1964 · Eastern Congo (Kivu, Orientale) Theater
1964
A leftist, Lumumbist insurrection — the 'Simba' (Lion) rebellion — swept the east in 1964, its fighters believing magic dawa made them invulnerable. They overran much of the eastern Congo with startling speed. Che Guevara himself would arrive in 1965 to try, and fail, to organise the guerrillas. The government answered with an army stiffened by white mercenaries and Western support.
Commanders