At the conclusion of the Battle of Belgium in May 1940, the only proper force under Belgian command was the Force Publique ("Public Force" i.e. the colonial army) of the Belgian Congo in Central Africa.
It thus made up the bulk of the Free Belgian Forces.
Consisting of 15,000 native ranks and Belgian officers, it was well equipped, well disciplined and dispersed throughout the colony.
Through the year, the Force Publique's defence obligations were considered too important for it to be spared for any offensive operations.
The Allies were uncertain of German intentions toward Portuguese Angola, the Congo's neighbour to the south, and the extent of Vichy French influence in French Equatorial Africa to the north.
Belgian members of the Force Publique grew impatient with the colonial administration's perceived inaction and the garrison of Stanleyville mutinied in protest.
Governor-General Pierre Ryckmans was forced to send a senior member of his staff to calm them down and explain the importance of the Congo's economic contribution to the war.

Meanwhile, Ryckmans and Lieutenant General Paul Ermens discussed the possibility of sending an expedition to Italian East Africa with the South African and British military missions in Léopoldville.
There were two problems with such an undertaking: Italian territory was thousands of kilometres away and Belgium was not at war with Italy.
The Belgian government in exile was wary of declaring war on a country whose royal family had dynastic links with its own, though this attitude changed after it became known that Italian aircraft based in occupied Belgium were attacking Britain and when an Italian submarine sank a Belgian cargo ship.
A declaration of war was eventually delivered on 23 November 1940.
Two days later, Ryckmans proclaimed that a state of war existed between Italy and the Congo.

Free French Forces consolidated their control over Equatorial Africa at the Battle of Gabon and more German involvement in the Balkan Campaign (begun by Italy in 1939) made the possibility of intervention in Portugal remote.
The staff of the Force Publique and the Belgian government then resolved to assemble an expedition to fight in Italian East Africa.
Plans were coordinated with the British and in February 1941, after an extended period of preparation, the first group of 8,000 troops and porters set out from the Congo for Ethiopia.
Starting in Stanley Pool, they rode a dozen 10 long tons (10 t) barges and a tugboat up the Congo River to Aketi.
The expeditionary force took the Vicicongo line (a narrow-gauge railway) from Aketi to Mungbere and drove by lorry to Juba in Sudan where they took to the White Nile.
After five days' travel, the first Belgo-Congolese battalion reached Malakal and marched to the border town of Kurmuk before entering Ethiopia.
At the conclusion of the Battle of Belgium in May 1940, the only proper force under Belgian command was the Force Publique ("Public Force" i.e. the colonial army) of the Belgian Congo in Central Africa. It thus made up the bulk of the Free Belgian Forces. Consisting of 15,000 native ranks and Belgian officers, it was well equipped, well disciplined and dispersed throughout the colony. Through the year, the Force Publique's defence obligations were considered too important for it to be spared for any offensive operations. The Allies were uncertain of German intentions toward Portuguese Angola, the Congo's neighbour to the south, and the extent of Vichy French influence in French Equatorial Africa to the north. Belgian members of the Force Publique grew impatient with the colonial administration's perceived inaction and the garrison of Stanleyville mutinied in protest. Governor-General Pierre Ryckmans was forced to send a senior member of his staff to calm them down and explain the importance of the Congo's economic contribution to the war.
Meanwhile, Ryckmans and Lieutenant General Paul Ermens discussed the possibility of sending an expedition to Italian East Africa with the South African and British military missions in Léopoldville. There were two problems with such an undertaking: Italian territory was thousands of kilometres away and Belgium was not at war with Italy. The Belgian government in exile was wary of declaring war on a country whose royal family had dynastic links with its own, though this attitude changed after it became known that Italian aircraft based in occupied Belgium were attacking Britain and when an Italian submarine sank a Belgian cargo ship. A declaration of war was eventually delivered on 23 November 1940. Two days later, Ryckmans proclaimed that a state of war existed between Italy and the Congo.
Free French Forces consolidated their control over Equatorial Africa at the Battle of Gabon and more German involvement in the Balkan Campaign (begun by Italy in 1939) made the possibility of intervention in Portugal remote. The staff of the Force Publique and the Belgian government then resolved to assemble an expedition to fight in Italian East Africa. Plans were coordinated with the British and in February 1941, after an extended period of preparation, the first group of 8,000 troops and porters set out from the Congo for Ethiopia. Starting in Stanley Pool, they rode a dozen 10 long tons (10 t) barges and a tugboat up the Congo River to Aketi. The expeditionary force took the Vicicongo line (a narrow-gauge railway) from Aketi to Mungbere and drove by lorry to Juba in Sudan where they took to the White Nile. After five days' travel, the first Belgo-Congolese battalion reached Malakal and marched to the border town of Kurmuk before entering Ethiopia.
Siege of Saïo