Must-Read: Story of French-German Legionnaire Rolf Steiner and His Involvement in the Nigerian Civil War.
He was 35 years old when he commanded the 4th Commando Brigade in the Biafran Army, as seen in the photos. As a lieutenant-colonel, history claims that the first three brigades never existed; the Biafran command headquarters spread this false information to mislead the Nigerian Federal Forces. For the majority of 1968, Steiner’s opponent was 3rd Nigerian Marine Commando Division’s “Black Scorpion” Adekunle. During the battle, Steiner got into a physical altercation with Col. Odumegwu Ojukwu. The story will disclose all the specifics of what happened. Steiner chose the skull and crossbones as his regimental emblem because he believed it would serve as a constant reminder tohis soldiers of the dangers associated with war. He discovered that the Biafran people were very driven and quick learners. Instead of being a mercenary, Steiner became a citizen of the Biafran people and fought for them unpaid all the way to the end of the war—long after the majority of other European soldiers of fortune had deserted. The majority of the other commanders had trained in conventional warfare at Sandhurst, but Steiner’s guerilla warfare skills aided the Biafran cause far more. DETAILS OF THE STORY He got in touch with his old colleague Roger Faulques, who was setting up a mercenary force for the newly independent Republic of Biafra, in 1967 while residing in Paris. Biafra, which controlled a large portion of Nigeria’s oil reserves and could produce one million barrels of oil per day, was backed by France. Biafra was estimated to have oil reserves in 1967 that were roughly one-third that of Kuwait. Charles de Gaulle, the president of France, thought that by supporting Biafra’s separation from Nigeria, the French oil companies would be granted permission to extract Biafra’s oil. Note: The United Kingdom Soviet Union also provided support to the Nigerian Army. Steiner was one of the mercenaries hired by the French secret service, the Service de Documentation Extérieure et de Contre-Espionnage, to fight for Biafra. Declassified French documents in 2017 verified long-held suspicions: the “Africa cell” led by controversial French civil servant Jacques Foccart within the French government was responsible for arming and recruiting mercenaries like Steiner to fight for Biafra. Once French weapons were transported in from Libreville, Gabon, Uli’s airfield earned the title of “Africa’s busiest airport.” Biafra was recognized by Gabon, a former French colony and member of France, per French directives. French weaponry was transported by air to Uli from Libreville. Aside from France, South Africa was the primary foreign backer of Biafra because the apartheid regime desired the collapse of oil-rich Nigeria, which was thought to be the black African nation most likely to oppose South African authority. Furthermore, from a South African perspective, the continuation of the Nigerian Civil War was beneficial since apartheid supporters in North America and Europe utilized it as evidence that Black people were incapable of governing themselves. Steiner joined the Biafran army and flew to Port Harcourt via Lisbon, Portugal, and Libreville. Regardless of whether…
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