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The Road to Kalamata: A Congo Mercenary's Personal Memoir

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Mike Hoare's leadership qualities truly stand out in "The Road to Kalamata: A Congo Mercenary's Personal Memoir". Hoare's narrative relates the trials by fire that he and his men underwent in the crucible of the Congo in 1960-1961 as a simple supply trip, scheduled to take just a couple of weeks, turned into months of bitter struggle with stifling heat, rains that turned roads into bogs, disease, and occasional brushes with bad guys.

Hoare was hired by Moïse Tshombe, the leader of the breakway province of Katanga, to provide what were basically military and protection services for a contract period, with the blessings of the former Colonial power in the Congo, Belgium. Hoare and his men delivered the goods after the rest of the country fell apart and succumbed to a military coup, led by Army Chief of Staff Col. Joseph Desire Mobutu.

The Katanga province never achieved international recognition and eventually folded under increasing internal threats and UN pressure.

Nonetheless, Hoare's book makes for fascinating reading, with maps and photographs to spur the story along and keep interest high. Hoare's genuine love and concern for his men shines through page after page, and his selfless efforts to recover two men who turn up missing after an evacuation, and his grief at their terrible fate, are the most moving parts of the book.

Hoare retuned to the Congo in 1964 to take part in the fight to save the lives of civilians trapped in the brutal Simba uprising. Please see "Congo Warriors", and "Congo Mercenary", two more fine books by Hoare.

In the early 1960s Tshombe led the province of Katanga in an attempted bid to form a nation seperate from Lumumba's Congo. In desperation, the Katangese leadership decided to hire mercenaries from Europe and southern Africa. One of them was Major Mike Hoare (later Col.).

In the "Road to Kalamata", Hoare weaves a well-written account of danger, humor, and brutality in the heart of Africa. The book can essentially be divided into three main parts (the chapters aren't divided into three parts in the book, but it seemed to go this way for me). The first is the story of recruiting the mercenaries and training them before leading them on a grueling mission to guard a supply convoy. Malaria, weather, and native rebels frustrate the trip though there is little actual fighting. The second part could be described as escaping the United Nations soldiers ordered to arrest the mercenaries. The third section would group in the chapters dealing with Major Hoare getting married and leading a series of searches for a couple of missing mercenaries under his command. During the escape from the U.N. forces, the pair had attempted to link up with Hoare, but had made a fateful and ultimaley tragic turn onto the road to Kalamata.

As with "Congo Mercenary", the "Road to Kalamata" is a fast reading that takes readers on a journey into the violence and turmoil of 1960s Africa. There is much less shooting in this volume as the weather and disease do more damage than the enemy though the enemy presence is still felt. This book seemed to contain more humorous parts than the other book, but still maintains its emotional side as Hoare searches for his missing men who he ultimately knows are almost certainly dead.

Whether or not one agrees with Hoare's occupation or some of his actions, the story is still a fascinating read that can make people think what they would do in similar situations. The version I read had some photographs and maps that went nicely with the book. Overall, not as good as "Congo Mercenary", but a very interesting read anyway.

I doubt one could find a military memoir that is better written than The Road To Kalamata. It is on a par with and has echoes of George MacDonald Fraser's Quartered Safe Out Here. This book is all the more remarkable as it is essentially a 'vignette' that covers a relatively brief time period an focuses on essentially a single operation. Despite the narrow focus, Mike Hoare weaves in fascinating political and social background background as adeptly as he portrays soldiers' life and experience. This story is at once fascinating, poignant, humorous and horrible. The book is also an excellent primer and case study of military leadership. I cannot recommend this book highly enough to anyone interested in the human experience and African history.

In this book mercenary Mike Hoare recounts his time during the first of many Congo Wars. In this case he was the head of a mercenary unit called 4 Commando, which was serving the Katanga government. Katanga, under Tsombe, had seceded from the Belgian Congo upon the granting of independence in 1960. With no army and an uprising of the Baluba tribe Tsombe sought mercenaries to buy him time to create his own army.

But this book recounts a single incident arising from a UN effort "take charge" of the situation. Apparantly the secession of Katanga violated some United Nations principle and peacekeepers were sent into the country. 4 Commando, operating in the northern part of Katanga, was to be "arrested" and so Hoare ordered his men to disperse, later collecting them and walking them back to friendly territory. During this operation two men disappeared while driving a jeep on the road to Kalamata. The story of what happened to these two men and how that information was obtained is both chilling and indicative of warfare in this corner of the world. Illustrated with several good photos.