DR Congo Armed Forces.

[preme3000]

This thread is dedicated to matters related to the growing Congolese Army, Air Force, Navy, Intelligence Community and the many various unofficial armed forces around the country. Basically all matters military.

[preme3000]

Kingdom of Kongo Army

The kingdom's army consisted of a mass levy of archers, drawn from the general male population, and a smaller corps of heavy infantry, who fought with swords and carried shields for protection. Portuguese documents typically referred to heavy infantry, considered nobles, as fidalgos in documents. There is weak evidence to suggest revenue assignments paid and supported them. A large number, perhaps as many as 20,000, stayed in the capital. Smaller contingents lived in the major provinces under the command of provincial rulers.

After 1600, civil war became far more common than inter-state warfare. The government instituted a draft for the entire population during wartime, but only a limited number actually served. Many who did not carry arms instead carried baggage and supplies. Thousands of women supported armies on the move. Administrators expected soldiers to have two weeks' worth of food upon reporting for campaign duty. Logistical difficulties probably limited both the size of armies and their capacity to operate for extended periods. Some Portuguese sources suggested that the king of Kongo fielded armies as large as 70,000 soldiers for a 1665 Battle of Mbwila
Battle of Mbwila
At the Battle of Mbwila on October 29, 1665, Portuguese forces defeated the forces of the Kingdom of Kongo and decapitated king António I of Kongo, also called Nvita a Nkanga.-Origins of the War:...but it is unlikely that armies larger than 20–30,000 troops could be raised for military campaigns.

Troops were mobilized and reviewed on Saint James' Day, July 25, when taxes were also collected. Subjects celebrated this day in honor of Saint James and Afonso I, whose miraculous victory over his brother in 1509 was the principal significance of the holiday in the Kongo.

When the Portuguese arrived in Kongo they were immediately added as a mercenary force, probably under their own commander, which used special-purpose weapons, like crossbows and muskets, to add force to the normal Kongo order of battle. Their initial impact was muted; Afonso complained in a letter of 1514 that they had not been very effective in a war he waged against Munza, a Mbundu rebel, the year before. By the 1580s, however, a musketeer corps, which was locally raised from resident Portuguese and their Kongo-mestiço (mixed race) offspring, was a regular part of the main Kongo army in the capital. Provincial armies had some musketeers; for example they served against the Portuguese invading army in 1622. Three hundred and sixty musketeers served in the Kongo army against the Portuguese at the battle of Mbwila
Battle of Mbwila
At the Battle of Mbwila on October 29, 1665, Portuguese forces defeated the forces of the Kingdom of Kongo and decapitated king António I of Kongo, also called Nvita a Nkanga.-Origins of the War:...

Example of picture of armymen

[preme3000]

World War I
During World War I (1914–18) an expanded Force Publique served against German colonial forces in the Camerouns, Rwanda, Burundi and German East Africa. They generally performed well, winning the respect of their British and Portuguese allies, as well as that of their German opponents. From 1916 on the FP grew to reach a strength of three mobile Groupes (brigades), Kivu, Ruzizi, and Tanganyika, comprising a total of 15 battalions, from the static garrison and police force of 1914. It took until late 1915 for the Force Publique to do this.

World War II
During World War II (1939 to 1945), the Force Publique provided detachments to serve with the Allied forces during the East Africa Campaign and in the Middle East. Belgium surrendered to Germany on 28 May 1940. With Belgium occupied, the contribution to the Allied cause by the Free Belgian Forces from the Belgian Congo was primarily an economic one. However the Force Publique grew to 40,000 in the course of the War, formed into three brigades, a river force and support units[

Independence 1960
At independence in 1960, none of the top military leaders were African. Moreover, Belgium's attitude toward the Congo (or, more formally, Republic of the Congo and then Democratic Republic of the Congo), as Zaire was known from 1960 to 1971, was little different than it had been throughout the colonial period. An excellent example of this posture occurred a few days after independence. When Lieutenant General Émile Janssens, Belgian commander of the Force Publique, heard grumbling by the Congolese soldiers and NCOs who saw little chance to advance in an army still controlled by expatriates, he called a meeting of the Léopoldville (now Kinshasa) garrison on July 5, 1960, to remind them of their oaths of loyalty and obedience. In addition, he wrote on a blackboard, "After independence equals before independence." The indignation aroused in the Congolese soldiers by this comment led to a mutiny by the end of the day. At a meeting that evening, the mutineers called for Janssens's removal and the immediate Africanization of the officer corps.

[BUTEMBO21]

Tributes to the Fallen Heroes of WWI and WW2.

[BUTEMBO21]

FARDC's Mi-24

[BUTEMBO21]

[BUTEMBO21]

[BUTEMBO21]

[BUTEMBO21]

Seriously, we need the modernization of the FARDC.

Especially the Air Force.

[BUTEMBO21]

June 30 2009 Independence day in Goma.

[BUTEMBO21]

Republican Guards on Parade in Morocco.

[preme3000]

Originally Posted by BUTEMBO21

Tributes to the Fallen Heroes of WWI and WW2.

Where is this located? We need a Congo World War Museum

Originally Posted by BUTEMBO21

Seriously, we need the modernization of the FARDC.

Especially the Air Force.

All in good time my friend, it will happen. There will be a boom in the economy sometime in the future, this should release some funds for defence expenditures, assuming whatever government we have at that time is serious.

[BUTEMBO21]

[BUTEMBO21]

June 30th 2009 49th Independence day in Goma( North-Kivu Province).

[BUTEMBO21]

Originally Posted by preme3000

Where is this located? We need a Congo World War Museum

I think In Kinshasa. I remember watching a Lingala Facile Video showing exactly this image.

But Yes, we need a Huge War memorial.

All in good time my friend, it will happen. There will be a boom in the economy sometime in the future, this should release some funds for defence expenditures, assuming whatever government we have at that time is serious.

I agree.
I'm just so impartient.

[preme3000]

Mods, please can the title be changed to "DR Congo Armed Forces", thanks

[preme3000]

Pushing Out The Peacekeepers

April 13, 2010: Congolese opposition groups are forming a new coalition called the Alliance for Maintaining the Peace Agreement of Goma (also CALELD the Goma Alliance). CALELD will include at least 17 rebel organizations, most of them in the eastern Congo. However, the idea is to coordinate opposition to the government and president Kabila. One of the key rebel groups is the Mai Mai Kifuafua (MMK) militia. The MMK objected to the fact its leaders were denied government jobs that it argued were promised in previous peace agreements. Former members of General Laurent Nkunda's National Congress for Defense of the People (CNDP) are also prominent in the new coalition.

April 12, 2010: Canada has offered to send more troops to MONUC (UN Mission in the Congo). Canada is withdrawing its forces in Afghanistan.

April 11, 2010: The UN has released a sketch of what could become MONUC's withdrawal plan from the Congo. This would take place over a three year period. This conflict's with the Congolese government's stated desire that MONUC withdraw by the end of 2011. The government wants to demonstrate that it does not depend on UN forces. Unfortunately, the government does depend on UN forces. Most Congolese Army units are poorly trained and equipped. The handful with decent equipment are essentially presidential guard units. Though fighting has tapered off in the east, North and South Kivu provinces remain unstable. The northern Congo has a raging inter-tribal conflict, between the Enyele and the Manzaya. Tribal rivalries have simmered for years in the area (Equateur province), but a disagreement over fishing rights turned into a tribal bloodletting which has become a war. The Lords Resistance Army (LRA), still terrorizes the northeastern corner of the Congo. UN units serve as rapid reaction forces. The Congolese military is also distrusted by many Congolese.

April 10, 2010: The government claimed that the Congolese Army killed 12 Enyele tribesmen and arrested 35 during counter-insurgency operations in Equateur province in early March. The Enyele (described as rebels) were killed in operations around the town of Mbandaka (capital of Equateur province).

April 9, 2010: The government claimed that a UN force in the town of Mbandaka failed to adequately protect threatened Congolese civilians when they were attacked by a rebel force on April 4.

April 5, 2010: The government and UN reported that the Congolese Army and MONUC troops had regained control of the Mbandaka airfield, after a battling Enyele rebels who launched a surprise attack on April 4. The reported casualties indicate a fairly vigorous firefight in the city and particularly around the airfield: seven Congolese soldiers killed, three Congolese policemen, and 21 Enyele rebels. The UN reported that two UN workers were slain in the city and one peacekeeping soldier (from a Ghanian detachment) was killed. The UN estimated the attacking Eneyele force had an estimated 100 to 150 fighters. With 21 dead, that means 15 to 20 percent were killed in action.

April 4, 2010: A group of Enyele rebels landed by boat in the town of Mbandaka (Equateur province) and launched a series of attacks. The rebel force attacked the governor's home and took control of the airfield. The rebels also attacked a church.

March 28, 2010: MONUC is considering reinforcing its peacekeeping contingent in the northeastern Congo. International rights organizations and a number of Congolese tribes are complaining that the Congolese Army is incapable of protecting civilians threatened by the LRA. At the moment the UN has around 1000 troops stationed in the region –which is very few, given the size of the region and the tough terrain.

[MBA-Congo]

Originally Posted by BUTEMBO21

Seriously, we need the modernization of the FARDC.

Especially the Air Force.

Hopefully the Norinco deal is concrete, that and many others like it made by the defense ministry.

http://www.norincoequipment.cn/index_English.jsp

[MBA-Congo]

Originally Posted by BUTEMBO21

We should keep the olive green uniforms but with new design.

[manicongo5]

Originally Posted by preme3000

Kingdom of Kongo Army

The kingdom's army consisted of a mass levy of archers, drawn from the general male population, and a smaller corps of heavy infantry, who fought with swords and carried shields for protection. Portuguese documents typically referred to heavy infantry, considered nobles, as fidalgos in documents. There is weak evidence to suggest revenue assignments paid and supported them. A large number, perhaps as many as 20,000, stayed in the capital. Smaller contingents lived in the major provinces under the command of provincial rulers.

After 1600, civil war became far more common than inter-state warfare. The government instituted a draft for the entire population during wartime, but only a limited number actually served. Many who did not carry arms instead carried baggage and supplies. Thousands of women supported armies on the move. Administrators expected soldiers to have two weeks' worth of food upon reporting for campaign duty. Logistical difficulties probably limited both the size of armies and their capacity to operate for extended periods. Some Portuguese sources suggested that the king of Kongo fielded armies as large as 70,000 soldiers for a 1665 Battle of Mbwila
Battle of Mbwila
At the Battle of Mbwila on October 29, 1665, Portuguese forces defeated the forces of the Kingdom of Kongo and decapitated king António I of Kongo, also called Nvita a Nkanga.-Origins of the War:...but it is unlikely that armies larger than 20–30,000 troops could be raised for military campaigns.

Troops were mobilized and reviewed on Saint James' Day, July 25, when taxes were also collected. Subjects celebrated this day in honor of Saint James and Afonso I, whose miraculous victory over his brother in 1509 was the principal significance of the holiday in the Kongo.

When the Portuguese arrived in Kongo they were immediately added as a mercenary force, probably under their own commander, which used special-purpose weapons, like crossbows and muskets, to add force to the normal Kongo order of battle. Their initial impact was muted; Afonso complained in a letter of 1514 that they had not been very effective in a war he waged against Munza, a Mbundu rebel, the year before. By the 1580s, however, a musketeer corps, which was locally raised from resident Portuguese and their Kongo-mestiço (mixed race) offspring, was a regular part of the main Kongo army in the capital. Provincial armies had some musketeers; for example they served against the Portuguese invading army in 1622. Three hundred and sixty musketeers served in the Kongo army against the Portuguese at the battle of Mbwila
Battle of Mbwila
At the Battle of Mbwila on October 29, 1665, Portuguese forces defeated the forces of the Kingdom of Kongo and decapitated king António I of Kongo, also called Nvita a Nkanga.-Origins of the War:...

Example of picture of armymen

The case of the Kongo is the classical example of what not to do in terms of nationa security and national independance.Whereas Queen Nzinga took the uncompromising path of total war for total independance,many kongo kings took the path of cultural,military,...compromission with foreign forces.You cant built an effective national army by relying on foreign mercenaries.Queen Nzinga understood that better than anybody else and she sustained a 60 years war against both portugueses and dutchs and died undefeated in her 80s.