David Hugh "Taffy" Williams (28 September 1933 – 7 May 1996) was a Welsh-born South African mercenary who fought for the
State of Katanga during the
Congo Crisis
The Congo Crisis (french: Crise congolaise, link=no) was a period of political upheaval and conflict between 1960 and 1965 in the Republic of the Congo (today the Democratic Republic of the Congo). The crisis began almost immediately after ...
(1960–1963) and the
Republic of Biafra
Biafra, officially the Republic of Biafra, was a partially recognised secessionist state in West Africa that declared independence from Nigeria and existed from 1967 until 1970. Its territory consisted of the predominantly Igbo-populated form ...
during the
Nigerian Civil War
The Nigerian Civil War (6 July 1967 – 15 January 1970), also known as the Nigerian–Biafran War or the Biafran War, was a civil war fought between Nigeria and the Republic of Biafra, a secessionist state which had declared its independence ...
(1967–1970).
Biafran War
Noted for his bravery under fire he served two tours of duty with the Biafran Army, rising to the rank of major, and was the last white mercenary to leave the country as secession ended.
Williams found his Biafran troops to be completely different from those whom he commanded in
Katanga. "I've seen a lot of Africans at war," he was quoted as saying. "But there's nobody to touch these people. Give me 10,000 Biafrans for six months, and we'll build an army that would be invincible on this continent. I've seen men die in this war who would have won the
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...
in another context".
[Forsyth, 113.] An irascible man, he was known for constantly screaming at his men and threatening to kill them if they did not obey his orders with a ''Time'' correspondent in 1968 observed him to shout at his troops: "You rotten bastards! You bloody, treacherous morons!".
Williams was known in Biafra as being "bullet proof" due to his ability to survive multiple wounds and was five times reported to be killed in action between December 1967-October 1968, only for him to turn up alive.
Williams was assigned one hundred Biafran fighters in early 1968, and managed to keep two battalions of
Chadian mercenaries serving with the Nigerian Federal Army at bay for twelve weeks with only antiquated weapons. After Williams redeployed his forces in early April, the Chadians forded the
Cross River at two locations, and captured
Afikpo, a main town on the western side.
[Forsyth, 127.]
Completing his first contract and following a brief stay in the UK, Williams returned to Biafra on 7 July 1968. He was assigned to the 4th Commando Brigade led by Lt. Col
Rolf Steiner
Rolf Steiner (born 3 January 1933) is a German retired mercenary. He began his military career as a French Foreign Legion paratrooper and saw combat in Vietnam, Egypt, and Algeria. Steiner rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel commanding the ...
. Steiner had command of 3000 men, and was assigned to the area around the
Enugu -
Onitsha road. Williams, who liked to joke that he was "half-mad", would personally lead his troops into battle, sometimes standing in a hail of Federal gunfire, just to prove to his troops that he was indeed "bullet-proof". His resolve under fire would often unnerve the more superstitious of Nigerian soldiers and serve to rally his own.
[Forsyth, 133.]
On 24 August 1968 Williams was drawn into a critical battle of the conflict. At this point, he had 1000 soldiers under his command which carried out counteroffensives against two battalion-sized enemy units attempting to cross the
Imo River Bridge with Soviet military advisers. When Williams returned to Aba for additional ammunition to continue the fight, he was told that there was simply none to be had. The Nigerian Air Force had become quite successful in blocking supplies into the beleaguered state. Some of Williams' men had only two rounds left for their rifles and many were forced to withdraw.
[Forsyth, 136.]
Following the arrest and expulsion of Steiner and four others, Major Williams was allegedly the only European still left serving with the Biafran army. He left the state shortly before its collapse. It is thought that Williams, who encountered author
Frederick Forsyth
Frederick McCarthy Forsyth (born 25 August 1938) is an English novelist and journalist. He is best known for thrillers such as ''The Day of the Jackal'', ''The Odessa File'', '' The Fourth Protocol'', '' The Dogs of War'', ''The Devil's Alter ...
there as a war correspondent, served as the inspiration for the character of Carlo Shannon in Forsyth's ''
The Dogs of War''.
[ ]
Notes
Sources
* Steiner, Rolf. ''The Last Adventurer'' (Boston: Little, Brown & Co., 1978), 275 pages.
* Mok, Michael. ''Biafra Journal'' (Time-Life Books, 1969), 95 pages.
* Forsyth, Frederick. ''The Biafra Story'' (Pen & Sword Books, 2009) 291 pages.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Taffy
1933 births
1996 deaths
British expatriates in Nigeria
Military personnel of the Nigerian Civil War
People from Bridgend
People of the Congo Crisis
People of the State of Katanga
South African mercenaries
Welsh emigrants to South Africa