6 Commando ANC; Congo Mercenaries

6 Commando was originally formed and led by Bob Denard in 1961 to help Moise Tshombe retain independence in the breakaway State of Katanga. Tshombe was impressed enough with the mercenaries that he even hired them once he gained control of the Congo and the Simba Rebellion began in 1964. This time however, 6 Commando would be under the control of Lt. Col Lamouline, a seasoned Belgian officer whose unit would be under the umbrella of 5 Commando led by Col. Mike Hoare.

Bob Denard would later once again take over 6 Commando, and gain the infamous moniker; "Les Affreux" (the awful ones). 6 Commando was primarily made up of Belgian, Italian, and French mercenaries and would never exceed a force of 550 men. 6 Commando would primarily serve in close cooperation with Katangese forces in the ANC, primarily forming "Choc" groups (French for shock) for support. Bob Denard and 6 Commando's largest role during the Congo Crisis was their support during Operation Dragon Rouge when Belgian Paras were dropped into Stanleyville and had the support of 5 and 6 Commando to take the city from the Simba rebel forces.

After Stanleyville had been secured, a large part of 6 Commando was sent to reinforce 26 ANC garrisons, leaving 6 Commando scattered all over the north and east of the Congo. Due to the fragmentation of 6 Commando, they never earned a reputation as an efficient fighting force. Another issue was that the ’’Chocs’’’ regularly faced disciplinary problems and their loyalty to the Congolese Government proved questionable at best. A majority of the problems stemmed from the irregularity of pay and the fact that 6 Commando was formed from such a wide range of different nationalities and exacerbated these problems that would become extremely visible in their morale, discipline and effectiveness.

Bob Denard would later lead 6 Commando alongside Jean Schramme and 10 Commando in the Mercenary Revolt, where they attempted to overthrow General Mobutu and reinstate Moise Tshombe as the leader of the Congo.