The Brondeel Expedition was a transsaharan travel from Belgium to Congo led by commandant Louis Brondeel. It started on Wednesday 17th of January 1934 at 1.12 pm, during a heavy rain. Mr. Louis Brondeel, a war veteran, was also an owner of a Dodge dealership. Therefore, he organized the expedition with both adventurous and promotional purposes in mind.
The crew consisted of Mr. Brondeel himself (at that time Mr. Brondeel was a reserve captain of artillery), Mr. Paul Neuray- the second in command, a reserve lieutenant of cavalry and the secretary of a newspaper entitled “La Nation Belge”, Charles Dekeukeleire- an avantgarde film director who worked with a camera operator named François Rents, three “technicians” (i.e. drivers)- Mr. Ernest Jacquemart, Mr. René Crahay and Mr. Gabriel Duhoux (who is mentioned in one of the articles as a high class driver after a recent success in Liège-Rome-Liège), doctor Jean-Auguste Storms (a specialist in tropical medicine) and a cook named Constant de Veuster (it is possible that he was related to the saint Pater Damiaan, but a research in Geneanet indicates that it may as well be a coincidence of names- https://gw.geneanet.org/fwouters7?n=de+veuster&oc=&p=constant, https://gw.geneanet.org/marcelcroon?lang=fr&n=deveuster&p=constant+jean).
The expedition aimed to show that the regular transport between Belgium and Congo was possible. Such goal could be achieved by covering about 13000 km from Brussels to Kitega (which is now renamed to Gitega) in about three months.
The caravan consisted of a six-cylinder passenger car and two trucks. All three were yellow-painted Dodges. According to “Sintair’s” (“Sintair” was a pseudonym of Herman Sartini) report from the 18th January 1934 issue of “La Nation Belge”, the trucks were 2.5 tonne and 3.5 tonne vehicles. The latter could carry three passengers. Mr. Brondeel wrote an article published in a monograph entitled “[50 années d’activité coloniale au Congo] : 1885-1935”. The article describes the trucks as “5900 and 6800 kg”. The numbers given in “La Nation Belge” may be load capacities. If so, Mr. Brondeel’s article seems to mention gross weights.
The first stage of the expedition led from Brussels to Port-Vendres, through Maubeuge, Reims, Langres, Lyon, Nimes and Perpignan. It was expected that the caravan would come to Reganne, through Alger, Laghouat, Ghardaïa, El-Goléa (now El-Menia), around 20th of January. Tanezrouft was considered a region where “the difficulties are multiplied by ten”. However, Mr. Brondeel anticipated that it would take two days to reach Gao. An important point on the trail between Reggane and Gao was the famous Bidon-V (one of barrels of fuel which were installed every 50 km, bearing names like Bidon-I, Bidon-II and so on. The Bidon-V is also known as Poste Maurice Cortier).
Having left Gao, the convoy would get to Fort Lamy (through Niamey, Dosso and Kano) after four more days. The leader of the expedition expected to cross the Congolese border in Bangassou and to travel to Kitega (Gitega), traversing Uélé, going through Aketi, Buta, Stanleyville (currently: Kisangani), Irumu, Lac Albert, Costermansville (now Bukavu), Uvira and Usumbura (currently: Bujumbura). Among the regions and countries visited by the caravan, the article by Mr. Brondeel mentions Ituri, Kivu, Ruanda and Urundi.
The leader of the expedition makes a remark that traveling from Belgium to Congo would not cause difficulties if the route consisted of paved roads. However, at that time only “la Route Nationale N°1” between Alger and Laghouat existed. Its length was about 450 km. The way to Congo had nearly 6500 more kilometers described by Mr. Brondeel as “more or less beaten tracks”. According to the article written by the commander, in the north of Sahara these tracks looked like European dirt roads but the further a traveler was going, the less clear the road became (even the markers were rarer). Once in deep Sahara, a driver could stick to the course by following the (more and more vague) traces of other drivers. A compass and the ability to navigate by the stars were also useful, as some of the traces might have been left by a traveler who had gone astray.
These were some of the reasons why so much preparation was needed.
The press briefing before the depart took place at Hotel Métropole. The participants were visited by their families (the article in “La Nation Belge” mentions Mrs. Brondeel and the children of Mr. Paul Neuray), count de Briey, the head of the Deputy Cabinet to the Ministry of Colonies, Mr. Moeller- the honorary general vice-governor of Congo, and Mr. Wallon- the secretary of Cercle Royal Africain (Royal African Circle). Mr. Paul Neuray received a gift- a small cap rifle with a note containing wishes of “Good hunting”.
The vehicles had been photographed under The Arcades du Cinquantenaire before the official departure from the place de Brouckère which was scheduled to 17th of January 1934, 1 pm. Eventually, commandant Brondeel gave the signal to start the three-car convoy at 1.12 pm.
Really little is written about the way from Brussels to Reggan. However, a newspaper “Vers l’Avenir” noted the hour of arrival to Port-Vendres (9:46 pm on the 18th of January), the hour of boarding (8 am on the 19th of January) and the name of the ship- “Gouverneur Général Cambon”.
The most important events of the expedition (like the depart, some milestones and the return) were announced by many newspapers like “Le Soir”, “L’Avenir Belge”, “L’Echo d’Alger” or “The African World”.
On the 30th of January 1934 “La Nation Belge” published a correspondence relayed via radiogram from Gao. The note says that the expedition has arrived to Bidon V on the 25th of January “having touched Adrar on the 23rd of January and Reggan on the 24th of January”. It is the first direct report received from the members of the expedition. Between the 18th January 1934 and 30th of January 1934 “La Nation Belge” printed a feature which combined two biographical notes about filmmakers- Mr. Charles Dekeukeleire and Mr. François Rents and announced that they would make a documentary from the journey.
Two introductory articles and several (about ten) notes, most of which are radiogram-based, constitute the first part of the expedition’s press coverage provided by “La Nation Belge”. The second part is a 30-piece series developed from Mr. Paul Neuray’s notebook. It was inaugurated in the 13th June 1934 issue under the title “Avec la croisière transsaharienne Brondeel”. However, the initial article of the series has “2” as its number. Maybe “La Nation Belge” considered either “Sintair’s” report or the feature about the filmmakers as the first part of the story. Mr. Neuray starts his memories with a “jump”- from the depart described in the first paragraph to the arrival in Reggan mentioned right after.
He even omits the help provided by the expedition members to the driver and to the passengers of a broken down bus of the Compagnie générale transsaharienne somewhere between Adrar et Reggan. Mr. Brondeel and his crew actually saved these people who had spent three days without food and water. A mention about the help was published on the 26th of January in “Independance Belge”.
While “La Nation Belge’s” press stories may constitute a reportage with some ethnographic reflections, the chapter of the “[50 années d’activité coloniale au Congo] : 1885-1935” written by commandant Louis Brondeel is more of an instruction for travelers.
For example, a reader could learn that the General Governor of Algeria had issued an order establishing the Saharan Road Code which required that each car should carry the following spare parts:
“a magneto or ignition device, spark plugs, connecting rods, leaf springs, cylinder head gaskets, and bearings”
because there were no repair shops in the desert.
The “never off-road alone” rule was also codified as a law. Mr. Brondeel comments that there had been some tolerance, but tragic deaths of motorists led to strict enforcement of the rule.
The leader of the Belgian expedition provides some more advice based on the experience gained by his team. The advice concerns both navigation and driving. For example, Mr. Brondeel suggests that at a speed about 50 kph the conditions in a car’s interior are unbearable for passengers. His feelings are that at the speed of about 60 kph each vibration starts to be balanced by another.
Another tip is to react to tailwind by doing frequent stops and turning the car towards the wind in order to cool the engine down.
Mr. Brondeel believed that one could not complete a Trans-Saharan journey through regions like Tanezrouft without being lost at least once (he even wrote a short tutorial on finding the route back with zig-zag moves).
Although “Sintair” praises Mr. Brondeel as “a methodical mind and an enemy of improvisation who prepared this voyage in a way that reduces the role of the unforeseen to a strict minimum”, Mr. Neuray describes the depart from Reggan as a moment when it was impossible to dissociate from emotions triggered by facing the unknown. “And the unknown for us was the Desert”- he adds, claiming that each member of the expedition had known Sahara only by hearsay.
Mr. Neuray was a member of the passenger car crew as he remarks “we were accompanied by two trucks. The bigger one, driven by (Mr. René) Crahay, would have to make it through soft sands, dunes and stones. Will she pass? We will not know that until we cover 1300 more kilometers”. Therefore, it can be guessed that the passenger car was driven by Mr. Gabriel Duhoux, while Mr. Ernest Jacquemart operated the smaller truck. Each of the vehicles had a nickname. They were called “Jenny”(the passenger car), “Jacquet” (the smaller truck) and “Dédé” (the bigger truck).
It’s ironic that Mr. René Crahay, whose task seemed to be the hardest, was later omitted in the article concerning the return of the convoy to Belgium. “La Nation Belge” compensated for this mistake by writing a short note the next day (ie. the 11th of May 1934).
Mr. Neuray’s concerns about Mr. Crahay’s truck would be partially confirmed a bit later. The journalist explains that it was advisable to drive at night as colder weather not only brought less fatigue to people but also hardened the sand. However, after covering 26 kilometers in 50 minutes, Mr. Crahay’s truck got stuck. It was not deep, so the driver managed to recover in 15 minutes. Seems that Mr. Brondeel had not formulated his “60 kph or above” rule yet as the speed calculated from the info given by Mr. Neuray is about 31 kph.
After the depart from Reggan the three “technicians” drove almost all night. They stopped about 6 am on the 25th of January after 366 kilometers of journey and a short break for a meal. When Commandant Brondeel ordered a pause for a 2-hour sleep no one was tired. At 8 am they departed again, thinking that from the next day they would no longer measure time by calendar but by the length of their beards and by amount of dirt on their faces.
While crossing the Tropic of Cancer, one of them wondered why was the line not drawn on the soil.
When they reached Bidon V they witnessed an installation of a fuel tank overseen by a Shell representative for south territories, Mr. Vuillemin. Although Mr. Brondeel and his crew did not have a contract with Compagnie Générale Transsaharienne, the oil company executive placed 100 liters of fuel at their disposition. They were not able to use so much, but they appreciated the offer.
The road from Bidon V was hard. In the evening, Mr. Jacquemart had to repair his truck because a leaf of a spring was broken.
On the next day (if I understand well) the caravan set off at dawn. Mr. Brondeel hunted a gazelle which was later shared with another group of travelers.
In the “region of marcoubas” the terrain changed (“marcoubas” is a name of desert bunchgrass of species Panicum Turgidum). The convoy was able to travel only 38 km in 5 hours. At 8 pm the members of the expedition realized that they had covered just 128 km.
There was a dilemma: to follow the track and to take the risk of getting stuck in the sand or to go through the terrain covered by “marcoubas” posing a big challenge to the springs of the vehicles. In the words of Mr. Neuray, the members of the expedition “took a chance and won” by choosing the latter- “but it was hard, very hard”. When the night fell, the trucks got stuck again. After several recovery attempts, Commandant Brondeel decided to find some firmer ground for a bivouac. Mr. Neuray recalls listening to a mellow blues music from a gramophone, thinking of going to sleep but daydreaming instead. On the 28h of January in the morning a truck, recovered from sand trap, passed the camp of “Jenny’s crew” by just two meters without even slowing down.
After leaving the region of marcoubas and seeing a mirage-like caravan of three camels, the crew of “Jenny” had to stop because of a damage. A shock absorber arm (if Mr. Neuray described the element properly) was broken after being hit by a stone thrown from a tire. While Mr. Gabriel Duhoux was doing the repair, commandant Brondeel went hunting.
Then, the members of the expedition were approached by Daggatoun people. They gave one of the “Dagas” some salt that he asked for and several cigarettes. From his behavior they guessed that he had never smoked before. They took several photos. Mr. Neuray comments that a child hiding behind his or her mother “has not turned blue due to the bad dye yet”. He expresses his feelings towards the child with the words “Salam, plein de dignité” (“Sälam, young man full of dignity”).
At 4.45 pm the caravan reached Tabankort. There were just 200 kms of good road to Gao. About 11 pm Mr. Brondeel and his colleagues arrived at the hotel de l’Atlantide.
According to the telegram sent to “Indépendance Belge” from Gao on the 29th of January, the crew had experienced 49 recoveries from the sand. “Jenny” participated in two such events, taking three minutes. “Jacquet” was stuck dozen times. Setting “Dédé” free from sand traps took four hours. The longer the journey lasted, the more skilled in off-road recoveries the members of the expedition became.
They traveled from Reggan to Gao 4 days, 6 hours and 52 minutes, covering 1364 km. Mr. Neuray gives a short “technical summary”, saying that the only losses were a broken leaf of a spring, and a broken shock absorber arm. He emphasizes that there was no need to refill the radiators. Not even once.
After a night in house-like conditions, the expedition members got back on the track on the 29th of January, at 3.10 pm. Mr. Neuray describes the road, following the Niger river, as “sometimes excellent, sometimes execrable”. The caravan was crossing village after village, greeted by the natives. At 7.10 pm the expedition members arrived in Ansongo, having covered 117 km. At 9 pm the crew ate a dinner composed of guinea fowls that they had hunted. Then they covered about 60 kilometers more and went to sleep around midnight. On the 30th of January they woke up at 5 am. Traveling through the Niger River basin, they reached the first Sudanese bridge (Mali was known as French Sudan at that time)- a kind of object that they would meet often before crossing the Nigerian border.
Then, they made a short pause when Mr. Jacquemart needed to repair the fuel pump in his truck. A group of horse riders were chasing a herd of donkeys. The men raised their colored straw hats to greet the expedition members and stopped to look at the cars.
The reception in Niamey was even warmer. The travelers found themselves in the middle of a crowd with a policeman trying to disperse it with a stick.
At 7.18 pm, “Jenny” arrived to Dosso. After a visit to the administrator, the expedition members put their tent up for the first time. Mr. Neuray recalls a dinner, the music from a gramophone, and a sleep without dreams.
On the next day (the 31st of January) the expedition members received water from some chained prisoners while being watched by a tame ostrich.
Mr. Neuray describes the road as “beautiful, too beautiful”, adding that the car covered 71 kilometers in an hour and that “the 72nd almost became the last”. Mr. Brondeel had passed the steering wheel of “Jenny” either to doctor Jean Storms or to Mr. Neuray himself. The driver failed to turn into a corner properly, straightened the car up, avoided “a catastrophe on the right and some precipitate on the left”. The car hit a savanna at 60 kph, making its way through the bushes. Commandant Brondeel said that “Jenny” was reparable. After four hours the passenger car took back the lead of the caravan carrying some superficial “wounds”.
However, the road became more difficult. Steep slopes turned it into a rollercoaster. Nevertheless, Mr. Brondeel and his people covered 473 kilometers, crossing Birni N’Konni. On the 1st of February they arrived to Maradi. The administrator named Gosselin wished them good luck and asked them to greet Robert Fabry (https://www2.vieillestiges.be/fr/memorials/robert-fabry)- a Belgian aviator, who was also known in the A.O.F. After a two-hour stop the expedition members got back on the track. Soon, they reached Nigeria. The indigenous people tended to salute them more formally, by kneeling and bowing their foreheads in the dust. Mr. Neuray comments that the expedition members would experience this kind of behavior all the way through the British Nigeria.
Another thing that he notices are the changes of Nigerian infrastructure since the expedition of prince de Ligne who “had cursed the roads of Northern Nigeria many times”. Things like a concrete bridge, proper milestones and the presence of renovation teams meant that driving through that region was gradually turning from a challenge to a normal tourist or business travel.
Another Nigerian memories noted by Mr. Neuray are “London-like” left-hand traffic and not being stopped at border post in Jibia. The first city was Katsina. It was surrounded by a wall. A policeman wearing dark blue uniform showed the right way to the expedition members. They drove slower to see a market full of shining copperware. Then, they covered 175 km of a highway to Kano. Commandant Brondeel went to a meeting with the resident and avoided showing him the convoy as twin tires were forbidden on British roads. The expedition members did not plan to stay in Kano. They wanted to go as far, as their energy would allow. After covering 139 km more they arrived to Assongo. In Assongo, where they stayed for a night (sleeping with one eye open), they realized that some items like Mr. Brondeel’s alarm clock and Mr. Neuray’s glasses had been stolen from them in Kano.
Then, they arrived to a place with a big barrier across the road. The barrier was marked as “Jamaari Toll” (Jamaari is a first name which means “handsome” in Swahili). A “giant covered in red and green moth-eaten wool” asked them to pay 10 schillings per car. They did.
Going further, they overtook and passed caravans which were raising clouds of dust on a camel trail that ran along the route. Mr. Neuray mentions a “telegram to Europe” or a “telegram in Europe”, alongside the visits to Azare, Puluskum and Maiduguri. However, the correspondence from Gao is the only one that I have found in Belgian newspapers published at the turn of January and February 1934.
During the nightfall the crew arrived to Dikwa, which they considered “the first station in Cameroon”. Then they were stopped by a body of water, after having covered 571 km. It was 10.45 pm. On the 3rd of February they woke up next to a stream named Ebeji (Ebeyi). They saw flying eagles, horseback riders going upstream through the ford and ferrymen waiting for them. During the first crossing of the river, the ferry scraped the muddy bottom. The expedition members moved towards the prow to look at Fort-Lamy (currently, N’Djaména, the capital of Tchad).
During their further voyage through the North Cameroon, they were looking at greenery struggling to survive in dry conditions. A band of macaques crossed their path.
Soon, they arrived to Kousseri. The assistant administrator named Bourjes, originating from Toulon, made an impression of a “friend since 20 years”. He summoned some Goumier (an indigenous Moroccan soldier) who was the commander of a ferry stationing on the other side of the river Logone. Mr. Bourjes told the expedition members many things about Africa. From the story of his journey to the office during the rainy season (which involved three weeks of sailing in a canoe) to the memories about François Lamy. While Mr. Brondeel and his companions were listening to their host, some tribe leaders were waiting for authorization to continue their voyage to Mecca. Mr. Neuray admired their lack of impatience which made them “masters of time”.
To cross the river, the caravan needed help from some chained prisoners, mobilized by Mr. Bourjes. Following a straw trail, the expedition members saved much time. Mr. Brondeel greeted the governor of Chad, Mr. Richard Brunot who was waiting at the landing stage. Mr. Borjes, Dr. Storms and Mr. Neuray sailed along in a canoe looking for ducks in the reeds of the river bank.
Then, the expedition arrived to the A.E.F (L’Afrique équatoriale française- French Equatorial Africa). They needed oil, but a station ran out of it. Moreover, Mr. Brondeel and his colleagues were informed that the supply would come from the south in some days. Fortunately, an energetic woman persuaded the military aviation to give a barrel.
Mr. Neuray mentions “another barrier of Chari” which was to be crossed with a ferry. By a special favor, the expedition members could traverse at night. However, the mechanic had not been alerted. Mr. Brondeel and his people had to wait until the moment when the man returned to his hut. At the dawn they reached the other coast.
Traveling to Bongor, they arrived to the banks of Logone and saw crocodiles sleeping with their mouths open. In the city itself, the first strong impression was the way of dressing of people from tribes like Fula. Traveling through the plain of Laï, the expedition members observed indigenous people hunting and clearing the terrain with fire. Then, they crossed Nazia, Doba, Bediondo and Kumra. When the river Bahr-Sara stopped them, they listened to the music played by paddlers. The next station was Fort-Archambault (currently Sarh). A red ribbon of a laterite road seemed to unfold endlessly. Just after the dusk a stone damaged the oil tank of “Jenny”. The crew hurried to collect the precious liquid. Waiting for trucks, they spent a night in a forest. As Mr. Neuray says, “the ingenuity of commandant Brondeel enabled them to start again”. At 11 am they arrived to Fort Crampel, where they heard that the trucks had been there two hours before. The pursuit began. “Jenny” arrived to places named “K’Mbre” and Moruba, running out of spare parts. An American missionary who had lived nine months in Brussels greeted the expedition members.
The crew of “Jenny” hurried to meet the trucks, but the pursuit was delayed by a damaged bridge. A corporal, in command of hundred people repairing the structure, asked Mr. Brondeel and his companions to wait until the following day, despite a tornado. When the job was done, “Jenny” went further until she reached another river, near Bambari (it had to be Ouaka). There, she was finally joined by the trucks. The drivers of “Jacquet” and “Dédé” had traveled through Fort Sibut (currently Sibut). Mr. Neuray notes that the “mastodons” would not have been able to cross the bridge repaired for “Jenny”. However, the conditions were hard even for the car itself as it got stuck because of a fallen tree. Stress and fatigue forced the crew to have a rest. After the break, they drove through Alindao, crossed the river Ubangi and, through a place called Furumbula, arrived to the banks of the river Kotto.
Then, they traveled through a region with cotton fields and first coffee trees. Wobbly culverts creaked when the vehicles crossed them. The indigenous people cheered the expedition members on. Having crossed another river, Mr. Brondeel and his colleagues noticed a sign saying “Bangassou, 19 km”. On the 8th of February, at 11 am they arrived at the banks of the river Le Bomu. On the other side of the body of water, they could see Congo. They had covered about 8400 kilometers in 20 days and 20 hours.
They were happy for the success, but it was not the end of the adventure.
To be continued…
Andrzej Szczodrak
Many thanks to:
- Uwe, Ante and Valentin
- The Goyvaerts family
- Mr. Marc Duhoux
- Mrs. Viviane De Jaeger
- Mr. Michel Jacquemart, Dr. Pierre Jacquemart
- Mr. Marc René Crahay
- Mr. Rob Van den Broeck
- Mrs. Françoise Quatrus
- Mr. Paul Grant
- Mr. Jean-Luc Ernst
- The inhabitants of Braine-l’Alleud, especially the members of the group “Braine-l’Alleud d’hier à aujourd’hui”
