Chapter 1

How an Army won the War but lost a Country

Hi all and welcome to my ramblings in the past. Any talk about Rhodesia will be controversial so don't get your panties in a twist and get all upset as these are my views and you can take it or leave it, no worry ... Language may be a little strange in places but try to not get to frustrated, I will try and translate as we go along but I apologize if I forget – most of the slang is pretty simple for example, to the garage attendant, " fill it up China and put some Sky in my Rounds". Now this might seam a little strange to some but think about it. Sky = Air – Rounds = Tyres – so, "put some air in my Tyres" – See simple ... Please remember this is the 70's, we had only just gotten a TV, the PC hadn't been made yet, you drank water out of a tap not a bottle, Milk had cream on the top, the police were respected, women were respected and Rhodesia produced some of the greatest sportsman in the world. We didn't have Cell Phones and communication was the written word. People actually knew how to talk to each other instead of SMS and children made up their own games. We didn't have "Malls" and the first Supermarkets had just been built. Cars were simple and because of sanctions very difficult to come by. Transport was moms car, a thumb or just walk there. (We got our drivers license at 16). Shoes were for school and special events and Shorts, T Shirt and Flip Flops were the dress of the day. Shit times have changed.

Introduction

The development of the fighting style of the people of Rhodesian happened over a period of 2 very important years. That began in 1973 when the so called Patriotic front decided to escalate the war in to Rhodesia and started campaigns that disgusted the Nation but was quietly swept aside by the rest of the world. The worst of these were the Catholic Mission massacres and the attacks on outlying farms in remote areas. The response from the armed force was heroic and over this year and 1974 we developed what became Fire Force into a killing machine that the Patriotic front couldn't cope with. This Fire Force did not happen over night but was the result of some seriously clever men getting their heads together and developing a strategy that in the end nearly wiped out the Patriotic fronts forces. I was a part of this story from 1974 onwards and this story is from my perspective. The history and details are all written elsewhere and I will try and add a list of reading elsewhere. One of the best fiction books is John Gordon Davis book Hold My Hand I am Dying. A great read...

The Armies main units were – The Rhodesian Light Infantry (RLI) – Special Air Services (SAS) – Selous Scouts – The Rhodesian African Rifles (RAR).

The histories of all the units are written elsewhere so I will not delve in to them in depth but comments will be made about them.

When I joined the RLI in 1974 its ranks (as well as SAS) had been decimated. Not by disease or injury but by the formation of a new unit called SELOUS SCOUTS. Uncle Ron, the new Officer Commanding (OC) the new unit had gone through the army and the police and stolen the best of the best and formed one of the best and most clandestine units in world history. Uncle Ron, now a Major, was the RLI's RSM in the early days of the unit so he knew all the guys very well. Without the Selous Scouts our war would have gone no where at all – Their formation was the turning point of the war as now we had reliable information and we, the RLI, could get to work doing what we were best at, killing Gooks ... My story starts way before this point in time. To understand a Rhodesian you must remember that they were a very small community. Our parents all grew up before the Second World War and most of them served with distinction throughout all theatres of that war. Families were all connected through school and the war so that everyone knew each other. In our family my Moms side of the family consisted of a bunch of sisters and one brother. Mom dated a young Peter Walls at school who went on to marry her school chum. Peter (Tommy) went on to command the Rhodesian army. My Dad served with Uncle Ron who was instrumental in the formation of the Scouts.

In later years, the standing joke was, when my CO (Commanding Officer) wanted to know where I was he first phoned my Mom.