# Rhodesian forces in combat



## Gunz (Sep 3, 2014)

Selous Scouts, RLI, Rhody SAS etc. An old film but some good clips.





 
There was active but covert recruitment for the RLI going on outside Lejeune and Bragg in the 70s. In J'ville a former FBI SA was recruiting out of the back room of a gun store on hiway 17 in 73-74. Requirements were former NCOs with proven combat histories, infantry, recon or scoutsniper MOSs for Marines; or Inf/SF/Ranger/AB combat vets from the Army. IIRC the pay was commenserate with RLI ranks but airfare was free. Around that time foreign volunteers did not need to be jump qualified. Eventually the RLI went all airborne, around 76-77.

Helo/airborne/ground ops including (around 1:50) RLI or SS charging on horseback.


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## Gunz (Sep 4, 2014)

crickets...


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## Dame (Sep 4, 2014)

No, no.  This is interesting. Actually @pardus knows quite a bit about this.

ETA: I still have some great pieces of memorabilia from the Selous Scouts. One is a lighter I've been saving for previously mentioned Kiwi if he's ever back in town.


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## pardus (Sep 4, 2014)

Ocoka One said:


> Selous Scouts, RLI, Rhody SAS etc. An old film but some good clips.
> 
> 
> There was active but covert recruitment for the RLI going on outside Lejeune and Bragg in the 70s. In J'ville a former FBI SA was recruiting out of the back room of a gun store on hiway 17 in 73-74. Requirements were former NCOs with proven combat histories, infantry, recon or scoutsniper MOSs for Marines; or Inf/SF/Ranger/AB combat vets from the Army. IIRC the pay was commenserate with RLI ranks but airfare was free. Around that time foreign volunteers did not need to be jump qualified. Eventually the RLI went all airborne, around 76-77.
> ...



That would be Grey's Scouts 

Great post. This is the war I wish I was old enough to been able to participate in. I have a few friends that did. This conflict was/is a boon for today's militaries, with tactics and lessons learned, there are US Military programs (Combat Hunter in the USMC)/equipment (MRAPs for one) that are a direct result of the Bush War. Painting weapons is a commonly done thing now, something a good Rhodesian friend of mine was threatened with a Courts Martial for day in the day lol.



Dame said:


> No, no.  This is interesting. Actually @pardus knows quite a bit about this.
> 
> ETA: I still have some great pieces of memorabilia from the Selous Scouts. One is a lighter I've been saving for previously mentioned Kiwi if he's ever back in town.



Thanks for the heads up @Dame 

I can see a trip to Vegas in my future! lol


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## BloodStripe (Sep 5, 2014)

Thanks for sharing. I had never heard of this before and will continue to do some outside research on the matter.


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## Gunz (Sep 5, 2014)

Thanks for the very cool link to Grey's Scouts. 



pardus said:


> This is the war I wish I was old enough to been able to participate in. I have a few friends that did.


 
I came pretty close to "buying the ticket and taking the ride." I used to hang at that gunstore, knew the (former) FBI guy pretty well. I think he was getting commissions from INTAF. And there were a lot of guys back then in J'ville and Fayettenam who were jonesing to revive that adrenal rush. One day I got invited into the "back room" of the gunstore and was shown this storeroom full of auto weapons, light MGs, a Ma Deuce, M60s, a recoiless rifle, etc. These were not export weapons, it was just a display to wet your appetite and get you in the mood. Then they laid out the deal. The incentive was more action than money, which was okay, I wasn't big into money. I spent a week or so mulling it over and decided against it. It just had the look of a lost cause to me and I was reluctant to get involved in another one. Funny thing, a few years later when I was watching the Paras and Royal Marines in the Falklands fight, I found myself regretting that decision.

I had comm with an SF guy some years ago who'd gone and spent a few years over there. You're very right about the bush war setting some precedent for later TTP, especially in tracking and also pseudo-ops, which I find very interesting.  _Pamwe Chete._


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## Dame (Sep 5, 2014)

Ocoka One said:


> I had comm with an SF guy some years ago who'd gone and spent a few years over there. You're very right about the bush war setting some precedent for later TTP, especially in tracking and also pseudo-ops, which I find very interesting.  _Pamwe Chete._



I still have a copy (or two) of that book.


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## pardus (Sep 5, 2014)

Ocoka One said:


> Thanks for the very cool link to Grey's Scouts.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Anytime, I'm very interested in that particular conflict. It was absolutely a lost cause, all because the liberal fucking British politicians were determined to force their white guilt on the rest of the world. All they succeeded in doing was ruining the most productive country on the continent. Fucking wankers. The Falklands was another awesome campaign, it was influential on our training in NZ.

I am a tracking instructor actually (albeit a very rusty one at the moment), certified by the training officer of the Selous Scouts, who was previously C sqn SAS and later South African Recce! Not too many people in the world can say they were in 3 different tier one units.


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## Gunz (Sep 6, 2014)

pardus said:


> Anytime, I'm very interested in that particular conflict. It was absolutely a lost cause, all because the liberal fucking British politicians were determined to force their white guilt on the rest of the world. All they succeeded in doing was ruining the most productive country on the continent. Fucking wankers. The Falklands was another awesome campaign, it was influential on our training in NZ.
> 
> I am a tracking instructor actually (albeit a very rusty one at the moment), certified by the training officer of the Selous Scouts, who was previously C sqn SAS and later South African Recce! Not too many people in the world can say they were in 3 different tier one units.


 
Fucking wankers is right. And not just the British. The Rhodesians had a plan for gradual black rule but it wasn't fast enough for all the Leftists in the Western democracies. Because of skin color, ZIPRA and ZANLA could tap into white guilt, but they had the added benefit of communist sympathizers in Western governments and the overt support of the PRC and USSR. (ZANLA was getting trained in China). There were plenty of black people in Rhodesia who didn't want to live under Communism. The ARVNs I served with in RVN didn't want Communism. Neither did the Rhodesians. So it was crammed down their throats under the guise of a war of liberation, in both cases. The commie terrorists of ZIPRA/ZANLA were called _Freedom fighters..._

And in another great irony even South Africa turned its back on the Rhodesians. Fucking wankers x 2.


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## pardus (Sep 6, 2014)

Ocoka One said:


> Fucking wankers is right. And not just the British. The Rhodesians had a plan for gradual black rule but it wasn't fast enough for all the Leftists in the Western democracies. Because of skin color, ZIPRA and ZANLA could tap into white guilt, but they had the added benefit of communist sympathizers in Western governments and the overt support of the PRC and USSR. (ZANLA was getting trained in China). There were plenty of black people in Rhodesia who didn't want to live under Communism. The ARVNs I served with in RVN didn't want Communism. Neither did the Rhodesians. So it was crammed down their throats under the guise of a war of liberation, in both cases. The commie terrorists of ZIPRA/ZANLA were called _Freedom fighters..._
> 
> And in another great irony even South Africa turned its back on the Rhodesians. Fucking wankers x 2.



Jimmy Carter was instrumental in the collapse of Rhodesia, Ron Reagan was a little too late and gun-shy to really help. The South Africans sold Rhodesia out to save their own skin, little did they know they just delayed their own end a few years.
Ironically Rhodesia almost became part of South Africa after WWII, if it had done so those two countries would no doubt be vastly better today than they currently are. South Africa narrowly voted in Apartheid, if the Rhodesian population had been part of that vote, it is unlikely that it would have passed. Imagine a very strong Southern African country with vast resources and the progress it could have made! Dreams are free right?


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## pardus (Sep 6, 2014)

Rhodesian Army, Officer Cadet Training.


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## pardus (Sep 7, 2014)

Audio of the famous Green Leader recording.


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## pardus (Sep 7, 2014)

* Ian Smith - A Bit of a Rebel *








* Rhodesian Light Infantry - 'The Saints' *

73 combat jumps for one guy, pretty impressive. Imagine earning 3 mustard stains in one day! The Rhodies were phenomenal. 
"Tackies" are sneakers BTW.

*



*


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## pardus (Sep 7, 2014)

*Lecture from Rhodesian Capt. Joseph C. Smith *


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## pardus (Sep 7, 2014)

* Rhodesia: A Farewell to Arms *


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## pardus (Sep 7, 2014)




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## pardus (Sep 7, 2014)

* Rhodesia - The Nyadzonya Raid *


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## AWP (Sep 7, 2014)

I'd forgotten about the Green Leader audio. Great stuff. "Hey, our quarrel's not with you, but if you take off you'll be blasticated."


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## EAL92 (Sep 7, 2014)

http://www.amazon.com/THREE-SIPS-GI...=1410136965&sr=8-1&keywords=three+sips+of+gin

http://www.amazon.com/Bleed-John-R-...UTF8&qid=1410137036&sr=8-1&keywords=the+bleed

These two books were really good reads, and gave me a great interest in the conflict. They're both autobiographies so they aren't completely about the bush war, in fact in John Cronin's book he first sees action in Vietnam and later goes over to Rhodesia. Nether the less they are well worth the read.


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## pardus (Sep 7, 2014)

While we're recommending books on the Bush War these are must reads...

The Bush War in Rhodesia

and a book that cross references this ^

Shadows of a Forgotten Past

and

Fireforce


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## Gunz (Sep 8, 2014)

Thanks, Pardus. Great stuff.

One of the reasons the RLI went all-airborne was due to the UN sanctions. The RAF had Alouette IIIs, like in the above vids--some on loan from SA--but never enough. So to make up for the lack of air assault helos they started large-scale parachute training for regular ground units...and were combat jumping out of Dakotas sometimes as low as 300 feet. They eventually got a small number of broken down Hueys (Cheetahs) from Israel "smuggled" through the Comoros in defiance of sanctions.

It's one thing to have to fight a bush war against 3 or 4 different insurgent forces, quite another to have to do it with your hands tied behind your back.

No doubt about the fact ZANLA was thoroughly indocrinated by The Little Red Book...






_Pamberi ne Chimurenga = Forward with the Liberation Struggle_

There was undeniable proof of the insurgency's Communist agenda. And yet it was ignored by the same countries that were the long-standing ideological enemies of Communism. The US, Europe condemned Rhodesia, the UN passed madatory sanctions. And the Rhodies, who were fighting against Communist forces were understandably defiant.

Ian Smith






PK van der Byl, Defense Minister


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## Gunz (Sep 8, 2014)

In one of my books I have the transcript of that Green Leader raid on the ZIPRA base at Westlands farm...

Green Leader (To his Navigator/Bombadier): _Fuck, that was beautiful. Fuck, that was mush. Fucking hundreds of the cunts. Fucking magnificent._


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## dmcgill (Sep 9, 2014)

Thanks for sharing, this is an awesome thread. I recently bought a few books on the Rhodesian SAS and Selous Scouts but have yet to get into any of them. I'm going to put their precedence a little ahead of others I had in mind to read next, thanks again!


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