecognized State of Katanga in Central Africa from 1960 to 1963. The forces were formed upon the secession of Katanga from the Republic of the Congo with help from Belgian soldiers and former officers of the Force Publique. Belgian troops also provided much of the early training for the Gendarmerie, which was mainly composed of Katangese but largely led by Belgians and later European mercenaries.
Throughout the existence of the State of Katanga, the gendarmes sporadically fought various tribes and the Congolese National Army (ANC). In February 1961 the Gendarmerie initiated a series of operations aimed at suppressing anti-secessionist rebels of the Association Générale des Baluba du Katanga (BALUBAKAT) in North Katanga. The campaign was largely successful, but the fighting led to atrocities and gendarmes were halted by forces of the United Nations Operation in the Congo (ONUC) during the Battle of Kabalo in April 1961. ONUC then initiated efforts to remove foreign mercenaries from the Gendarmerie, and launched Operation Rum Punch to arrest them in August 1961. They came into conflict with ONUC three times afterwards, in Operation Morthor (September 1961), Operation UNOKAT (December 1961), and Operation Grandslam (December 1962). Operation Grandslam marked the end of the Katangese secession in January 1963.
After the secession, many gendarmes returned to civilian life or were integrated into the ANC. However, around 8,000 refused to do so, and many of these kept their arms and roamed North Rhodesia, Angola and Katanga. Many crossed the Congo border into Angola, where Portuguese colonial authorities assisted and trained them. They were involved in several mutinies and attempted invasions of the Congo, most notably the Stanleyville mutinies in 1966 and 1967.
After 1967, around 2,500 gendarmes were present in Angola, where they were reorganized as the Congolese National Liberation Front (FLNC) and fought in the Angolan War of Independence on the side of the Portuguese government against the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) and National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA). When the war ended in 1975, they fought in the Angolan Civil War against the National Liberation Front of Angola (FNLA). The FLNC was involved in the Shaba I and II attempted invasions of Katanga. Split into factions after the war, the tigres emerged and played a decisive role in the First Congo War. There has since been little gendarme presence, but they have emerged as a symbol of secessionist thinking.
and 27 Related for: Katangese Gendarmerie information
The KatangeseGendarmerie (French: Gendarmerie Katangaise), officially the Katangese Armed Forces (French: Forces Armées Katangaises), was the paramilitary...
outcome of any internal conflict." The mobilisation of a Katangese army, dubbed the KatangeseGendarmerie, troubled UN Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjöld, who...
military and paramilitary formations under the auspices of the KatangeseGendarmerie. It was also intended to include a small air force established from...
Congo (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo) in Central Africa. The Katangese forces were decisively defeated and Katanga was forcibly reintegrated...
a political party funded by rebels of Katangese origin and composed of ex-members of the KatangeseGendarmerie. It was active mainly in Angola and Zaire...
and the gendarmerie of the State of Katanga, a secessionist state rebelling against the Republic of the Congo in central Africa. The Katangese forces attacked...
transitioning into mercenaries while they continued to head the Katangesegendarmerie. This made it more challenging to link them to the Belgian state...
KatangeseGendarmerie during the Congo Crisis. The attack was part of Operation Unokat which aimed to break the roadblocks set up by the gendarmerie by...
end to Katangese resistance to UN policy by destruction of Gendarmerie and other anti-UN resistance". On 28 November 1961 members of the Katangese Gendarmerie...
The Katangese Tigers or the Tigres are Katangese fighters. The term originally referred to ex-members of the KatangeseGendarmerie who refused to surrender...
should they attempt to end the Katangese secession through force. On 24 December 1962, UN troops and the KatangeseGendarmerie clashed near Élisabethville...
Operation Grandslam, the soldiers of Katanga's official military, the KatangeseGendarmerie, were supposed to be disarmed or integrated into the Armée Nationale...
into civilian life, Denard returned to military service with the Katangesegendarmerie in 1961. Refusing to surrender when secessionist forces collapsed...
political advisors by force. The second operation was resisted by the Katangesegendarmerie and resulted in casualties on both sides. Peace negotiations ensued...
some adventure. There is much distrust between the members of the KatangeseGendarmerie who have returned from exile with Tshombe and their former enemies...
A gendarmerie or gendarmery is a military force with law enforcement duties among the civilian population. The term maréchaussée (lit. 'marshalcy') may...
continued to be harassed by Gendarmerie, the political stalemate rapidly escalated into outright military tension. When the Katangese populace celebrated the...
White mercenaries, and brought his exiled loyalist troops (the KatangeseGendarmerie) back into the country. The mercenary-led forces gradually arrived...
Pierre Messmer, and left to provide support to the Belgian-backed KatangeseGendarmerie against the Republic of Congo-Leopoldville, joining hundreds of...
the conflict and establish peace in the region. In response, the KatangeseGendarmerie took two senior UN officials hostage. They were later released,...
Cyrille Adoula. In the 16 December attack on Camp Massart, the KatangeseGendarmerie stronghold was captured. Tshombe signed the 21 December Kitona Declaration...
mercenary Colonel Michael "Mad Mike" Hoare, becoming a Captain in the KatangeseGendarmerie during the suppression of the Simba Rebellion in the Congo, in conjunction...
separatist State of Katanga, whose military had consisted of the KatangeseGendarmerie and supportive mercenaries. After negotiations with the Simbas failed...
newly created KatangeseGendarmerie. The secession had the support of the UMHK, which assisted in the establishment of the new Katangese state—logistically...
separatist State of Katanga, whose military had consisted of the KatangeseGendarmerie and supportive mercenaries. After negotiations with the Simbas failed...
separatist State of Katanga, whose military had consisted of the KatangeseGendarmerie and supportive mercenaries. After negotiations with the Simbas failed...
Global Information
Katangese Army
Katangese Air Force