Pamwe ticha ita kukosha - A Central African Federation TL

Found some parts of an old timeline I wrote whilst digging around on my old computer. I'll be rewriting it and posting it fairly regularly (hopefully) over Christmas. Hope you all enjoy!

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On 11th November 1959, Roy Welensky, Prime Minister of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, and his government issued the Unilateral Declaration of Independence. A letter written by Sir Arthur Benson, Governor of Northern Rhodesia, nearly two years prior had come to light, a letter in which he heavily criticised both the Federation and its Prime Minister, Sir Roy Welensky. The incident practically destroyed Federal and British government relations and as Welensky became more angered and disillusioned by the British he began to see only one way out to save his country: independence. And so it was that the declaration was made.

It was immediately met with hostility from much of the international community as the British imposed economic and diplomatic sanctions, the Governor-General, Simon Ramsay, confined himself to Government House and British officials were withdrawn from the Central African Federation whilst CAF representatives were expelled from Britain. However, some support was forthcoming, with the Portuguese government recognising the new nation and South Africa sending an ‘Accredited Diplomatic Representative’, along with the French who maintained cordial relations with the CAF, although both nations declined to fully recognise the Federation.

The United Nations, lacking the support of not just France but with the UK’s conservative government unwilling to take direct action against its own colony and the USA’s Eisenhower administration hesitant to tackle an anti-communist government, was paralysed and did nothing apart from issuing a statement condemning the “unlawful action of Mr Welensky’s administration.” In the CAF itself, the UDI was immediately followed by a crackdown on groups and individuals deemed subversive, further suppressing African nationalism in the region after the crackdowns that had already occurred earlier in the year, after unrest had broken out in Nyasaland and a state of emergency declared.

How far are you going with this?

Probably until the end of the Cold War

There are not enough timelines set in Africa during the period of decolonisation despite it being a period of such rich history, so I welcome this. I don't know much about Rhodesia so looking forward to see where you take it.

Best of wishes on this new African timeline!

Thanks! I'll have another update up tomorrow

This is awfully far south to be called a "Central" African Federation.

Edit: Blast, that's an alternate name for the OTL entity. Stupid reality....

also
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coat_of_arms_of_the_Federation_of_Rhodesia_and_Nyasaland

Where did you get your title? the motto for the OTL federation was apparently "Magni Esse Mereamur (Let us deserve Greatness)"

Google Translate renders your motto as "May you come magnitudes at", which doesn't make much sense. Of course, that could be the near total uselessness of Google translate, especially with Latin.

Nooooo! The ever reliable google translate has failed me! Was meant to be 'come together to achieve greatness' or 'let us achieve greatness together'. Haven't studied Latin since primary school so I can't say I know any at all, if anyone who actually does would like to suggest a decent translation that'd be helpful I think the Federation was sometimes referred to as the Central African Federation in OTL, the official name is still the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland ITTL.

Although the Federation was now nominally independent, it was almost immediately forced to look to its borders as trouble began brewing to the north when on the 30th June 1960, Baudouin, the King of the Belgians, arrived in the Congo to formally hand over power to the new government. Unfortunately for the Belgians, the day was a complete diplomatic failure, beginning with the King’s sword being snatched by a Congolese man called Amboise Boimbo, who danced with it in the street before he was subdued and the sword returned to Baudouin. From there things only went downhill, when at the parliament building the King gave a speech praising his ancestor, Leopold II, who had conquered the Congo and committed many abuses against its population. Unsurprisingly, the Congolese were less than pleased with this and as such President Kasa-Vubu left out any praise for Baudouin in his own speech and the Prime Minister Lumumba, who was not due to speak, went ahead and gave a speech attacking Belgium and the King. Although later in the day, reconciliation was attempted, Lumumba’s speech had been broadcast across the Congo and the damage was already done.

It was now that things in the former Belgian colony took a turn for the worst. The armed forces had been left out of recent pay raises for government employees and as such were unhappy with the way things were going, especially as they still found themselves serving under white officers, as there were not blacks who had completed officer training at that time. This situation boiled over when the commander of the Léopoldville garrison, Lieutenant General Émile Janssens, gave a speech to his troops attempting to remind them that they had to remain loyal and disciplined. He wrote on a blackboard “after independence = before independence” and announced that independence would not bring any change in their status or roles. This outraged the soldiers, who by the end of the day had mutinied and began attacking Europeans and some Congolese, the violence spreading across the Congo. In an attempt to placate the soldiers, the government changed the name of the ‘Force Publique’ to ‘Armée Nationale Congolaise’ and the leadership was immediately Africanised, which only served to leave the army totally uncontrolled, but still armed.

Things were quickly going downhill in the Congo as mutiny spread across the country, despite the best efforts of the government to stem the tide. The Belgians grew more and more concerned as attacks on white civilians were reported and many of them began to flee the country, resulting in the Belgians deciding to intervene militarily to protect the 100,000 Belgians and other Europeans in the Congo.

As Belgian paratroopers clashed with Congolese forces, Tshombe, leader of the CONAKAT party in the Congolese province of Katanga, declared independence on the 11th July 1960. His pro-western government had the support of Belgian businesses and some 6,000 Belgian troops, who alongside CAF advisers and specialists quickly helped the President of the new country to create the Kananga Gendarmerie. The new state immediately faced rebellion in the northern Luba areas, as well as the Congolese Prime Minister’s determination to halt the secession of Katanga.

On the 14th July, after calls from Congolese Prime Minister, Lumumba, for UN intervention, the UN called for Belgium to remove its troops and established the United Nations Operation in the Congo (ONUC), the first UN troops arriving the next day. Lumumba wanted to use the UN forces to subdue the rebellion in Katanga, but the Secretary General, Hammarskjöld, refused, considering it an internal matter and that the UN was thus forbidden to intervene. On the 22nd July, the UN once again called for Belgian troops to withdraw and affirmed that the Congo should be a single state.

While all this had been going on in Katanga, similar happenings were occurring in South Kasai, which had proclaimed independence on the 14th June under Albert Kalonji, a Luba chief who was proclaimed President, with Joseph Ngalula as head of government.

Lumumba, however, was determined to subdue the rebels and dissatisfied with the UN he requested support from the Soviet Union on the 17th August, despite UN troops beginning to tentatively enter Katanga. Following shipments of Soviet arms and the supply of Soviet trucks, ANC troops attacked Katanga on the 27th August and began to massacre and rape their way across the countryside, until Katangan troops, led by Europeans, drove them off. It was following reports of the atrocities committed by ANC troops and the threat that Soviet intervention in the area posed, that led the CAF to intervene in the conflict on 1st Spetember. The CAF officially recognised the state of Katanga and began moving its troops into the country, with Tshombe’s permission, to support the regime.

Exeunt Lumumba​

With the help of CAF and Belgian troops, Tshombe was able to gain almost complete control over Katanga by Christmas, effectively forcing the entire Luba resistance north, out of Katanga. But even as Katanga grew stronger, the rest of the Congo was falling apart. Lumumba had been arrested and the country split between the western-backed Mobutu based in Léopoldville and the Socialist Antoine Gizenga based in Stanleyville. Although the western government could initially call on more troops and foreign support than their opponents in the east, in December 1960 Lumumba succeeded in escaping and reaching Stanleyville, where he joined Gizenga given a much needed boost to the Stanleyville government and ensuring that the civil war would not be brief. Rumours of Belgian and Federation involvement in his escape were circulated, the two states accused of using him to undermine their opponents.

A civil war now began in earnest and Soviet arms, supplies and advisors began to flow to Stanleyville as American support did the same in Léopoldville. Initially both sides were dead set against Katanga’s succession, but as the war escalated Léopoldville began to move towards the negotiating table. Although initial discussions broken down, they were soon once again underway as Mobutu became more desperate for Belgian and Federation support. The US and UN had both now become fully concerned by the full-blown civil war rather than the issue of Katanga and neither continued pushing against Tshombe in any significant way. By March 1961, Lumumba’s troops had push west and surrounded Coquilhatville on three sides, although the city continued to hold out against the attacks. Concerned that should the city fall his armies would collapse and his enemies would be able to drive towards Léopoldville, Mobutu recognised both Tshombe’s government in Katanga and the CAF as independent states.

Having gained the recognition they desired, Belgian finances and CAF troops were both made readily available to Mobutu who quickly made use of both to begin arming more of his own troops and sending men of the King’s African Rifles to help defend Coquilhatville. With his troops around the city now either halted or being pushed back, Lumumba launched much of his reserves, armed and transported by soviet supplies, in an attempt to sever the corridor that connected Coquilhatville to the rest of Mobutu’s territory and kept supplies and reinforcements flowing to the defenders.

Unfortunately for Lumumba, his attack in the first days of April was to prove an unmitigated disaster as the air forces of Mobutu’s allies swiftly brushed aside any resistance and began groundstrikes against the advancing units, inflictive heavy casualties and all but wiping out some formations. Although a few of the initial attacks were able to take some territory, they became bogged down as Mobutu committed his fresh reserves of new recruits, recently armed with American weapons, paid with Belgian money and trained by Rhodesian soldiers. As more and more reinforcements arrived Lumumba’s soldiers were driven back a general retreat began as they fell back east, until Katangese units began pushing north, supported by the Northern Rhodesia Regiment and the Royal Rhodesia Regiment.

As the Stangleyville government’s troops were thrown back on all fronts and the Parachute Detachment of the CAF (initially formed to evaluate the practicality of a paratrooper force but since pressed into action in the Congo) continually struck at targets behind their lines, the retreat swiftly became a rout. Although Lumumba’s troops eventually rallied and slowed the attack, they had been devastated and were never again in a position to mount a large-scale offensive, being largely confined to defensive operations until the end of the war.

Indeed, the end of the war was not far off and after much of the remainder of Lumumba’s forces were surrounded and either forced to surrender, first at Bumba then to the west of Kindu, by June Stanleyville had been taken. Unfortunately for him, Lumumba was unable to repeat his escape of the year before, leaving him to be captured and eventually killed, whilst many of his supporters, including Gizenga, were killed in the fall of Stanleyville. Although some low-level fighting would continue for months, with the fall of Stanleyville the conflict was largely over. As Lumumba’s forces had crumbled and his enemies had made their mad dash for Stanleyville, other fighting had also taken place, between mercenaries employed by Katanga and UN troops ordered to arrest any mercenaries they came across. When a series of firefights took place that left casualties on both sides, the Rhodesian and Katangese governments brought the mercenaries into their own armies as independent units for the duration of the war.

At the end of hostilities, in South Kasai, which had never had the same level of foreign backing as Katanga and only controlled a small portion of its claimed territory, independence was not to last. As a gesture of goodwill to the new Congolese government, the Belgians and the CAF put pressure on Kalonji to accept being reincorporated into the Congo. He accepted after insuring that the region would remain highly autonomous and South Kasai’s succession thereby came to an end.

During their involvement in the Congo, the CAF had been effected in a variety of ways, the most immediate being the thawing of their relations with the rest of the world, as they earn recognition from the Congo, Katanga and Belgium. Many white men and women who had lived in the Congo under Belgian rule had fled to the CAF when the Crisis started and thanks to agreements would out by the two governments, those who wished were allowed to settle there and despite many choosing other paths, thousands would go onto settle in Northern Rhodesia, a side effect of which was that the CAF’s immigration policy began to be more open as others who weren’t Protestant Anglo-Saxons were allowed to settle. This new relaxing of the immigration policy came just in time to take advantage of much of the mass-exodus of the Pied-Noirs of Algeria, many of whom took flight to the friendly CAF, encouraged by the Belgians and stories of a friendly regime. All told, tens of thousands of Belgians and Pied-Noirs would settle in the Federation after the collapse of their own states. On top of all this, Belgian money and resources extracted from Katanga helped the CAF’s economy to continue to rapidly expand as it had since the Federation’s inception.

Militarily the CAF’s forces had performed exceptionally well against the Congolese troops they had been pitted against, with the use of special forces and airpower being particularly highlighted and leading to the permanent retaining of the Parachute Detachment within the Federation’s military as the Parachute Regiment. The mercenary units which had been practically independent of Rhodesian controls during the war were either disbanded or amalgamated into the Rhodesian Light Infantry, a similar process occurring in Katanga as the mercenaries that stayed and became a part of the regular forces of the state joined the Katanga Light Infantry. Furthermore, the Royal Rhodesia Regiment was able to raise another battalion entirely of French-speakers from the new settlers.

The Smith Incident​

The federal election in March 1962 was to prove the last hurrah of Winston Field and his supporters who wished to halt the march toward black majority rule. Although the election war a near run thing, the successes in the Congo had won Welensky many friends among the more conservative elements of the federation and combined with the slowly growing rise in refugees from Belgian and French colonies was just enough to allow him to walk away with a victory and keep the post of Prime Minister.

Following his success in the election, Welensky began to do away with many of the racist laws that governed life in the CAF, such as the repeal of the Land Apportionment Act in July 1962 which had earmarked much of the land for whites only. With this the first step towards racial integration had begun. As the population was largely focused on the events in the Congo during this time where Welensky was continuing winning himself favour among the conservatives through his support of the Katanga government which was seen as largely reactionary, the legislation was generally forced through, although some laws remained on the books, including the 1903 Immorality Suppression Ordinance. A great victory for the Liberals had been won, but the conservatives were now growing discontent with the pace of reform and displayed this in the December general election in Southern Rhodesia where the Rhodesia Front was brought to power under Winston Field.

Demonstrations in support of or against the federal government now began to take place as the two sides grew more and more hostile towards one another. When the franchise was extended in early 1963, they began to turn increasingly violent and some conservatives began plotting to maintain white rule. Seeing their leader as more and more ineffectual, other members of the Rhodesia Front prepared to depose him for someone they considered one of their own, someone who was prepared to do what it took to prevent the ongoing reforms.

When the 1903 Immorality Suppression Ordinance was finally repealed in March 1963 and plans for the extension of the voting franchise were introduced by the federal government at the same time, it was the last straw for the rightist faction in the Rhodesia Front and they swiftly moved to do away with Field, demanding his resignation. When Field accepted their demands and stepped down, Ian Smith took power in South Rhodesia and began preparing to leave the CAF, accusing Welensky of overstepping the powers of the federal government.

In return, Welensky, supported virtually without reservation by the rest of the Federation and a significant portion of the white population in South Rhodesia, declared the attempted secession to be unlawful and announced that he would oppose it with force if necessary. Faced with this unexpectedly stiff resistance and seeing that forces loyal to the federal government were preparing to enforce Welensky’s control, Smith’s government made once last attempt at seizing real power.

Smith ordered the Royal Rhodesia Regiment to arrest the members of the federal government, which was housed in Salisbury, gambling on the regiment’s support for his plans. However, as soon as the order went out, things began to go wrong for the conspirators, when some of the officers refused to obey the orders and one even escaped to warn Welensky, before the entire French-speaking Battalion refused to take part in the coup. Small fights even broke out as those loyal to Smith attempted to carry out his commands, some lasting until the end of the coup as those loyal to the federal government holed up in their barracks or even attempted to move against disloyal units. Alerted to the Smith government’s actions, Welensky went on both military and public radio, as well as television, to give an address in which he announced a state of emergency, condemned the actions of Smith’s government as treasonous, demanded that they end their plans and hand themselves in, before finishing by calling on both civilians and the military to oppose the conspirators to protect not just the Federation, but the ideals of equality and justice too.

Although some units involved in the coup still attempted to reach the federal government despite their plans having been discovered and hostile forces quickly closing in on them, huge crowds loyal to Welensky filled the streets of Salisbury, blocking the conspirators’ troop movements. In a few instance troops even fired into the crowds, momentarily dispersing them, but the people always rallied and by the end of the day had kept the troops from reaching the federal government.

That night numerous units loyal to Welensky moved into position and by morning it was clear Smith’s coup had failed, with he and his co-conspirators being arrested in its wake. The conservative faction in the Federation was now effective removed from power, for the time being at least, with its leaders imprisoned and Welensky turned bitterly against them.

The Short Walk​

As a result of the attempted coup, Welensky began to see the reactionaries as just as dangerous to the future of his country as the radicals, threatening the delicate balance of power in the Federation and seemingly intent on dragging the region into a bitter civil war as had been seen in Algeria, irrevocably dividing society along racial lines. Calling the loyal commanders of the armed forces together, as well as a host of other advisors and entering into talks with foreign leaders, the Prime Minister began serious planning to ensure that the Federation would not slip into anarchy. His commanders told him that although triumph in the case of a racial civil war was possible, it would be a bloody conflict that could well see the fall of the government and the massacre of white civilians. Concerns were expressed over the loyalty of African troops in the case of civil war. Tshombe, President of Katanga and a staunch ally of the Federation thanks to the vital role they had played in helping him achieve independence, met with Welensky during this time and reportedly returned some advice Welensky had given him some two years prior, warning that the Federation could not fight everyone and its own people all together at once. With the growing danger of communism an ever growing concern, Welensky decided that now was when he would have to take the plunge.

With the Rhodesia Front defeated, Welensky was able to pursue his reforms from a position of power and swiftly did away with the last few remaining racist laws, as well as extending the voting franchise to all through a referendum on a new constitution which was held in May 1963 in which all citizens were allowed to vote, regardless of wealth. As a result of the new constitution, the 59 seats of the Federal Parliament were reduce to 52, as the seats of the African electoral college, the appointed seats of the governors (which had lain empty since UDI) and the seat of the European representing African interests were all removed. Though the voting franchise was now universal, 11 seats were reserved for whites only as was the post of Deputy Prime Minister, which was itself created as a permanent position in government. Of the 11 reserved seats, six were elected in Southern Rhodesia, three in Northern Rhodesia and two in Nyasaland. Despite these changes, Welensky opted to continue with the current government until the end of his term.

With the referendum and the move toward majority rule in the CAF, the Federation’s foreign relations swiftly began to normalise as the country was recognised by numerous other states, others promised to extend recognition following the elections and the UK began making preparations to accept them into the Commonwealth. Economic sanctions were lifted and an economic boom began as a surge in trade occurred. New cars began to appear in the dealerships, foreign products appeared on shop shelves and Rhodesia goods were exported to foreign markets, making many men a lot of money. Some of the most die-heard supporters of the old order emigrated, disillusioned with the new path the Federation was taking, with many going to South Africa where the government was friendly and the laws still ensured white rule. In the end though, the economic success of the Federation more than made up for their emigration and during the period immigration remained higher, despite a slight dip.

In the military, moves were made towards Africanising the armed forces, as numerous black NCOs were selected for officer training with a view to begin replacing the white officers. However, some units remained all white for the time being and it would be a long while yet before the military was properly reformed. Discontent among the white soldiers was fairly high at this time, but most saw that the old ways were ending and were happy to follow Welensky, especially as the economic boom of the mid 1960s really began to take effect.

Among the main black political parties, in Nyasaland the Malawi Congress Party, in Northern Rhodesia the United National Independence Party and in Southern Rhodesia the Zimbabwe African People’s Union, all agreed to the new constitution, which also included a clause that none of the constituent parts were allowed to secede. They had each been warned by Welensky of the danger that the conservative whites could present, as evidenced by Ian Smith’s coup, and all agreed that the new power sharing agreement was to everyone’s best interests. As a result of this, radicals in each group split from the main parties, demanding “one man, one vote” resulting in the creation of the Malawi Independence Party, the Zambia Independence Party and the Zimbabwe African National Union. To prevent the derailing of his reform programme, Welensky promised the leaders of the moderate black parties that the system would come up for discussion at an unspecified future date to be agreed by the PM and Deputy PM.

Welensky would be forever vilified by the reactionary elements within the white population of the Federation, who accused him of selling out when white power had been virtually at its strongest. Equally reviled by the radical elements among the native Africans, who saw him as a colonial oppressor desperately cling to the last vestiges of imperial power, the majority of Africans and whites alike within the Federation saw him as the man who led the CAF through the minefield of transition to majority rule whilst ensuring that the state remained strong and prosperous.

Good updates.

Waiting for more...

Thanks for reading, next update will probably be out tomorrow, but I am busy in the afternoon I think, so you might have to wait until Sunday I'm afraid

Oh and I nearly forgot to say thanks to Mzimwi for providing the translation that's now the title! It means 'together we will achieve important things' and is based off the CAF's motto in OTL

I'm kind of wondering what converted Welensky to support for majority rule. IOTL, he wasn't as hard-line as Winston Field or Ian Smith, and he was willing to work with black junior ministers and allow a qualified franchise, but he was against anything more than that: he was vocally opposed to majority rule and cracked down heavily on nationalist leaders and protests. In a UDI situation, with Belgian and pied noir settlers coming in (who would be greatly against majority rule because that's what they're fleeing from), he'd have to answer to a more conservative electorate than OTL, so if anything, he'd be less willing to give up minority rule rather than more. What was his "come to Jesus" moment on this issue, and how did he persuade his party to go along?

Also, would the Rhodesian Front necessarily win the 1962 election in Southern Rhodesia ITTL? It was a close election in OTL, and with Welensky stealing some of Winston Field's thunder by declaring UDI, the United Federal Party could win. On the other hand, if Welensky has already declared a reformist agenda by December 1962, that might push conservative Southern Rhodesian voters toward the RF.

I'd been under the impression he was happy to move towards black-majority rule, just a little slower than the British wanted, but nevertheless faster than the RF would ever agree to. ITTL he's happy to simply be assured that the white population will continue to be protected and still have their voice heard, hence his power-sharing agreement. It seems reasonable to me, but if you've got any suggestions for another way to go about it, please do say

The RF win the 1962 election as Welensky starts doing away with some of the the old laws (eg. the Land Apportionment Act) which loses the election for him. Just realised I wrote that he repealed that in 63 rather than 62, corrected now.

Dieu Le Roi said:

I'd been under the impression he was happy to move towards black-majority rule, just a little slower than the British wanted, but nevertheless faster than the RF would ever agree to. ITTL he's happy to simply be assured that the white population will continue to be protected and still have their voice heard, hence his power-sharing agreement. It seems reasonable to me, but if you've got any suggestions for another way to go about it, please do say

The RF win the 1962 election as Welensky starts doing away with some of the the old laws (eg. the Land Apportionment Act) which loses the election for him. Just realised I wrote that he repealed that in 63 rather than 62, corrected now.

Click to expand...

Well not reaaaaaally. Welensky was against overt brutality in the maintenance of white supremacy in Rhodesia-Nyasaland, but I don't think he was moving towards majority rule, as I assume you were suggesting. He was more of a 'White Mans Burden'-type figure than a 'lets make our only interactions with Blacks through a shotgun'-type like some of the Afrikaner politicians.

Maybe, after the immediate fallout of UDI is over, Welensky makes a cold-blooded assessment of the situation and realizes what's likely to happen if he gets into a long-term bush war. He has only the Rhodesian white population to rely on, they're heavily outnumbered, and even though they're far better armed than the Africans, fighting a guerrilla war in the bush requires much more than the ability to win battles. From Algeria, he'd know that it's possible to win all the battles but still lose the war. Maybe this would convince him of the need for a managed transition to majority rule, and of the need to start the process now while it's still possible to make a favorable deal.

I'm not sure this would be his most likely reaction. In 1963, all his neighbors except Tanzania are either minority-ruled themselves, still colonies or (in the Congo's case) governed by pro-Western rulers who owe the CAF a favor, so Welensky wouldn't yet feel any sense of isolation or siege as PM of a minority-ruled country. It's likely that after the Congo victory, he would feel confident about the CAF army's ability to crush an African nationalist uprising. Also, he didn't like the African independence leaders - his objection to making a deal with Kaunda, for instance, would be personal as well as political. He called Kaunda "the Village Chief." But on the other hand, crises sometimes lead people to rethink their world-view, and stranger things have happened than Welensky deciding that the jig is up, so a sufficiently cold-blooded review of the situation could cause him to make the moves you posit for him.

I don't suppose you know anything about Welensky and Tshombe's relationship if ever they had one? I was thinking that if he liked Tshombe and saw him as reasonable, the whole transition thing wouldn't seem so bad. Then toss in a moderate Pied-Noir who wants to stop what happened in Algeria from happening in the CAF and it seems like it could be enough to convince him, on tp of the other things you said.