‘People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf.’ ~ George Orwell.

The 1960s heralded Europe’s abdication as colonial master of the Dark Continent.  From the 16th Century until the second half of the 20th Century, Africa was largely an extension of European power and prestige.

There was enough of Africa for everyone except, of course, the Africans. The fate of Africa and its indigenous peoples was largely decided by the occupying power of whatever part where the native African was born.

The principal holders of African real estate were the British, Belgians, French, Italians, Germans, Spanish and Portuguese.

Germany held large parts of Africa until the end of World War I in 1918.  Imperial Germany was forced to surrender its colonies to the victor nations as a prize of war. 

German colonies had not come through conquest. As Adolf Hitler caustically remarked in his reply to Roosevelt:

‘In and outside Europe, Germany lost approximately three million square kilometres of territory, and that even though the whole German Colonial Empire, in contrast to the colonies of other nations, was not acquired by way of war, but solely through treaties or purchase.’ ~ Hitler’s Reply to Roosevelt. Reichstag, April 28, 1939.

Belgium laid claim to the Congo (1885 – 1962). The small European kingdom added to its colonies when Ruanda-Urundi in 1918 was surrendered by defeated Germany.

Belgium also took possession of German territory in China. The acquisition of the Congo multiplied the size of Belgium seventy-six times.

LEFT: Veteran of the Biafran War of Independence.

Half American, like his mentor Winston Churchill, British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan (1894 -1986) coined the term, ‘winds of change’. The expression is diplomatic speak for the capitulation of Britain’s colonial empire, including South Africa, to the global banking elite.

Winston Churchill’s war against Hitler’s Germany (1939 – 1945) came with a high price tag. Unsurprisingly, Wall Street’s banking houses sought returns on their investment in supporting Churchill’s War against the Workers Reich (1933-1945).  

The repayment provisions included the surrender of Britain’s colonies and her Imperial Preference to the U.S.-based banking houses and their mega-corporation allies.

The Imperial Preference was the name given to the preferential trade agreement between the dominions and colonies of Britain and her Empire.

The consequence of Churchill’s achievement in removing Hitler’s Germany as a potential trade competitor was that the U.S. actually succeeded in removing its British rival, whilst itself establishing itself as a trade competitor.

RIGHT: French Legionnaire Roger Faulques

Early 1960s, Africa was the Dark Continent of James Conrad, David Livingstone, and Dr Albert Schweitzer. Often found in any of over 20 African nations, traveller Michael Walsh identified with the period with which Europe’s last gladiators would also be familiar.

The dogs-of-war had worn the epaulettes of every nation. Now, comrades-in-arms were veterans of the Waffen SS, the French Foreign Legion, British Parachute Regiment, Belgian, Dutch, and Irish and Swedish servicemen. Here is the real world of the men who made up the epic movie The Wild Geese.

Drawn into the Congo Crisis and Biafra War of Independence, the Sudan, South Africa and Rhodesia Bush Wars, the soldiers-of-fortune numbered in their ranks legends as Colonel Mike Hoare, ‘Black Jack’ Schramme, veteran Colonel Bob Denard, and Major Siegfried Müller.

We witness the heroic death of Marc Goosens, meet French Legionnaire Roger Faulques and ex-Hitler Youth Rolf Steiner. Never forgotten are Alexander Gay and Major Taffy Williams, all of whom were truly the Last Gladiators of Europe.

NOTE: The Sweethearts of Death by African veteran Michael Walsh is currently available from LULU.COM and Books.by: Amazon availability in May.  TELL US WHAT YOU THINK

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THE SWEETHEARTS OF DEATH  Michael Walsh: Veterans of the Waffen SS, Foreign Legion, British Parachute Regiment, Congo Crisis and African conflicts include legends like Colonel Mike Hoare, Black Jack Schramme, Colonel Bob Denard, and Major Siegfried Müller. French Legionnaire Roger Faulques and ex-Hitler Youth Rolf Rolf Steiner. Updated and fully illustrated 28 stories of legends. https://books.by/michael-walsh#the-sweethearts-of-death