2nd Commando Battalion (Belgium)
Commando Regiment (1945-1955) 2nd Commando Battalion (1955-) | |
---|---|
Active | 1945- |
Country | Flawinne |
Motto(s) | United We Conquer |
Colors | [1] |
March | Marche des Commandos [2] |
Engagements | Belgian Congo Rwandan genocide |
Insignia | |
Parachute Qualification Brevet | |
Commando Qualification Brevet |
The 2nd Commando Battalion (French: 2e Bataillon de Commandos, officially abbreviated to 2 Codo) is a military formation of the Belgian Armed Forces and part of the 'Special Operations Regiment'. Its regimental traditions, including the name "Commando" and the green beret, were adopted from the Belgian soldiers who served in No. 10 (Inter-Allied) Commando during the Second World War.
History
Formation
The traditions of the 1st Commando Battalion were originally based on those of
The badge of the new unit was designed by Padre Devos, based the British Commando Fairbairn-Sykes dagger.[1]
Belgian Congo
During the months leading up to independence of the
In 1959, 2nd Commando Battalion was moved to Léopoldville to maintain order during the riots.
In 1964, a company from 2nd Commando was included in Operation Dragon Rouge for the drop on Stanleyville to recover hostages. The company was mentioned in dispatches.[1]
Rwandan Genocide
In March 1994, the 2nd Commando Battalion (with elements from the
On 6 April 1994, following the downing of Rwandan president Juvénal Habyarimana's plane, the RTLM radio station accused the Belgian peacekeepers of having shot down–or of helping to shoot down – the aircraft. The 10 Belgian soldiers who had been assigned to protect the Prime Minister, Agathe Uwilingiyimana, as well as five Ghanaians, were captured by an overwhelming number of Rwandan soldiers, and beaten to death. According to the UNKIBAT-01 Tab 241 of the Prosecution Case File, "The bodies showed signs of fighting, some had rifle-but or bayonet injuries, some showed signs of having been struck by machetes or bullet wounds." The Belgian contingent was deliberately targeted in this way in order to provoke the Belgian contingent to withdraw from UNAMIR (which it did several days later), critically weakening the remaining UN force.
The names of the peacekeepers who died were:[1] [3]
- Lt. Thierry Lottin (aged 29)
- 1Sgt. Yannick Leroy (aged 29)
- Cpl. Bruno Bassinne (aged 27)
- Cpl. Stephane Lhoir (aged 28)
- Cpl. Bruno Meaux (aged 28)
- Cpl. Louis Plescia (aged 32)
- Cpl. Christophe Renwa (aged 26)
- Cpl. Marc Uyttebroek (aged 26)
- Cpl. Christophe Dupont (aged 25)
- Cpl. Alain Debatty (aged 29)
The murder of the 10 soldiers was the biggest single loss of Belgian personnel since the
The murder was subject of an investigation, under the title of "Qui a tué nos paras?" ("Who killed our paras?").
Composition
The battalion was bilingual (French-Dutch) from its creation until 1982, but is now Francophone only.[1]
The 2nd Commando Battalion and the
Organisation
The 2nd Commando Battalion comprises:
Standard
In a ceremony on 26 October 1946 in Brussels,
- Italy
- Yugoslavia
- Walcheren
The standard also carried the fourragère of the Belgian croix de guerre.
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h "2nd Cdo Battalion". www.cdomuseum.be. Retrieved 21 November 2012.
- ^ "March des Commandos Belges". www.youtube.com. Retrieved 21 November 2012.
- ^ Rwanda : 10 paras, 20 ans déjà
- ^ "Qui a tué nos paras ? Les enjeux d'un procès" (in French). destexhe.blogs.com. Archived from the original on 23 October 2007. Retrieved 21 November 2012.
- ^ Korea: the Belgian Legacy. Center for didactic productions of the army.
External links
- "2 Bataillon de Commandos" (in French). www.mil.be. Retrieved 19 November 2012.[permanent dead link]