The Wagner Group mutiny has not been a novelty from a historical perspective. Pending the resolution of the events experienced in Russia on June 23 and 24, mercenary insurrections in the past used to start with some complaint about their working conditions, but very significant cases have led to very profound political changes.
One of the first examples that we know of a great mercenary revolt must be found in Antiquity. The armies of Carthage were characterized by making extensive use of soldiers of fortune, while the Punic citizens were only called to arms in case of extreme necessity.
After the defeat against Rome in the first Punic war (264-241 BC), the North African city had to evacuate its 20,000 mercenaries from Sicily and, according to the treaty of Lutacio, also had to pay a large war indemnity: 3,200 talents (about 82 tons of silver) in ten years.
Carthage began the demobilization of the mercenaries by transporting them to the territory of present-day Tunisia. Once there, the Punic authorities tried to negotiate down the large payments that they had pending with the contracted contingents.
On their journey from Sicily, many of these had passed through Carthage and had seen that, despite the military defeat, it remained a prosperous trading center. So the Punic insistence on negotiating downwards upset the spirits of the mercenaries, who ended up marching on the city. Faced with the display of force, the Senate of the North African power was frightened and agreed to pay everything owed.
The balance of the debt did not calm the spirits. The main mercenary leaders had their own agenda. In particular, Matón stood out, a Libyan who wanted to take advantage of the military force gathered to organize a rebellion in the North African cities dominated by Carthage.
With these opposing positions, the mercenary war began (241-238 BC). Carthage only had a few mercenaries who had remained loyal and had to recruit its citizens. These were no match for the seasoned mutineers who had fought for years in Sicily putting the Roman legions in serious trouble.
The Punic city was left on the ropes, but had the surprising help of its archenemy. Rome viewed the mercenary revolt with suspicion. If Carthage fell, she would not be able to collect war reparations, and a state that emerged from that rebellion could be a source of instability for her interests in the region. So the Italian power accelerated the return of Punic prisoners of war to fight against the rebels and facilitated trade with its rival so that it had enough resources to end the uprising.
The help was not free. Rome took advantage of the Punic weakness to occupy Corsica and Sardinia with the excuse of maintaining stability in the western Mediterranean. Carthage protested, but did not have the strength to stand up to its great rival, which was beginning to extend its influence beyond Italy.
Little by little, the Carthaginians were turning the tables. They had to turn to their best general, Amílcar Barca (father of the famous Hannibal), who had commanded the mercenaries in Sicily. The conflict was also notable for its cruelty, even by the standards of the time. After the final Punic victory, 30,000 rebels were crucified. For this reason, the contest was also known as the inexpiable war.
In 238 B.C. C. Carthage regained control of its North African domains, but the balance of forces in the western Mediterranean had changed forever in favor of Rome. The annexations of Corsica and Sardinia were one of the sources of Punic resentment that would lead Hannibal to unleash the Second Punic War in 218 BC. c.
Removing a mercenary leader who has risen to power has always been a risk, as the rulers of Constantinople experienced in the early 14th century. Then the Turks were advancing through Asia Minor and the Byzantine armies were powerless to stop them. So, as Putin did when turning to Wagner after the successful Ukrainian counter-offensives of 2022, the Basilians decided to call in mercenaries to turn the tables.
At that time, one of the most famous among the professional troops was the Gran Compañía Catalana, the Almogavars commanded by Roger de Flor. This former Templar was in charge of a contingent of 4,000 infantry and 1,500 horsemen. He and his warriors had built their reputation as effective fighters serving Frederick II of Sicily (son of Peter III of Aragon) in his war against France.
The almogávares monopolized successes against the Turks. They removed the danger from Asia Minor, but Roger de Flor’s mercenaries came to be seen as a threat by the Byzantines. The leader of the Great Company was gaining great influence by securing the title of megaduke (a great military position in Constantinople) and the hand of the Emperor Andronicus’s niece. So a conspiracy was organized against him and his captains who were treacherously murdered during a dinner.
In turn, the Byzantine troops tried to massacre the Almogavars in the Battle of Gallipoli, but the mercenaries repulsed the attack and, enraged by the murder of their leaders, unleashed the so-called Venjança Catalana. It was a campaign of looting throughout Greece that culminated in the formation of the duchies of Athens and Neopatria. These states became vassals of the Crown of Aragon, which saw in these entities an excellent platform to defend its interests in the eastern Mediterranean.
Another mercenary revolt with geopolitical consequences was the Sepoy Rebellion in India (1857). Since the second half of the 18th century, the British colonial presence in the subcontinent was exercised through the East India Company (CIO). This great company had its private army (although it did not call its members mercenaries), which came to gather some 200,000 soldiers, twice the number of troops available to the British army at the time.
The volume of the CIO’s business in Asia came to represent half the volume of business in Great Britain at the beginning of the 19th century. These good prospects were cut short when, in 1857, the troops received a new rifle, the Enfield model 1853, which used cartridges covered by a greased membrane that had to be torn with the teeth in order to load it.
A common gesture for reloading rifles at the time, but a rumor began to circulate that the fat in the cartridges was from cows or pigs, something offensive to the Hindu and Muslim soldiers – these native troops were known as sepoys – who made up the army. bulk of the CIO forces. Various units mutinied against the use of these munitions and the situation turned into an open rebellion.
In reality, the question of the cartridges was only the spark that lit a pyre that had been building for some time. The CIO’s abuses of power over various territories in India had generated strong anti-colonial sentiment that was unleashed by the mutiny of the troops.
London had to send its own units to put down the rebellion, which ended on June 20, 1858. Both sides committed atrocities: murders of non-combatants, executions with extreme cruelty, mass rapes… In total, they died 6,000 British (civilian and military) and an estimated 800,000 Indians.
In addition to the human cost, the rebellion of the sepoys meant the end of CIO rule over India and the establishment of the British Raj, the colonial regime of rule under London control that would last until 1947.
In a line similar to the fate that has been speculated with a part of the members of Wagner, the bulk of the private troops came to depend on the British army. The high point of these changes was the appointment of Queen Victoria as Empress of India in 1877.
One more case of insurrections of this type can be found in the mercenary mutinies in the Congo during 1966 and 1967. This country was a key piece on the geopolitical chessboard of the Cold War and in the race to gain influence in post-colonial Africa. This game of interests led him to experience a whole series of conflicts in the sixties in which European mercenaries played a very important role.
The leaders of these soldiers of fortune became quasi-legendary characters, such as Bob Denard, Jean Schramme or Mike Hoare. They came to inspire classic works of the espionage or political thriller genre, such as the classic novel The Dogs of War by Frederick Forsyth or the film Wild Ducks (1978).
At the end of the sixties, the situation in the Congo was marked by the struggle between Mobutu Sese Seko and the former Prime Minister of the country, Moise Tshombe. The latter had gone into exile in Madrid after being accused of treason and took advantage of the discontent of some Congolese troops to hatch a rebellion. Furthermore, he was on good terms with many mercenary leaders he had hired in previous conflicts.
Some soldier-of-fortune contingents were also concerned that Mobutu wanted to demobilize them and they would lose the important source of income they had from the Congolese conflicts. So, on July 23, 1966, a good number of them joined the mutiny started by troops loyal to Tshombe in Stanleyville (present-day Kisangani).
Despite initial success, the insurgents were left to await the arrival of the former prime minister from exile. Thus, Mobutu gained vital time to reorganize his troops; In addition, one of the most famous mercenaries and in command of one of the best prepared units, Bob Denard, had maintained an ambiguous attitude during the coup and in the end opted for the Congolese leader.
The attempt convinced Mobutu to disarm the white mercenaries he had in the country. In addition, relying on European troops did not help the image of a great African leader that he wanted to show to the world. The bad outlook for the contingents of fortune made two Belgian mercenaries, Jerry Puren and Jean Schramme, support a new rebellion in favor of Tshombe.
The trigger was a bizarre kidnapping of Tshombe on June 30, 1967 on a plane in Ibiza that traveled to Algiers. The operation had the participation of a French intelligence agent and the CIA, a traditional ally of Mobutu, also participated. The capture of his leader prompted forces loyal to him in the Congo (including mercenaries) to take up arms to demand his release.
Despite all the warning signs, this took Mobutu’s troops by surprise. Schramme and his men fortified on the Rwandan border, waiting for Bob Denard to march with another contingent from Angola. The US provided logistical help to the Congolese dictator to reorganize his forces and successfully assault rebel strongholds in November 1967.
Denard and his troops made only a timid advance from Angola. In the face of the government offensive, Schramme’s mercenaries fled to Rwanda alongside pro-Tshombe Congolese soldiers.
The European soldiers were held prisoner in Rwanda for six months and were repatriated to Europe. His companions in the insurrection were handed over to Mobutu, who, despite promises of amnesty, ended up shooting them. This episode helped the Congolese dictator to consolidate his power until 1997. It also marked the end of the mercenary intervention in the Congo.
