Download or read book We Dared to Win written by Hannes Wessels and published by Casemate Publishers. This book was released on 2018-04-19 with total page 233 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A memoir from a Special Forces fighter about his experiences in the Rhodesian War and how combat has shaped his life. Andre Scheepers grew up on a farm in Rhodesia, learning about the bush from his African childhood friends, before joining the army. A quiet, introspective thinker, Andre started out as a trooper in the SAS before being commissioned into the Rhodesian Light Infantry Commandos, where he was engaged in fireforce combat operations. He then rejoined the SAS. Wounded thirteen times, his operational record is exceptional, even by the tough standards that existed at the time. He emerged as the SAS officer par excellence—beloved by his men, displaying extraordinary calm, courage, and audacious cunning during a host of extremely dangerous operations. Here, Andre writes vividly about his experiences, his emotions, and his state of mind during the war, and reflects candidly on what he learned and how war has shaped his life since. In addition to Andre’s personal story, this book reveals more about some of the other men who were distinguished operators in SAS operations during the Rhodesian War. “Andre was the best of the best and the bravest of the brave.” —Capt. Darrell Watt, ex-SAS and subject of A Handful of Hard Men

Download or read book A Handful of Hard Men written by Hannes Wessels and published by Casemate. This book was released on 2015-10-19 with total page 303 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: During the WestÕs great transition into the post-Colonial age, the country of Rhodesia refused to succumb quietly, and throughout the 1970s fought back almost alone against Communist-supported elements that it did not believe would deliver proper governance. During this long war many heroes emerged, but none more skillful and courageous than Captain Darrell Watt of the Rhodesian SAS, who placed himself at the tip of the spear in the deadly battle to resist the forces of Robert Mugabe and Joshua Nkomo. It is difficult to find another soldierÕs story to equal WattÕs in terms of time spent on the field of battle and challenges faced. Even by the lofty standards of the SAS and Special Forces, one has to look far to find anyone who can match his record of resilience and valor in the face of such daunting odds and with resources so paltry. In the fight he showed himself to be a military maestro. A bush-lore genius, blessed with uncanny instincts and an unbridled determination to close with the enemy, he had no peers as a combat-tracker (and there was plenty of competition). But the Rhodesian theater was a fluid and volatile one in which he performed in almost every imaginable fighting role; as an airborne shock-trooper leading camp attacks, long range reconnaissance operator, covert urban operator, sniper, saboteur, seek-and-strike expert, and in the final stages as a key figure in mobilizing an allied army in neighboring Mozambique. After 12 years in the cauldron of war his cause slipped from beneath him, however, and Rhodesia gave way to Zimbabwe. When the guns went quiet Watt had won all his battles but lost the war. In this fascinating biography we learn that in his twilight years he is now concerned with saving wildlife on a continent where they are in continued danger, devoting himself to both the fauna and African people he has cared so deeply about.

Download or read book The Rhodesian War written by Paul L. Moorcraft and published by Stackpole Books. This book was released on 2010 with total page 242 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: - The vicious conflict (1964-79) that brought Robert Mugabe to power in Zimbabwe - Expert coverage of the war, its historical context, and its aftermath - Descriptions of guerrilla warfare, counterinsurgency operations, and actions by units like Grey's Scouts Amid the colonial upheaval of the 1960s, Britain urged its colony in Southern Rhodesia (modern-day Zimbabwe) to grant its black residents a greater role in governing the territory. The white-minority government refused and soon declared its independence, a move bitterly opposed by the black majority. The result was the Rhodesian Bush War, which pitted the government against black nationalist groups, one of which was led by Robert Mugabe. Marked by unspeakable atrocities, the war ended in favor of the nationalists.

Download or read book The Elite written by Barbara Cole and published by . This book was released on 2015-10-19 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Rhodesian Special Air Service, one of the most formidable fighting forces in the world, operated almost exclusively across borders during the long bitter bush war, undertaking deep-penetration missions against insurgents being harbored inside neighboring Mozambique and Zambia. There were missions into Botswana too, and at one stage, the SAS was operating without benefit of passport in all three neighboring territories at the same time. Long before the war escalated and the whole region became their battlefield, clandestine missions across the border were undertaken by SAS operators. Later, when the situation intensified, they were responsible for some of the most audacious and highly sensitive missions of the war. The writer takes the reader from the early days on the Western Desert to the formation of the Rhodesian SAS for service in Malaya, then back to Africa where the action spans the days of the Federation, the UDI era and finally the decolonization of Rhodesia by the British in 1980. This is the first book to detail the secret exploits of this elite regiment and it has been based on rare firsthand interviews with operators themselves. Some of their exploits may seem far-fetched, even impossible, but then, truth is often stranger than fiction. It is a history of high adventure and daring, courage and humanism, be it driving through the streets of a neighboring capital, knocking out trains, bridges and installations or swooping out of the morning skies then, with the ability to hit hard and fast, attacking and taking their leave, the devastation complete, the mission accomplished. This edition, which combines the original and the subsequent pictorial editions-originally published in the mid-1980s and long since out of print-is presented in a modern, attractive, upgraded format.

Download or read book Rhodesian SAS Combat Manual written by Rhodesian Forces and published by Hall. This book was released on 2021-03-22 with total page 106 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The "Rhodesian SAS Combat Manual" is a significant historical look at the small unit tactics employed by this elite unit during the Rhodesian Bush War. Not only is it a glimpse back at how the unit operated, but a lot of the material is still relevant today for units fighting counter-insurgencies. This book covers tactical follow-ups, ambush tactics, infiltration methods and combat tracking and more!

Download or read book Bush War Operator written by Andrew Balaam and published by Helion and Company. This book was released on 2014-11-19 with total page 273 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the searing heat of the Zambezi Valley to the freezing cold of the Chimanimani Mountains in Rhodesia, from the bars in Port St Johns in the Transkei to the Drakensberg Mountains in South Africa, this is the story of one man's fight against terror, and his conscience. Anyone living in Rhodesia during the 1960s and 1970s would have had a father, husband, brother or son called up in the defense of the war-torn, landlocked little country. A few of these brave men would have been members of the elite and secretive unit that struck terror into the hearts of the ZANLA and ZIPRA guerrillas infiltrating the country at that time - the Selous Scouts. These men were highly trained and disciplined, with skills to rival the SAS, Navy Seals and the US Marines, although their dress and appearance were wildly unconventional: civilian clothing with blackened, hairy faces to resemble the very people they were fighting against. Twice decorated - with the Member of the Legion of Merit (MLM) and the Military Forces' Commendation (MFC) - Andrew Balaam was a member of the Rhodesian Light Infantry and later the Selous Scouts, for a period spanning twelve years. This is his honest and insightful account of his time as a pseudo operator. His story is brutally truthful, frightening, sometimes humorous and often sad. In later years, after Rhodesia became Zimbabwe, he was involved with a number of other former Selous Scouts in the attempted coups in the Ciskei, a South African homeland, and Lesotho, an independent nation, whose only crimes were supporting the African National Congress. Training terrorists, or as they preferred to be called, 'liberation armies', to conduct a war of terror on innocent civilians, was the very thing he had spent the last ten years in Rhodesia fighting against. This is the true, untold story of these failed attempts at governmental overthrows.

Download or read book Shadows of a Forgotten Past written by Paul French and published by Helion and Company. This book was released on 2012-12-19 with total page 344 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This all-new work chronicles the experiences of Paul French who, upon leaving the British Army's 21 SAS (V), sought adventure and excitement in C Squadron of the Rhodesian SAS. Upon passing the arduous Rhodesian SAS selection course, Paul was thrown into the maelstrom that was the Rhodesian Bush War. Here he participated in the SAS's infamous raid on Joshua Nkomo and numerous other operations against insurgent / liberation forces. Passing selection for Ron Reid-Daly's elite counterinsurgency specialists, the Selous Scouts, the author took part in 'externals' against FRELIMO and ' attachments' with the Mozambique National Resistance. Paul continued to serve on operations with the Rhodesian SAS until the end of the 'Chimurenga' in 1980. Paul then went on to join the South African Defense Force's elite 6 Reconnaissance Commando. A career in private security followed, with a series of assignments in Angola, Iraq and Somalia. This impressive book pulls no punches. It gives a unique and purposefully opinionated insight into the workings of the Rhodesian SAS and the Selous Scouts. It tells of the missions that succeeded and of the many that failed. It notes simply and succinctly the sheer stress and danger of special forces operations - all of which were deep in enemy-held territory with the threat of capture and death. Attempts to blow rail lines, helicopter assaults, pseudo-operations, the laying of deadly ambushes and risky parachute inserts are candidly related, accompanied by an unparalleled selection of photographs, most of which have never been published before. Born in West London, Paul French first sought military adventure in the County of London Yeomanry and then 21 SAS (V). Here, Paul discovered a yearning for hard work and arduous duty. A subsequent defence contract took him to Abu Dhabi where he learnt of Rhodesia and its attractions. Holidaying in Rhodesia, Paul took the opportunity to join the Rhodesian Army, serving with the renowned Rhodesian SAS and Selous Scouts. In 1980, Paul moved to the South African Defence Force, joining its elite 6 Reconnaissance Commando. Upon leaving the SADF a career in private security followed. An accomplished skydiver, Paul has thousands of jumps to his credit, and still jumps today. Married to Petah, Paul has three children. He continues to work in the security industry and now lives in the South-west of England. Shadows of A Forgotten Past is his first book.

Download or read book The Rhodesian SAS written by Andy Ryan and published by . This book was released on 2018-10-04 with total page 196 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the Author of 'BRAVO TEN', the explosive true story of some of the greatest secret operations of the Rhodesian SAS.... At the height of the cold war, the small landlocked country of Rhodesia found herself ranged against two powerful communist terrorist armies who, in turn, were backed by Soviet Russia and China. The strategic aim of both backers was the installation of a regime friendly to their respective brands of communism and in so doing create a vital regional presence upon which they could then expand. For the terrorist organisations of ZIPRA and ZANLA, they had but one objective; to take control of one of the continent's most prosperous nations.By 1979 the Rhodesian bush war had been raging for over fifteen years. What had started with the murder of a white man by black nationalists in 1964 was to turn into the bloodiest war ever to have been witnessed in southern Africa. The need for Special Forces to take the fight to the terrorists had never been greater. Fortunately for the Rhodesians, their military possessed a secret weapon which proved devastating in combat and the scourge of terrorists in Zambia, Mozambique and beyond; their very own Special Air Service regiment. Operating deep in the unforgiving African bush, deploying by vehicle, helicopter or parachute, often isolated from help and facing overwhelming odds, the Rhodesian SAS Ranged far behind enemy lines to strike at the very heart of the enemy, wreaking untold damage to the terrorist machines of ZIPRA and ZANLA. Time after time the SAS regiment demonstrated to the world that the Rhodesian army possessed a Special Forces unit whose abilities were second to none.The author presents the little known story of a truly elite band of Special Forces soldiers and places the reader at the very heart of some of their most daring missions. Join the Rhodesian SAS deep behind enemy lines and learn the secrets of 'those who dared'. This is the second book in the 'They Who Dared' series by Andy Ryan.

Download or read book Bush War Rhodesia 1966 1980 written by Peter Baxter and published by Helion and Company. This book was released on 2014-07-19 with total page 74 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: It has been over three decades since the Union Jack was lowered on the colony of Rhodesia, but the bitter and divisive civil war that preceded it has continued to endure as a textbook counterinsurgency campaign fought between a mobile, motivated and highly trained Rhodesian security establishment and two constituted liberations movements motivated, resourced and inspired by the ideals of communist revolution in the third world. A complicated historical process of occupation and colonization set the tone as early as the late 1890s for what would at some point be an inevitable struggle for domination of this small, landlocked nation set in the southern tropics of Africa. The story of the Rhodesian War, or the Zimbabwean Liberation Struggle, is not only an epic of superb military achievement, and revolutionary zeal and fervor, but is the tale of the incompatibility of the races in southern Africa, a clash of politics and ideals and, perhaps more importantly, the ongoing ramifications of the past upon the present, and the social and political scars that a war of such emotional underpinnings as the Rhodesian conflict has had on the modern psyche of Zimbabwe. The Rhodesian War was fought with finely tuned intelligence-gathering and -analysis techniques combined with a fluid and mobile armed response. The practitioners of both have justifiably been celebrated in countless histories, memoirs and campaign analyses, but what has never been attempted has been a concise, balanced and explanatory overview of the war, the military mechanisms and the social and political foundations that defined the crisis. This book does all of that. The Rhodesian War is explained in digestible detail and in a manner that will allow enthusiasts of the elements of that struggle - the iconic exploits of the Rhodesian Light Infantry, the SAS, the Selous Scouts, the Rhodesian African Rifles, the Rhodesia Regiment, among other well-known fighting units - to embrace the wider picture in order to place the various episodes in context

Download or read book Selous Scouts written by Ron Reid Daly and published by . This book was released on 1983-01 with total page 752 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is the story of the Selous Scouts Regiment of Rhodesia, which was formed in 1973 and abolished without benefit of formal disbandment, when Robert Mugabe's ZANU-PF took power after the British supervised elections in 1980. Its purpose on formation was the clandestine elimination of ZANLA and ZIPRA guerrillas, both within and outside Rhodesia. Their success in this field can be gauged by the fact that Combined Operations Rhodesia, officially credited them with either directly or indirectly being responsible for the deaths of 68% of all guerrillas killed within Rhodesia during the war - losing less than 40 Selous Scouts in the process.

Download or read book A Walk Against The Stream written by Tony Ballinger and published by Helion and Company. This book was released on 2015-03-19 with total page 365 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The experiences of a young soldier on the frontlines of the Rhodesian Bush War are vividly recounted in this personal memoir. In A Walk Against the Stream, Tony Ballinger tells of his eighteen months of compulsory service as a young national service officer in the Rhodesian army. Stationed in Victoria Falls, Rhodesia, he faced down enemy territory just across the Zambezi river in Zambia. Initially allocated to 4th platoon, 4 Independent company Rhodesia Regiment (RR) as a subaltern and later on as a 1st Lieutenant in support company 2RR, the story starts with the author’s training and deployment. The events that unfold contain interesting military encounters, including battles against the Zambian army and revolutionary guerillas. But Ballinger also explores the human side of his time in the service: his love of a country falling apart, the relationship he forms with a local woman; and how their love, hope and dreams are snatched away by unfolding events. This is a riveting personal tale, interspersed with dozens of the author’s personal photographs.

Download or read book Fire Force written by Chris Cocks and published by Lime Tree Press. This book was released on 2020-06-01 with total page 341 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Fire Force is the account of Chris Cocks’s service in 3 Commando, The Rhodesian Light Infantry (RLI), during Zimbabwe’s civil war of the 1970s—a war that came to be known, almost innocuously, as ‘the bush war’. Fire Force, a tactic of total airborne/airmobile envelopment, was developed by the RLI, and became the principal strike weapon of the beleaguered Rhodesian forces in their struggle against the tide of the communist-trained and -equipped ZANLA and ZIPRA guerrillas. “Like Reitz’s work, Commando: A Boer Journal of the Boer War, Fire Force, by first-time author Chris Cocks, is a personal account of close-quarter warfare. It is a unique, compelling, sometimes brutal account of a young conscript’s three years of service in the elite Rhodesian Light Infantry … Cocks’s work is one of the very few books which adequately describes the horrors of war in Africa … Fire Force is the best book on the Rhodesian War that I have read.” – Southern African Review of Books “Fire Force will be to the Rhodesian War what Remarque’s All Quiet on The Western Front was to World War I. A high claim indeed, but perhaps valid, for this moving book is a classic in any sense.” – The Star “The narrative is raw … it gives the book a veracity so complete that it will transport anyone involved in the ordeal back across the years with the force of a body blow … Rhodesia does at last have its own version of Michael Herr’s Vietnam experiences, Dispatches. A sense of regret is what really lingers, that the whole nightmare had to happen at all. The list of names of boys killed, or scarred physically and mentally, is moving beyond mere words.” – The Financial Mail

Download or read book On Operations with C Squadron SAS written by Michael Graham and published by Pen and Sword Military. This book was released on 2020-04-30 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The author of the bestselling Secret SAS Missions in Africa and its sequel, SAS Action in Africa,continues the fight againstcommunist terrorist groups. Drawing on first-hand experiences, Michael Graham describes operations against communist-backed terrorists in Angola and Mozambique, aiding the Portuguese and Renamo against the MPLA and Frelimo respectively. Back in Southern Rhodesia SAS General Peter Walls, realizing the danger that Mugabe and ZANU represented, appealed directly to British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. This correspondence, published here for the first time, changed nothing and years of corruption and genocide followed. Although C Squadron was disbanded in 1980 many members joined the South African special forces. Operations undertaken included unsuccessful and costly destabilization attempts against Mugabe and missions into Mozambique including the assassination of Samora Machel. By 1986 deteriorating relationships with the South African authorities resulted in the break-up of the SAS teams who dispersed worldwide. Had Mike Graham not written his three action-packed books, C Squadron SAS’s superb fighting record might never have been revealed. For those who are fascinated by special forces soldiering his accounts are “must reads.” “Takes us into the African bush to fight communist terrorists during the late 1960s and 1970s. His stories are sometimes hair-raising, sometimes amusing, but always interesting and worth reading.” —Beating Tsundoku “This account of SAS actions in Africa as part of the Cold War is lively interesting, nicely written and feels authentic. The photographs are particularly interesting in support of the text. A fascinating read.” —Firetrench

Download or read book Bravo Ten written by Andy Ryan and published by Independently Published. This book was released on 2018-09-21 with total page 317 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Rhodesia was one of the very last colonial outposts in southern Africa. She had long served Great Britain well, in both peace and war. During World War II, many Rhodesians rallied to the mother counties aid, serving in all branches of His Majesties armed forces, including the fledgling SAS. Her last major act of solidarity with the UK was during the Malayan emergency of 1951 to 1953. Fighting a guerrilla war for which it was ill prepared, the British Army soon realised the need for a special forces unit. The Special Air Service Regiment was duly resurrected and organised into four operational Squadrons. A, B and D Squadrons were drawn from the British Army, while C Squadron was raised from Rhodesian volunteers. When the Malayan conflict came to an end the British gave the SAS a permanent place in its order of battle, but C Squadron quietly disbanded and its members returned home to civilian life in Rhodesia. In 1961, the Rhodesian government decided to reform C Squadron as a counter to the increasing threat of communist insurgency within her borders...... The decision to reinstate C Squadron proved prudent for, after Rhodesia finally made a unilateral declaration of independence on November 11th 1965 and broke away from UK rule, both the Russian and Chinese backed communist terrorist movements known to the world as ZIPRA and ZANLA saw their chance to move in for the kill. Standing alone, hamstrung by international sanctions and facing vastly numerically superior enemy forces, Rhodesia astounded the world by not only holding the enemy off, but taking the fight to them in their host countries of Zambia and Mozambique, killing countless thousands of terrorists in the process. In 1976 FRELIMO, the ruling party of Mozambique, declared war on Rhodesia and brought her sizeable and well equipped army into the fray alongside their ally, Robert Mugabe's ZANLA. Despite this, the Rhodesian security forces refused to yield. Indeed, they responded by upping the terrorist body count even further. By 1978 the war had intensified to the degree that the drain on Rhodesia's limited white manpower was beginning to tell. Conscription was widened and C Squadron was expanded and given Regimental Status. In June of that year it became the 1st SAS Regiment with three operational Squadrons (A, B and C). Its tasking was simple, find and destroy the enemy and its leaders and smash their ability to wage war....... BRAVO TEN takes the reader by the scruff of the neck and transports them into the thick of Rhodesian SAS operations. The author advises that this novel contains language commensurate with army life.AVAILABLE NOW IN EBOOK AND PAPERBACK! ANDY RYAN'S 'A FEW GOOD MEN' IS THE STUNNING SEQUEL TO 'BRAVO TEN' AND PICKS UP HIS STORY WHERE THAT BOOK LEFT OFF. YOU WON'T WANT TO MISS IT!

Download or read book Secret SAS Missions in Africa written by Michael Graham and published by Casemate Publishers. This book was released on 2017-10-30 with total page 324 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The untold story of Rhodesian special forces and their defense of British Colonies in Africa during the Cold War, told by a soldier who was there. In Secret SAS Missions in Africa, a former senior member of the little-known C (Rhodesia) Squadron of Britain’s Special Air Service recounts their military operations in Africa during the Cold War. The Squadron was involved in almost continuous anti-communist operations over the period 1968 to 1980. In the unstable final stages of British colonial rule, the Squadron was constantly on the move. African nationalist movements, backed by Russia and China, posed a constant and deadly threat to colonial regimes. Small detachments of the SAS, with highly developed bush warfare skills, proved devastatingly effective at countering rebel factions in Kenya, Mozambique, Rhodesia, and elsewhere on the continent.

Download or read book Selous Scouts written by Peter Baxter and published by . This book was released on 2011 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Its members consisted of some of the finest guerrilla-fighting men in the western world, unconventional in many ways, disregardful of parade-ground discipline, unorthodox in their dress, yet a force so tightly knit in the face of danger that those who knew anything about them could only marvel" - The Citizen. Formed in 1973 by the legendary Lieutenant-Colonel Ron Reid-Daly at the behest of Rhodesian military supremo General Peter Walls, the Selous Scouts were to write their name into the annals of military history as one of the finest counterinsurgency units of all time, through their innovative pseudo-guerrilla tactics, brilliant reconnaissance operations into Zambia and Botswana and daring flying-column raids into Mozambique. Feared and hated by the liberation movements ZIPRA and ZANLA, the Scouts wreaked untold havoc and destruction on their Soviet- and Chinese-backed enemies, accounting for 68% of guerrilla casualties within Rhodesia alone during the bitter bush war of the 1970s. Uniquely ahead of its time, the regimen - a brotherhood of men that traversed cultural and racial barriers; their Shona motto was 'Pamwe Chete' (together only) - was to produce the type of soldier that earned for the unit one Grand Cross of Valour, nine Silver Crosses and 22 Bronze Crosses of Rhodesia.

Download or read book Zambezi Valley Insurgency written by J. R. T. Wood and published by Africa@War. This book was released on 2019-11-07 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Across Africa in the post-1956 era, the aspirations of African nationalists to secure power were boosted and quickly realized by the British, French and Belgian hasty retreat from empire. The Portuguese, Southern Rhodesian and South African governments, however, stood firm and would be challenged by their African nationalists. Influenced by the Communist bloc, these nationalists adopted the 'Armed Struggle'. In the case of Rhodesia, the Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU), led by Joshua Nkomo, took this step in 1962 after their effort to foment rebellion in Rhodesia's urban areas in 1961-62 had been frustrated by police action and stiffened security legislation. Rhodesia's small, undermanned security forces, however, remained wary as Zambia and Tanganyika had given sanctuary to communist- supplied ZAPU and Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) guerrillas. The Rhodesians had foreseen that the northeastern frontier with Mozambique would be the most vulnerable to incursions because the African population living along it offered an immediate target for succour and subversion. The Portuguese were not seen as a bulwark as they were clearly making little progress in their counter-insurgency effort against their FRELIMO nationalist opponents. The Rhodesians were fortunate, however, that ZAPU and ZANU chose to probe across the Zambezi River from Zambia into the harsh, sparsely populated bush of the Zambezi Valley. The consequence was that the Rhodesian security forces conducted a number of successful operations in the period 1966-1972 which dented insurgent ambitions. This book describes and examines the first phase of the 'bush war' during which the Rhodesian forces honed their individual and joint skills, emerging as a formidable albeit lean fighting force.