'A' Company Action - The Battle of the Tunnel - 16th December 1961 PDF
Preview 'A' Company Action - The Battle of the Tunnel - 16th December 1961
At dawn, in pouring rain on December 16th 1961 the army of the Irish Republic under a UN flag went into action. A sharp and bloody engagement followed, as the men of the 36th Battalion undertook a vital seize and hold operation. The objective was a railway tunnel, a crucial approach to Elizabethville held by mercenaries and Katangese Gendarmerie. Irishmen under Irish command under a United Nation’s mandate on foreign soil went on the offensive. Intensive fighting followed.
Fatalities were inflicted and suffered. The Irish assault was met with heavy machine-guns and fierce mortar fire. The Irish were severely tested but triumphed. ‘A’ Company 36th Battalion served with the United Nations’ forces in the Congo, Central Africa, during the period of December 1961 to May 1962. Following the hostilities of December, including the famous Battle of the Tunnel, 14 members were awarded Distinguished Service Medals, including two posthumously. As a result ‘A’ Company 36th Battalion became the most decorated company in the history of the Irish Defence Forces. This is their remarkable story.
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