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Ok, I will take a break from posting pictures for now. Rhodesia during the Bush War was always a fascinating topic to me. But some may have read it but here is some interesting portions of a good paper written for the Marine Corps Staff and Command College by two USMC Majors in the early 80's: Rhodesia: Tactical Victory, Strategic Defeat Some information about some of the various units: In the face of these realities, and provided with only a relatively small force and equipment, sometimes both obsolete and elderly, General Walls, first as Army Commander, and then as Commander Combined Operations, waged a campaign of extreme professional competence that will deserve a place in the world's military Staff Colleges for many years to come. Under Walls, the Rhodesian forces accepted their inability to control the terrain, and directed their operational planning toward limiting and reducing the growth of the insurgent forces within Rhodesia. Something that has been a demonstrated priority with the Rhodesians, small forces, maximizing what they had and emphasizing competence and skill as a core requirement. The Rhodesian Air Force: The air service unit was composed of approximately 1300 personnel. Pilot training was unique by American standards, but it followed British traditions. The pilots and crew members were trained to become individually proficient in the maintenance of particular parts of the aircraft. If the aircraft experienced a malfunction, the entire crew was able to perform fairly sophisticated levels of maintenance. This system included the incorporation of maintenance technicians as members of helicopter and transport carrier crews. In 1978 the serviceability of the Rhodesian Air Force was 85%. This is exceptional when 60% is considered as "good" throughout the western world. This is a greater accomplishment considering the international sanctions levelled against Rhodesia in 1965 and 1970. The majority of its military resupply was built upon a system of improvisation and invention. Interesting. There is also reference to later in the war the Hunters left in the inventory were reserved to be used only under the most dire conditions as they had so few spare parts and ammo available. But they were operational partly due to understanding their value and everyone helping saving them for when they were needed. The Rhodesian Army: The Army's lack of sophisticated weaponry and equipment was an important element in its success. It was a force which dealt with the terrorist on his own level. The Security Forces lacked extensive lines of logistic support, yet they were adept at small scale operations throughout a broken and ragged countryside. In order to compensate for their small numbers, the government forces had to rely upon the basic ingredients of victory - professionalism and an intimate knowledge of the terrain. The combat forces operated in small units, and depended upon mobility, surprise, flexibility and tactical dispersion for success. The army tended to meet the guerrilla on his own ground in a man-to-man fashion of combat. The Armed Forces reflected the spirit of the Rhodesian culture. It was a highly efficient organization. The tight bonds within the Rhodesian society reduced the elements of traditional friction between soldiers, civil servants and politicians. The combat and police forces were not plagued by a sense of social isolation. The majority of the white population was willing to endure the necessary taxation and the required conscription of its children in order to ensure the Prime Minister Ian Smith's final objective, which was a gradual and moderate transition of political power to the black majority. The Rhodesian armed forces were the instrument of these policies. Sub/Specialized Units. The Rhodesian Light Infantry: The mission of the unit became purely counterinsurgency. The emphasis of organizational training was centred upon search and destroy operations. In addition, the Rhodesians spent a great deal of time developing their non-commissioned officer corps. As a result, their operational commitments were at the "stick", or squad, level. The RLI was also unique because of the large number of foreign nationals who served in its ranks. It has been estimated that this participation went as high as 30%. They were primarily British, South African and American. The majority of these men acquitted themselves well. The tendency was for the foreigners to approach Rhodesia with mercenary mentality, but this was a misperception. All foreigners enlisting in the Rhodesian Armed Forces received some degree of basic training, with an emphasis on discipline. The Rhodesian Security Forces had a higher standard of military discipline than most western armies, and Americans were generally surprised by the intensity and severity of this system. The basic training for RLI volunteers was provided within the regiment. This consisted of 16 weeks of recruit training. The instruction consisted of basic military skills: drill, weapons, leadership, small unit tactics, and an emphasis on focusing these skills toward the destruction of the insurgents. Upon assignment to a commando, the soldier could expect to spend 4-6 weeks in the bush, and 10 days to 3 weeks in the RLI Base Camp at Llewellyn Barracks, near Bulawayo. These periods were dedicated to retraining and refitting the commando prior to another assignment. The Selous Scouts: The purpose of the unit was the clandestine elimination of the Nationalists without regard to international borders. The foundation of the unit’s effectiveness was its members’ ability to live off the land, combined with the tracking skills of the individual soldier. All members were volunteers and combat veterans. They were initiated into the Scouts via a very severe indoctrination programme which eliminated approximately 85% of the respondents. The training course was six weeks in length and incorporated an excess of physical and psychological stress. The unit was entirely integrated and all soldiers had to pass the same course of instruction in order to win access to the unit. The final test included a 90 mile forced march with a 70 pound pack. This may not seem excessive to American Marines, but the hike was divided into four “courses”. At the completion of each course, the volunteer was given a difficult combat task to accomplish prior to continuing onto the next phase. The emphasis throughout the entire training cycle was the development of “Bush and Tracking” techniques. The Scout had to become absolutely self-reliant. The unit incorporated the same tactics that the British had initiated in Malaya and Kenya. It was defined as a Pseudo-Gang concept. A team of 4-7 men was deployed into an operational area. All other friendly forces in that region were withdrawn. The team was dressed in insurgent uniforms, carried communist weapons, and gave the appearance of being a guerrilla force. The key was that they were better trained and more disciplined than the nationalists. Once they ascertained the presence of an insurgent force, they began to stalk them. They were proficient at remaining undetected throughout this phase. This gave them the advantage of initiating contact with the insurgents at their discretion. The Selous Scouts achieved remarkable results by carrying the war directly to the guerrillas. Their success carries the key to an effective counterinsurgency campaign. They were simply much better at guerrilla warfare than their opponents. The paper also states this in regards to the Selous Scouts "During the war the Scouts were credited with the deaths of 68% of the insurgents killed within the borders of Rhodesia" and gives a little background on Mugabe's issues with them when he came to power. It really is an interesting read with a lot of the historical information on the military/security forces and what led to the conflict and the forces on each side. Rhodesia: Tactical Victory, Strategic Defeat View Quote |
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A lot of Rhodesians I've spoken too think while it would not have been perfect if nkomo had won not Mugabe it wouldn't have been as bloody . Nkomo was still Commie but he was educated. Mugabe was a thug and I hate to say it but him and Jacob Zuma are very similar. View Quote |
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So were Nkomo and his outfit better trained and less barbaric than Mugabe and company? I'm kinda getting that impression from reading all this. View Quote |
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What did Rhodesian military discipline consist of? Why was it such a shock to foreigners? View Quote SYND 8 5 78 RHODESIAN ARMY TRAINING Skip to 5:07 in this video below: RR7823B A SETTLEMENT UNDER FIRE |
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Heavily influenced by British model and tradition, but with emphasis on small unit operations. What's a small but important tell to me is we have 12 pages of weapons being handled by soldiers and you don't see any fingers in trigger guards for example. I believe a lot of westerners were influenced by the preconceived notions that it was Africa in a general sense and the abomination of combat in the Congo in the 60's was not that long ago. The Rhodesians were smart enough to take their soldiers and train them to fight, and fight decisively. They did not have the ability, in resources, logistics or personnel, to rely on combined arms actions without pre planning. They made up for that with discipline and tenacity. They were also fighting on their homeland or across adjacent borders to stop the flow of what was headed into their country. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Km46Tx32G0g Skip to 5:07 in this video below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akd4a111GFs View Quote |
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Their opponents were generally incompetent also, just meat for the grinder. Not saying the Rhodesians weren't good but they look disproportionately so. View Quote It's interesting that "sticks" were 4 man teams based on the Alouettes being able to only carry 4 troopers. The Alouette K and G cars seemed to get quite a workout as the only available rotary wing assets (although a few smuggled Bell 205's did make it in). Most everything the Rhodesians did, they did on a smaller scale than a western counterpart would have, but they did use what limited resources they had very well. The equipment and conditions would be described as "austere" by many contemporary western military forces. |
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Agreed. What is amazing is the level of fighting often was a the squad level through patrolling, tracking or ambush. The later Fire Force (to some degree) and cross border operations were where the Rhodesians put forth more of the combined arms efforts. The Selous Scouts and SAS sometimes having more complicated small unit operations with some dedicated elements of support or support on stand by. It's interesting that "sticks" were 4 man teams based on the Alouettes being able to only carry 4 troopers. The Alouette K and G cars seemed to get quite a workout as the only available rotary wing assets (although a few smuggled Bell 205's did make it in). Most everything the Rhodesians did, they did on a smaller scale than a western counterpart would have, but they did use what limited resources they had very well. The equipment and conditions would be described as "austere" by many contemporary western military forces. View Quote Their external special ops were amazingly ballsy, but it comes down to them knowing the incompetence of their opponents. Ride in to the middle of the parade field and open up! |
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Their opponents were generally incompetent also, just meat for the grinder. Not saying the Rhodesians weren't good but they look disproportionately so. View Quote It reminds me of the Texas Rangers in the Texas Republic days and shortly after, compared to the US army. The Texans had little margin for error, and acted accordingly. |
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There small unit stuff, at all levels, was unheard of awesome. The idea of putting 4 people down at a time when the bad guys traveled in packs of 12+ would be unheard of in most armies. We're talking their regular troops with the intent to make contact. They were regularly coordinating 4 "sticks" (we call them chalks when they ride in Helicopters) an airborne drop, a helicopter gunship and other air support. Mind you the stick leaders had been doing it for two years, so there was a good bit of experience available. Their external special ops were amazingly ballsy, but it comes down to them knowing the incompetence of their opponents. Ride in to the middle of the parade field and open up! View Quote Also, you can't hold up C. sqdn, the RLI and the Selous Scouts as "Typical rhodesian army" either. They were the best of the best. |
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To a point they planned on their opponents not being great. Then again it doesn't matter too much if you are outnumbered 1000:1... And not all of the external ops were smashing successes either, the raid to get Nkomo being a good example. Also, you can't hold up C. sqdn, the RLI and the Selous Scouts as "Typical rhodesian army" either. They were the best of the best. View Quote The comparison to the American involvement in Vietnam is something that is inevitable... and the approach is obviously very different. Fireforce is basically the same as Search and Destroy, at least in concept, but execution was far different. Americans would have been doing it in company and platoon sweeps and ten rounds into any engagement would have been calling artillery. The approach of the Rhodies was, out of necessity, different but it worked very well for them. The "Hearts and Minds" benefit the Rhodies got was immense. Comparison to Kenya or Malaysia is interesting as well (remember that RhSAS was heavily involved in Malaysia) |
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Agreed. What is amazing is the level of fighting often was a the squad level through patrolling, tracking or ambush. The later Fire Force (to some degree) and cross border operations were where the Rhodesians put forth more of the combined arms efforts. The Selous Scouts and SAS sometimes having more complicated small unit operations with some dedicated elements of support or support on stand by. It's interesting that "sticks" were 4 man teams based on the Alouettes being able to only carry 4 troopers. The Alouette K and G cars seemed to get quite a workout as the only available rotary wing assets (although a few smuggled Bell 205's did make it in). Most everything the Rhodesians did, they did on a smaller scale than a western counterpart would have, but they did use what limited resources they had very well. The equipment and conditions would be described as "austere" by many contemporary western military forces. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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Their opponents were generally incompetent also, just meat for the grinder. Not saying the Rhodesians weren't good but they look disproportionately so. It's interesting that "sticks" were 4 man teams based on the Alouettes being able to only carry 4 troopers. The Alouette K and G cars seemed to get quite a workout as the only available rotary wing assets (although a few smuggled Bell 205's did make it in). Most everything the Rhodesians did, they did on a smaller scale than a western counterpart would have, but they did use what limited resources they had very well. The equipment and conditions would be described as "austere" by many contemporary western military forces. |
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Selous Scout Training
SYND 10 3 77 SPECIAL ARMY UNIT, THE SELOUS SCOUTS-ON EXERCISES |
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So I always learn stuff on good ARF threads, ARF is the only place I know of where you could find 20 people who even know what Rhodesia is, and I'm reading sites where I find pictures, seeing new pictures, getting ideas of books to read etc. Great enjoyment, a couple of things clicked for me as a result of this thread
#1) Robert Baden Powell founded the Boy Scouts, had fought in Rhodesia and was friends with an American Fredrick Burnham who taught him a lot of the scout stuff. I knew all that BUT Burnham ended the 2nd Matabele war by assassinating the leader of the opposition. Sneaking in to his camp, shot him in the heart and ran back to his own camp. Truly bad-ass shit circa 1896. Plus he had a bad-ass mustache #2) Bob Denard French Mercenary of Congo and take over the Comoros fame had served in Rhodesia briefly and Rhodesia helped accomplish the Coup in Comoros which was later used for sanction busting activities. He was a member of a French contengient of volunteers in the Rhodesia regiment. I've also seen some pics in teis thread that I never saw before |
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So I always learn stuff on good ARF threads, ARF is the only place I know of where you could find 20 people who even know what Rhodesia is, and I'm reading sites where I find pictures, seeing new pictures, getting ideas of books to read etc. Great enjoyment, a couple of things clicked for me as a result of this thread #1) Robert Baden Powell founded the Boy Scouts, had fought in Rhodesia and was friends with an American Fredrick Burnham who taught him a lot of the scout stuff. I knew all that BUT Burnham ended the 2nd Matabele war by assassinating the leader of the opposition. Sneaking in to his camp, shot him in the heart and ran back to his own camp. Truly bad-ass shit circa 1896. Plus he had a bad-ass mustache https://frontierpartisans.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Burnham_closeup_1900.jpg #2) Bob Denard French Mercenary of Congo and take over the Comoros fame had served in Rhodesia briefly and Rhodesia helped accomplish the Coup in Comoros which was later used for sanction busting activities. He was a member of a French contengient of volunteers in the Rhodesia regiment. url]http://www.invisible-dog.com/pictures/comores_bob_denard.jpg[/url] I've also seen some pics in teis thread that I never saw before View Quote |
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So I always learn stuff on good ARF threads, ARF is the only place I know of where you could find 20 people who even know what Rhodesia is, and I'm reading sites where I find pictures, seeing new pictures, getting ideas of books to read etc. Great enjoyment, a couple of things clicked for me as a result of this thread #1) Robert Baden Powell founded the Boy Scouts, had fought in Rhodesia and was friends with an American Fredrick Burnham who taught him a lot of the scout stuff. I knew all that BUT Burnham ended the 2nd Matabele war by assassinating the leader of the opposition. Sneaking in to his camp, shot him in the heart and ran back to his own camp. Truly bad-ass shit circa 1896. Plus he had a bad-ass mustache https://frontierpartisans.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Burnham_closeup_1900.jpg #2) Bob Denard French Mercenary of Congo and take over the Comoros fame had served in Rhodesia briefly and Rhodesia helped accomplish the Coup in Comoros which was later used for sanction busting activities. He was a member of a French contengient of volunteers in the Rhodesia regiment. http://www.invisible-dog.com/pictures/comores_bob_denard.jpg I've also seen some pics in teis thread that I never saw before View Quote |
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I remember this article from my youth, RKB carrying a Mini14 in Rhodesia https://www.sofmag.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Rhodesia1031.jpg View Quote |
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Apparently Bill though Rhodesia was a good cause and worked to get some there. I'm remote for the weekend and can't get to the link... but if you find the SOF article I linked the picture of RKB from there is some info on it.
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Apparently Bill though Rhodesia was a good cause and worked to get some there. I'm remote for the weekend and can't get to the link... but if you find the SOF article I linked the picture of RKB from there is some info on it. View Quote From left to right standing: Three Rhodesian African Rifles (RAR) troopers, Robert K. Brown, former French Foreign Legionnaire Jerry O’Brien, and SOF art director Craig Nunn. Kneeling: RAR trooper, "Reb" Pierce, a guitar player from Atlanta; Major Darrell Winkler, OIC of the RAR unit; and Belgian army veteran Yves DeBray. RKB and Winkler are carrying stainless steel Ruger Mini-14's in 5.56 mm. Bill Ruger senior, CEO of Ruger at the time and close friend of RKB, provided SOF with said guns at a "special price." RKB essentially smuggled them out of the U.S., as there was an arms embargo on Rhodesia. Bill Ruger senior subsequently provided a number of Ruger Mini-14's free to SOF for operations in El Salvador. "He was a good dude," commented RKB. |
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A BRITISH MERC, SOLDIER OF FORTUNE, AND A FIREFIGHT, Part One https://www.sofmag.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Rhodesia1031.jpg From left to right standing: Three Rhodesian African Rifles (RAR) troopers, Robert K. Brown, former French Foreign Legionnaire Jerry O’Brien, and SOF art director Craig Nunn. Kneeling: RAR trooper, "Reb" Pierce, a guitar player from Atlanta; Major Darrell Winkler, OIC of the RAR unit; and Belgian army veteran Yves DeBray. RKB and Winkler are carrying stainless steel Ruger Mini-14's in 5.56 mm. Bill Ruger senior, CEO of Ruger at the time and close friend of RKB, provided SOF with said guns at a "special price." RKB essentially smuggled them out of the U.S., as there was an arms embargo on Rhodesia. Bill Ruger senior subsequently provided a number of Ruger Mini-14's free to SOF for operations in El Salvador. "He was a good dude," commented RKB. View Quote Fucking Bill Ruger. |
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Smuggled minis to Rhodesia, supported gun bans in the US. Fucking Bill Ruger. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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A BRITISH MERC, SOLDIER OF FORTUNE, AND A FIREFIGHT, Part One https://www.sofmag.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Rhodesia1031.jpg From left to right standing: Three Rhodesian African Rifles (RAR) troopers, Robert K. Brown, former French Foreign Legionnaire Jerry O’Brien, and SOF art director Craig Nunn. Kneeling: RAR trooper, "Reb" Pierce, a guitar player from Atlanta; Major Darrell Winkler, OIC of the RAR unit; and Belgian army veteran Yves DeBray. RKB and Winkler are carrying stainless steel Ruger Mini-14's in 5.56 mm. Bill Ruger senior, CEO of Ruger at the time and close friend of RKB, provided SOF with said guns at a "special price." RKB essentially smuggled them out of the U.S., as there was an arms embargo on Rhodesia. Bill Ruger senior subsequently provided a number of Ruger Mini-14's free to SOF for operations in El Salvador. "He was a good dude," commented RKB. Fucking Bill Ruger. |
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Do you have them as PDF or something more readable? View Quote |
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I loaded the file to dropbox. Here is the link: Soldier of Fortune June 1979
ETA: I found several years worth of early SoF (1976-1990) on ebay and bought them all and plan to scan and ocr the whole shebang when I get them. I'll post the Rhodesia artcles as I think they are worth preserving. |
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I loaded the file to dropbox. Here is the link: Soldier of Fortune June 1979 ETA: I found several years worth of early SoF (1976-1990) on ebay and bought them all and plan to scan and ocr the whole shebang when I get them. I'll post the Rhodesia artcles as I think they are worth preserving. View Quote |
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I loaded the file to dropbox. Here is the link: Soldier of Fortune June 1979 ETA: I found several years worth of early SoF (1976-1990) on ebay and bought them all and plan to scan and ocr the whole shebang when I get them. I'll post the Rhodesia artcles as I think they are worth preserving. View Quote |
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I loaded the file to dropbox. Here is the link: Soldier of Fortune June 1979 ETA: I found several years worth of early SoF (1976-1990) on ebay and bought them all and plan to scan and ocr the whole shebang when I get them. I'll post the Rhodesia artcles as I think they are worth preserving. View Quote |
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Rhodies used Mini-14s? No wonder Mugabe won...
Here's a recollection from an American officer who served in the RAR. He has a few articles on his site Poking the Nannies Also, in for the vintage SoF |
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You are my new hero. Can you PM me when you get them scanned. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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I loaded the file to dropbox. Here is the link: Soldier of Fortune June 1979 ETA: I found several years worth of early SoF (1976-1990) on ebay and bought them all and plan to scan and ocr the whole shebang when I get them. I'll post the Rhodesia artcles as I think they are worth preserving. |
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Rhodies used Mini-14s? No wonder Mugabe won... Here's a recollection from an American officer who served in the RAR. He has a few articles on his site Poking the Nannies Also, in for the vintage SoF View Quote |
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Got a few of the SoF mags in the mail today. Here is January 1980:
Jan 1980 SoF I found that if I OCR the file and then optimize it I can get it down to about 15MB or less. |
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SoF Spring 1976 SoF Summer 1976 SoF Fall 1976 I have more running through OCR and Optimization now and will post them this weekend. |
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http://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/286099/SoF-Spring-1976-186898.jpg SoF Spring 1976 http://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/286099/SoF-Summer-1976-186896.jpg SoF Summer 1976 http://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/286099/SoF-Fall-1976-186897.jpg SoF Fall 1976 I have more running through OCR and Optimization now and will post them this weekend. View Quote |
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