First Invasion of Onitsha

The First Invasion of Onitsha (October 6-October 10, 1967) was a large military conflict between Biafran and Nigerian forces. The Nigerian 2nd Division managed to seize control of Onitsha for 3 days before being massacred by Biafran soldiers.

Prelude
On September 20, 1967 the Nigerian 2nd Division under General Murtala Mohammed forced all Biafran soldiers within Nigeria's Mid-Western Region to retreat eastwards back towards Biafra. In an attempt to halt the Nigerian advance retreating Biafran soldiers destroyed the River Niger Bridge at Onitsha, trapping the Nigerians on the other side of the river. On October 5 2nd Division soldiers massacred thousands of civilians in Asaba after forcing them to attend a public dance known as the "Dance of Death", General Mohammed now began drawing up plans for an invasion of Onitsha.

Invasion
On October 6, 1967 Nigerian artillery began bombarding Onitsha while the Nigerian 2nd Division, 5,000 soldiers strong, attempted to cross the Niger River on three separate occasions while under heavy Biafran fire, without much success. On October 7 Nigerian soldiers finally landed on the beaches of Onitsha before forcing the defending Biafran soldiers under Col. Chude Sokei to retreat from the city. Instead of pursuing the retreating Biafrans Nigerian soldiers looted and burned the downtown market of Onitsha, giving the Biafrans time to regroup. Later that day the Biafrans under Col. Sokei entered the city and managed to surround the entire Nigerian 2nd Division inside the city center. For three days bloody house-to-house fighting engulfed the city while both Nigerian and Biafran artillery launched hundreds of shells at each other. On October 10 the Biafrans managed to break through the Nigerian defenses and, in retaliation for the "Dance of Death", the Biafrans took no prisoners and executed every Nigerian soldier that they managed to capture. When General Mohammed received news that his entire division was massacred he was given 5,000 new soldiers from Lagos who attempted a invasion, but were swiftly repulsed.

Aftermath
On November 19, 1967 mercenaries from the Soviet Union and United Arab Republic flying MiG-17s began bombing areas around Onitsha, devastating the civilian population. These bombings lasted for 5 days but was followed by an uneasy stalemate for 4 months. At 3 P.M. on March 20, 1968 the new Nigerian 2nd Division under General Mohammed made their way into Onitsha from the north after crossing the Niger River at Lokoja. The Biafran Col. Chude Sokei was fatally wounded during the battle before his soldiers retreated from the city, vengeful Nigerian soldiers massacred 2,000 of Onitsha's civilians in retaliation for the Biafran massacre of the Nigerian 2nd Division 4 months earlier. The German mercenary Rolf Steiner attempted an invasion of Onitsha once more on November 1, 1968 but was swiftly repelled after a loss of over 2,000 men.