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Layout Table~~~~316~316~~
Military History~Rhodesia / Zimbabwe~~~316~4597~Military History (Rhodesia/Zimbabwe)%3CBR%3E%3CBR%3EBooks covering the Rhodesian bush war - a low intensity terrorist guerrila conflict. Also on the elite Rhodesian special forces, the Rhodesian Special Air Service SAS Paratroopers, Rhodesia%27s elite parachute battalion, and the elite Selous Scouts psuedo-terrorists special forces unit. Rhodesian Light Infantry RLI famous for quick reaction Fireforce operations, British South Africa Police, COIN BSAP ZANLA ZIPRA PATU CIO, Rhodesian Central Intelligence Organisation, rhodesian helicopter pilots, insurgency counterinsurgency, guerrilla warfare counter-guerrilla warfare tactics. Colonization & independence, terrorism, freedom fighters, armed struggle . Popular titles include%3A LRDG Rhodesia%3A Rhodesians in the Long Range Desert Group - J Pittaway & C Fourie, SAS Rhodesia%3A Rhodesians and the Special Air Service - J Pittaway & C Fourie, See You in November - The Story of an SAS Assassin - Peter Stiff , The Elite - The Story of the Rhodesian SAS - Barbara Cole, Selous Scouts%3A Top Secret War - Lt-Col Ron Reid Daly, as told to Peter Stiff, Dead Leaves%3A Two Years in the Rhodesian War - Dan Wylie, anti police rhodesian terorriorist unit, 1 commando infantry light rhodesian, militaria rhodesian,~
A Pride of Eagles - The definitive History of the Rhodesian Air Force 1920-80 - Beryl Salt, assisted by Group Captain Bill Sykes and Wing Commander Peter Cooke~From the arrival of the Silver Queen in 1920, through the "Rhodesia Squadrons" of World War 2, to the cessation of hostilities after the Rhodesian bush war in 1980, the author has spent over 30 years compiling this comprehensive account of this small, but professional and effective air force. Officially endorsed by the Air Force Associations of Zimbabwe, this book will be prized by lovers of Africana and aviation buffs worldwide.
NOTE - this is a huge & heavy book!
ISBN 0 620 23759 7. Hardcover, Size - 297x210mm, 1002 pages (68mm thick!), over 600 photographs, plus diagrams and maps.

Publication status: Out of Print. Scarce - hard to get, collector status. Few good second hand copies available. Submit form below to request further information / indicate interest / reserve a copy. (Enter code POE in 4th box).        
NB - Please replace the text inside the boxes with your details. After clicking on the 'I am interested' button. the webpage should report that the request has been succesfully sent. If it does not, please email us directly instead. Thank you. ~~~316~12485~Contact, lovett~
Assignment Selous Scouts: Inside Story of a Rhodesian Special Branch Officer - Jim Parker~In 1968 Jim Parker attested in the British South Africa Police as a patrol officer, leaving five years later with the rank of section officer to pursue a career as a sugar farmer in Rhodesia 's Lowveld. When the bush war on the eastern border heated up in 1976 he was already a Police A Reserve section officer. His intimate local knowledge of the Chiredzi area led top him providing an invaluable contribution by assisting with the initial military deployments, this resulted in him being invited to join the exclusive Special Branch unit attached to the Selous Scouts.
While serving with them he was involved in the hunt for ZANLA guerrillas, the operational directing, briefing and debriefing of both Selous Scouts and Special branch pseudo guerrilla teams as well as biological and chemical warfare. It is a story of war, small fighting actions, major raids into enemy territory and of strikes and counterstrikes. (NB - see 'Note' in detailed section).
ISBN 1919854142, April 2006. Softback. 360 pages.~Galago, April 2006
360pp; size 242 X 168mm
32pp pages black and white and colour pics
10 maps and diagrams, in-text illustrations
ISBN 1-919854-14-2, softback




NOTE - This book is said to be written by a former member of Special Branch Selous Scouts. The book also outlines his thoughts on operations that he was involved with and also describes operations that he says the Selous Scouts were involved with. While some well known, previously published facts are present, it has also been said that there are some extraordinary claims as to what the Selous Scouts did during the war.

It has been said by some former members of the Selous Scouts that the author Jim Parker, was NOT an attested member of the Rhodesian Special Branch and he was NOT a member of the Selous Scouts Special Branch. Rather that he was in fact a Police Reservist. The Selous Scouts Association, Mac McGuinness (Officer Commanding the Selous Scouts Special Branch) and Lt Col Ron Reid Daly (Commanding Officer the Selous Scouts Regiment) have all distanced themselves from this book. The Selous Scouts Association has described the major claims in the book as 'total fiction'.

Peter Stiff, the publisher of the book, has stated that the above claims are not true and that the author, Jim Parker, was a Reserve Detective Section Officer with SB Selous Scouts at Operation Repulse virtually full time as an A Reservist during the last years of the war.




The Book
Assignment Selous Scouts is a compelling read that fully illuminates the day-to-day horrors of the bloody and brutal terror war that was fought in the former Rhodesia against Marxists guerrillas. ZANLA targeted white civilians, particularly farmers, to drive them from the land as well as tribal blacks to bring them onside using a strategy of murder, torture, rape, arson and other horrible acts of terror. They laid landmines indiscriminately on public roads. By the war's end there had been 21 782 recorded terrorist incidents in the country (7 996 in Hurricane, 5 398 in Thrasher, 5 676 in Repulse and 2 712 in Grapple and Tangent between them). There were 1 276 landmine detonations that caused 7 283 casualties.

Although involved in the conflict earlier while a regular policeman, the author stepped back into the Rhodesian Bush War in mid 1977 when as a farmer and a Police A Reservist he was appointed as a Special Branch liaison officer with the Selous Scouts at their Chiredzi Fort in the Lowveld. Much of what he has written in this book has come from his personal knowledge and experience. What Jim Parker didn't know then was that on 20 July 1977 the Security Force chiefs at Combined Operations had told Prime Minister Ian Smith that the war couldn't be won 'by purely military means' and that it was vital he arrived at an early political settlement before the point of no return was reached. The advice wasn't taken, the point of no return was reached, and the no-win-war dragged on for another 2½ years at the cost of countless lives.It had become apparent early in the war that the Security Forces couldn't make contact with the guerrillas using conventional counter-insurgency methods, because the enemy's tactic was to merge with and hide among the local tribal population. This had resulted in the formation of the Selous Scouts Regiment with the role of infiltrating pseudo guerrillas into enemy groups and bringing them to contact. The unit comprised two arms - an army unit under Major Ron Reid Daly whose operators were responsible for the pseudo groups operational deployment and Special Branch liaison officers under Superintendent Mac McGuinness, who gathered the intelligence and 'turned' captured guerrillas and got them to fight for the government. Each was a vital component of the whole scheme and neither could have successfully operated without the other. By the war's end it was estimated that the Selous Scouts had accounted for 68% of all guerrillas killed or captured during the war.

This is a story of pseudo warfare - the outwitting of an enemy by means that reminds one of the Trojan Horse - and of major armed column raids into surrounding black-ruled states. It is also tells the full unvarnished story for the first time of how the increasingly desperate Rhodesians faced with the impossible task of defending their 1 000 plus kilometre long eastern border with Mozambique looked around in desperation for a force multiplier to combat guerrilla infiltrations. Cholera was introduced into the Gaza Province of Mozambique in the hope of debilitating infiltrating guerrillas. It worked, but it also infected the local population and later spread into Rhodesia. Anthrax was introduced to kill cattle to reduce the food supply available. That also worked but it boomeranged back into Rhodesia and caused a large number of deaths in the tribal areas. Seizing the opportunity Special Branch and the Selous Scouts infiltrated ZANLA's logistical supply chains with canned food, medicines and other supplies contaminated with poisons. Clothing was impregnated with toxins that invaded the body through hair follicles. Thousands of guerrillas died.

In late 1979 all parties to the conflict - Bishop Muzorewa and the by then Zimbabwe-Rhodesia government - under the watchful eye of Ian Smith and his colleagues - Joshua Nkomo and his ZAPU-PF and Robert Mugabe and his ZANU-PF were elbowed to the negotiating table at Lancaster House in London by the British, where it was eventually agreed that fully inclusive free and fair elections would take place in April 1980 under the supervision of a British governor. The security chiefs regarded Mugabe as a terrorist and were determined he wouldn't live to see the elections. A CIO bomb plot to kill him in London during the Lancaster House talks reached trigger stage, but it was called off. It was then planned to detonate a car bomb at Maputo Airport on 27 January 1980 just before he caught a plane to Salisbury. Fortuitously for him he used a different airport entrance and survived. A back-up plan to kill him with command-detonated landmines buried in the road after he left Salisbury Airport had already been cancelled. At least another eight attempts on Mugabe's life either failed or were aborted.

During the election run-up two things were apparent. Robert Mugabe had no intention of playing by the rules and he ordered his hard-core guerrillas to remain outside the assembly points to brutally intimidate the black populace into voting for ZANU-PF. Comops expressed confidence that a coalition of Nkomo, Muzorewa and smaller parties would win. But Comops had its own secret agenda. With the connivance of South Africa and the tacit approval of British MI6 - who had been fighting the Cold War since 1946 and had no liking for Marxists like Mugabe - they intended to manipulate the election by 'stuffing' the ballot boxes

They fully expected that Mugabe would return to war when it was announced he had lost. Operation Quartz was created to deal with this. The Rhodesian and South African Air Forces would bomb the assembly points where ZANLA's forces were congregated. Rhodesian ground forces reinforced by South African Special Forces and paratroopers would mop up. With his guerrilla forces scattered or dead, it would be impossible for Mugabe to do anything to prevent Nkomo's armoured and motorised infantry formations from moving into Rhodesia to support the coalition government. But in the end CIO chief Ken Flower got cold feet and called off the ballot box stuffing. The rest is history.

Within a week of the election that brought Mugabe to power the vast majority of the Security Forces had been demobilised and sent home. The remaining regulars were confined to barracks. The danger of a coup from the Security Forces had been reduced to nil.

Then South Africa kicked in with its own agenda. The powerful Battle Group Charlie comprising motorised infantry, armoured cars and artillery was mustered and moved quietly moved in small batches to the border at Messina. The State Security Council declared Messina an 'operational area' to give the SADF 'more room to manouevre'. Meanwhile, SA Special Forces intended to place a series of powerful roadside bombs in the shape of electricity sub-stations and traffic light control boxes on a pavement past which a motorcade would travel when en route from Government House to a reception at Meikles Hotel on 17 April, Zimbabwe's inauguration day. Prince Charles, Robert Mugabe, President elect Caanan Banana, Governor Lord Soames, British Foreign Secretary Lord Carrington and others would be in that motorcade.

It was expected that the command-detonated devices would kill most dignitaries, including Robert Mugabe and Prince Charles. Meanwhile, many thousands of blacks would be packed into Rufaro Stadium where they would be eagerly waiting to witness the inauguration and the handover of their country to black rule It was a powder keg situation. When news of the outrage broke it was expected that the reaction would be for them to blame the whites. It was believed the response would be for them to stream from the stadium and head for the white suburbs, where more killings, looting, rapes and arson with whites as the victims would take place than had been seen in Africa since the Belgium Congo achieved its independence in 1960.

The little left of the Rhodesian Security Forces would be incapable of stepping in to restore order and nor would the skeletal British Monitoring Force be capable of interfering. The blasts, however, would have been the signal for Battle Group Charlie to cross the border and head for Salisbury to 'restore order'. In the circumstances it was unlikely that anyone would have raised objections - certainly not the British who had lost a member of the royal family and witnessed the most awful atrocities committed by Mugabe's supporters against people who, in the main, held joint British and Rhodesian citizenship, or were of British descent. Besides events would have moved too quickly.

For the same reasons no one would be likely to interfere when the South Africans called on Joshua Nkomo and Bishop Muzorewa and other smaller parties to form a 'temporary' government of national unity. This would be followed by Nkomo's ZIPRA regulars moving from Zambia into the country which would spell the end to ZANU-PF's political ambitions. Mozambique had let it be known during the Lancaster House conference that it would no longer host guerrilla forces. That would have achieved exactly what the Rhodesians had wanted, but not at the price of the slaughter of probably thousands of white civilians. But fortunately the plot was discovered several days before it was due to take place and reported to Danny Stannard of the CIO. The plot was foiled and the plotters fled the country, but it was not revealed to the press until some months later. Nor were the targets accurately identified and with the disappearance of white Rhodesian rule the world press was no longer interested in Zimbabwe, nor in putting two plus two together.

Ten years later President Mugabe, without prior fanfare, presented Danny Stannard, with the Gold Cross, Zimbabwe's highest award for valour. The cryptic citation said that on 16 April 1980 he had 'foiled an assassination attempt by South African agents' directed against Mugabe and international heads of state who were in Harare for the inauguration on 18 April.~Assignment Selous Scouts|ISBN 1919854142|~316~11180~British South Africa Police, rhodesia bush war, ZANLA guerrilla terrorist, Selous Scouts Special branch pseudo guerrilla teams biological and chemical warfare~
Badges and Insignia of the Rhodesian Security Forces 1890-1980 - AJ Aniel~A basic reference guide to the badges worn by service and auxillary arms in Rhodesia prior to the country's demise. The 400 plus drawings (no photos) are meant to show the evolution of various insignia and record some little known facts about each unit.
ISBN 0 620107 44 8. - Published 1987, 111 pages, Black/white illustrations.

NOTE - not to be confused with a similiar title Insignia and History of the Rhodesian Armed Forces 1890-1980 - Dudley Wall and The Military Badges and Insignia of Southern Africa - Colin Owen. Both of these books were published after Arniel's book and are more up-to-date / informative including photos, but unfortunately are out-of-print and hard to find.~~Badges and Insignia|ISBN 0620107448|~316~1476~Badges and Insignia of the Rhodesian Security Forces 1890-1980 - AJ Aniel~
Bound for Africa: Cold War Fight along the Zambezi - Douglass H. Hubbard, Jr~This is the story of the author's introduction to Africa at a time when much of the continent was in the grips of Cold War skirmishes between the free world and the communist forces of China and the Soviet Union. Frayed from three years of service during the Vietnam War, Hubbard traveled to Africa intending to become a rural policeman in a quiet area of what was then Rhodesia. The counterinsurgency war flared soon after, a conflict that bore many of the same characteristics of the country he had just left. Hubbard describes his assimilation into the police force and into Rhodesian society, and he recounts the challenges and satisfaction of leading and training young Africans. This is a very personal story of the frustrations he faced and of the attitudes and spirit of the nation's racially mixed security force.
ISBN-13: 978-1591143949. Nov 2008. Hardcover 304 pages, 32 photos, 33 illustrations.
~In Douglass Hubbard's first book, Special Agent, Vietnam, he recounted the story of the highly dedicated professionals who volunteered to serve as officers, enlisted men, and civilian special agents of the Office of Naval Intelligence in Vietnam. Drawing on the experience of three tours of duty as one of two dozen civilian agents working for the organization that eventually became NCIS, he provided a compelling firsthand account of the clandestine and often dangerous world of counterespionage and crime in war-torn Vietnam.

In Bound for Africa, Hubbard pre-sents the next chapter of his career as a policeman conducting criminal investigations while fighting against another communist counterinsurgency. Physically drained by his three years as a criminal investigator during the Vietnam War, he traveled to Africa hoping to find a more peaceful life as a rural policeman in a quiet area of that country. However, when a counterinsurgency war flared soon after he arrived in Rhodesia, he found himself enmeshed in another Cold War conflict that bore many of the same characteristics of the war he had just left.

Bound for Africa is a very personal story that describes the frustrations of working and living in the shadows of a political settlement seemingly just beyond reach and of the attitudes and spirit of the nation's racially mixed security forces. He recounts the challenges and satisfactions of leading and training young Africans in police work and in fighting a counterinsurgency. Hubbard also provides a compelling insider's view of how the counterinsurgency was fought in the early days of the Cold War in Rhodesia, when much of the continent was gripped by political upheaval.

Hubbard's story will appeal to those with an interest in military history, intelligence, counterintelligence, and criminal investigation, as well as to those interested in a lesser-known chapter of a tragically unsuccessful war in the African country now known as Zimbabwe.


"A fascinating history of the activi­ties of the Naval Investigative Service (NIS) in Vietnam from 1962 to the fall of Saigon in April 1975. Special Agent, Vietnam should appeal to a broad readership, military historians, students of counterintelligence and criminal investigation, and Vietnam veterans."
- STUDIES IN INTELLIGENCE

" 'Bound for Africa' is a particularly timely book about an important continent which the United States has, until recently, largely ignored. An almost Kipling-esque tale of an American serving in a counterinsurgency role at the end of white rule in Rhodesia/Zimbabwe and the beginnings of the murderous misgovernment of Robert Mugabe, ...... and lessons which are directly applicable to today's Global War on Terrorism."
- Rear Admiral T. A. Brooks, U.S. Navy (Ret.), former Director of Naval Intelligence.



Douglass H. Hubbard Jr. is a con­sultant who has spent more than three decades working with the disadvantaged in Asia and in Africa. He is also the author of Special Agent, Vietnam, a memoir of his years in counter­intelligence for the NIS in Vietnam (today known as NCIS).~Bound for Africa|ISBN-13 9781591143949|~316~12387~BSAP~
Britain's Rebel Air Force: The War from the Air in Rhodesia, 1965-80 - Nesbit, Cowderoy~Updated/revised version of the 'War in the Air: Rhodesian Air Force 1935-1980' by the same authors. (see below)
The Rhodesian declaration of independence in 1965 heralded a rebellion by people of mainly British stock against their mother country. One of the main instruments which sustained this rebellion for 14 years was the Royal Rhodesian Air Force. Many of those who served in this force had strong affiliations with the RAF and were trained in its methods and aircraft. This account of the war has been compiled using the first-hand personal experiences of many pilots and crew. Appendices include matters such as Chiefs of Air Staff, air bases, rank structure, honours and awards, and lists of aircrafts and losses, as well as details of how Royal Navy warships and Royal Air Force units carried out patrols in attempts to enforce sanctions. Maps and photographs are included which illustrate specialized aircraft involved, such as twin-fuselage Lynx.
ISBN 1902304055. Grub Street Publishing 1998. Hardcover, 288 pages, b/w photos, maps, illustrations.

Publication status: Out of Print. Scarce - hard to get, collector status. Few good second hand copies available. Submit form below to request further information / indicate interest / reserve a copy. (Enter code BRAF in 4th box).
       
NB - Please replace the text inside the boxes with your details. After clicking on the 'I am interested' button. the webpage should report that the request has been succesfully sent. If it does not, please email us directly instead. Thank you.
~~~316~12523~~
Canberra: In Southern African Service - M Hamence & W Brent~The authors have combined their efforts and brought out a tribute to the Canberra in southern africa service. The Canberra served with distinction in the Rhodesian Air Force and is recorded by Michael Hamence, who had served on that aircraft for several years. Winston Brent records its SAAF service, including its operational service over SWA/Namibia and Angola. He lifts the lid on the South African "Nuclear Era" and speculates which aircraft would have carried the "A-bomb". He records the Canberra in an Electronic Warfare role and includes an aerial photograph of the Soviet "spy ship" Kapushka, when it passed around the southern tip of Africa in 1989.
IBSN 0 958 38804 0. 2001. Size - 297x210mm, 96 pages, 26 colour & 65 b/w photographs.~~Canberra|IBSN 0958388040|~316~12151~canberra~
Chopper Pilot - Monster Wilkins~The personal experiences and exploits of Monster Wilkins, who was regarded as the SAAF’s top helicopter pilot, with over 6,000 hours, of which he has spent in excess of 4,000 hours on his favourite chopper the Alouette III. He details his service in the various operational areas, such as Angola, SWA/Namibia, Rhodesia and Mozambique. He was still serving as a brigadier-general at time of the original publication in 2000.
ISBN 0958388075. JDP 2008 (Redone / re-printed from original first published in 2000). Size - 297x210mm (A4), 152 pages. 181 Black and White, 37 colour photographs.

Re-stocking end May. Advertised price is discounted 'pre-order'.~JD Publishing, 2008
Re-worked edition of original title first published in 2000




"Monster Wilkins joined the SA Air Force after leaving school and qualified for his Wings before he had a driving licence. He had his first flight in a helicopter (an Alouette II) in April 1965 and that was the start of a love affair which has grown stronger over the passing years.

In CHOPPER PILOT he tells us of some of his experiences, the places he has visited and the fun he has had while serving in the SA Air Force. He writes easily and with feeling and has the gift of describing events in graphic form...Monster is the most experienced helicopter pilot in the Air Force and is well qualified to introduce us to the great variety of roles of which this versatile aircraft is capable - and what a kaleidoscope of experiences this encompasses: Operations on our northern borders during the Border War, in an environment which was often decidedly unfriendly and where navigation at low level in difficult terrain with virtually no navigation aids was the norm; working with the SA Navy on the oceans round our coastline, where he chalked up nearly 900 deck landings; co-operating with the police during dagga (marijuana) raids; fighting runaway fires and rescuing people from the sea, from floods, from snow and from fires; and evacuating casualties from accidents, often in mountainous terrain, to safety
"
. Lt General R.H.D. (Bob) Rogers SSA, SM, MMM, DSO, DFC (Ex-Chief of the Air Force.~Chopper Pilot|X ISBN 0958388075|~316~11680~~
Contact: A tribute to those who serve Rhodesia / Rhodesia at War - John Lovett~Subtitled 'A tribute to those who serve Rhodesia' or 'Rhodesia at War'
Magnificently illustrated throughout with countless very rare photos, a fascinating survey of the 1970s Rhodesian Bush War. Packed with information on the various specialized units formed and employed as well as their accomplishments, and what life was like for both soldiers and civilians throughout the various operational areas.
Published by Galaxie Press 1977 and reprinted Khenty Press 1978, 1982 . Large format hard cover, 240 pages, Numerous b/w photos, illustrations & maps throughout.

Publication status: Out of Print. Scarce - hard to get, collector status. Few good second hand copies available, most without dustjackets. Submit form below to request further information / indicate interest / reserve a copy. (Enter code CON1 in 4th box).
       
NB - Please replace the text inside the boxes with your details. After clicking on the 'I am interested' button. the webpage should report that the request has been succesfully sent. If it does not, please email us directly instead. Thank you.
~~~316~12240~Contact, lovett~
Contact 2: Struggle for Peace- Paul Moorcraft~This is the follow-up to the very successful Contact, although the new book, Contact II, can also stand in its own right as a chronicle of the Rhodesian war. The second volume is not intended to be a blow-by-blow account of the war nor a detailed analysis of each unit of the Security Forces_ It is instead a pictorial overview of what the war has meant to all in Rhodesia.
Sygma Books 1981. ISBN 0868760064. Large format hard cover, 208 pages, Numerous b/w photos, illustrations & maps throughout.

Publication status: Out of Print. Scarce - hard to get, collector status. Few good second hand copies available. Submit form below to request further information / indicate interest / reserve a copy. (Enter code CON2 in 4th box).
       
NB - Please replace the text inside the boxes with your details. After clicking on the 'I am interested' button. the webpage should report that the request has been succesfully sent. If it does not, please email us directly instead. Thank you.
~~~316~12473~Contact, lovett~
Counter-Strike from the Sky: The Rhodesian All-Arms Fire Force in the War in the Bush 1974–1980 - JRT Wood~Includes 60-minute DVD, produced by Chris Cocks, author of Fireforce: One Man's War in the Rhodesian Light Infantry.
'Fireforce' as a military concept dates from 1974 when the Rhodesian Air Force (RhAF) acquired the French MG151 20mm cannon from the Portuguese. Coupled with this, the traditional counter-insurgency tactics (against Mugabe's ZANLA and Nkomo's ZIPRA) of follow-ups, tracking and ambushing simply weren't producing satisfactory results. Visionary RhAF and Rhodesian Light Infantry (RLI) officers thus expanded on the idea of a 'vertical envelopment' of the enemy (first practised by SAS paratroopers in Mozambique in 1973), with the 20mm cannon being the principle weapon of attack, mounted in an Alouette III K-Car ('Killer car'), flown by the air force commander, with the army commander on board directing his ground troops deployed from G-Cars (Alouette III troop-carrying gunships and latterly, Bell 'Hueys' in 1979) and parachuted from DC-3 Dakotas. In support would be a propeller-driven ground-attack aircraft armed with front guns, pods of napalm, white phosphorus rockets and a variety of Rhodesian-designed bombs; on call would be Canberra bombers, Hawker Hunter and Vampire jets.
ISBN 9781920143336. May 2009. Hardback, 234x 153mm, . +/- 308 pages, 150 colour & b/w photos, maps, diagrams. Plus 60-minute DVD.

(Southern Africa customers - if ordering just this book, please select cheapest P&P in CheckOut - book will be dispatched normally from within SA, within 2 weeks
NOTE - see 'Special Offers' section at bottom of this page~ISBN: 9781920143336
Cloth & dust jacket (hard back)
234 x 153mm6 x 9
308 pages
150 colour & b/w photos, maps, diagrams
Foreword by Charles D. Melson, Chief Historian, US Marine Corps
Accompanying 60-minute DVD, produced by Chris Cocks, author of Fireforce: One Man's War in the Rhodesian Light Infantry * comprising of interviews with the author, army and air force veterans of Fireforce



The Book
The militarily acclaimed Fireforce concept that has received worldwide acclaim in military circles for the past 30 years.

'Fireforce' as a military concept dates from 1974 when the Rhodesian Air Force (RhAF) acquired the French MG151 20mm cannon from the Portuguese. Coupled with this, the traditional counter-insurgency tactics (against Mugabe's ZANLA and Nkomo's ZIPRA) of follow-ups, tracking and ambushing simply weren't producing satisfactory results.

Visionary RhAF and Rhodesian Light Infantry (RLI) officers thus expanded on the idea of a 'vertical envelopment' of the enemy (first practised by SAS paratroopers in Mozambique in 1973), with the 20mm cannon being the principle weapon of attack, mounted in an Alouette III K-Car ('Killer car'), flown by the air force commander, with the army commander on board directing his ground troops deployed from G-Cars (Alouette III troop-carrying gunships and latterly Bell 'Hueys' in 1979) and parachuted from DC-3 Dakotas.

In support would be a propeller-driven ground-attack aircraft armed with front guns, pods of napalm, white phosphorus rockets and a variety of Rhodesian-designed bombs; on call would be Canberra bombers, Hawker Hunter and Vampire jets.


Includes a 90-minute DVD documentary with interviews with:

Dr JRT Wood (author and historian)
Lieutenant-Colonel Brian Robinson OLM, MLM (OC C Squadron, SAS)
Major Grahame Wilson GCV, SCR, BCR (C Squadron, SAS)
Major Nigel Henson MLM (OC Support Commando, 1RLI)
Captain Peter Stanton (Special Branch and Selous Scouts)
Lieutenant Alan Thrush BCR (A Company, 2RAR)
Sergeant Gordon 'Beaver' Shaw (Rhodesian Air Force)
Sergeant George Dempster (MA2 Medic, 1RLI)
Chris Cocks (3 Commando, 1RLI)

All the above gained several years of combat experience in the Rhodesian Bush War and all were heavily involved with the use of helicopters and fireforce tactics.


The Author
Richard Wood, BA (Hons) (Rhodes), PhD (Edinburgh), FRHistS was born in Rhodesia (Zimbabwe). He was educated at St George's College, Rhodes University in Grahamstown, South Africa, and Edinburgh University, Scotland. He was a Commonwealth scholar and a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society. He was the Ernest Oppenheimer Memorial Research Fellow at the University of Rhodesia and a Professor of History at the University of Durban-Westville. He is undoubtedly the foremost historian and researcher on the history of Rhodesia in the decades following World War II and, with exclusive access to the hitherto closed papers of Ian Smith, has written three definitive publications: The Welensky Papers; So Far and No Further!* and A Matter of Weeks Rather than Months*. He is a renowned military historian, having served as a territorial soldier in the Rhodesia Regiment, and the Mapping & Research Unit of the Rhodesian Intelligence Corps. He has published The War Diaries of André Dennison (1989)*, numerous articles, conference papers and chapters in books. He has a lifelong interest in matters military, rugby and fly-fishing. He lives in Durban, South Africa with his wife Carol.

* Available on this website~Counter-Strike from the Sky|X ISBN 9781920143336|~316~12315~~
Counterinsurgency in Modern Warfare - D Marston, C Malkasian~Throughout history, armies of occupation and civil power have been repeatedly faced with the challenges of insurgency. British and American involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan has highlighted this form of conflict in the modern world. Armies, sometimes reluctantly, have had to adopt new doctrines and tactics to deal with the problems of insurgency and diverse counterinsurgency strategies have been developed, ranging from conventional operations to a combination of propaganda and political strategy. Here, 13 authors examine the development of counterinsurgency from the early 20th century to the present. Including information on the Arab-Israeli conflict, Afghanistan and Iraq, this book is a timely and accessible survey of a critical facet of modern warfare. Included is a chapter on the Rhodesian Bush War - 'Countering the Chimurenga: The Rhodesian Counterinsurgency Campaign 1962-80', written by authoritive Dr JRT Wood.
April 2008. Hardback, 304 pages~April 2008
ISBN: 9781846032813
Hardback 304 pages



About this book
Through history armies of occupation and civil power have been repeatedly faced with the challenges of insurgency. US involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan has highlighted this form of conflict in the modern world. Armies, sometimes reluctantly, have had to adopt new doctrines and tactics to deal with the problems of insurgency and diverse counterinsurgency strategies have been developed. These have ranged from conventional military operations to a combination of military and political strategy including propaganda, Psy-Ops, and other approaches. In Counterinsurgency in Modern Warfare, 13 contributors examine developments in counterinsurgency from the early 20th century to the present. Each author, an expert in his field, discusses in depth the conduct and outcomes of operations across the globe, including the Arab-Israeli conflict, Afghanistan and Iraq, and draws out the lessons to be learned from them. This book is a timely, serious yet accessible survey of a critical facet of modern warfare and present-day global conflict.

Contents


Reviews
"A wide-ranging, sophisticated anthology that all serious students of counterinsurgency should read and savor. Challenging, candid and provocative."
Francis J.'Bing' West; author of No True Glory: A Frontline Account of the Battle for Fallujah and The Village

"The editors have recruited an impressive lineup of contributors comprising many of the leading experts... they provide an introduction to some of the leading counterinsurgency campaigns of the 20th century. Soldiers and civilians alike will learn a great deal here to help them better understand the challenges that confront us in Iraq, Afghanistan, and beyond."
Max Boot, Senior Fellow in national security studies at the Council on Foreign Relations and author of The Savage Wars of Peace and War Made New

"A fine collection that should contribute significantly to contemporary debates about what leads to success or failure in counterinsurgency. The provocative essays reveal that such conflicts are always unique, requiring counterinsurgent forces to develop cultural awareness and learning organizations if they want to have any hope of victory."
Dr Conrad Crane, lead author of The US Army/Marine Corps Counterinsurgency Field Manual~Counterinsurgency in Modern Warfare|ISBN-13 9781846032813|~316~12377~~
Dead Leaves: Two Years in the Rhodesian War - Dan Wylie~ It is January 1978. Groups of nervous, dutiful white conscripts begin their National Service with the Rhodesian security forces. Ian Smith's white minority government is in its dying days and negotiations towards majority rule are already under way. For these 18-year-old rookies there is nothing to do but go on fighting, hold the line while the transition happens around them. Dead Leaves is a richly textured memoir in which an ordinary young soldier grapples with the unique dilemmas presented by an extraordinary period in history: the inner spectres of inner violence and death; the pressurised arrival of manhood; and the place of conscience, friendship and beauty in the pervasive atmosphere of futile warfare.
ISBN 1-86914-005-2 Softcover. 196pp; size 215 X 138mm. ~ISBN 1-86914-005-2 Softcover.
196pp; size 215 X 138mm.
It is January 1978. Groups of nervous, dutiful white conscripts' begin their National Service with Rhodesia's security forces, Ian Smith's minority regime is in its dying days and negotiations towards majority rule are already under way. For these inexperienced eighteen-year-olds, there is nothing to do but go on fighting, hold the line while the transition happens around them ...

Cattle are moving ... and Mbiti says quietly, `Don't shoot, it is cows only.'

There are more than cows. There are two men, dressed in the classic dark denims of the guerrillas, bowing away into the shadowy bush, melting away. I am looking through the legs of cattle, I do not want to shoot the cows. I do hot want to shoot. I see the men, I know that I have seen them. But I do nothing, say nothing. I am spooked. No one else appears to have seen them. I am prepared even to doubt my own eyes; I can take the sighting with me to the grave.

The consequence of my silence isn't long in coming ...


Dead Leaves: Two Years in the Rhodesian War is an absorbing memoir in which an ordinary troopie grapples with the unique dilemmas presented by an extraordinary period in history: the spectres of inner violence and death; the pressurised arrival of manhood; and the place of conscience, friendship and beauty in the pervasive atmosphere of futile warfare.

`Perhaps the most important part of our humanity is our capacity to question both our public and private selves, and how honestly they confront our experiences. Dead Leaves superbly achieves this task.' - Anthony Chennells, Professor of English. University of Zimbabwe~Dead Leaves|ISBN 186940052|~316~1477~Dead Leaves%3A Two Years in the Rhodesian War - Dan Wylie~
Delta Scout: Ground Coverage Operator - Anthony Trethowan~The story of a British South Africa policeman (BSAP) in Rhodesia's bush war, a young man who signed up as a raw eighteen year old and thence serving with this fine force for 8 years. Told with a sensitivity and pathos that is rare in military memoirs, it is a brutally honest, compelling account of innocence lost. After Uniform Branch, the author became a Ground Coverage operator (GC) before joining Special Branch (SB) towards the end of the war.
"A true story from one of Africa's forgotten wars ... of ordinary people fighting for thier lives in a war in the Rhodesian bush ... it made me laugh, it made me despair" - Will Leitch
ISBN 978-1-920143-21-3. April 2008. Softback, 304pp incl 32pp photo section (60 photos, 6 maps).
NOTE - see 'Special Offers' section at bottom of this page~30 Degrees South Publishing
ISBN 978-1-920143-21-3
April 2008
Softback
234 x153mm
304pp incl 32pp photo section (60 photos, 6 maps)



Delta Scout was the call sign for Tony Trethowan's Ground Coverage 'stick' during the Rhodesian bush war of the late seventies. This is the story of an ordinary policeman, a young man who signed up with the British South Africa Police as a raw 18 year old and who was to serve eight years with that fine force.

As a young Patrol Officer, he was to experience rural life in remote stations in the bush of Matabeleland. He embraced the experience and learned Sindebele within a few months. The book is richly interspersed with anecdotes of wild frontier life-of rowdy prospectors, obstreperous farmers, maverick hunters and bizarre eccentrics. He deals with a wide array of crimes and incidents - from murder, tribal suicide, sorcery, robbery and drunkenness to horrific vehicle accidents.

But as the bush war intensifies, Tony finds himself more and more involved in paramilitary operations. Ground Coverage was a BSAP intelligence-gathering unit- operating literally 'on the ground' in the rural areas. Known by his enemy, Nkomo's ZIPRA guerrillas, as Baleka, or 'he who runs hither and thither' because of his propensity for rapidly covering vast areas, alone in his beaten-up police Land Rover, the second part of the book deals with the author's conversion from civilian policeman to full-blooded counter-insurgency operator in an African guerrilla war.

Told with a sensitivity and pathos that is rare in military memoirs, Delta Scout is a brutally honest, compelling account of innocence lost.



The Author
Tony Trethowan was born in England in 1955. His parents immigrated to Southern Rhodesia in 1958, where he grew up. He served in the BSA Police from 1974 to 1981 but resigned shortly after Zimbabwean independence. He has had three careers-policeman, educator & trainer and health & safety professional. He is presently studying for an MSSc in Occupational Safety and Health at Queens University in Belfast. His home is in Northern Ireland, but he is currently working for a large oil and gas company as an HSE consultant in Yemen. Delta Scout is his first book.~Delta Scout|X ISBN 9781920143213|~316~11845~BSAP, Delta Scout, Ground Coverage Operator, British South Africa Police~
Echoes of an African War - Chas Lotter~A photographic anthology by Africa's acclaimed soldier-poet. Coffee-table format with alternative pages of haunting poetry, mirrored by some stunning original photography. Echoes of an African War follows the story of the Rhodesian teenaged army recruit who exchanged his home and his family for the world of barrack life. It sketches the years, until 1973, when a low-intensity war allowed a young man to explore the African bush. The story then bursts into the late 1970s when the conflict escalated into a vicious civil war. It covers the war's end in 1980 and his subsequent readjustment to civilian life before finishing in 1999 when, as a mature man, he looks back and remembers events that are now history.
Size - 330x248mm, 208 pages, 650 colour photographs.
ISBN 0 620 23091 6 - Standard Edition
ISBN 0 620 23091 6 - Deluxe Limited Edition~Size - 330x248mm, 208 pages, 650 colour photographs.
ISBN 0 620 23091 6 - Standard Edition
ISBN 0 620 23091 6X - Leather-bound Deluxe Limited Edition

Echoes of an African War marks a high point in Chas Lotter's 25 year writing career. This soldier poet's craft had humble beginnings - Chas Lotter admits that many of his earlier poems were "written on the back of cigarette boxes". Chas Lotter's writing quickly attracted critical acclaim in poetry journals even before his work appeared in Peter Badcock's volume : Shadows of War. The commercial success of Shadows of War led to another Lotter - Badcock collaboration; Faces of War. Chas joined the Rhodesian Diaspora in 1980 and settled in South Africa. In 1984, he published Rhodesian Soldier - a volume that matched verse with original photographs. Now long out of print, Rhodesian Soldier has become a much sought after collector's item with the scarce copies commanding a premium price.

Throughout the late 1980s and early 1990s, Chas Lotter juggled part-time writing with his business interests and although he achieved occasional success with the select pieces in various journals, he knew that he had not yet told the full story of his service in the Rhodesian War. In the early 1990s, Chas committed himself to the project that would ultimately culminate in the publication of Echoes of an African War. Aware of the appeal of the poetry - photograph format, Chas set out on an ambitious quest to locate as many original unpublished photographs from the Rhodesian war as he could. His task was aided by the explosive expansion of the internet.

Photographs poured in from all corners of the world. Ex-servicemen of all descriptions as well as civilians, reacted generously to Chas Lotter's call for photographs. Within a year or two of beginning his research, Chas had accumulated hundreds of original photos and had become the unwitting custodian of a substantial collection of Rhodesian bush war related photographs. All were carefully scanned and converted into electronic format. Then began the painstaking task of searching out the few score photographs that would form part of the collage in the final book. Chas made use of the internet to generate advance interest in Echoes of an African War. His web site published galleries of photographs and published teasers and samples from the book as the launch date approached.

Echoes of an African War was published in 1999 and quickly disproved a long held belief - namely that poetry does not sell in commercially viable quantities in South Africa. The book was published in two versions - a leather bound collector's edition and a coffee table size hard back volume with a richly illustrated dust-jacket. Echoes of an African War is more than a volume of poetry, however. It forms a remarkable cultural record of the Rhodesian bush war and a unique window into some of the bitterest years in southern Africa history.~Select edition||Echoes of an African War - Std|ISBN 0620230916 Std|Echoes of an African War - Ltd|ISBN 0620230916 Delux|~316~1478~Echoes of an African War - Chas Lotter, war poems~
Fighting Vehicles and Weapons of Rhodesia 1965-80 - Peter G Locke & Peter D F Cooke~A unique well researched book covering Rhodesia's attempts in producing home made armoured protected vehicles, firearms, anti-ambush weapons and mines during the Rhodesian Bush War.
ISBN 0-473-02413-6, paperback. Size - A4, 152 pages, numerous black/white photos, diagrams, maps, appendices.~~Fighting Vehicles and Weapons of Rhodesia 1965-80|ISBN 0-473-02413-6|~316~11356~~
Fireforce: One Man's War in the Rhodesian Light Infantry - Chris Cocks~Widely acclaimed as the classic account of counter-insurgency warfare in Africa, as told by the combat soldier "on the ground". The gut-wrenching account of brutal face-to-face combat in the Rhodesian bush is not for the squeamish. This is the compelling, brutally honest account of Chris Cocks' service in 3 Commando, The Rhodesian Light Infantry, during the Rhodesian bush war was considered a close parallel to the French Foreign Legion. He joined the RLI at the age of 18, after living a somewhat sheltered life. Fireforce, a method of combat developed by the Rhodesians and perfected by the RLI, involved troops being helicoptered or parachuted into an area immediately after a guerrilla presence had been reported or a sighting made. Due to the enormous shortage of ground troops the same men were sometimes parachuted into contacts as many as three times per day. This is his story of his experience. Includes the RLI roll of honour, citations and operational orders, and appendices. *** RECOMMENDED READ ***
ISBN 0958489092, 4th Edition Paperback. Size - 228x152mm, 368 pages, 120 colour & b/w photos, map and sketches.

Sequel to Fireforce - Out of Action (formerly titled as Survival Course) is available under Rhodesia - Autobiographies.
NOTE - see 'Special Offers' section at bottom of this page~30 Degrees South
ISBN 0-9584890-9-2
Softback with gatefolds
222x152mm
320pages with 48 page photo sections



Fireforce is the compelling, brutal but true account of Chris Cocks' service in 3 Commando, The Rhodesian Light Infantry, during Zimbabwe's bitter civil war of the '70s - a war that came to be known almost innocuously as 'the bush war'. 'Fireforce', a tactic of total airborne envelopment, was developed and perfected by the RLI, together with the Selous Scouts and the Rhodesian Air Force. Fireforce became the principal strike weapon of the beleaguered Rhodesian forces in their struggle against the overwhelming tide of the Communist-trained and -equipped ZANLA and ZIPRA guerrillas.

The combat strain on a fighting soldier was almost unbelievable, for the Rhodesians, who were always desperately short of ground troops, were sometimes obliged to parachute the same men into action into as many as three enemy contacts a day. While estimates of enemy casualties vary, there seems little doubt that the RLI accounted for at least 12,000 ZANLA and ZIPRA guerrillas - but not without cost.

Fireforce is not for the squeamish. Although it has been written with unforgettable pathos and humour, it tells of face-to-face combat in the bush and death at point-blank range. It is a book which does nothing to glorify or glamorize war, for as Chris Cocks found at such a young age, war is merely a catalogue of suffering, destruction and death.

Fireforce has been described by critics as being to the Rhodesian War what All Quiet On The Western Front was to World War I and Dispatches was to Vietnam. Read it - it will an experience you will never forget.

Reviews
Southern African Review of Books, Issue 7, February/March 1989
Reviewed by Paul Moorcraft
Bullets versus ballots, reform versus revolution. Ah, the standard clichés of the massed army of rearguard writers on southern Africa. Few writers ever get close to real ballots, let alone live bullets. Military events have often shaped southern African history, but most analysis is cerebral and hands-off.

For example, one of the modern classics of war, The Face of Battle , by historian John Keegan, despite its brilliance, lacks the immediacy of being in a battle. An experienced warrior, from the British SAS, complained after reading the book that it did not portray, for example, the smell of conflict, the cordite, the stench of decaying bodies and, above all, the sense of fear. Very few books, written from any sides of the many wars in the region, capture the real feeling of what war is like. No amount of piety or righteous indignation fired off from the UN or Bloomsbury or even Lusaka can compensate for a well-written, first-hand account of the 'struggles' and the white racist counter-insurgencies to contain them.

Few men of action can write well. The exceptions, though, such as T.E. Lawrence, have contributed greatly to the study of war. An African example is Deneys Reitz's Commando: A Boer Journal of the Boer War , first published in 1935. A book in that classic mould, but this time about the Rhodesian war, and entitled Fireforce , has recently been published. Like Reitz's work, Fireforce, by first-time author Chris Cocks, is a personal account of frequent, close-quarter warfare.

The book is likened on the cover blurb to the famous novel, All Quiet on the Western Front . That is an exaggeration, particularly as the book has been slightly marred by the occasional, racially-biased, editorial intervention by the South African publisher, himself a former senior Rhodesian policeman and well-known author. As one starts the book, the reader may be tempted to think, 'Oh, no, not another gung-ho story of how the tough, good guys lost because the world betrayed them'. It is not. It is a unique, compelling, sometimes brutal account of a young conscript's three years of service in the elite Rhodesian Light Infantry during the height of the bush war (1976-9).

Cocks was an 18-year-old white Rhodesian when he was called up for 18 months. He had wanted to go to university in England, but that had to wait, he was told by the authorities. His family had been opposed to Ian Smith and he planned to avoid his national service by making his way out of Africa via Mozambique. He had attended a multi-racial school, where he had, he says, made many black friends. Cocks notes:

... in my youthful mind I appreciated vaguely that something had to be radically wrong with the policies of the Rhodesian Front. Yet, I still went and fought for the green and white flag of Rhodesia ... and I certainly was no patriot. I still cannot understand it ... even to this day.


He was persuaded by his family to give up the idea of going into exile. Instead, he joined the tough 3-Commando of the RLI, as an ordinary trooper because the army decided he was not officer material. Originally the RLI had been an all-volunteer unit comprised largely of white Rhodesians and South Africans. By 1976 the tempo of the war had forced the RLI to take conscripts as well as a veritable legion of foreign adventurers, rogues and anti-communist idealists.

Much of Cocks' time was taken up by 'fireforce' duties. The RLI was one of the main reaction forces to hunt and kill nationalist guerrillas. The object was to land as many troops as quickly as possible on the ground, using initially French Alouette helicopters (later larger ex-Israeli Bell choppers) and also aged Dakotas for dropping paratroopers. (One of the Daks had actually flown at Arnhem in 1944.) Each fireforce had a K-Car (Killer-Car) gunship, an Alouette with a 20 mm cannon, which usually carried the operational commander. G-Cars, ferrying ground troops to and from the contact area, supported the K-Car. Often a Cessna 'Lynx' would initiate the attack, using rockets and napalm, and then the K-Car would direct the ground troops to ambush the escaping survivors. Heavy resistance would bring out Hawker Hunter fighter-bombers and Canberra bombers.

Fireforce, which relied upon good intelligence, mainly from trackers and observation points, accounted for 12,000 guerrillas killed. In hard military terms, the fireforce concept was an operational development which has attracted much detailed attention in army staff colleges throughout the world. But the Rhodesian obsession with body-counts made them blind, like the Americans in Vietnam, to the political requirements of combating and even comprehending the nature of the protracted people's war fought by the insurgents. Hearts and minds do, after all, live in bodies.

Cocks saw a lot of fireforce action. In blunt terms he describes the first kill he witnessed. He writes that a corporal:

spotted what looked to me like a bundle of rags beneath a bush. In an instant his rifle was at his shoulder and he fired three shots. The bundle grunted and rolled over, a Communist AK rifle clattering to the side. I was astonished ... so that was a guerrilla. The bundle had seemed so inoffensive. I studied the body curiously. Still-smouldering napalm had bored ugly holes into the flesh, which gave off a sickly sweet smell. The skull had been shattered by a bullet and brains were oozing through the scalp in a riot of blood and plasma. The mouth was fixed in a grimace of death while the eyes stared upwards as if in a trance.
So this was death. It was gruesome. It was messy. I suddenly wondered if RLI soldiers looked the same when they were killed.... I soon learned the practice of immediately shooting at anything suspicious regardless of whether it was obviously dead or not. If in doubt, shoot ... that was the way you stayed alive.


Clearly, the book is not for the oversensitive, but it does describe what war is really like. It is messy and dirty.

The details are there for the military specialist, but it is also an anti-war tract for the layman. And it is more: the sociologist's eye, the novelist's ear for down-to-earth dialogue and the unpretentious, sometimes amusing, narrative add up to a surprising tour de force . The style is very simple; initially it appears almost simplistic. At the end of the book, however, like Bunyan's Pilgrim, you have travelled a long way. This might seem like excessive praise, but, in this writer's opinion, after many years of researching on and working in African war zones, Cocks' work is one of the very few books which adequately describe the horrors of war in Africa. Vietnam seemed to have grabbed the stylists.

Like Bunyan's Christian, Cocks' load gets heavier. Towards the end of 1978, he confides:

One of the American Vietnam vets brought a "Doors" tape to the barrack room and the melancholy, almost death-laden voice of Jim Morrison, saddened my already numb and exhausted mind. We lost track of the kill rate as the days wore on. None of us really cared any more. Did scores matter anyway? The enemy had an inexhaustible supply of replacements, no matter how many we killed.


As the war escalated in 1979, the Rhodesian security forces advanced towards the heart of darkness. Cocks' friends are killed or badly wounded. They continue the grotesque tradition of looting the corpses of dead insurgents, despite their officers' disapproval. Cocks hears about an RLI machine-gunner who shot an African child he had enticed with a sweet. Cocks explains that atrocities were never encouraged, and that he worried about repeating a My Lai when civilians were caught in crossfire. He describes the psychopaths and the weirdos, such as a soldier who went to war in a tall black top hat adorned with a yellow AA badge. (As the war intensified the army tightened up on combat dress.) There are the booby-trapped radios and guerrilla uniforms treated with contact poisons. Cocks and his men didn't disapprove of the dirty tricks. 'After all, if it was effective it saved us the job of going out to kill them and maybe getting killed ourselves in the process.'

There are landmines and raids into Zambia and Mozambique. By this time few prisoners were taken. After a firefight, the now promoted Corporal Cocks gives the order to finish off a wounded guerrilla.

A year ago we might have saved him, but not in 1979. We didn't want guerrilla prisoners who might only get a gaol sentence, or even be reprieved and integrated into the army as a reformed ally. Execution in the field, we rationalized, saved the troops extra work ... to say nothing of taxpayers' money The officers still insisted that Special Branch badly needed captures for information purposes, but the intelligence we got in the field was always out of date and second grade anyway ... so what did it matter. Besides that a whole chopper would have been taken up to casevac [casualty evacuate] him, which meant a stick [patrol] would have had to stay out over night.

Besides life or death issues, more mundane matters intrude: letters home to his fiancée, and the obsession that all frontline soldiers have with food and with the soldiers who never leave the safety of their barracks, 'jam-stealers' in Rhodesian parlance.

When Cocks leaves the RLI in January 1979, the guerrilla onslaught is swamping the security forces. Cocks describes how on occasions cooks, clerks and bottlewashers were pulled into the front line. As he walks out of the barracks, the burden falls from his shoulders: 'I felt the weight of my fifty years lifting. Perhaps it was because I was still only twenty-one'.

Cocks asks himself what was it all for. 'I do not believe I had any blood lust. It was just a big adventure which slowly began to turn sour only when I discovered that upwards of thirty thousand people had been killed in the conflict.' Cocks was initially a reluctant conscript. Yet he volunteered to stay on as a regular soldier to complete three years of very active duty.

Cocks' minor masterpiece explains why people fight. Cocks risked his life for his mates. Not Ian Smith. Most soldiers fight well because of peer group pressure -- solidarity with small unit or larger regiment -- no God, Queen or country. Cocks was no exception: it was the camaraderie of the highly professional RLI 3-Commando which motivated him to volunteer, and to fight, sometimes three times a day, in fireforce actions.

A small minority of whites refused to fight. Some slipped off quietly to colleges or exile in Britain and a few publicly registered as pacifists. In most wars the bravest of men are usually found in the ranks of either frontline combat troops or conscientious objectors.


WHAT THE CRITICS SAY

"Fireforce is bound to enjoy a large readership . . . Of the many books that are appearing dealing with Rhodesia and the war years, this is probably the best." - Armed Forces South Africa

"The Rhodesian bush war, like most conflicts, has spawned a large number of books but none has been written with the passion of Fireforce. Cocks' book, more than any other of this particular conflict, smashes home the gross corruption of youth by war . . . it is an immensely moving story." - Patrick Taylor, The Citizen

"Chris Cocks' Fireforce . . . is informative, entertaining and, at times moving stuff." - The Frog, Pretoria News

"This (book) is however notable in that it is the first account of the Zimbabwean war by a Rhodesian soldier which does not attempt to deify the Rhodesians or their war. The strength of the book lies in that in the same way as Platoon refuses to disguise the psychological trauma consequent on youth being conscripted into the army, Fireforce highlights some of the debasement and brutality which face the average recruit." - Oudtshoorn Courier

"Chris Cocks has resisted the temptation to glorify the fighting to any extent at all. He sees it for the catalogue of destruction, suffering and death that war is all about; and in the bush it was, very often, a matter of face-to-face combat at point-blank range." - "Homefront" The MOTH Magazine.

"Fireforce will be to the Rhodesian War what Remarque's All Quiet on the Western Front was to World War 1. A high claim indeed, but perhaps valid, for this moving book is a classic in any sense." - Jim Mitchell, The Star.

"This is one of the best books to come out of the Rhodesian War . . . these pages put you right back in the bush." - Armed Forces South Africa.

"Few books have brought home the reality of war as well as Fireforce . . . Fireforce is not a book for the tender- hearted, but it makes for a cracking good read." - Jean Gardine, Personality.

"It (Fireforce) is one of the few books to emerge from that era which is brutally honest, and intensely moving." - Joy Cameron-Dow, SABC - Radio South Africa's "Talking of Books".


~Fireforce|X ISBN 0958489092|Fireforce|ISBN 1919874321|Fireforce|Z ISBN 0958489092|~316~11090~Fireforce - One Man%27s War in the Rhodesian Light Infantry - Chris Cocks, elite parachute battalion, rhodesian bush war~
Half a Century in Uniform: The Life story of Group Captain OD Penton OLM AFC - Rob 'Ralpapajan' Thurman~The life story of a journeyman pilot who spent his entire working life connected to aviation and the Air Force. Group Captain Ossie Penton helped establish the Rhodesian Air Force and epitomised its spirit and excellence.
"I commend this story to the reader, not only as the fascinating one of the career of a Service Pilot, but also because it gives a very clear picture of the chronicle of events and politics pertaining to the period of time that it covered." Air Commodore Dickie Bradshaw OLM
Lulu 2007. Hardcover 242 pages.~~Half a Century in Uniform|8960|~316~11687~Rhodesian Air Force, Ossie Penton~
James and the Duck: Tales of the Rhodesian Bush War (1964 - 1980) - Faan Martin~A very different tongue-in-cheek personal account about a forgotten war. Between 1964 and 1980 Rhodesian men from all walks of life left their families and jobs to fight for their country. They were farmers, bankers, railwaymen, shopkeepers, miners and even Members of Parliament, who every six weeks, changed their soft civilian life for battle dress, rifles and grenades.These are their stories.It's not really about war heroes. It's more about bluestone charged, but still lustful troops coping with fighting terrorists, boredom, longing, fear and death. All this set against the background of Africa's sweltering heat, annoying insects, dangerous animals and venomous snakes. Definitely not for the faint-hearted.The reader will meet a long suffering prisoner-of-war, infantry soldiers, helicopter gunship pilots, tribesmen, pompous army officers, mercenaries and even a duck.Some of the personal incidents will have you laughing and crying at the same time.No matter how you view the Rhodesian Bush War, you will enjoy the humour and at times satire and even sadness of this true account of how men coped with the horrors and hardships of war.
ISBN 9781434319739, 2007. Paperback 284 pages, large font.~Authorhouse, Sept 2007
ISBN-13 9781434319739
Paperback, 284 pages
Large font



About the author

Faan Martin, was born in 1947 in the scenic Rhodesian border city of Umtali. He was educated in Rhodesia and South Africa. During the war he was a cattle rancher in the Manicaland province of Rhodesia.

After completing his national service with 1 Independent Company he served as a territorial soldier with the 4th Infantry Battalion.

During his time in uniform, he qualified as a marksman and served in the Operation Hurricane, Thrasher and Repulse areas. He also took part in external operations into neighbouring Mozambique and served with a helicopter gunship group known as a "Fire Force."

In November 1978, Rhodesian Security Forces attacked 200 terrorists on a mountain on the Martins' farm.

Three days after the battle in which eight ZANLA insurgents were killed and a Rhodesian helicopter was shot down, the author and two friends searched the mountain and found a huge arms cache.

Not long afterwards Rhodesian Special Branch policemen visited the author and his wife Jayne and warned them that their names had been found on a ZANLA death list after a highly successful attack on a massive terrorist base in Mozambique.

One night in January 1979, 12 terrorists launched a bazooka attack on the Martins' family. They survived the attack, but it changed their lives.Concern over the safety of their four small children, the regular theft of their cattle and knowing Robert Mugabe would soon become the new political leader of the country, eventually made the Martins immigrate to South Africa.

After a short spell of teaching and farming in South Africa, Martin became a journalist. He has written 500 published magazine articles and was the Editor of two weekly newspapers, the Northern Review and The Pietersburger. Later he was the Assistant Editor of the Farmer's Weekly magazine.

He now lives in Scotland.~James and the Duck|ISBN-13 9781434319739|~316~11546~Faan Martin~
Long Range Desert Group: Rhodesia - Jonathan Pittaway~"2nd Edition" - re-titled, revised, updated. and re-worked with a lot of new material added to the earlier book 'LRDG Rhodesia: Rhodesians in the Long Range Desert Group' .The first of 3 similar books on the Rhodesian Special Forces by the same author.
This title offers a comprehensive view of the Rhodesian contribution to the special forces LRDG during the 2nd World War. Covering the organisation, training and operations, it contains the most detailed account of the Rhodesian patrols of the LRDG - as written by men who were actually there. The book is lavishly illustrated with many previously unseen photos of operations & personnel and includes personal stories by well known men, and details gallantry citations. The upcoming revised 2nd edition SAS Rhodesia and the new Selous Scouts Rhodesia will follow a similar format and includes respectively, full nominal rolls, Rolls of Honour, chronologies, orbats, tables, medals, badges, uniforms, documents, maps and miliaria. There are numerous black & white & colour illustrations throughout, and is officially authorised by the respective local Associations.
Private publication. Nov 2008. Softcover, US Letter size, coffee-table quality, gloss finish, 462 pages, 1000 photos,

Awaiting further stock, expected end July.
(Southern Africa customers - if ordering just this book, please select cheapest P&P in CheckOut - book will be dispatched normally from within SA, within 2 weeks).~"Review"Dear JonathanThank you very much for sending me a copy of your newly published volume on LRDG. It will make a noble addition to my library of books on the same subject, the difference being that this one is so rich in photographs - including no less than 3 of me! ...~LRGD%3A Rhodesia 2|X ISBN 9780620389|~316~12353~~
LRDG Rhodesia: Rhodesians in the Long Range Desert Group - J Pittaway & C Fourie~1st Edition - now 'Out of Print' collectable.
"Not by strength, by guile". This book traces the history of the Rhodesian contribution to the LRDG Patrols from their formation in 1940 to disbandment in 1945. It follows their exploits in the Western Desert, The Agean (including Leros), Middle East & Balkan theatres. Lavishly illustrated with many previously unseen photos of operations & personnel, including such well known leaders as Ralph Bagnold, David Stirling & Le Clerc. The book details gallantry citations, some of which are in the public domain for the first time. It has a full nominal role & a comprehensive order of battle by rank & number. There are numerous black & white & colour illustrations throughout of varied & rare examples of LRDG cloth insignia & badges.
Private publication 1st Edition (2002). Large format (A4 size) hard cover, 268pp, 600 + colour & b/w ills, maps etc.
~~LRDG Rhodesia|ISBN 0620293462|~316~1479~LRDG Rhodesia%3A Rhodesians in the Long Range Desert Group - J Pittaway & C Fourie, rhodesian special forces~
Mapolisa - Some Reminiscences of a Rhodesian Policeman - D Craven~The author's memoirs of his service in the British South Africa Police (BSAP) 1948-69. Capturing a colonial era as the winds of change were blowing across Africa. A delightful account of an ordinary policeman simply getting on with his job in the then Southern Rhodesia, Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe).
ISBN 0 620 22522 X. Size - 222x152mm, 216 pages, 66 b/w illustrations, map.
Price on request~~Mapolisa|ISBN 062022522X|~316~1480~Mapolisa - Some Reminiscences of a Rhodesian Policeman - D Craven~
Masodja: The History of the Rhodesian African Rifles and its forerunner the Rhodesia Native Regiment - Alexandre Binda~Commissioned and compiled by Brigadier David Heppenstall and the Rhodesian African Rifles Regimental Association (UK).
Originally formed as The Rhodesia Native Regiment during World War I, this fine regiment first saw action in East Africa, pitted against the wily von Lettow-Vorbeck and his army of German askaris. Disbanded and later re-formed, the regiment was to distinguish itself during World War II in the North Africa and Burma campaigns. Using the counter-insurgency experience gleaned from the Malayan Campaign of the 1950s, the RAR provided the front-line troops in the battle for Rhodesia in the country's bitter bush war of the 1960s and 1970s. A companion volume to the superb history of the Rhodesian Light Infantry, 'The Saints', this book follows a similar format, and features over 1200 photographs and illustrations, as well as a detailed text.
Includes the award-winning documentary DVD Frontline Rhodesia by Richard Cecil and Nick Downie. This is the first time this extraordinary documentary is available commercially. Available in both NTSC and PAL formats.
2007. ISBN-13 9781920143039. Hardback. 447 pages, 1200 photos.
NOTE - see 'Special Offers' section at bottom of this page~30 Degrees South Publishing, 2007
ISBN-13 9781920143039
Hardcover with dustjacket
400 pages. 26.8 x 22 x 3.6 cm



Includes the award-winning BBC documentary DVD Frontline Rhodesia

Nhowo, pfumo, ne tsvimbo
Shield, spear and knobkerrie
Ndiyo RAR, muhondo ne runyararo
That's RAR, in war and peace
Ndichakutengera sweet banana
I will buy you a sweet banana
Burma, Egypt ne Malaya
Burma, Egypt and Malaya
Takarwa tikakunda
We fought and we conquered
Federation ne Rhodesia
The Federation and Rhodesia
Takarwa tikakunda
We fought and we conquered
Muhondo, muhondo, muhondo
In war, in war, in war
Muhondo RAR, inorwa nokushinga
In war, she fights with bravery

… are some of the lyrics of the Rhodesian African Rifles' regimental march, Sweet Banana … words that magically capture the spirit and ethos of a once-proud regiment, that, barring its colonial past, could, and should have, been the pride of the African continent.

Formed in 1916 as The Rhodesia Native Regiment, its Shona and Ndebele troops were blooded with honour in the East African campaign, pitted against the wily General von Lettow-Vorbeck and his German askaris. Disbanded in 1919, the regiment was re-formed in 1940 during World War II as The Rhodesian African Rifles, seeing action in Egypt and Burma. In the 1950s, the regiment distinguished itself further during the Malayan Emergency.

During the 1960s and 1970s, the regiment was at the forefront of hostilities in the bloody Rhodesian 'bush war'. In the specialist Fireforce role, heli- and para-borne, the soldiers of the RAR were to earn themselves a fearsome reputation as counter-insurgency fighters par excellence.

Ironically, it was after Zimbabwean independence in 1980, that the RAR's finest hour came, when, fighting for their erstwhile enemy, Robert Mugabe, the soldiers of the RAR defeated Joshua Nkomo's invading ZIPRA armies at the battles of Entumbane in Bulawayo.

The sadness and tragedy of it all was how the warriors of the RAR faded, almost unnoticed, into history … Ndichakutengera sweet banana.


Contents include:
The formation of the Rhodesia Native Regiment
RNR operations in East Africa during WWI
Armistice and the disbandment of the RNR
The formation of the RAR
The RAR in the Burma campaign
The RAR in the Malayan Emergency
The Nyasaland Emergency
The RAR in the Rhodesian bush war~Select enclosed DVD version||Masodja (DVD - PAL format)|X ISBN-13 9781920143039|Masodja (DVD - NTSC format)|ISBN-13 9781920143039 NTSC|~316~11632~Masodja, RAR, Rhodesian African Rifles, Brigadier David Heppenstall, Alexandre Binda~
Modern African Wars: Rhodesia, 1965-80 No. 1 - P. Abbott, Philip Botham, Mike Chappell~This book examines the uniforms, equipment, history and organisation of the troops that served in the African Wars of the 20th century. The course of the war is summarised, and security forces are also covered. Uniforms are shown in full illustrated detail.
ISBN 0850457289, 1989, paperback. 42 pages.~~Modern African Wars%3A Rhodesia, 1965-80|ISBN 0850457289|~316~11025~Modern African Wars%3A Rhodesia, 1965-80 No. 1 - P. Abbott, Philip Botham, Mike Chappell~
Never Quite a Soldier: A Rhodesian Policeman's War 1971-1982 - David Lemon~The author was a policeman with Rhodesia's elite British South Africa Police during the Bush War days. His first involvement with the war came when he was member-in-charge of Macheke Police Station. Groups of infiltrating ZANLA guerrillas moved into the area and embarked on a murderous campaign targeting both black and white civilians.The war throughout the country escalated and indiscriminate acts of terror like the bomb detonated in a Woolworths branch in Salisbury that killed 12 black shoppers and wounded 76 more, the June 1978 massacre by ZANLA of nine white missionaries and four children - one a three week old baby, the shooting down of a Viscount airliner and the subsequent massacre of survivors and countless other terrible incidents decided him to join the elite Police Support Unit which comprised 12 companies of fighting policemen, most of them black.The Black Boots as they were known, were as smart or smarter than the Brigade of Guards on parade, and as fighting men they matched or surpassed any elite fighting unit anywhere in the world.This is an amazing firsthand account of the Bush War.
ISBN 1919854223. Trade paperback. 268pp; size 242 X 168mm, 32pp black and white and colour pics, map
NOTE - see 'Special Offers' section at bottom of this page~Galago
ISBN 1-919854-22-3
Trade paperback
268pp; size 242 X 168mm
32pp black and white and colour pics, map



The author was a Rhodesian policeman during the Bush War days. His first involvement with the war came when he was member-in-charge of Macheke Police Station. Groups of infiltrating ZANLA guerrillas moved into the area and embarked on a murderous campaign targeting both black and white civilians.

The war throughout the country escalated and indiscriminate acts of terror like the bomb detonated in a Woolworths branch in Salisbury that killed 12 black shoppers and wounded another 76, the June 1978 massacre by ZANLA of nine white missionaries and four children - one a three week old baby, the shooting down of a Viscount airliner and the subsequent massacre of survivors and countless other terrible incidents decided him to join the elite Police Support Unit which comprised 12 companies of fighting policemen, most of them black.

The Black Boots, as the were known, were as smart or smarter than the Brigade of Guards on parade, and as fighting men they matched or surpassed any elite fighting unit anywhere in the world.

Lemon fought through numerous engagements and contacts until the war ended with the elections in 1980 that brought Robert Mugabe to power and Rhodesia became the new state of Zimbabwe .

But for him the war was far from over and in November 1980 his fighting Charlie Company and the Rhodesian African Rifles were engaged in serious fighting attempting to keep ZIPRA and ZANLA guerrillas away from each others throats in Bulawayo . Fighting again broke out in February 1981 when ZIPRA forces failed in their bid to capture Bulawayo from government forces.

Meanwhile, Mugabe had formed his 5-Brigade (the Gukuruhundi) - comprising ex-ZANLA guerrillas trained by the North Koreans - which embarked on a campaign of genocide against Ndebele civilians in Matabeleland . They murdered their way through the province killing an estimated 15 000 to 30 000 people.

Appalled by this terror campaign and frustrated by the drop in standards the author resigned from the police and left the country in 1983.

This book contains important information as well as photographs regarding President Robert Mugabe's attempted genocide of the Ndebele nation using his notorious Northern Korean-trained 5- Brigade.~Never Quite a Soldier|X ISBN 1919854223|~316~11316~British South Africa Police, rhodesia bush war, ZANLA ZIPRA, 5TH Brigade~
No Mean Soldier - The autobiography of a Professional fighting man - Peter McAleese~"This was the first time I had been in contact and killed anyone. I felt good, I felt fit, I felt hard. But the euphoria was nothing to do with ending another person's life. I felt good because I had not panicked, I had not let down my friends, I had reacted as a professional soldier trained by professional soldiers, and the excitement of the firefight was nothing short of fantastic. I've never taken drugs but I can't believe there is anything which can equal the thrill of battle. I loved it."
Peter McAleese obsessive quest for action and danger took him to many theatres of war - as a British SAS soldier in mountainous Aden and Borneo jungles, as a mercenary for the FNLA in the african bush in Angola, as a Rhodesian SAS soldier in Rhodesia, Zambia and Mozambique, as a South African SADF soldier in Angola .....
292pp; 240 X 162mm; 16pp b/w pics.
ISBN 1-85797-250-3 Hardback.
ISBN 0304356840 Softback~292pp; 240 X 162mm; 16 b/w pics.
ISBN 1-85797-250-3 Hardback.
ISBN 0304356840 Softback


Peter McAleese's record of servicein the world's finest elite regiments is unique. Brought up in Glasgow's tough Shettleston district ('where the boys from the Gorbals came to learn how to scrap'), he was determined from an early age not just to be a soldier, but to be the best.

Joining the Parachute Regiment in 1960, he quickly volunteered for the SAS and saw action first amidst the arid mountains of Aden and then in the jungles of Borneo. When the SAS could no longer provide him with that intense 'high' of battle, he signed up as a mercenary, fighting for Holden Roberto's FNLA in Angola, where he came face-to-face with full-scale Soviet-Cuban armoured columns and the murderous chaos perpetuated by the notorious 'Colonel' Callan.

His obsessive quest for action and danger took him to Rhodesia where he took part in almost continuous operations with the Rhodesian SAS, including parachute assaults on massive ZANLA training camps in Mozambique, covert assassination operations against ANC personnel while attached to the Rhodesian Special Branch. Later, as a soldier in the SADF, he fought against SWAPO guerrillas in Angola and suffered terrible injuries in an ill-fated parachute jump. But it was in Colombia, again fighting as a mercenary, that he came the closest to death, when a daring attempt to assassinate drug baron Pablo Escobar in his mountain stronghold ended in disaster.

Told with great humour and remarkable humanity, Peter McAleese's brutally honest account of 25 years of almost constant combat is a uniquely revealing portrayal of the realities of modern warfare. It is the rivetting story of the ultimate professional soldier.
~Select Edition||No Mean Soldier (S/B)|ISBN 0304356840|No Mean Soldier (H/B)|ISBN 1857972503|~316~1481~No Mean Soldier - The autobiography of a Professional fighting man, Peter McAleese, SAS~

Operation Miracle: Three Bold Airmen - Prop Geldenhuys, Bob Manser, John McKenzie~Compliled by the author of 'Rhodesian Air Force Operations: With Air Strike Log' and 'Nickel Cross', both available on this website.
Operation Miracle is a fascinating story. The Operation consisted of attacks on five well defended ZANLA camps forming the core of the Chimoio Circle that was spread over a large mountainous area of which Monte Cassino was the prominent feature. From an Air Force perspective, this story is, in a nutshell, a sincere tribute to three bold airmen, KIA 3 October 1979. They lie in unmarked graves, God alone knows where. Selous Scout Trooper Gert O'Neill was killed on Day 1 of Operation Miracle, clearing trenches; Trooper Ted Mann was tragically killed later when a captured weapon exploded while being made safe. Their bodies were repatriated and given decent burials. The aircrew that the book honours are Hunter pilot Brian Gordon, and Canberra crew Kevin Peinke and JJ Strydom (SAAF navigator on secondment). They were killed on Day 5 of Operation Miracle, after most of the ground troops had withdrawn from the battle field. Two months later, the ceasefire of the bush war was declared, followed four months later by a change of Government - a Goverment who was really not interested in recovering the aircrew (bodies) who had paid the supreme sacrifice in the defense of their country.
Former airman Bob Manser set out last year in July and not only found the Hunter crash site, but managed to recover parts of the wreckage (metal is a valuable commodity - metal collectors scavenge the countryside to sell scrap to China). Then in November, Bob found the Canberra crash site - and again, miraculously, recovered bits of aircraft wreckage. However, more importantly, when the story broke, Eddy Norris of ORAF's fame, via his fantastic network, flashed the news across the globe .... generated a magnificent response ..... literally from all four corners of our planet. With Eddy Norris's help, the relatives of all three airmen killed in action were traced. Meanwhile, John 'Kutanga Mac' McKenzie, started fashioning a Memorial, at great personal sacrifice, coupled with his ingenuity, to commemorate the event that occurred 29 years ago. With all this information, 'Kutanga Mac' and the author decided to arrange an 'Unveiling of the Miracle Memorial' reunion in Durban, South Africa, together with the launch of this book on the 29th anniversary date - i.e. 3 October 2008 .......
JDP, Oct 2008. Softback A5, 160 pages. Colour and B/W photos~Operation Miracle - 21 September to 6 October 1979. This Operation will be remembered for the loss of Brian Gordon and his Hunter and the shooting down of Canberra crews Kevin Peinke and JJ Strydom. The Rhodesian Army lost Gert O'Neil and Ted Mann. Eleven enemy were accounted for, despite the heavy involvement by the Selous Scouts and Rhodesian Light Infantry.

"Much has been written about the Afro-Rhodesian conflict. Armed aggression continued to escalate, especially with Portugal's withdrawal from Africa. It peaked in the latter half of 1979 - just as the participants to the Lancaster House were gathering in London. Both sides of the armed conflict were pulling out all the stops to gain political leverage at the constitutional talks.

This then is the story about the total loss of a Hawker Hunter fighter ground attack aircraft, and a Canberra bomber, both on the same day, the 3rd October 1979. Even more tragically, the loss of the aircrew was the worst experienced by the Air Force in its entire history. When the new Government came to power, they made no effort to recover the bodies of our fallen colleagues. But, nearly twenty-eight years later former airman Bob Manser miraculously found both the crash sites. The finding was flashed across the globe by Eddy Norris and his ORAFs network.

This all happened between July and November 2007. Congratulatory messages flooded in from all over the world - bringing forth mixed emotions. John McKenzie set about making the Operation Miracle Memorial, while Prop Geldenhuys compiled the commemorative booklet. In doing so, the writer has been reduced to tears and fits of anger occasionally."




"What is it that makes Op Miracle so unique? It was certainly not the first time that the Rhodesian Forces had carried out bold attacks on the enemy, beyond their borders. Nor was it significant in the size of the air or ground effort employed by them. But it was a time when the emphasis was moving inexorably from a bush conflict into a war with sophisticated weapons and technology. The advantage of air superiority, long enjoyed by the Rhodesian Air Force was slipping away.

The crews flying on air operations were well aware that the risks, particularly on cross-border missions, were becoming very high. Negotiations for a political settlement were underway. Only six short months after Op Miracle, a new government would take over the country.

Many Rhodesians had already left their homeland even as it became obvious that the war was drawing to a weary end. The combatants were mentally and physically exhausted and were clamouring for peace.

It was at this time of change that Op Miracle demanded one last, big effort from the Air Force. This was given as always, with courage and determination.

These are the qualities that we now seek to honour and remember after all the years.

Op Miracle symbolises all that was courageous and audacious in the fighting men and women of Rhodesia. It is a tribute to those that made the ultimate sacrifice."

- Tol Janeke~Operation Miracle|X ISBN13 9781920315115|Operation Miracle|9125|~316~12150~Operation Miracle, Rhodesian Air Force~
Ragtime Soldiers, The Rhodesian experience in the 1st World War - P McLaughlin~Many countries remained peaceful backwaters in the years 1914-18, but Southern Rhodesia was not among those which remained aloof. Rhodesians patriotically flocked to the colours in August 1914, impatient to get to the battlefronts. Hundreds of them died or were maimed in this romantic pursuit of the glory of war; illusions were shattered like the bodies of the victims, and few who survived were unmarked by the nightmare through which they had lived. 157 pages, b/w photos & drawings
ISBN 0 86920 232 4 Hardback
ISBN 0 86920 234 0 Softback ~~Select edition||Ragtime Soldiers (S/Cover)|C ISBN 0869202340|Ragtime Soldiers (H/Cover)|C ISBN 0869202324|~316~1482~Ragtime Soldiers, The Rhodesian experience in the 1st World War - P McLaughlin~
Rhodesia Medal Roll: Honours and Decorations of the Rhodesian Conflict 1970 -1981 - David Saffery~The Rhodesia Medal Roll is the first book to list all gazetted recipients of more than 12,000 medals, honours and decorations of the southern African country of Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) from their inception in 1970. It even includes almost 2,000 previously unpublished awards made between September 1979 and the abolition of the Rhodesian honours system in October 1981.
ISBN 0955393604, Paperback. 2006. 316 pages ~Jeppestown Press, Aug 2006
ISBN 0955393604
Paperback, 316 pages, colour throughout.



A quarter of a century since the award of the last honours and decorations of the southern African country of Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), this is your chance to own the definitive roll of medal recipients. Rhodesia Medal Roll is the first book to list all gazetted recipients of Rhodesian honours and decorations from their inception in 1970. It even includes over 1,700 previously unpublished awards made between September 1979 and the abolition of the Rhodesian honours system in October 1981. Authoritative: the product of two years' research in the United Kingdom, South Africa and Zimbabwe. Comprehensive: listing over 12,000 separate awards, including awards to foreign nationals and former members of the Rhodesian security forces Accessible: fully indexed by surname.

With a separate chapter for each award, Rhodesia Medal Roll's large type, spacious layout and generous size (over 6" by 9") make it a pleasure to use -whether researching medals or family history, or simply browsing. Awards are presented in date order, and a full alphabetical index means that it is simple to cross-check awards and confirm entitlements.

A definitive record of the award of Rhodesian honours and decorations, and an indispensable companion for enthusiasts of genealogy, medals or military history of southern Africa. ~Rhodesia Medal Roll|ISBN 0955393604|~316~11196~~
Rhodesian Air Force Operations: With Air Strike Log - Prop Geldenhuys~The author joined the Rhodesian Air Force in 1962 as a young hopeful to attend "No 16 Pilot Training Course" and flew throughout the Rhodesian bush war in a variety of aircraft. The book records the operations of the Rhodesian Air Force during the Rhodesian bush war, and includes a complete log of all the airstrikes carried out as well as maps where these strikes have been meticously plotted, covering the period from 28/04/66 to 23/01/80. This log clearly shows how operations started slowly and built up to a situation where virtually the entire country became involved, with each log entry listing the dates/operational area, names of aircrew, target location, aircraft/s used, weapons expended, and the result/s. There are numerous black and white photographs that illustrate the text, and maps showing locations of strikes, operations, etc. The book also includes brief write-ups about the various operations from 1959 onwards.
ISBN: 978-1-9201-6961-9. July 2007. Softback, A4 sized 296 pages. Maps and photos. Both Black/white and colour editions available.~JDP Publishing
Cover Type: Softback
ISBN-13 978-1-920169-61-9
No of Pages 296
Size A4
Publication Date: July 2007




This book records the operations of the Rhodesian Air Force. It includes a complete log of all the airstrikes carried out as well as maps where these strikes have been meticously plotted. There are numerous black and white photographs that illustrate the text.

Preller "Prop" Geldenhuys joined the Rhodesian Air Force in 1962 as a young hopeful to attend "No 16 Pilot Training Course". He flew during the entire period covered by this book and is thus eminently qualified to write about this subject.




From the forward by Air Vice-Marshal Hugh Clarke Scudamore Slatter

"I am always impressed by those who have the skill, creativity and determination to record a history of important events in a readable, interesting form so that the history will not be forgotten and so that others may get so much enjoyment from it.

This book by Prop Geldenhuys does just that. It is the result of many hours of effort and research, determination and patience, creativity and sensitivity that will be valuable not only to those directly involved with this period in Southern Africa, but to all who read it.

Prop's book joins a growing number of fine, new books set in Southern Africa and deals with the history of various aspects of life in the country and especially life in the latter half of the 20th century. These books are a valuable record, but also play an important role in the remedial process to assuage the pain that many of us who live, or lived, in Africa still feel at this time. Hopefully, they also help awaken the World to the realities of life in Southern Africa in the 20th/21st centuries."



As Group Captain Tol Janeke writes in the introduction:

"... He has painstakingly and methodically recorded the history, not only of the airmen who were privileged to fly the aircraft involved in the air strikes, but so many others.

... Here are the names of soldiers, policemen and internal affairs, men and women who added to the often unheralded courage behind the exciting story of these air strikes. The troops on the ground and those that flew in our aircraft with us, some of whom hated leaving their own familiar environment on the ground and in the bush. .....


To those historians and collectors of militaria, this book is one that fills in much detail.

....... It shows how operations started slowly and built up to a situation where virtually the entire country became involved. The mass of little numbered dots on the maps shows the position of widespread strikes in all the operational areas." ~Select edition||Rhodesian Air Force Operations (B/W)|ISBN 9781920169619|Rhodesian Air Force Operations (Colour)|X ISBN 9781920169619colour|~316~11509~Rhodesian Air Force, raf~
Rhodesian Soldier: And Others who Fought - Chas Lotter~As a field medic, Sergeant Chas Lotter served nine years with frontline units of the Rhodesian Army. It was during these nine years of action, emotion and savage experience that fuelled the poet's fire in Lotter. He started writing poetry "on the backs of cigarette boxes" in an attempt to deal with the realities of the war that surrounded him. From such humble beginnings emerged a series of vivid pictures of an African nation at war. Lotter's first work was published in Peter Badcock's Shadows of War then shortly afterwards, Faces of War - blending Badcock's pencil sketches and Lotter's poetry. Then, in 1984, Chas published this highly acclaimed book - Rhodesian Soldier, this time blending photographs with his verse to form a wide-ranging monograph of the Rhodesian bush war. This remarkable volume is a scarce and much sought after collector's item.
Galago 1984. ISBN-10: 094702008X. Hardback 111 pages. Colour and B/W photos.

Publication status: Out of Print. Scarce - very hard to get, collector status. Few good second hand copies available. Submit form below to request further information / indicate interest / reserve a copy. (Enter code TRS in 4th box).
       
NB - Please replace the text inside the boxes with your details. After clicking on the 'I am interested' button. the webpage should report that the request has been succesfully sent. If it does not, please email us directly instead. Thank you.
~~~316~12489~RLI, rhodesian light infantry~
Rhodesian Special Forces books - LRDG Rhodesia, SAS Rhodesia, Selous Scouts Rhodesia - J Pittaway~The magnificent LRDG Rhodesia: Rhodesians in the Long Range Desert Group and SAS Rhodesia: Rhodesians and the Special Air Service books first came out in 2002/3. Both of these titles have been renamed as well as have been extensively re-worked with a lot of new material being included.
Long Range Desert Group: Rhodesia has been reprinted and is available to order (See above).
The publication of Special Air Service: Rhodesia has been delayed and this new title should be available late 2009. An additional new title in the series - Selous Scouts: Rhodesia is also in the works and should also be available late 2009.

All three books are lavishly illustrated with many previously unseen photos of operations & personnel and includes personal stories by well known men, and details gallantry citations. All the books follow a similar format and include respectively, full nominal rolls, Rolls of Honour, chronologies, orbats, tables, medals, badges, uniforms, documents, maps and miliaria. There are numerous black & white & colour illustrations throughout. The books are softcovered, US Letter size, coffee-table quality, gloss finish, with over 400 pages, 1000 photos, and are officially authorised by their respective local Associations.
Put your name down before the official printing of Special Air Service: Rhodesia and/or Selous Scouts: Rhodesia books to qualify for discounts off the recommended retail price - enter your contact details below ...... (Enter code/s of books interested in 3rd box - SASR and/or SSR.) This is not a commitment to purchase, this is just to add your details to an 'early bird' first come, first serve discount list.
     
~~~316~12490~~
Sabotage and Torture - as told to Barbara Cole~"When they said they were going to charge you, did you realise they meant with electricity?" Air Commodore Phil Pile to Air Vice-Marshal Hugh Slatter and Wing Commader Pete Briscoe.
This torrid, true tale of torture and sabotage (13 ZAF planes were blown up in one attack) in independent Zimbabwe tells of the bizarre events involving a group of loyal Zimbabwean Air Force officers, and brings to readers the horror, the humanism and occasionally the humour behind the story that made head-lines around the world.
3 Knights Publishing, 1988. ISBN 0 620 13026 1. Hardback 202 pages, 16 pages b/w photographs, maps & diagrams.

Out of Print - very few copies left.~3 Knights Publishing, 1988
ISBN 0 620 13026 1. 202 pages, 16 pages b/w photographs, maps & diagrams.
The Air Force that African nationalist Robert Mugabe inherited when he took over as Prime Minister of Zimbabwe, was a potent force of dedicated airmen and well-maintained aircraft which had justifiably earned an enviable reputation in military aviation circles around the world.

Aptly dubbed The Pocket Air Force, it was manned by airmen who were a good blend of youth and experience, and the seven years of war had honed it to a fine edge.

Following the British-sponsored elections of 1980, the form of government changed overnight from the capitalism of Rhodesia to the Socialism/Marxism of Zimbabwe.

Large numbers of skilled airmen emigrated, but those who remained believed in the reconciliation preached by Mugabe, despite the rantings of some of the hot-heads in his Cabinet. After all, it was their country too and they were determined to make the Air Force viable and effective and one of the most sophisticated in black Africa.

However, as time went on, the lack of meaningful communication between the new government and the leaders of the Air Force renewed the mistrust which had been created during the war years.

Suspicions deepened and the leadership element of the Air Force found itself more and more cut off from government intentions and direction.

Then came disaster. A group of saboteurs slipped silently into Thornhill, the midlands Air Force Base, and systematically attacked thirteen strike planes, including four brand-new prestigious Hawk jet fighter/ground-attack bombers, the finest in their class. By the time the devastating explosions and fires had died down, half the country's air defence deterrent lay crippled, twisted and in ashes.

Now, the long-simmering tensions were about to boil over. What happened next was destined to destroy the Air Force as an efficient, operational, fighting service.

Suspicion immediately and illogically fell on the white airmen, and eighteen were indiscriminately rounded up and imprisoned, including many who had helped fight the flames of destruction and pull planes to safety.

Eventually, all but seven (including three high-ranking officers, each destined to become Commander one day) were released and it is the bizarre, torrid experiences of these men that ultimately captured world headlines and caused an international outcry.

The airmen soon found themselves deprived of food and sleep, leg-ironed, handcuffed, with some stumbling barefoot through the African bush with hoods over their heads, looking the very epitome of desperadoes in filthy, smelly, loose-fitting clothes; with lank, greasy hair, wild beards and dark rings under their frightened, bloodshot eyes.

Repeatedly denied access to their lawyers, they were then systematically tortured and traumatised into making false, incriminating statements that told a common story: six of the scapegoats "confessing" to playing a part in what they claimed was a treasonous South African-orchestrated sabotage plot.

Their torturers' attempts to short-circuit the legal system included giving them electric shock treatment and beatings, aided by psychological torture of the worst kind: isolation, disorientation, helplessness and death threats.

"It was as if someone had taken a syringe and sucked out my soul," recalled one victim, pilot Neville Weir. It would take them a year in prison before the airmen could prove their innocence. It was then, in what was to become Zimbabwe's most celebrated court case, that the airmen, the new state of Zimbabwe and its system of justice went on trial.

The airmen's acquittal was followed by their immediate re-detention, which sent shock waves throughout the Western world and had British Premier Margaret Thatcher and American President Ronald Reagan calling for an explanation. They were eventually released and expelled from the country that they had called home; their promising careers in tatters, their futures uncertain.

Now the airmen, initially blackmailed into silence by the Zimbabwean government, tell the true, torrid tale behind all the headlines. They detail the deceit, deception and despair; the brutality and bravery; the horror and the hell that continues to cost them dearly and which caused Zimbabwe such serious loss of face and credibility.

It is a story that will shock you, but not nearly as much as it did the airmen.

Barbara Cole is the author of the best-selling book The Elite, The Story of the Rhodesian Special Air Service, the most detailed SAS book ever written. The Elite has been hailed as a classic book in counter-insurgency and as possibly the best military book to come out of the Rhodesian bush war. Barbara followed this with a companion volume, The Elite Pictorial, which, like its predecessor, gave readers a fascinating insight into the workings of one of the world's most formidable forces. Now, with SABOTAGE, she brings another detailed, intriguing and true account of events in Africa. It is the torrid, true tale of torture and sabotage in independent Zimbabwe and tells of the bizarre events involving a group of loyal Zimbabwean Air Force officers.

Working in close co-operation with the officers and other personalities now scattered throughout the world, Barbara brings readers the horror, the humanism and occasionany the humour behind the story that made headlines around the world.

As a former human interest affairs journalist in England and a High Court reporter on The Rhodesia Herald, Barbara's background was particularly suited to piecing together the myriad of fascinating facets that make up SABOTAGE.

When she is not writing and researching, Barbara runs a publishing company.~Sabotage and Torture|ISBN 0620130261|~316~1483~Sabotage and Torture, Barbara Cole, Rhodesian Air Force pilots~
SAS Rhodesia: Rhodesians and the Special Air Service - J Pittaway & C Fourie~This fine book traces the history of Rhodesian SAS. It follows their exploits in the Southern Africa theatres (Rhodesian Bush war) and also includes WW2, Malaysia, and the Rhodesia Federation. Lavishly illustrated with many previously unseen photos of operations & personnel. The book includes personal stories by well known SAS men, and details gallantry citations, some of which are in the public domain for the first time. It has a full nominal role & a comprehensive order of battle by rank & number, Rolls of Honour, chronologies, citations, orbits, uniforms, weapons, etc. There are numerous black & white & colour illustrations throughout.
Private publication (2004). Hardback large format (A4 size), 320pp, 700 + colour & b/w ills, 8 detailed maps, battle plans.
~Private publication (2004).
Large format (A4 size),
320pp, 700 + colour & b/w ills, 8 detailed maps, battle plans.


A brand new, companion volume to the splendid LRDG Rhodesia. This comprehensive new volume on Rhodesians in the Special Air service covers all aspects of the regiment's operations in World War II, Malaya, The Federation, & the Bush War in Southern Rhodesia including actions in Zambia, through to its final winding up after the 1980 elections which brought Robert Mugabe to power. Included within the book's 320 pages are more than 1,000 colour & black & white illustrations of individuals, units, dress, weapons, equipment, insignia & decorations, plus details of operations, Nominal Rolls, Rolls of Honour, campaign maps & orders of battle. A must for students & historians of twentieth century Special Forces A brand new, companion volume to the splendid LRDG Rhodesia. This comprehensive new volume on Rhodesians in the Special Air service covers all aspects of the regiment's operations in World War II, Malaya, The Federation, & the Bush War in Southern Rhodesia including actions in Zambia, through to its final winding up after the 1980 elections which brought Robert Mugabe to power. Included within the book's 320 pages are more than 1,000 colour & black & white illustrations of individuals, units, dress, weapons, equipment, insignia & decorations, plus details of operations, Nominal Rolls, Rolls of Honour, campaign maps & orders of battle. A must for students & historians of twentieth century Special Forces~SAS Rhodesia|ISBN 0620293470|~316~1484~SAS Rhodesia%3A Rhodesians and the Special Air Service - J Pittaway & C Fourie, rhodesian special forces~
See You in November - The Story of an SAS Assassin - Peter Stiff~* Updated edition with correctons, additional information and photographs (June 2002)
In September 1979 'Taffy', a Rhodesian Central Intelligence Organisation operator, went to London to assassinate Robert Mugabe at the Lancaster House constitutional talks. His plan to detonate an explosive device in the foyer of the Royal Gardens Hotel, Kensington, was advanced to trigger stage when the operation, code named 'November' was called off....
This is the true account of the Rhodesian Intelligence war, told by Taffy, the code name of the leader of the Central Intelligence Organisation’s most secret external operational team. It is an incredible story of more than six years of high adventure, of bravery and of cunning, of fortitude and of an aloneness brought about by the participants being aware that if they were caught, their country, Rhodesia, would disavow all knowledge of them. It is a story that if Rhodesia still existed, would not have been told.
ISBN 1-919854-05-3 Softback - 352pp; 242 X 168mm; 24pp b/w pics. ~ISBN 1-919854-05-3
Softback - 352pp; 242 X 168mm;
24pp b/w pics.



This is the true account of the Rhodesian Intelligence war, told by Taffy, the code name of the leader of the Central Intelligence Organisation’s most secret external operational team. It is an incredible story of more than six years of high adventure, of bravery and of cunning, of fortitude and of an aloneness brought about by the participants being aware that if they were caught, their country, Rhodesia, would disavow all knowledge of them. It is a story that if Rhodesia still existed, would not have been told.

Two of the operators had earned their impeccable credentials in the elite ranks of the unsurpassed covert war school that is Britain’s 22-SAS regiment. The other was a white Zambian farmer, born in that country when it was still Northern Rhodesia.

Although their ranks were thinned first by death and then by capture, they succeeded brilliantly in creating a chasm between Rhodesia’s main insurgent enemies rear based in Zambia, Robert Mugabe’s ZANU and Joshua Nkomo’s ZAPU. They led both parties by the nose on a bewildering dance of death and destruction, making each party believe their rivals were the culprits. By assassinating Herbert Chitepo, ZANU’s chairman, they were responsible for President Kaunda of Zambia arresting all members of the ZANLA Military High Command as murder suspects and expelling ZANU from the country, halting their war effort for 18 months.

The team supplied intelligence for the major Rhodesian raids against Joshua Nkomo’s Soviet-supplied and supported ZIPRA bases in Zambia. They attacked Zambian economic targets to discourage them from supporting Rhodesian dissidents — derailing trains, rocketing a fuel depot and failing only by a stroke of ill fortune from putting the giant Mufulira Copper Mine permanently out of action.

Taffy guided the SAS into Zambia on a daring although abortive raid to kill Nkomo, after ZIPRA had shot down an Air Rhodesia civil airliner with a Soviet-supplied surface-to-air missile, murdering most of the shocked and maimed survivors afterwards.

In September 1979 ‘Taffy’, a Rhodesian Central Intelligence Organisation operator, went to London to assassinate Robert Mugabe at the Lancaster House constitutional talks. His plan to detonate an explosive device in the foyer of the Royal Gardens Hotel, Kensington, was advanced to trigger stage when the operation, code named ‘November’, was called off. The reason why remains a matter for conjecture to this very day.

Included, also, are previously unpublished and sensational details of the training and operations carried out by ‘Taffy’ while serving with Britain’s 22-SAS Regiment and the MI6 plan to assassinate Colonel Gadaffi of Libya, foiled when America’s CIA found out and stopped it.~See You in November|ISBN 1919854053|~316~1485~See You in November - The Story of an SAS Assassin - Peter Stiff , rhodesian special forces~
Selous Scouts: Top Secret War - Lt-Col Ron Reid Daly, as told to Peter Stiff~The story of the elite Selous Scouts Regiment of Rhodesia, (Special Forces psuedo-terrorist unit) formed in 1973 and abolished without benefit of formal disbandment in 1980, when Rhodesia became Zimbabwe. 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.
16 pp b/w photos and illustrations
ISBN 0 620 06674 1. Paperback, 752pages
ISBN 0 620 05771 8. Hardback, 431 pages

Publication status: Out of Print. Few good second hand copies available - hardcover and paperback. Submit form below to request further information / indicate interest / reserve a copy. (Enter code SSTSW in 4th box).
       
NB - Please replace the text inside the boxes with your details. After clicking on the 'I am interested' button. the webpage should report that the request has been succesfully sent. If it does not, please email us directly instead. Thank you.
~~~316~12257~selous scouts, psuedo-terrorist~
Selous Scouts: Rhodesian War, A Pictorial Account - Peter Stiff~A coffee-table pictorial - it tells briefly the story, starting with the hunter, FC Selous, recounting stories of past ingenuities of special forces (SAS), leading up to the formation of the Selous Scouts and the reasons behind the decision to form such a unit. It covers the period from 1973 to 1980. It does not cover in depth the history or of operations, rather the book presents a graphical 'picture' of what life was like in Rhodesia and of some of the scout operations. The photos are predominantly black and white with a handful of color photos sprinkled throughout the book. The pictures are mostly of the Rhodesian Bush War in general with roughly one third of actual Selous Scouts photos of operations, individuals, and miscellaneous day-to-day photos of the scouts themselves. A few of the photos are quite graphic as they portray the reality of war and as well as the brutality of terrorism that was inflicted on the innocent rural black population.
Galago. ISBN-1: 9780947020064, 1984. 194 pages large format, 498 predominately b/w photos.

Publication status: Out of Print, Very Scarce. Few good second hand copies available. Submit form below to request further information / indicate interest / reserve a copy. (Enter code SSPA in 4th box).
       
NB - Please replace the text inside the boxes with your details. After clicking on the 'I am interested' button. the webpage should report that the request has been succesfully sent. If it does not, please email us directly instead. Thank you.
~~~316~12266~~
Stick Leader: RLI - Charlie Warren~Formally titled 'At the Going Down of the Sun' (un-official incomplete edition) - re-edited & re-published officially as 'Stick Leader'.
This is Charlie Warren's account of his service in the Rhodesian Light Infantry (RLI) from 1974 -1980. You will be swept into a vacarious experience of the daily life of a member of this highly effective, elite unit that was involved in most of the hottest action during the Rhodesian war. Charlie relates tales, using the language and slang from that time, from his service with 3 Commando (The Lovers), RLI in their Fire Force role as well as of his (reluctant) qualification as a parachutist at 1 Parachute Battalion (SADF) and his further qualification as a despatcher. His stories of barracks life are interesting but he speaks extensively the stories of combat and operations. He takes you along with him in the K-Car, into contact on the ground. You feel the exhaustion and frustration of combat, the regret and sadness at the loss of comrades. As you share his experiences you will understand his conflicted feelings about his decision not to permit the execution of Robert Mugabe during the time of transition.
JDP Publishing, ISBN-13 978-1-920169-31-2 Mar 2007. Paperback. 322 A5 pages, with numerous b/w photos. POD publication.~JDP Publishing
Cover Type: Paperback
ISBN-10 1-920169-31-8
ISBN-13 978-1-920169-31-2
No of Pages 322
Size A5
Publication Date March 2007

~Stick Leader - RLI|ISBN-13 9781920169312|~316~11339~~
Survival Course - Chris Cocks~Sequel to the best seller, Fireforce (listed above on this page), Survival Course is the story of the author's personal journey, covering the period 1979 to 1995, in Zimbabwe. Set in two parts, the first covers the last 15 months of the Rhodesian bush war during 1979/80 whilst serving in the Rhodesian PATU (Police Anti Terrorst Unit). The second part cover's the author clumsy attempts to deal with civilian life in the newly independent, black African state.
ISBN 0 620 24115 2. Softback, 209 pages, b/w photos, drawings

NOTE - this book has now been re-worked as 'Out of Action'. Available under Rhodesia - Autobographies~~Survival Course|ISBN 0620241152|~316~1465~Survival Course, Chris Cocks, Rhodesian PATU Police Anti Terrorst Unit, bush war~
Taming the Landmine - Peter Stiff~The first book written on the development of the landmine as a tactical weapon combined with the advances made in the design of mine protected vehicles as used during the bush war in Rhodesia and later in South Africa.
The 1950s saw the beginnings of most of the post-war uprisings against colonialism in Asia and Africa. In almost every case the communists provided training as well as weapons to nationalist insurgents. The landmine, instead of being used principally in its more usual role of holding up the advance of motorised enemy forces, began being deployed as a terrorist weapon to halt the movement of all civil and military vehicles in an effort to bring a country's economy to a halt and strangle the ruling administration. In the Portuguese colonial wars in Africa, the insurgents' landmine tactics worked exceptionally well. The Portuguese found no effective way of combatting them. In the early 1970s, the landmine menace spread to both the South African-controlled Caprivi strip of South West Africa (now Namibia) and to Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). Both countries were stumped in their first efforts to find an answer, but they found it. A number of revolutionary ideas, including the v-shaped vehicle hull to deflect the blast of landmines, were successfully developed in both countries to minimise the explosive effects of vehicles and to reduce injuries and the deaths of people being carried in them. This told for the first time, is the remarkable story of those developments as well as the historical events that shaped them.
IBSN 0 9470 2004 7 Size 330x245mm, 128 pages, over 300 illustrations.~Galago
IBSN 0 9470 2004 7
Size 330x245mm, 128 pages, over 300 illustrations.




The first book written on the development of the landmine as a tactical weapon combined with the efforts made to combat its devastating effects.

It was the advent of superior firepower in the 19th Century, particularly the machine gun, which caused soldiers to cease fighting in the open and seek cover in trenches. A natural follow-on was the appearance of barbed wire to defend those trenches against attack. The stalemate of the trenches in World War-1 was finally broken by the tank, a weapon designed to crush barbed wire entanglements, cross trenches and provide a protective steel shield behind the safety of which the crews could fight the opposing infantry. The landmine, developed by the Germans to combat the tank, made its first tentative appearance in the final stages of the war.

World War-2 saw radical developments. The British and French hierarchy who still viewed the tank in much the same light as they had in the last war, were rudely surprised when the Germans utilised them in powerful and fast-moving formations with motorised infantry in support, to break through battle lines and cleave through the soft underbelly of the rear echelons.

By the end of the war both the Allied and Axis powers had adopted the same armoured tactics. The unglamorous and inglorious landmine laid by the tens of thousands to combat armoured breakthroughs, or making landings from the sea, had become a major weapon in the hands of all armies. To breach minefields, the South African-invented flail tank and other devices such as mine rollers were brought into service by the Allies and used with great effect at the Battle of El Alamein and later on the Normandy beaches.

The 1950s saw the beginnings of most of the post-war uprisings against colonialism in Asia and Africa. In almost every case the communists provided training as well as weapons to nationalist insurgents and successfully prised them away from Western influences. The landmine, instead of being used principally in its more usual role of holding up the advance of motorised enemy forces, began being deployed as a terrorist weapon to halt the movement of all civil and military vehicles in an effort to bring a country's economy to a halt and strangle the ruling administration. In the Portuguese colonial wars in Africa, the insurgents' landmine tactics worked exceptionally well. The Portuguese found no effective way of combatting them. In the early 1970s, the landmine menace spread to both the South African-controlled Caprivi strip of South West Africa (now Namibia) and to Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). Both countries were stumped in their first efforts to find an answer, but they found it. A number of revolutionary ideas, including the v-shaped vehicle hull to deflect the blast of landmines, were successfully developed in both countries to minimise the explosive effects of vehicles and to reduce injuries and the deaths of people being carried in them. This told for the first time, is the remarkable story of those developments as well as the historical events that shaped them.



Reviews and comments

A welcome addition to the limited amount of published material on that crucial topic for combat engineers - mine warfare. Peter Stiff has prepared a profusely illustrated book, aimed particularly at the lessons learned during the low level operations in Rhodesia and South Africa . . . the excellent photographs throughout provide much scope for reflection.
Few of us have had the misfortune to face the effects of mine devastation, but these photographs provide sobering insights into the consequences . . .
Royal Engineers Journal - Great Britain

Peter Stiff in his book Taming the Landmine reveals how South Africa, by learning from Rhodesia's experience, has taken the lead among Western nations in securing a highly sophisticated landmine-protection industry . . .The Star - Johannesburg

Peter Stiff, best known for his books on the Rhodesian bush war and the Selous Scouts, has found an unusual subject for his latest effort and has written the first book on the development of the landmine as a tactical weapon.The Citizen - Johannesburg

A well documented book by Peter Stiff, an authoritative writer, provides interesting and important reading.Paratus - South Africa

The book, a truly incredible work by Peter Stiff . . . a meticulous researcher.South African Sapper

South Africa, and before it, Rhodesia, was forced by necessity to find solutions to the threat of mines and I wonder what our solutions would be, faced with a similar threat, because I've seen very little so far to suggest we've given the problem anything more than passing interest.Army (Australia)

I have read with interest Peter Stiff's SA Bush war trilogy, Taming the Landmine, and others. It was (is) really stupid of the US forces to use those unarmoured and makeshift-armoured Humvees in Iraq. We should have bought Casspirs or at least licensed production of them. Robert Starnes Pleasanton, CA 94588 United States 44

I can't help thinking that the British and American forces in Iraq would do better with Casspirs than their soft-skinned Land-Rovers and Humvees. I have written to every National newspaper and TV broadcaster in the UK to try to publicise this fact without an answer. Graham Smith, Poole UK

If you don't have this book or have not read it, you are simply not on top of the world of the mine, countermine and counter-ambush. This book should be purchased en mass by the US Army and made a standard student text at the Combat Engineer School. Peter Stiff shows how the armies in the southern African area SOLVED the landmine, automatic weapons fire ambush, and if we want to avoid learning the same lessons all over again at a high cost in destroyed lives, we should read and heed this book's ideas into our own army. This is NOT being done as combat engineering concerns have been marginalised by armor/infantry branch officers dominating decision-making even though the landmine is the biggest killer of our soldiers since Vietnam. Sam Damon Jr - Fort Bragg, NC, USA.

A very good illustrated book on landmine-protected vehicles. Peter Stiff has written an excellent account of the evolution of landmine-protected vehicles in southern Africa. Apart from an initial section on early armoured vehicles and their protective capabilities, the book focuses on the development thru trial, error and experience of mine protected vehicles firstly in Rhodesia in response to the terrorist mining campaign and then in South Africa as the threat escalated. The book contains a large number of photographs of the various vehicles that were developed and used, culminating with the current South African mine-protected armoured fighting vehicles which are some of the best available in the world. All in all it's a very good read while the accompanying photos really make the book. A reader - Amazon.com

I truly think that this is a valuable contribution to the recording of the development of armaments for the particular type of conflict in southern Africa. P G Marais - Chairman, Armaments Corp of South Africa

Defence Minister General Malan has noted the contents of the book with interest and appreciation. Capt H C M Burger - Military Secretary: Ministry of Defence

It has been an interesting experience working with such an obvious expert in this field as yourself. Col J C Beyers - PP Chief of the SA Defence Force

I found the book to be a first-rate account of the Rhodesian and South African efforts at beating the landmine. Peter Cooke - Wellington, New Zealand~Taming the Landmine|ISBN 0947020047|~316~1487~Taming the Landmine - Peter Stiff~
The Bush War in Rhodesia: The Extraordinary Combat Memoir of a Rhodesian Reconnaissance Specialist - Dennis Croukamp~Originally titled as Only My Friends Call Me "Crouks" : Rhodesian Reconnaissance Specialist - (This edition now 'Out of Print')
This is a soldier's story told simply, with feeling, humour and without heroics. It also gives a fascinating insight into the personality of the author, who relates his personal experiences in a down-to-earth, no bull style of storytelling. In his career as a soldier for 16 years, Dennis at first served in an Rhodesian infantry unit (RLI) but later served as member of the elite special forces Selous Scouts under the command of Lieutanant-Colonel Ron Reid-Daly. He became an reconnaissance specialist and saw action on all border areas of Rhodesia and also in Mozambique, Zambia and Botswana. The author tells it as it was, unvarnished, seen from the ground-level, no effort to safeguard careers.
ISBN-13 9781581606140, Softback. 477 pages. 2007.
*** A HIGHLY RECOMMENDED READ ***
NOTE - see 'Special Offers' section at bottom of this page
1 copy of the original 2007 reprint edition available.~Paladin Press USA, 2007
(First published in South Africa, Mar 2006, reprinted 2nd Edition Feb 2007 - titled as 'Only My Friends Call Me "Crouks" : Rhodesian Reconnaissance Specialist')
ISBN-13 9781581606140
Softback, 464 pages



This is not a book for the faint hearted!
The language is the language of the young men who were engaged in the bush war in Rhodesia in the sixties and seventies and will unquestionably shock the majority of the readers - so will the graphic descriptions of many of the encounters described by Dennis Croukamp.
It is, however, the finest soldier's story that I have ever come across - the story of a courageous and extraordinary young man who joined the Rhodesian Army to fight and who, over a period of sixteen years, never stopped fighting.


K R Coster
Lieutenant General (retired)
2004


This is a soldier's story told simply, with feeling, humour and without heroics. It also gives a fascinating insight into the personality of the author, who relates his personal experiences in a down-to-earth, no bull style of storytelling. After 35 years the Rhodesian bush war has been largely forgotten, but the author's front line account will rekindle the memories and depict the bush war from a squaddie's point of view.

Dennis Croukamp was born in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) and lived an idyllic life in the bush. As a young boy he spent his free time fishing and hunting and had shot his first buck at the age of seven. After leaving school he was called up to do his national service and thereafter in January 1965 enlisted in the Rhodesian Light Infantry as a Private. He served in the Rhodesian Army until 1980, rising through the ranks to eventually retire with the rank of Warrant Officer.

In his career as a soldier, Dennis at first served in an infantry unit, but later served as member of the elite Selous Scouts under the command of Lieutanant-Colonel Ron Reid-Daly. During the late 1960's the Rhodesian bush war started and ZANU and ZAPU guerillas infiltrated into the country. As a member of the armed forces, Dennis was often involved in skirmishes with the guerrillas. In 1970, not only did he become the most junior rank officer to be awarded the Rhodesian Bronze Cross, but also the first recipient for gallantry and determination in action after a fierce battle.

As a member of the famed Selous Scouts, Dennis became a reconnaissance specialist and carried out numerous reconnaissance missions in Mozambique. Whilst on one of his missions he became seperated from his two companions and spent the following six days making his way back to Rhodesia, all the while being pursued by FRELIMO soldiers. During this epic escape and evasion saga, Dennis had no communication with his base; he had no food or support and had to walk nearly 200 kilometres to get back to Rhodesia.

Dennis experienced guerrilla warfare from its inception in Rhodesia in 1967 until the cease-fire in 1979 and the eventual transition from Rhodesia to Zimbabwe. He had an exciting and adventurous career; was wounded in combat, and saw action on all border areas of Rhodesia and also in Mozambique, Zambia and Botswana. Some senior officers have told their experiences of the Rhodesia bush war, but this book gives the views and experiences of a man in the rank and file of the Rhodesian Army. He pulls no punches in telling his story and the book reflects his ability as a narrator.~Select edition||The Bush War in Rhodesia|ISBN 1920094148|Only My Friends Call Me %22Crouks%22|ISBN 1920094148|~316~11268~Dennis Croukamp, Rhodesian Reconnaissance Specialist, Selous Scouts, rhodesian light infantry RLI, Ron Reid-Daly, bush war frelimo zanu zapu guerillas, psuedo-terrorist unit, elite special forces, Only My Friends Call Me %22Crouks%22,~
The Chopper Boys: Helicopter Warfare in Africa - Al J Venter~In Association with Neal Ellis and Richard Wood.
A study of helicopter warfare in sub-Saraha Africa, from the war in Rhodesia (1962-80) to the last days of Somalia. (pre-1994). The largest part of book covers the South African Wars, with a fair section on the Rhodesian Bush War.
ISBN-13 978-1853671777 1994. Hard cover, Large format, 240 pages, numerous colour and b/w photos, maps and plans.
Out of Print, few good condition copies available.~From the book's jacket
It was the French who began to use the helicopter as a 'gunship' in the mid-1950s in Algeria. Until then helicopters had been employed mainly for the evacuation of casualties, search and rescue, observation and troop transport.

They first deployed armed helicopters during a battle with Muslim rebel forces in the Atala Mountains. During that action a French commander strapped a man with an automatic rifle in each litter and sent the helicopter up against the rebels, apparently with good success.

Since then helicopters have become the mainstay of most governments engaged in counter-insurgency or semi-conventional conflicts, notably in Africa, the Middle East, South and Central America and Asia. After Vietnam it was Africa that commanded the most interest among helicopter enthusiasts: first with the French in Algeria, then later in Chad and afterwards with Portugal fighting a succession of guerilla campaigns in Angola, Portuguese Guinea and Moçambique. Then came the Rhodesian war, where the use of helicopters in combat became a fine art - the concept of quick reaction 'Fireforce' was born here; and, most recently, the South African border war and the conflict in Angola.

There were other events in which helicopters were used in Africa, and this books deals with many of them: the succession of army mutinies that plagued East Africa after independence, the civil war in Nigeria, the perennial war against drugs, seen here in the mountains adjacent to Lesotho; helicopters at sea in both operational and lifesaving functions; the search for poachers and the use of helicopters by the South African Police in the dreadful carnage caused by black-on-black tribal faction-fighting in South Africa.

Somalia features in this work too. Who has not seen pictures or images on TV of American gunships hovering over Mgadishu? Or the more tragic shots of shattered Blackhawks, shot down by recalcitrant Somali warriors? Al Venter spent time in the Horn of Africa to compile a complete portrait of helicopter operations in that sad country.

To give a farily complete picture, a variety of other uses of helicopters are also dealt with, including joint American-Egyptian military exercises in the desert and the rescue of hundreds of passengers from the sinking passenger liner Oceanos, which went down in the Indian Ocean in August 1991 without loss of life.~The Chopper Boys|ISBN-13 978-1853671777|~316~12227~~
The Elite - The Story of the Rhodesian SAS - Barbara Cole~The best-selling account of Special Forces "C" Squadron, the SAS during the Rhodesian bush war of the 1970s. First published in 1985, this book is timeless in content and appeal. The Rhodesian Special Air Service, one of the most formidable fighting forces in the world, operated almost exclusively across the Rhodesian border during the long bitter bush war undertaking deep-penetration missions against insurgents being harboured inside neighbouring Mozambique, Zambia and Botswana. Long before the war escalated and the whole region became their battlefield and they were responsible for some of the most audacious and highly sensitive missions of the war.
450 pages, 56 b/w photographs, maps. (Hardcover edition has some colour photos)
ISBN 0 620 08517 7. Softback (Out of Print)
ISBN 0 620 07421 3 . Hardback Mint copies (Very few copies left - now Out of Print)

Second hand copies also available, hardback and paperback editions - in various conditions. If interested, let us know.~



~The Elite (H/Cover)|ISBN 0620074213|~316~1488~The Elite - The Story of the Rhodesian SAS - Barbara Cole, rhodesian special forces~
The Elite Pictorial: Rhodesian Special Air Service - Barbara Cole~A pictorial sequel account of the best-selling book 'The Elite - The Story of the Rhodesian SAS' containing new pictures and stories about the crack SAS unit.
ISBN 0620093765 1986. Large format hard cover, 168 pages, Numerous colour & b/w photos, illustrations & maps throughout.

Publication status: Out of Print. Scarce - hard to get, collector status. Few good second hand copies available, some autographed, some with or without inscriptions. Submit form below to request further information / indicate interest / reserve a copy. (Enter code TEP in 4th box).
       
NB - Please replace the text inside the boxes with your details. After clicking on the 'I am interested' button. the webpage should report that the request has been succesfully sent. If it does not, please email us directly instead. Thank you.
~~~316~12226~BSAP~
The Incredibles: The story of the 1st Battalion, the Rhodesian Light Infantry - Geoffrey Bond~One of the earliest books written on the Rhodesian Light Infantry. Nicknamed 'The Saints' or 'The Incredibles', the RLI was originally formed as a light infantry regiment in 1961, reformed as a commando Battalion in 1965, and then became a parachute Battalion in 1977.
Sarum Imprint 1977. ISBN 0797402330. Softback 159 pages.

Publication status: Out of Print. Scarce - very hard to get, collector status. Few good second hand copies available. Submit form below to request further information / indicate interest / reserve a copy. (Enter code TI:RLI in 4th box).
       
NB - Please replace the text inside the boxes with your details. After clicking on the 'I am interested' button. the webpage should report that the request has been succesfully sent. If it does not, please email us directly instead. Thank you.
~~~316~12461~RLI, rhodesian light infantry~
The Long Journey - Roy Banwell~"Have you ever served in the Armed forces? Or have you ever wondered what your loved one is getting up to while he or she away? This book is all about my 22 years in the UK Armed forces. From my training to my finale in Bosnia. From a naive Private to Warrant Officer in one of the truly great Infantry Regiments. There is no rose coloured glasses. Just the reality of the pain, hardship and fun of serving in Her Majesty's Forces. The joys of comradeship and the frustrations of working alongside people you at times detest. The bizarre times when your life is in limbo, when everyone you meet has one aim, to 'kill you', by any means possible. To be able to smile at people and say 'Good morning' while they are spitting in your face. To give aid to someone you would sooner dispatch to the next world, takes a special kind of courage. The kind of courage the soldiers of Her Majesty's Forces have in bucket loads. This is my story, I hope you enjoy it."
Lulu 2007. ISBN-13 9780955542701, Paperback

Editor's note - the author served a stint in Rhodesia with the Commonweath Monitoring Forces, during the bush war cease-fire and leading up to the first Zimbabwean elections .~Lulu 2007
Paperback 194 pages
ISBN-13 9780955542701



Extracts

Rhodesia

........I had been away, adventure training with our platoon. On our return the buzzword going around Aliwal Bks, Tidworth was 'Rhodesia'. Within ten minutes of entering camp I was whisked into the OC's Office, he informed me that the Bn was putting together a twenty-man team to go to Rhodesia. Its mission was to assist in the disarming of the guerrilla forces in the country prior to elections taking place. The OC wished to put my name forward to the CO, for consideration for selection to the team. The CO endorsed his choice and I was left to go home after two weeks away and inform my wife that I was going away again.

.........After an overnight stay at South Cerney we flew out to Nairobi on route to Rhodesia. Landing at Nairobi we were treated with hostility, at first the authorities would not allow us to disembark from the plane while it refuelled. Finally when we were allowed off; we were taken under armed guard and locked in a small room (away from prying eyes) at the far end of the runway. I felt insulted, that members of the British Armed Forces could be treated this way (I told you I was naive). I had visions of us on a mercy mission to help their fellow countrymen to achieve democracy (more naivety). On reflection, I suppose that officials in this country might act pretty much the same, if a large group of foreign soldiers, (armed to the teeth) arrived at Heathrow on route somewhere. After the fuel stop our long journey continued down Africa, towards the troubled boarders of Rhodesia.

.........The Monitoring Force largely consisted of the British, but with Australian, Fijian, Kenyan and New Zealand detachments. In the main the British would go out and monitor the cease-fire on the ground and the other detachments would set up the collection areas for the guerrillas. Once we had contacted the Guerrilla forces in the bush. It was explained that we would be inserted into our areas of responsibility the next day. We were reliably informed that the local population was fully aware that we were coming and what our mission was. This information had been broadcasted on the wireless and in the papers for a couple of weeks. At the time we didn't know that where we were going, the local population in the main didn't have radios never mind local papers.

.........The general brief from the C130 loadmaster was, the plane would do a short take off and then spiral upwards within the footprint of Salisbury airport. He stressed it was important to gain height fast to avoid being shot at. Once we had enough height the plane would clear the densely populated area around the capital, Salisbury. Then once clear the C130 would fly very low, to avoid detection until it was too late for any ground forces to do anything about it. On arrival at our drop off airfield the C130 would do a short fast landing open the back cargo doors and while the plane was still in motion, we would drive off the two Landrovers with all our party on board. The C130 would then accelerate away and take off without stopping.

.........The mission was now deserted, our escort told us that this was normal when any military force arrived, the locals would dissolve into the bush for fear of being killed. It would be two days before people started to drift back to their homes. Our escort left us to fend for ourselves, (they were certain and told us), they would be back to collect our bodies later.

.........We could hear them coming long before we could see them. We could hear hundreds of men chanting in unison, banging their weapons and stamping their feet. They appeared at the village end of the football field. In five ranks they came out of the bush running along in tight formation waving their Kalashnikov's and RPG7's in the air, banging them together and stamping their feet in the dusty earth. The chanting started low and built up to a fever pitch, a second row of five ranks appeared until they were ten deep and covered the whole length of the field. A lot of men at any time, when they are all carrying Kalashnikov's and chanting like Zulu's, definitely too many. You could say we were out numbered.~The Long Journey|ISBN-13 9780955542701|~316~11574~British monitoring forces~
The Rain Goddess - Peter Stiff~In the late 1960s to early 1970s Peter Stiff was a senior officer in the British South Africa Police, Rhodesia. Internal insurgency combined with major armed guerrilla incursions from Zambia had commenced, but the government played them down to the public at large. In an effort to maintain public morale/ignorance only the police, and latterly regular army soldiers, were deployed on counter-insurgency operations. The government was determined to avoid casualties amongst young national servicemen.Stiff did not subscribe to the view that the public should be kept in the dark. After resigning his commission in 1972 he wrote The Rain Goddess, a 'fictional' account of the bush war based on his own experiences and those of his former police comrades. It was impossible to write it as non-fiction because this would have carried the sanction of a prosecution under the Official Secrets Act. The Rain Goddess served its intended purpose and alerted an amazed Rhodesian public to the undeclared war then raging on its doorstep.
ISBN 1-919854-06-1. 5th edition, softcover; 256pp; 242 X 168mm~~The Rain Goddess|ISBN 1919854061|~316~11311~The Rain Goddess, Peter Stiff~
The Rhodesian War: A Military History - Paul Moorcraft~Originally titled Chimurenga! The War in Rhodesia 1965-1980, first published in 1982, this new version has had a comprehensive re-write and has been heavily updated.
This book depicts the military history of Southern Rhodesia from the first resistance to colonial rule, through the period of UDI (Unilateral Declaration of Independence) by the Smith government to the Lancaster House agreement that transferred power. There are vivid accounts of the operations against the 'guerillas' by the security forces and the intensity of the fighting will surprise readers. Atrocities were undoubtedly committed by both sides but equally the protagonists were playing for very high stakes. But this is more than just a book on military operations. It provides expert analysis of the historical situation and examines events up to the present day, including Mugabe's operations against rival tribes and white farmers. For a thorough work on its subject this book cannot be bettered. Essential reading for those wishing to learn more about a counter-insurgency campaign. The ingenuity of the Rhodesian military fighting against overwhelming odds and restricted by sanctions is impressive but the outcome culminating in the Lancaster House Agreement was inevitable.
April 2008. Hardcover. 208 pages ~~The Rhodesian War|ISBN 9781844156948|~316~11851~moorcraft, bush war,~
The Saints: The Rhodesian Light Infantry - Alexandre Binda~Compiled and edited by Chris Cocks, bestselling author of Fireforce: One Man's War in the Rhodesian Light Infantry
The history of the Rhodesian Light Infantry, arguably one of the most effective counter-insurgency units of all time. This was the unit that brought the 'Fireforce' concept to the world's attention - the devastatingly ruthless airborne envelopment and annihilation of a guerrilla enemy. Dubbed "The Killing Machine" by Charles D. Melson, chief historian of the US Marine Corps, the RLI was a veritable 'foreign legion' with over 20 diverse nationalities serving in her ranks. The RLI, fought the bitter Zimbabwean 'bush war' for 15 years, against the overwhelming tide of communist-trained guerrillas. Kill rates do not win wars, but during its brief history, it is estimated that the RLI accounted for between 12,000 and 15,000 enemy guerrillas, for the loss of 135 men. RLI soldiers were recipients of four Silver Crosses and 42 Bronze Crosses of Rhodesia. One of the RLI troopers holds the world record for operational parachute descents - a staggering 73 op jumps - most under 500 feet! This magnificent 544 page, full-colour, coffee-table format book captures this fine regiment with the inclusion of comprehensive listings, written contributions, and over 1,500 previously unpublished photos, illustrations and maps. It is not intended as a definitive history but, with more of a classic 'scrapbook' feel, the presentation attempts to capture the essence of this fine unit - what it was like to be a troopie, one of the 'ouens'.
ISBN 978-1-920143-07-7 June 2007. Hardcover. 544 pages. Includes 90 min DVD 'The Saints' with previously unseen combat footage - available in both NTSC and PAL formats.
NOTE - see 'Special Offers' section at bottom of this page~30 Degrees South Publishing
ISBN 978-1-920143-07-7.
Hardcover with dustjacket
544 pages. 260 x 215mm



Compiled and edited by Chris Cocks, bestselling author of Fireforce: One Man's War in the Rhodesian Light Infantry.

At last! the history of the Rhodesian Light Infantry. We've seen the stories of the more 'glamorous' Selous Scouts, the SAS and the Rhodesian Air Force, but very little about the RLI, often underrated, but arguably one of the most effective counter-insurgency units of all time. This was the unit that brought the 'Fireforce' concept to the world's attention-the devastatingly ruthless airborne envelopment and annihilation of a guerrilla enemy. Dubbed "The Killing Machine" by Charles D. Melson, chief historian of the US Marine Corps, the RLI was a veritable 'foreign legion' with over 20 diverse nationalities serving in her ranks.

The RLI, a truly international airborne battalion, comprised of over 20 nationalities, fought the bitter Zimbabwean 'bush war' for 15 years, against the overwhelming tide of communist-trained guerrillas. Kill rates do not win wars, but during its brief history, it is estimated that the RLI accounted for between 12,000 and 15,000 enemy guerrillas, for the loss of 135 men. RLI soldiers were recipients of four Silver Crosses and 42 Bronze Crosses of Rhodesia. One of the RLI troopers holds the world record for operational parachute descents - a staggering 73 op jumps - most under 500 feet!

A glossy coffee-table, pictorial format with hundreds of colour photos, maps, rolls, honours and awards. It is not intended as a definitive history but, with more of a classic 'scrapbook' feel, the presentation attempts to capture the essence of this fine unit-what it was like to be a troopie, one of the 'ouens'.

Chris Cocks and Andre Binda have accessed a host of unique, previously unpublished photos and illustrative material and many former RLI members have embraced the project, generously contributing photos, memorabilia and anecdotes. Ian Smith has written his tribute in the front and the foreword is by RLI's last Commanding Officer, Lieutenant-Colonel Charlie Aust. The book cover has a magnificent new painting of 'RLI in Action' by Craig Bone.




Alex Binda

Alexandre Binda was born in Beira, Mozambique in 1945. He joined the Rhodesian Army in 1965. Although he had attested into the Pay Corps, he was to get more operational and combat experience than any of his colleagues. Between 1968 and 1972 he took part in a dozen or so deployments with 1RLI and SAS combat-tracker teams in support of the Portuguese Army in the Tete Province of Mozambique, countering Frelimo and ZANLA guerrilla incursions from the north. He was awarded a Military Forces Commendation. During his 15 years in the Rhodesian Army, he did a four-year tour of duty of with the Selous Scouts and was commissioned in 1979. Alex is a keen student of African military history and has written several articles for Lion & Tusk, the magazine of the Rhodesian Army Association. He is also author of Masodja-A History of the Rhodesian African Rifles - to be published in 2007.




~Select enclosed DVD version||The Saints%3A The RLI (DVD - PAL format)|X ISBN 9781920143077|The Saints%3A The RLI (DVD - NTSC format)|ISBN 9781920143077 NTSC|~316~11459~Rhodesian Light Infantry, The Saints, RLI counter-insurgency unit, Fireforce, chris cocks, Alexandre Binda~
'The Saints - RLI' Book Launch ceremony DVD~The publishers of The Saints - The Rhodesian Light Infantry launched their well produced RLI regimental history book at a grand event held at the Guards Museum, Wellington Barracks, London, June 2007. The response was over-whelming and very encouraging with more than 400 guests attending from all over the world. Brig. John Essex-Clark OC A Company, who saw the RLI through its infancy and is a veteran of the Vietnam war, welcomed the guests. Other speeches were made by Kerrin Cocks, Director of 30° South Publishers and Alex Binda, author of this fine work and the guest of honour, Marquess of Salisbury. The launch featured a half hour beating of the retreat by the band of the Scotts Guards in tribute to the soldiers of the RLI. The last commanding officer of the regiment, Col. Charlie Aust, took the final salute, the first time he has been formally saluted in 28 years, the last time being at the RLI's final parade in Harare, Zimbabwe. This moving DVD is available in both NTSC and PAL formats.
30° South Publishers, 2008.
NOTE - see 'Special Offers' section at bottom of this page~~Select DVD version||The Saints Launch DVD - PAL format|X 8967|The Saints Launch DVD - NTSC format|8968|~316~11711~Rhodesian Light Infantry, RLI, The Saints~
The Silent War: South African Recce operations 1969-1994 - Peter Stiff~This book covers South African military operations during the apartheid years. It includes the Recces manning and staffing Rhodesia's 'D' Squadron SAS, and, after the fall of Rhodesia, how the Rhodesian SAS and Selous Scouts were re-formed as Recce units in South Africa. This amazing book tells not only the story of South Africa's special elite forces, it has also been described as the most important and frank history of South Africa itself during the apartheid years. It is also the most illuminating book on special forces published anywhere. Not only does Stiff deal with military operations but he also explains the political dynamics that prompted them.
Size - 242x168mm, 608 pages, 24 pp b/w and colour illustrations.
ISBN 0 620 24300 7 - hardcover (out of print / stock)
ISBN 1 919854 04 5 - softcover~Galago
ISBN 0 620 24300 7 - hardcover (out of print / stock)
ISBN 1 919854 04 5 - softcover
Size - 242x168mm, 608 pages, 24 pp b/w and colour illustrations.



This amazing book tells not only the story of South Africa's special forces, it has also been described as the most important and frank history of South Africa itself during the apartheid years. It is also the most illuminating book on special forces published anywhere. Not only does Stiff deal with military operations but he also explains the political dynamics that prompted them. It is wide ranging and covers the first counter-insurgency operations in Namibia in 1966, a commando raid on Dare-es-Salaam, the Fox Street Siege, South Africa's intervention into Angola in 1975 and subsequent pull-out, the rise of insurgency in Moçambique, South Africa's reentry into Angola, strikes against SWAPO bases in Zambia, the training and assistance to UNITA, the fight against ZANLA and ZIPRA in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) and how the Recces staffed Rhodesia's 'D' Squadron SAS, the fall of Rhodesia, how the SAS and Selous Scouts were reformed as Recce units in South Africa, the selection and training of special forces, the raid against the ANC at Matola in Moçambique, South African assistance to RENAMO and Recce operations in Moçambique, Lesotho, Cabinda, Botswana and Zambia. It also deals in detail with the final days of apartheid South Africa and explains how close the country was to a right-wing coup d'etat.

It was a book that should not have been published. In 1986 Stiff was invited by the Chief SADF to write a history of the Recces, but two years later when it was discovered he had discovered far more about secret operations than intended, permission was withdrawn and he was threatened with prosecution under the Official Secrets Act. He had to wait until after the 1994 election before he could again pick up his pen.~The Silent War (S/B)|X ISBN 1919854045|~316~1489~The Silent War%3A South African Recce operations 1969 - 1994 - Peter Stiff, rhodesian special forces~
The War Diaries of Andre Dennison - JRT Wood~Major Andre Dennison, formerly of the British paras and 22-SAS Regiment, became the first commanding officer of 'A' Company of the 2nd Battalion of the elite Rhodesian African Rifles on 1 October 1975 and retained that command until he was killed in action on 3 June 1979.His war diary, the only official one of any unit to survive the Rhodesian bush war, edited by reknowned author, Richard Wood, is a remarkable unique record of the intensive warfare in the African bush.
Another fighting soldier, Johan Meiring, Bronze Cross of Rhodesia, said about Dennison that 'somehow his battles seemed bigger, brighter, and bolder. His war was always noisier, far noisier, than the fights of other soldiers. At one stage of the Rhodesian conflict, 'A' Company 2-RAR held the current record, notching up the largest single kill of the war, eliminating 32 of the enemy after a bloody day-long battle on Rhodesia's south-eastern border with Mozambique.An unique aspect of this book is when Dennison writes of being called out by the Selous Scouts to a terrorist sighting, Lieutenant-Colonel Ron Reid-Daly has provided the background story to the incident and, In many instances, adds to the outcome.
ISBN 0-620-13545-X Hardback 1989. 394pp; 236 X 153mm; maps and b/w pics.~ISBN 0-620-13545-X Hardback, 1989.
394pp; 236 X 153mm; maps and b/w pics.



When the Rhodesian Army recruited Andre Dennison In 1975, it could not have chosen better. It secured the services of a hardened veteran of four of the minor wars of the 1950s and 1960s - the Suez debacle; the Cyprus Emergency; the confrontation with Indonesia as well as events, as we have seen them in Northern Ireland. Dennison had been a paratrooper, a member of the SAS, a company commander and a training officer. He had served with the Malawi Rifles and had gained experience with African troops. Thus he was the most appropriate choice as the first Officer Commanding of A' Company of the new 2nd Battalion of the Rhodesian African Rifles.

Andre Dennison quickly acquired the reputation of being one of the most forceful of the Rhodesian Fire Force commanders. He kept a meticulous record of the daily life of his 'A' Company, writing up his war diaries every night and eventually, when convalescing from wounds, transcribing them into a single volume. He wrote in the dry, humorous style of the professional soldier, sparing little pity for his enemy while displaying deep affection and admiration for his men as he chronicled their exploits. He was diffident about his own achievements which were to win him three awards for bravery.

Andre Dennison affords the reader a unique insight into the life of a black infantry company in the traumatic last five years of the long insurgency war in Rhodesla. Dennison's text is enriched by contributions from the records of the Rhodesian special forces unit, Selous Scouts, supplied by Lieutenant-Colonel Ron Reid-Daiy. Accordingly, when Dennison writes of being called out by the Scouts to a sighting, Reid-Daly reveals the background to the incident and, In many instances, adds to the outcome. Ron Reid-Daly also provides a review of the use of Fire Force, that potent combination of helicopters, paratroops and infantry.~The War Diaries of Andre Dennison|ISBN 062013545X|~316~1490~The War Diaries of Andre Dennison - JRT Wood, RAR, Rhodesian African Rifles~
War in the Air: Rhodesian Air Force 1935-1980 - Dudley Cowderoy & Roy Nesbit~Air power was one of the main instruments by which the Rhodesian security forces defended the country for so long and so successfully. Quite apart from the aerial strikes made by pilots and aircrews, many ground troops were airborne. Both authors flew for several years in the Royal Air Force and spent much time as instructors in Rhodesia. The authors have not attempted to list every Rhodesian air strike, instead they have traced the political events that shaped the war in Rhodesia and related these to the development of air tactics and combined operations. They have done this with the help of first hand accounts from many of the courageous airmen who flew in the conflict. Revealed for the first time, too, are details of the vital role played by South African's combat aircraft and airmen, many of whom laid down their lives while fighting for Rhodesia's cause. The result is a very clear and informative account of of the war in the air - a subject of major interest to air forces around the world, for these methods of anti-guerilla operations are described with some justification as 'the war of the future'.
ISBN 0 947020 13 6 Hardback. 248pp; 236 X 153mm; b/w pics. ~~War in the Air%3A Rhodesian Air Force 1935-1980|ISBN 0947020136|~316~1491~War in the Air%3A Rhodesian Air Force 1935-1980 - Dudley Cowderoy & Roy Nesbit~
Winds of Destruction - Group Captain PJH Petter-Bowyer MLM (Ops), DCD, MFC (Ops)~The British Empire was dismantled by successive British governments who forsook policies of strength for those of appeasement. Winds of Destruction tells of Rhodesia's war against British political deceit and Russian imperialism.
Winds of Destruction is the story of the author's life before and after joining the Royal Rhodesian Air Force. The book centres on the writer's involvement with air and ground operations in Rhodesia's thirteen-year war against the communist forces of Marxist Robert Mugabe and Joshua Nkomo who sought to gain power by force. What set Petter-Bower apart from his fellow pilots was an inventive talent that led him to introduce aircraft improvements and create new-found operational techniques and as well as developing a whole range of air weapon systems that improved strike capability. A must read for anybody that was involved in the Rhodesian armed forces.
30 Degrees South. ISBN 0958489033, Softback with gatefolds. 260 x 220mm, 392pp~ISBN 0958489033
Softback with gatefolds
260 x 220mm
392pp

The British Empire was dismantled by successive British governments who forsook policies of strength for those of appeasement. Winds of Destruction tells of Rhodesia's war against British political deceit and Russian imperialism.

About the Book
Winds of Destruction is a unique account of one man's service in the Rhodesian Air Force, spanning a period of twenty-three years from 1957 to 1980-through the politically turbulent years of Federation; the Unilateral Declaration of Independence (U.D.I.) by Ian Smith's government in 1965 and thirteen years of relentless, uncompromising bush warfare against the never-ending tide of Robert Mugabe's and Joshua Nkomo's ZANLA and ZIPRA guerrillas.

In a gruelling conflict that permitted no quarter, the Rhodesian Air Force (Rh.A.F.) fast became one of the Rhodesian Defence Force's most lethal and effective counter-insurgency organs. In pre-emptive bombing strikes against enemy camps in Mozambique, Zambia and as far afield as Tanzania; in its integral role as a troop-carrier and airborne strike force in 'fireforce' operations; in working closely with such specialist units as the Selous Scouts, the S.A.S., the R.L.I. and the R.A.R. the Rhodesian Air Force was never far from the action and in no small way responsible for the astonishing military successes against a vastly numerically superior army.

This all in spite of the international sanctions against Rhodesia, which ordinarily would have brought a nation's armed forces to its knees. However, forced by circumstances, the Rh.A.F. was obliged to maximise usage of its aging fleet of fighter-bombers, transports and helicopters and to resort to innovative techniques in terms of tactics and weapons systems, many of which were later adopted by the South African Air Force in its own counter-insurgency operations in Angola and Namibia in the '80s.

About the Author
Born in Southern Rhodesia in 1936, Peter Petter-Bowyer (PB) grew up in an idyllic world virtually unaffected by the intense preparation for war of airmen in many Rhodesian Air Training Group stations around the country. The presence of so many aircraft greatly interested him, though his aim in life was to become a medical surgeon. For parental reasons this did not materialise and a switch in interest led PB into a flying career. In 1957 he commenced his pilot training course with the Royal Rhodesian Air Force and was granted a Royal Commission into full time service in 1959.

A regular career path included squadron service on propeller- and jet-driven aircraft as well as helicopters. Married with two children, PB enjoyed a wonderful life both as squadron pilot and flying instructor on piston aircraft and helicopters. Limited operational periods were spent on the Nyasaland Emergency, at RAF Aden and the Congo Emergency. It was only in April 1966 that PB was involved in the first offensive action that marked the start of Rhodesia's Bush War.

Except for a year at the South African Air Staff College in 1971, PB was actively engaged in operations in which air and ground forces were closely associated. Through this, PB established close and vitally important relationships with leading players of Rhodesia's Army and Police forces.

What set PB apart from his fellow pilots was an inventive talent that led him to introduce aircraft improvements and create new-found operational techniques. His objection to conventional warfare air weapons also led him to developing a whole range of air weapon systems that improved strike capability whilst affording Rhodesia considerable savings in foreign currencies.

His final post in the rank of Group Captain was to be the Rhodesian representative on the British-led Cease Fire Commission. Due to Marxist Robert Mugabe ascension to power, PB took an early retirement.~Winds of Destruction|ISBN 0958489033|~316~11038~Winds of Destruction - Group Captain PJH Petter-Bowyer, Royal Rhodesian Air Force~
Special Offers~~~~316~11652~~
Special collection discount: Fireforce / Counter-Strike from the Sky - Rhodesian Fireforce set~Order the two of the authoritive books on the Rhodesian rapid response Fireforce concept - Chris Cock's' Fireforce: One Man's War in the Rhodesian Light Infantry' together with JRT Wood's 'Counter-Strike from the Sky: The Rhodesian All-Arms Fire Force in the War in the Bush 1974-1980', and get a 10% discount off. Plus a further 5% discount if you order more than one set.

NB - Fireforce will dispatched now, Counter-Strike will be dispatched +/- end June~~Select items||Fireforce (Disc. price)|X ISBN 0958489092set|Counter-Strike (Disc. price)|X ISBN 9781920143336set|~316~12503~Fireforce~
Special collection discount: The Saints RLI / Masodja RAR - Rhodesian Regiments set~Order Alex Binda's 'The Saints: The Rhodesian Light Infantry ' together with 'Masodja: Rhodesian African Rifles ', and get a 20% discount off the Recommended Retail Price. Plus a further 5% discount if you order more than one set.~~Select items||The Saints%3A The RLI (Disc. price) DVD - PAL format|X ISBN 9781920143077set|Masodja (Disc. price) DVD - PAL format|X ISBN-13 9781920143039set|The Saints%3A The RLI (Disc. price) DVD - NTSC format|ISBN 9781920143077set NTSC|Masodja (Disc. price) DVD - NTSC format|ISBN-13 9781920143039set NTSC|~316~11649~RLI, RAR, rhodesian regiments~
Special collection discount: The Saints book / The Saints book Launch DVD - The Rhodesian Light Infantry set~Order Alex Binda's 'The Saints: The Rhodesian Light Infantry' book together with ''The Saints - RLI' book Launch' DVD, and get a 15% discount off the Recommended Retail Price. Plus a further 5% discount if you order more than one set.~~Select items||The Saints%3A The RLI (Disc. price) DVD - PAL format|X ISBN 9781920143077set|The Saints Launch (Disc. price) DVD - PAL format|X 8967disc|The Saints%3A The RLI (Disc. price) DVD - NTSC format|ISBN 9781920143077set NTSC|The Saints Launch (Disc. price) DVD - NTSC format|8969disc|~316~11856~RLI, The Saints, rhodesian regiments~
Special collection discount: Fireforce / The Bush War in Rhodesia - Rhodesian Special Forces' Autobiographies set~Order the two of the current top best selling Rhodesian Special Forces autobiographies - Chris Cock's' Fireforce: One Man's War in the Rhodesian Light Infantry' together with Dennis Croukamp's 'The Bush War in Rhodesia: The Extraordinary Combat Memoir of a Rhodesian Reconnaissance Specialist', and get a 15% discount off. Plus a further 5% discount if you order more than one set.~~Select items||Fireforce (Disc. price)|ISBN 0958489092set|The Bush War in Rhodesia (Disc. price)|ISBN-13 9781581606140set|~316~11655~Fireforce, Selous Scouts~
Special collection discount: Delta Scout / Never Quite a Soldier - BSAP Autobiographies set~Order the two British South Africa Police autobiographies - Anthony Trethowans' Delta Scout: Ground Coverage Operator' together with David Lemon's 'Never Quite a Soldier: A Rhodesian Policeman's War 1971-1982', and get a 15% discount off. Plus a further 5% discount if you order more than one set.~~Select items||Delta Scout (Disc. price)|ISBN 9781920143213set|Never Quite a Soldier (Disc. price)|ISBN 1919854223set|~316~11857~British South Africa Police, BSAP~
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