The African Experience
Algeria
Alistair Horne, A Savage War of Peace: Algeria 1954-1962. This is a classic on the war in Algeria. Available on Amazon at:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/159...lance&n=283155
Douglas Porch, The French Foreign Legion, A Complete History of the Legendary Fighting Force. Dr. Porch is the authority on the Legion; he is balanced and measured in his study. Available on Amazon at:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/006...g=UTF8&s=books
Pierre Sergent, 2eme REP. In French. Sergent covers Algeria, Chad, Zaire, and Beirut. Listed on Amazon at:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/225...g=UTF8&s=books
Critical Number 3. Roger Trinquier, Modern Warfare: A French View of Counterinsurgency. Whenever counter insurgency is discussed, some one brings up Trinquier. You cannot understand the evolution of U.S. COIN doctrine without reading Trrinquier. Available on line for reading and download at
http://www-cgsc.army.mil/carl/resour.../trinquier.asp.
Guy Vincent, Képi Bleu: Une S.A.S, Un Autre Aspect de la Guerre D'Algerie. This book relates the experiences of a province commander, much like a provincial reconstruction team leader in Afghanistan today.
Angola
Chris Dempster and Dave Tomkins, Fire Power. One of the few works out there that offer insights into the U.S. involvement in Angola in 1975. Available on Amazon at:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/031...lance&n=283155
Chad
Pierre Sergent, 2eme REP. In French. Sergent covers Algeria, Chad, Zaire, and Beirut. Listed on Amazon at:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/225...g=UTF8&s=books
Congo/Zaire
Colonel Erulin, Zaire: Sauver Kolwezi. In French. Erulin commanded 2nd REP in the 1978 operation. Listed on Amazon at:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/286...lance&n=283155
Mike Hoare, The Road to Kalamata. This is a journal of Mike Hoare's first jaunt as a mercenary in the Congo. Available on Amazon at:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/066...lance&n=283155
Mike Hoare, Mercenary. This is Hoare's semi-historical account of the mercenary operation in the Congo in 1964. Available on Amazon at:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/070...lance&n=283155
Madeleine Kalb, The Congo Cables. This book offers an embassy and State department inside view of the Congo Crisis from 1960-1963 during JFK's administration. Available on Amazon at:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/002...g=UTF8&s=books
Thomas P. Odom, Leavenworth Paper #14 Dragon Operations: Hostage Rescues in the Congo 1964-1964. "The Dragon operations in the Congo-Dragon Rouge and Dragon Noir-were the first, and in many ways the most complex, hostage rescue missions of the cold war, Aimed at securing the release of nearly 2,000 European residents taken hostage during the Simba Rebellion in 1964, American aircraft projected a Belgian airborne unit thousands of miles into the heart of Africa. The planning and execution of this mission required the operational cooperation of three nations and their military forces in order to synchronize the arrival of airborne and ground forces to assault a hostile objective. At stake- as usual, and unfortunately- were the lives of innocent men, women, and children." This study though focused on the rescue of hostages in Stanleyville in is set in a counter insurgency war. It examines the rescue in political, military, and social terms against that COIN background. You can read it on line at
http://www-cgsc.army.mil/carl/resour.../odom/odom.asp.
Thomas P. Odom, Shaba II: The French and Belgian Military Intervention in Zaire in 1978. This study "presents a historical analysis of the 1978 invasion of Shaba province by the exiled Katangan Gendarmerie. Included in this study is the Western reaction to the invasion, from the Zairian Army's initial response, which set off the massacre of expatriate mine workers, to the airborne landings of French and Belgian forces. The French responded by sending the Foreign Legion into Shaba to restore order in the
province. Belgium, on the other hand, sent its Paracommando Regiment on the humanitarian mission of rescuing the hostages. Both countries developed independent plans for their missions, plans that were not coordinated until the two European forces were accidentally shooting at one another. The 1978 operations in Shaba should not be dismissed as something unusual or unlikely to reoccur, nor should they be discounted as European operations of little interest to U.S. planners. Since these Shaba II operations, the United States has been committed to similar operations in Lebanon, Grenada, Sudan, Somalia, Liberia, Panama, and the Persian Gulf. Without doubt, U.S. forces will continue to be involved in such operations, making Shaba II worthy of study by U.S. Army officers." It also delves heavily into the diplomatic and military efforts of the United States in this crisis. You may read it on line at:
http://www-cgsc.army.mil/carl/resour...dom2/odom2.asp.
Thomas P. Odom, Journey Into Darkness: Genocide in Rwanda with foreword by General (ret) Dennis J. Reimer. This memoir covers the author's 15 years as a Foreign Area Officer on the Middle East and Africa with operational tours as a UN Observer in Lebanon and as US Defense Attaché in Zaire and Rwanda. You may read a chapter from the book at
http://www.smallwarsjournal.com/docu...om_journey.htm or order it from TAMU Press at
http://www.tamu.edu/upress/BOOKS/2005/odom.htm or on Amazon or other on line bookstores.
Pierre Sergent, 2eme REP. In French. Sergent covers Algeria, Chad, Zaire, and Beirut. Listed on Amazon at:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/225...g=UTF8&s=books
Pierre Sergent, La Legion Saute Sur Kolwezi. In French. Sergent covers the 2nd R.E.P.'s jump into Kolwezi in 1978. Available on Amazon at:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/225...lance&n=283155
Brian Urquhart, A Life in Peace and War. In many ways, Urquhart was a primary architect of UN peacekeeping operations in the Middle East and Africa. Listed on Amazon at:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/039...g=UTF8&s=books
Colonel e r Vandewalle, L'OMMENGANG, Odyssée et Reconquête de Stanleyville 1964. In French. This book is the most authoritative sources on the Belgian role in putting down the Simba Rebellion in the Congo in 1964. It can be ordered at
http://www.livres-chapitre.com/-O1UQ...ILLE-1964.html
Fred E. Wagoner, Dragon Rouge: The Rescue of Hostages in the Congo. This is an excellent political-military study of the hostage crisis. Available on Amazon at:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/141...g=UTF8&s=books