Congo War Cry

by Alan Caillou

Unknown Binding

First published October 1, 1980

Reviews

[Rich · Rating 3 out of 5]

Here I'm going to do a review/comment on the entire series. When I first encountered the Private Army of Colonel Tobin, I was about 14, maybe 15, and had very little grasp on world affairs at the time. I thought the concept of a private mercenary army was cool, but pure fiction. Then many years later, I learned of the existence of companies like Blackhawk, and realized private mercenary armies were a real thing.

And now as an even older man and looking back at world history, I realize how current the Colonel Tobin books were. Colonel Tobin's Private Army is a mercenary force that governments across the world turn to when they can't be openly involved. The books in this series: Dead Sea Submarine, Terror in Rio, Congo War Cry, Afghan Assault, Swamp War, Death Charge, and Garonsky's Missile all touched on political hotspots around the world: in the first the Arab/Israeli conflicts, the second, political instability in South America, next, the continual tribal warfare and political instability in Africa, next things in Afghanistan, next, homegrown crazies in America, kidnapping corporate executives in Mexico, and finally rogue Russian with a nuclear missile. All of these things, except perhaps the final, were real issues in the early and mid-1970s.

Caillou, real name Alan Lyle-Smythe, was a British intelligence officer in WW II, and served in many of the areas he wrote about. Post war he turned to writing and acting, including such diverse films and TV shows as the Herbie series from Disney, the Devil's Brigade and TV shows such as Quark and Tarzan.

He obviously stay up on world affairs.

The Tobin series was published by Pinnacle Books best known for such series as the Executioner, the Destroyer, Death Merchant, etc. You know blood, bullets, and boobs. The Tobin series was a at least a half-step above most of these and maybe even a full step. Any sex in the Tobin books is barely touched on, almost clinical.

What Caillou uses in this series is a combination of military intelligence and tactics.

In this particular book the focus is on a newly born African nation--Kampala--which finds itself caught between two mercenary armies, one led by a white mercenary, and the other by a black from America with dreams of eliminating all white from Africa. Kampala has vast diamond fields that both armies want to fund their efforts. Tobin's aim is to point both armies at each other. This is a book of cat and mouse.

I now have the full series, and I think I plan to keep them as collectibles, even if it's not always the same cover art.

[Tom Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Private Army of Colonel Tobin #3: “Congo War Cry” by Alan Cailou. Two rebel armies are causing headaches for the African Congo. General Guevara Lincoln’s army wants to run all the whites out of Africa, and Major Dogger’s army wants Africa returned to the old days when whites were masters, and blacks were slaves. The Congolese Army is not strong enough to fight them, so the private army of Colonel Tobin is hired to destroy the rebels. Tobin’s command consist of Major Paul Tobin (the colonel’s son), Pamela Charles (aide de camp), Betty de Haas (maps), Major Rick Meyers, and Major Bramble. Considered a men’s action novel, there is a difference. Most men’s action novels are primarily about sex and mass killing. Colonel Tobin is more military tactic, battle statistics, and well-written adventure, without the need of mass killing and sexual encounters every few pages. In other words, this series is more professional than mere mindless action we usually get in these series. Colonel Tobin actually pits the two rebel forces against each other, and then mops up what is left. It is his tactics that set the two against each other in the place and time picked by his army. A very good series.