Rhodesian Air Force Operations

Download Rhodesian Air Force Operations PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Lulu.com
ISBN 13 : 0994115415
Total Pages : 353 pages
Book Rating : 4.9/5 (941 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Rhodesian Air Force Operations by : Preller Geldenhuys

Download or read book Rhodesian Air Force Operations written by Preller Geldenhuys and published by Lulu.com. This book was released on 2014-11-29 with total page 353 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book records the operations of the Rhodesian Air Force. It includes a log of over 1100 airstrikes carried out as well as maps where most of these strikes have been meticulously plotted. The maps are in full colour. Numerous photographs illustrate the text. The author has produced a comprehensive account of the Air Force role in the war in Rhodesia - Zimbabwe. The work includes one of the most detailed summaries of Rhodesian military operations to have been published, and in this respect serves as an excellent work or reference to those historians and collectors of militaria. It is a book that fills in much detail.A comprehensive index is included. To the very end the Air Force kept up its valiant task of securing the airspace for the troops, the BSAP, the farmers and industry. All in all this is a highly readable, extremely detailed account of the Air Force's part in the war against terrorism

Rhodesian Air Force Operations: With Air Strikes

Download Rhodesian Air Force Operations: With Air Strikes PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Independently Published
ISBN 13 : 9781728831336
Total Pages : 518 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (313 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Rhodesian Air Force Operations: With Air Strikes by : Preller Geldenhuys

Download or read book Rhodesian Air Force Operations: With Air Strikes written by Preller Geldenhuys and published by Independently Published. This book was released on 2018-10-15 with total page 518 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is a comprehensive account of the Rhodesian Air Force role in the 1965 - 1980 war. The work includes one of the most detailed summaries of Rhodesian military operations. It serves as a work of reference for those interested in Southern African conflicts and military operations. There are numerous photographs that illustrate the text and maps showing where some of the more significant air strikes were carried out in Angola, Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe.Reviews: - ReviewsThis book records the operations of the Rhodesian Air Force. It includes a log of over 1100 airstrikes carried out as well as maps where most of these strikes have been meticously plotted. The maps are printed in full colour. There are numerous black and white photographs that illustrate the text.John Dovey

A Pride of Eagles

Download A Pride of Eagles PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Helion and Company
ISBN 13 : 1908916265
Total Pages : 857 pages
Book Rating : 4.9/5 (89 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis A Pride of Eagles by : Beryl Salt

Download or read book A Pride of Eagles written by Beryl Salt and published by Helion and Company. This book was released on 2015-02-19 with total page 857 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is the story of military aviation in Rhodesia from the romantic days of 'bush' flying in the 1920s and '30s-when aircraft were refueled from jerrycans and landing grounds were often the local golf course-to the disbandment of the Rhodesian Air Force (RhAF) on Zimbabwean independence in 1980. In 1939 the tiny Royal Rhodesian Air Force (RRAF) became the first to take up battle stations even before the outbreak of the Second World War. The three Rhodesian squadrons served with distinction in East Africa, the Western Desert, Italy and Western Europe. At home Rhodesia became a vast training ground for airmen from across the Empire-from Britain, the Commonwealth and even Greece. After the war, Rhodesia, on a negligible budget, rebuilt its air force, equipping it with Ansons, Spitfires, Vampires, Canberras, Hunters and Alouettes. Following UDI, the unilateral declaration of independence from Britain in 1965, international sanctions were imposed, resulting in many remarkable and groundbreaking innovations, particularly in the way of ordnance. The bitter 'bush war' followed in the late 1960s and '70s, with the RhAF in the vanguard of local counterinsurgency operations and audacious preemptive strikes against vast guerrilla bases in neighboring Mozambique, Zambia and Botswana and as far afield as Angola and Tanzania. With its aging fleet, including C-47 'Dakotas' that had been at Arnhem, the RhAF was able to wreak untold havoc on the enemy, Mugabe's ZANLA and Nkomo's ZIPRA. The late author took over 30 years in writing this book; the result is a comprehensive record that reflects the pride, professionalism and dedication of what were some of the world's finest airmen of their time. The late Beryl Salt was born in London in 1931. She emigrated to Southern Rhodesia in 1952 to get married in Salisbury, where her two sons were born. In 1953 she joined the Southern Rhodesian Broadcasting Services (later the Rhodesian Broadcasting Corporation, the RBC). With a love of history she wanted to find out as much as she could about her new country. This interest led to radio dramas and feature programmes, followed by several books: School History Text Book, The Encyclopaedia of Rhodesia and The Valiant Years, a history of the country as seen through the newspapers. She also produced a dramatized radio series about the Rhodesian Air Force. In 1965 she left the RBC and spent three years with the Ministry of Information, following which she was a freelance writer/broadcaster involved in a wide variety of projects until 1980 when she moved to Cape Town. She died in England in November 2001.

A Pride of Eagles

Download A Pride of Eagles PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Covos Day
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 1164 pages
Book Rating : 4.F/5 ( download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis A Pride of Eagles by : Beryl Salt

Download or read book A Pride of Eagles written by Beryl Salt and published by Covos Day. This book was released on 2001 with total page 1164 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume chronicles the story of military aviation in Rhodesia from the early romantic days of "bush" flying in the 20s and 30s when aircraft were refuelled from jerry cans and landing grounds were often the local golf course. In 1939, before the outbreak of World War II, the tiny Rhodesian Air Force became the first to take up battle stations. The three Rhodesian squadrons served in East Africa, the Western Desert, Italy and Western Europe. At home, Rhodesia became a vast training ground for airmen from Britain, the Commonwealth, and Greece. After the war, Rhodesia rebuilt its air force on a tiny budget -- equipping it with Ansons, Spitfires, Vampires, Canberras, Hunters and Alouettes. In later years, after the imposition of sanctions and during the bitter bush war years, many remarkable innovations were made to keep the RhAF flying in the vanguard of counter-msurgency operations. This colorful look at the Rhodesian Air Force is sure to be of interest to military historians everywhere!

The Rhodesian Air Force in Zimbabwe's War of Liberation, 1966-1980

Download The Rhodesian Air Force in Zimbabwe's War of Liberation, 1966-1980 PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : McFarland
ISBN 13 : 1476666202
Total Pages : 239 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (766 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis The Rhodesian Air Force in Zimbabwe's War of Liberation, 1966-1980 by : Darlington Mutanda

Download or read book The Rhodesian Air Force in Zimbabwe's War of Liberation, 1966-1980 written by Darlington Mutanda and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2016-11-22 with total page 239 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book evaluates the development of the Rhodesian Air Force during the Second Chimurenga or Bush War (1966-1980). Airpower in irregular conflict is effective at the tactical level because guerrilla warfare is not a purely military conflict. The Rhodesian Air Force was deployed in a war-winning versus a supporting role as a result of the shortage of manpower to deal with insurgency, and almost all units of the Rhodesian Security Forces depended on its tactical effectiveness. Technical challenges faced by the Air Force, combined with the rate of guerrilla infiltration and the misuse of airpower to bomb guerrilla bases in neighboring countries largely negated the success of airpower.

Rhodesian Air Force

Download Rhodesian Air Force PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Freeworld Publications
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 204 pages
Book Rating : 4.F/5 ( download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Rhodesian Air Force by : Winston A. Brent

Download or read book Rhodesian Air Force written by Winston A. Brent and published by Freeworld Publications. This book was released on 2001 with total page 204 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Operation Miracle

Download Operation Miracle PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9781728886619
Total Pages : 131 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (866 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Operation Miracle by : Preller Geldenhuys

Download or read book Operation Miracle written by Preller Geldenhuys and published by . This book was released on 2018-10-17 with total page 131 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Operation Miracle symbolizes 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.This military history account will interest all Rhodesian and Zimbabweans interested in the Rhodesian War 1965 - 1980 history, especially the period before a new government took over the country.Operation Miracle records the search for the crash sites of a Hunter pilot and a Canberra crew - pilot and navigator - killed in action, whose bodies lie in unmarked graves in a foreign country. It also records bringing the close relatives of the three bold airmen to witness the unveiling of the Operation Miracle Memorial that paid tribute nearly 30 years after their next-of-kin were given the tragic news "Killed in Action".This is the story that makes Operation Miracle unique in the history of Rhodesia.Foreword by Air Vice Marshal Chris Dams and Introduction by a Group Capt (both retired from the Rhodesian Air Force / Air Force of Zimbabwe).The forword reads "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 inexorably moving 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 crew 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 symbolizes 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."

War in the Air

Download War in the Air PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 254 pages
Book Rating : 4.X/5 (1 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis War in the Air by : Dudley Cowderoy

Download or read book War in the Air written by Dudley Cowderoy and published by . This book was released on 1987 with total page 254 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

The Rhodesian War

Download The Rhodesian War PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Stackpole Books
ISBN 13 : 0811707253
Total Pages : 242 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (117 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis The Rhodesian War by : Paul L. Moorcraft

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

Winds of Destruction

Download Winds of Destruction PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Trafford Publishing
ISBN 13 : 141201204X
Total Pages : 1082 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (12 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Winds of Destruction by : Peter Petter-Bowyer

Download or read book Winds of Destruction written by Peter Petter-Bowyer and published by Trafford Publishing. This book was released on 2008-06-24 with total page 1082 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.

The Rhodesian War

Download The Rhodesian War PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Pen and Sword Military
ISBN 13 : 147386075X
Total Pages : 336 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (738 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis The Rhodesian War by : Paul Moorcraft

Download or read book The Rhodesian War written by Paul Moorcraft and published by Pen and Sword Military. This book was released on 2016-01-20 with total page 336 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A political and military analysis of this conflict in southern Africa with maps, photos, and a new introduction assessing its long aftermath. A half century after the Universal Declaration of Independence, this superb book depicts the military history of Southern Rhodesia from the first resistance to colonial rule, through the period of UDI by the Smith government to the Lancaster House agreement that transferred power. There are vivid accounts of the operations against the black nationalist guerillas by the security forces, and the intensity of the fighting and courage of the participants will surprise and enthrall readers. Atrocities were undoubtedly committed by both sides as the protagonists played for very high stakes. But this is more than just a book on military operations. The authors are able to provide expert analysis of the historical situation and examine events well into the twenty-first century, including Mugabe’s operations against rival tribes and white farmers. With a new introduction, this is essential reading for those wishing to learn more about a counterinsurgency campaign and why despite the ingenuity of the Rhodesian military fighting against overwhelming odds and restricted by sanctions, the outcome culminating in the Lancaster House Agreement was inevitable.

Rhodesian Fire Force 1966-80

Download Rhodesian Fire Force 1966-80 PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Helion and Company
ISBN 13 : 1910294055
Total Pages : 73 pages
Book Rating : 4.9/5 (12 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Rhodesian Fire Force 1966-80 by : Kerrin Cocks

Download or read book Rhodesian Fire Force 1966-80 written by Kerrin Cocks and published by Helion and Company. This book was released on 2015-02-19 with total page 73 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: On 11 November 1965, Rhodesian prime minister Ian Smith unilaterally declared his country independent of Britain. International sanctions were immediately instituted against the minority white regime as Robert Mugabe's ZANLA and Joshua Nkomo's ZIPRA armies commenced their armed struggle, the Chimurenga, the war of liberation. As Communist-trained guerrillas flooded the country, the beleaguered Rhodesians, hard-pressed for manpower and military resources, were forced to devise new and innovative methods to combat the insurgency. Fire Force was their answer. Fire Force as a military concept dates from 1974 when the Rhodesian Air Force (RhAF) acquired the French MG151 20mm cannon from the Portuguese. Visionary RhAF and Rhodesian Light Infantry (RLI) officers expanded on the idea of a 'vertical envelopment' of the enemy, with the 20mm cannon being the principal weapon of attack, mounted in an Alouette III K-Car ('Killer car'), supported by ground troops deployed from G-Cars (Alouette III troop-carrying gunships and latterly Bell 'Hueys') 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. In spite of the overwhelming number of enemy pitted against them, Rhodesian Fire Forces accounted for thousands of enemy guerrillas, with a kill ratio exceeding 80:1. At the end of the war, ZANLA generals admitted their army could not have survived another year in the field-in no small part due to the ruthless efficiency of the Fire Forces, described by Charles D. Melson, the Chief Historian of the U.S. Marine Corps, as the ultimate "killing machine".

Zambezi Valley Insurgency

Download Zambezi Valley Insurgency PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Africa@War
ISBN 13 : 9781912866854
Total Pages : 0 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (668 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Zambezi Valley Insurgency by : J. R. T. Wood

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

Pride of Eagles

Download Pride of Eagles PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9781919874296
Total Pages : 1170 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (742 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Pride of Eagles by : Beryl Salt

Download or read book Pride of Eagles written by Beryl Salt and published by . This book was released on 2001-03 with total page 1170 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is the story of military aviation in Rhodesia from the romantic days of 'bush' flying in the 1920s and '30s-when aircraft were refueled from jerrycans and landing grounds were often the local golf course-to the disbandment of the Rhodesian Air Force (RhAF) on Zimbabwean independence in 1980. In 1939 the tiny Royal Rhodesian Air Force (RRAF) became the first to take up battle stations even before the outbreak of the Second World War. The three Rhodesian squadrons served with distinction in East Africa, the Western Desert, Italy and Western Europe. At home Rhodesia became a vast training ground for airmen from across the Empire-from Britain, the Commonwealth and even Greece. After the war, Rhodesia, on a negligible budget, rebuilt its air force, equipping it with Ansons, Spitfires, Vampires, Canberras, Hunters and Alouettes. Following UDI, the unilateral declaration of independence from Britain in 1965, international sanctions were imposed, resulting in many remarkable and groundbreaking innovations, particularly in the way of ordnance. The bitter 'bush war' followed in the late 1960s and '70s, with the RhAF in the vanguard of local counterinsurgency operations and audacious preemptive strikes against vast guerrilla bases in neighboring Mozambique, Zambia and Botswana and as far afield as Angola and Tanzania. With its aging fleet, including C-47 'Dakotas' that had been at Arnhem, the RhAF was able to wreak untold havoc on the enemy, Mugabe's ZANLA and Nkomo's ZIPRA. The late author took over 30 years in writing this book; the result is a comprehensive record that reflects the pride, professionalism and dedication of what were some of the world's finest airmen of their time.The late Beryl Salt was born in London in 1931. She emigrated to Southern Rhodesia in 1952 to get married in Salisbury, where her two sons were born. In 1953 she joined the Southern Rhodesian Broadcasting Services (later the Rhodesian Broadcasting Corporation, the RBC). With a love of history she wanted to find out as much as she could about her new country. This interest led to radio dramas and feature programmes, followed by several books: School History Text Book, The Encyclopaedia of Rhodesia and The Valiant Years, a history of the country as seen through the newspapers. She also produced a dramatized radio series about the Rhodesian Air Force. In 1965 she left the RBC and spent three years with the Ministry of Information, following which she was a freelance writer/broadcaster involved in a wide variety of projects until 1980 when she moved to Cape Town. She died in England in November 2001.

Operation Dingo

Download Operation Dingo PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9781912866816
Total Pages : pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (668 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Operation Dingo by : J. r. t. Wood

Download or read book Operation Dingo written by J. r. t. Wood and published by . This book was released on 2019-09-19 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Startling in its innovation and daringly suicidal, Operation Dingo was not only the Fireforce concept writ large but the prototype for all the major Rhodesian airborne attacks on the external bases of Rhodesian African nationalist insurgents in the neighbouring territories of Mozambique and Zambia until such operations ceased in late 1979.Fireforce as a military concept is 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 propeller-driven ground-attack aircraft and on call would be Canberra bombers, Hawker Hunter and Vampire jets.On 23 November 1977, the Rhodesian Air Force and 184 SAS and RLI paratroopers attacked 10,000 ZANLA cadres based at 'New Farm', Chimoio, 90 kilometres inside Mozambique. Two days later, the same force attacked 4,000 guerrillas at Tembué, another ZANLA base, over 200 kilometres inside Mozambique, north of Tete on the Zambezi River. Estimates of ZANLA losses vary wildly; however, a figure exceeding 6,000 casualties is realistic. The Rhodesians suffered two dead, eight wounded and lost one aircraft. It would produce the biggest SAS-led external battle of the Rhodesian bush war.

Fire Force

Download Fire Force PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Lime Tree Press
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 341 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (55 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Fire Force by : Chris Cocks

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

A Handful of Hard Men

Download A Handful of Hard Men PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Casemate
ISBN 13 : 1612003451
Total Pages : 303 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (12 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis A Handful of Hard Men by : Hannes Wessels

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