Author by Artur Alves Pereira
I never had the chance to meet Steiner or Taffy Williams another great Biafra fighter. Williams found his Biafran troops to be completely different from those who 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 in another context”. 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 freedom fighter to leave the country.
Williams was assigned one hundred Biafran commandos in early 1968, and managed to keep two battalions of black mercenaries from Chad serving with the Federal Army at bay for twelve weeks using only the crudest of weapons.
After Williams redeployed his forces in early April, the mercenaries crossed the Cross River at two locations, and captured Afikpo, a main town on the western side.
Finishing 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.
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 Federal troops and serve to rally his own. On 24 August 1968 Williams was drawn into a critical battle of the Nigerian Civil War.
At this point he had 1000 soldiers under his command which threw themselves head first against two Federal Battalions which had crossed the Imo River Bridge with Soviet advisers. For three days their light machine guns and repeater rifles did not stop. 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 but two bullets left in their magazines and they were eventually forced to withdraw.
Following the arrest and deportation of Lt. Col Steiner and four others, Major Williams was the only European still left serving with the Biafran army. He left the country in the early 1969. It is thought that Williams, who had met author Frederick Forsyth there as a war correspondent, served as the inspiration for the character of Carlo Shannon in Forsyth’s The Dogs of War (novel).
Continuing…….
Leader and commander of the 4th commando brigade of the Biafran army, Who accomplished unbelievable feats for the sovereign republic of Biafra during the civil war; With a handful of men he led a successful mission on a Nigerian federal airfield which destroyed Russian made bomber planes-Russian fighter aircrafts and many more Nigerian fighting materials, “a no-nonse professional soldier-of-fortune-plain and simple”!
Born of a protestant father and catholic mother, His father was decorated in 1967 by the German army because of his heroic exploits during world war 1, ichie lt col Rolf Steiner is a man who fought for the freedom of Biafra without pay, He is a Bavaria(Bayern) born January 3 1933 in west-Germany,
A true hero of the sovereign republic of Biafra,
A true mentor of the armed forces of the sovereign Biafran republic,
A true genius of the Biafran military,
Who fought fearlessly and gallantly with his comrades for the liberation of the oppressed Biafran-Jews,
A man we all Biafran-Jews all across the world ought to honour,
A man we all Biafran-Jews all across the world ought to adore,
A man we all Biafran-Jews all across the world ought to cherish,
A man we all Biafran-Jews all across the world ought to love,
A man we all Biafran-Jews all across the world ought to look-up to for complete dedication-and-faithfulness to Biafran-non-violent-liberation-struggle;
Please people join me in thanking this faithful and dedicated Biafran-Jewish-hero for all the sacrifices he rendered for we (Biafrans) the oppressed to live as free people: also do not forget to pray god almighty to pay him back for his good deeds towards us (Biafrans) the oppressed and bless the families and lineage of all the people that left the comfort of their home and country and join hands in fighting for our liberation and freedom!
If you understand the meaning of selfless sacrifice, please click like and write thank you ichie Rolf Steiner, and all you Biafran heroes, may god bless you and your lineage.
Rolf Steiner was a professional soldier of fortune born in Munich, Bavaria on January 3,1933. He rose to the level of Lt Commander of the 4th Commando Brigades in the Biafra Army during the Nigerian civil war.
He was the son of a protestant father and catholic mother, Steiner’s father had been decorated in the first world war as part of Manfred Von Richthofen Squadron.
In 1967, while living in Paris he made contact with former colleague Roger Faulques who was organizing a mercenary unit for the newly independent Republic of Biafra.
Steiner flew to Port Harcourt via Lisbon Portugal and enlisted into the Biafra army as a company commander.
Steiner had success in the field and was given the responsibility of organizing the 4th Biafra commando Brigade as a Lt Col. On May 25, 1968 they led a successful mission against a federal Nigeria air field in Enugu destroying six Russia made bomber and fighter aircraft. Steiner far from being a mercenary fought for the Biafra without Pay
