The Biafran Armed Forces (BAF) were the military of the Nigerian secessionist state 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 ...

, which existed from 1967 until 1970.

History

At the beginning of 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 ...

, Biafra had 3,000 soldiers. This number grew as the war progressed, ultimately reaching 30,000. No official support for the Biafran Army came from any other nation, although arms were clandestinely acquired. Because of this, the Biafrans manufactured many of their weapons locally. Some Europeans served the Biafran cause: German-born

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 ...

was a lieutenant colonel assigned to the 4th Commando Brigade, and Welshman Taffy Williams served as a major throughout the conflict. A special guerrilla unit, the Biafran Organization of Freedom Fighters, was established: designed to emulate the

Viet Cong , , war = the Vietnam War , image = FNL Flag.svg , caption = The flag of the Viet Cong, adopted in 1960, is a variation on the flag of North Vietnam. Sometimes the lower stripe was green. , active ...

, they targeted Nigerian supply lines, forcing them to shift resources to internal security efforts.

Legacy

In course of the

insurgency in Southeastern Nigeria The insurgency in Southeastern Nigeria (initially known as the Orlu Crisis) is a military conflict that broke out in the city of Orlu, Imo State, Nigeria on 22 January 2021, when the Nigerian Army moved to crush the paramilitary wing of the Indi ...

of 2021, a separatist group known as "Biafran National Guard" (BNG) organized the "Biafran Supreme Military Council of Administration". The latter posed as high command of the restored Biafran Armed Forces, including the "Biafran Army, Biafran Navy, Biafran Air-Force and Biafran Detective Force".

Branches

Army

At the peak of Biafran military power, the Biafran Army was made of 5 divisions; numbered 11th, 12th, 13th (later renumbered 15th), 14th and 101st. It also had 2 separate brigades, the S Brigade, a Pretorian guard for General Ojukwu, and the 4th Commando Brigade (trained and commanded by mercenaries). It was commanded by Brigadier Hillary Njoku and later Major General Alexander Madiebo.

Air force

The Biafrans set up a small, yet effective air force. Biafran Air Force commanders were Chude Sokey and later Godwin Ezeilo, who had trained with the

Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; french: Aviation royale canadienne, ARC) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environm ...

.''Air Enthusiast'' No. 65 September–October 1996 pp 40–47 article by Vidal, Joao M. ''Texans in Biafra T-6Gs in use in the Nigerian Civil War'' Its early inventory included two B-25 Mitchells, two

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s, (one piloted by Polish

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ace An ace is a playing card, die or domino with a single pip. In the standard French deck, an ace has a single suit symbol (a heart, diamond, spade, or club) located in the middle of the card, sometimes large and decorated, especially in the c ...

Jan Zumbach Jan Eugeniusz Ludwig Zumbach (14 April 1915, Ursynów, Congress Poland, Russian Empire – 3 January 1986, France) was a Polish- Swiss fighter pilot who became an ace and squadron commander during the Second World War. During the Cold War, he ...

, known also as John Brown), a converted

DC-3 The Douglas DC-3 is a propeller-driven airliner manufactured by Douglas Aircraft Company, which had a lasting effect on the airline industry in the 1930s to 1940s and World War II. It was developed as a larger, improved 14-bed sleeper version ...

and one

Dove Columbidae () is a bird family consisting of doves and pigeons. It is the only family in the order Columbiformes. These are stout-bodied birds with short necks and short slender bills that in some species feature fleshy ceres. They primarily ...

. In 1968, Swedish pilot Carl Gustaf von Rosen suggested the MiniCOIN project to General Ojukwu. By early 1969, Biafra had assembled five MFI-9Bs in

Gabon Gabon (; ; snq, Ngabu), officially the Gabonese Republic (french: République gabonaise), is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. Located on the equator, it is bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the nort ...

, calling them "Biafra Babies". They were coloured green, were able to carry six 68 mm anti-armour rockets under each wing using simple sights. The five planes were flown by three Swedish pilots and three Biafran pilots. In September 1969, Biafra acquired four ex-Armee de l'Air North American T-6Gs, which were flown to Biafra the following month, with another T-6 lost on the ferry flight. These aircraft flew missions until January 1970 manned by Portuguese ex-military pilots. During the war, Biafra tried to acquire jets. Two

Fouga Magister Fouga (also known as Air Fouga) was a French manufacturing company established by Gaston Fouga at Béziers during 1920. Originally specialising in the repair of railway rolling stock, the firm eventually became most noted for the aircraft it p ...

s and several

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s were bought but never arrived in Biafra, being abandoned on foreign African airbases.

Navy

Biafra had a small improvised navy, but it never gained the success of the air force. It was headquartered in Kidney Island, Port Harcourt, and was commanded by Winifred Anuku. The Biafran Navy was made up of captured craft, converted tugs, and armored civilian vessels armed with machine guns, or captured

6-pounder gun 6-pounder gun or 6-pdr, usually denotes a gun firing a projectile weighing approximately . Guns of this type include: *QF 6 pounder Hotchkiss, a 57 mm naval gun of the 1880s; a similar weapon was designed by Driggs-Schroeder for the US Navy ...

s. It mainly operated in the

Niger Delta The Niger Delta is the delta of the Niger River sitting directly on the Gulf of Guinea on the Atlantic Ocean in Nigeria. It is located within nine coastal southern Nigerian states, which include: all six states from the South South geopolitic ...

and along the

Niger River The Niger River ( ; ) is the main river of West Africa, extending about . Its drainage basin is in area. Its source is in the Guinea Highlands in south-eastern Guinea near the Sierra Leone border. It runs in a crescent shape through ...

Weapons and equipment used by Army and militias

Ranks

References

Bibliography

* Daly, Samuel Fury Childs. ''A History of the Republic of Biafra: Law, Crime, and the Nigerian Civil War,'' (Cambridge University Press, 2020
online review
* * * * {{Biafra topics Disbanded armed forces Biafra