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    Thomas Michael Hoare, known as "Mad Mike", is an Irish-born British mercenary leader known for battles in Africa and the Indian Ocean during the 20th century. He served as an armored officer in the British Army during World War II and later became a soldier-for-hire in Africa after moving to South Africa. During the Congo Crisis, Mad Mike led two mercenary groups, first in Katanga in 1960-1961 and then in the Congo in 1964 under Prime Minister Moïse Tshombe, fighting rebel groups in both missions.

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    Thomas Michael Hoare, known as "Mad Mike", is an Irish-born British mercenary leader known for battles in Africa and the Indian Ocean during the 20th century. He served as an armored officer in the British Army during World War II and later became a soldier-for-hire in Africa after moving to South Africa. During the Congo Crisis, Mad Mike led two mercenary groups, first in Katanga in 1960-1961 and then in the Congo in 1964 under Prime Minister Moïse Tshombe, fighting rebel groups in both missions.

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    175 views2 pages

    Thomas Michael Hoare

    Uploaded by

    vmrosario
    Thomas Michael Hoare, known as "Mad Mike", is an Irish-born British mercenary leader known for battles in Africa and the Indian Ocean during the 20th century. He served as an armored officer in the British Army during World War II and later became a soldier-for-hire in Africa after moving to South Africa. During the Congo Crisis, Mad Mike led two mercenary groups, first in Katanga in 1960-1961 and then in the Congo in 1964 under Prime Minister Moïse Tshombe, fighting rebel groups in both missions.

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    Thomas Michael Hoare (born 1920) (Mad Mike) is an Irish -born British mercenary leader known for military

    battles in Africa and the Indian Ocean.Mike Hoare is born in Dublin, Ireland . He served in North Africa as an Armour officer in the British Army during World War II, and achieved the rank of Captain. After the war, he emigrated to Durban, South Africa, where he ran safaris and became a soldier-for-hire in various African countries. During the Congo Crisis Mike Hoare organised and led two separate mercenary groups:

    19601961. Major Mike Hoare's first mercenary action was in Katanga, a province trying to break away from the newly independent Congo. The unit was called "4 Commando". During this time he married Phyllis Simms, an airline stewardess. 1964. Congolese Prime Minister Mose Tshombe hired "Colonel" Mike Hoare to lead a military unit called "5 Commando (Congo)" made up of about 300 men most of whom were from South Africa.His second in command was a young South African paratrooper Capt. GD Snygans. The unit's mission was to fight a breakaway rebel group called Simbas. Later Hoare and his mercenaries worked in concert with Belgian paratroopers, Cuban exile pilots, and CIA hired mercenaries who attempted to save 1,600 civilians (mostly Europeans and missionaries) in Stanleyville from the Simba rebels in Operation Dragon Rouge. This operation saved many lives.

    The epithet "Mad" Mike Hoare comes from broadcasts by Communist East German radio during the fighting in the Congo in the Sixties. They would precede their commentary with "The mad bloodhound, Mike Hoare".

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