History of the Rhodesian Light Infantry (1977–1980)

The 1st Battalion, The Rhodesian Light Infantry, commonly the Rhodesian Light Infantry (1RLI or RLI), served in the Rhodesian Bush War as part of the Rhodesian Security Forces between 1964 and 1979, under the unrecognised government of Rhodesia after its Unilateral Declaration of Independence from Britain on 11 November 1965. Latterly, during the second half of 1979, it fought for Zimbabwe Rhodesia, a reorganised version of Rhodesia under a black majority government which still went unrecognised. After an interim period under British control from December 1979 to April 1980, the RLI briefly remained active within the armed forces of the internationally-recognised Republic of Zimbabwe, but did not see action under this government. It laid up its colours on 17 October 1980 and disbanded two weeks later.

Fireforce actions, begun in 1974, had become so prominent that the RLI became an airborne commando battalion in 1977, and soon began to parachute into action up to three times a day. Operation Grapple, in the centre of the country, began in the same year and in 1978 Operation Splinter was opened, covering Lake Kariba. SALOPS ("Salisbury Operations"), a separate operational area for the capital, was also made. The war intensified strongly during the late 1970s as further attempts for diplomatic resolution failed, leading to yet more regular Fireforce actions, operations outside Rhodesia's borders and heavier casualties for the RLI.

Contents

The RLI becomes an airborne commando battalion; Fireforce evolves appropriately

Main article: Fireforce

The RLI had been experimenting with parachutes sparingly since 1967, but the process of training the entire regiment in their use did not start until November 1976, when two troops from 1 Commando underwent instruction at New Sarum Air Base in Salisbury. This marked the beginning of the RLI's transformation into an airborne commando battalion. Parachute training for the rest of the Battalion's men began in January 1977, when two troops from 3 Commando went to New Sarum. Key factors in the decision to train the RLI as paratroopers were the consistent good performance of the first RLI men para-trained, the shortage of Rhodesian helicopters, and the improved ability of the guerrillas to fire upon and wound security force members aboard helicopters, which had previously been an unusual occurrence. Lynx light support aircraft were also sometimes hit, and for this reason machine-guns were now fitted alongside the Frantans[note 1] that they were carrying.[3]

From March 1977, each RLI Commando sent troops on a regular rotational timetable to New Sarum for para-training.[note 2] "Not everyone was thrilled with the idea," says Cocks. "... [Trooper W.] Smit, the MAG gunner, was terrified and said adamantly, 'I'm not going. If God had wanted us to fly he would have given us wings.'" Rhodesian, British, American and Australian instructors trained the RLI men quickly, but comprehensively. Some of the foreign soldiers were already para-trained, having served in parachute units abroad, but it was still necessary for them to attend. After completing their basic instruction, the RLI soldiers boarded a Dakota troop transport plane (or "Paradak") for their first jump. Loaded up with all of their combat gear, they jumped in sticks of two. After eight jumps, including one at night, each RLI soldier became a qualified paratrooper, received his "wings" and returned to action.[4]

Because the RLI soldiers could now parachute into action, some changes were made to Fireforce procedure. For a start, the number of G-cars in a Fireforce was reduced; only three of the eight sticks – 12 of the 32 men – would now be dropped by helicopter, with the remainder jumping from a Paradak.[1] To prevent themselves from becoming easy targets for ground fire, the RLI paratroopers would jump from low altitudes so they would be in the air for as short a time as possible. The regulation height decreed by the Rhodesian Security Forces was 500 feet (150 m), but in practice it was much lower, sometimes as low as 300 feet (91 m). This would give the parachute barely enough time to open before the Rhodesian soldier landed. As the landing terrain was often rough or rocky, parachuting from these low altitudes could be very dangerous, but the RLI still became skilled paratroopers within a short time. On operations, they would try to jump from the Paradak door as quickly as possible, one after the other, so they would land close together and around the same time: a seasoned group of 20 RLI men would jump in less than 20 seconds. They would exit the aircraft in the order desired on the ground, with the commander in the middle of the stick.[4]

The men of the Rhodesian Light Infantry made more parachute jumps than any other military unit in history. While an Allied paratrooper of the Second World War would be considered a "veteran" after one operational jump, an RLI paratrooper could make three operational jumps in a single day, each in a different location, and each preceding a successful contact with the enemy.[3] Between 1976 and 1980, over 14,000 jumps were recorded by the Rhodesian Security Forces as a whole. The world record for operational jumps by an individual soldier is held by Corporal Des Archer of 1 Commando, RLI, who made 73 operational jumps between 1977 and the end of the war.[4]

The first major external assault: Operation Dingo

Main article: Operation Dingo

November 1977's Operation Dingo, a joint attack by the RLI and SAS on ZANLA camps in Mozambique at Chimoio and Tembue, is retrospectively described by P. J. H. Petter-Bowyer as an "astounding success". "Operation Dingo cost ZANLA in excess of 3,000 trained men and something in the order of 5,000 wounded, many too seriously to be of further use," he writes. "Others lost all interest in the fighting and deserted."[5] From the Rhodesian side, six men were wounded and two were killed.[note 3]

Notes and references

Notes
  1. ^ A "Frantan" was a 1.8 metres (5 ft 11 in) long Rhodesian-made napalm bomb developed by the Royal Rhodesian Air Force during the 1960s. They were filled with about 73 litres (16 imp gal; 19 US gal) of napalm. During development they were given the name "frangible tanks" to obscure their real purpose. The common abbreviation "Frantan" stuck when they entered service.[2]
  2. ^ Because the facilities at New Sarum were limited and of too small a scale, an agreement was reached in 1978 to use the South African Defence Force (SADF) Tempe Air Base at Bloemfontein as well.[4]
  3. ^ SAS soldier Frans Nel was shot dead at Chimoio and Air Lieutenant Phil Haigh died while attempting a forced landing of his damaged Vampire fighter-bomber. While returning to base, Haigh's aircraft was damaged by ground fire, causing his engine to give out while still flying over Mozambique; rather than abandon the Vampire he glided across to attempt a forced landing on Rhodesian soil. While landing, the Vampire ran into a deep donga which wrecked the aircraft and killed Haigh.[5]
References
  1. ^ a b Cocks 2009, p. 32
  2. ^ Petter-Bowyer 2005, p. 88
  3. ^ a b Binda 2008, p. 189–190
  4. ^ a b c d Binda 2008, p. 217–218
  5. ^ a b Petter-Bowyer 2005, pp. 440–446
Bibliography
  • Abbott, Peter; Botham, Philip (June 1986). Modern African Wars: Rhodesia, 1965–80. Oxford: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-0850457285. 
  • Binda, Alexandre (May 2008). Cocks, Chris. ed. The Saints: The Rhodesian Light Infantry. Johannesburg: 30° South Publishers. ISBN 978-1920143077. 
  • Cilliers, Jakkie (December 1984). Counter-Insurgency in Rhodesia. London, Sydney & Dover, New Hampshire: Croom Helm. ISBN 978-0709934127. 
  • Cocks, Chris (June 2009) [1988]. Fireforce: One Man's War in the Rhodesian Light Infantry (Fourth ed.). Johannesburg: 30° South Publishers. ISBN 978-0958489096. 
  • Croukamp, Dennis E. W. (December 2005). Only My Friends Call Me "Crouks": Rhodesian reconnaissance specialist. Cape Town: Pseudo Publishing. ISBN 978-0620293921. 
  • Gledhill, Dick (November 2001). One Commando: Rhodesian Light Infantry (Second ed.). Roodepoort: Covos Books. ISBN 978-1-919874-35-7. 
  • Grossman, Lt-Col Dave (November 1996). On Killing: The Psychological Cost of Learning to Kill in War and Society. New York: Back Bay Books. ISBN 0-316-33000-0. 
  • Lockley, Lt-Col R. E. H. (July 1990). "A brief operational history of the campaign in Rhodesia from 1964 to 1978". The Lion & Tusk (Southampton: Rhodesian Army Association) 2 (1). http://www.rhodesianforces.org/ABriefOperationalHistory.htm. 
  • Martin, David; Johnson, Phyllis (July 1981). The Struggle for Zimbabwe (First ed.). London: Faber and Faber. ISBN 978-0571110667. 
  • Melson, Charles D. (March 2005). "Top Secret War: Rhodesian Special Operations". Small Wars and Insurgencies (London: Routledge) 16 (1): 57–82. doi:10.1080/0959231042000322567. 
  • Moorcraft, Paul L.; McLaughlin, Peter (April 2008) [1982]. The Rhodesian War: A Military History. Barnsley: Pen and Sword Books. ISBN 978-1844156948. 
  • Nkomo, Joshua; Harman, Nicholas (April 1984). Nkomo: The Story of My Life (First ed.). London: Methuen Publishing. ISBN 978-0413545008. 
  • Petter-Bowyer, P. J. H. (November 2005) [2003]. Winds of Destruction: the Autobiography of a Rhodesian Combat Pilot. Johannesburg: 30° South Publishers. ISBN 978-0958489034. 
  • Preston, Matthew (September 2004). Ending civil war: Rhodesia and Lebanon in perspective. London: I.B. Tauris. ISBN 1-85043-579-0. 
  • Reid-Daly, Ron; Stiff, Peter (1982). Selous Scouts: Top Secret War. Alberton: Galago. ISBN 978-0620057714. 
  • Sibanda, Eliakim M. (January 2005). The Zimbabwe African People's Union 1961–87: A Political History of Insurgency in Southern Rhodesia. Trenton, New Jersey: Africa Research & Publications. ISBN 978-1592212767. 
  • Smith, Ian (June 1997). The Great Betrayal: The Memoirs of Ian Douglas Smith. London: John Blake Publishing. ISBN 1-85782-176-9. 
  • The South African Democracy Education Trust ("SADET") (November 2005). The Road to Democracy in South Africa, Volume 1, 1960–1970. Cape Town: Struik Publishers. ISBN 978-1868729067. 
  • Streak, Brian, ed (31 October 1980). The Cheetah (Salisbury: The Rhodesian Light Infantry Regimental Association). 
  • Taylor, Stu (September 2007). Lost in Africa (First ed.). Johannesburg: 30° South Publishers. ISBN 978-1920143169. 
  • Thomas, Scott (December 1995). The Diplomacy of Liberation: the Foreign Relations of the ANC Since 1960 (First ed.). London: I.B. Tauris. ISBN 1-85043-993-1. 
  • Vermaak, Chris (May 1977). "Rhodesia's Selous Scouts". Armed Forces Journal International (Springfield, Virginia: Benjamin F. Schemmer) 114 (9). ISSN 0196-3597. 
  • Wessels, Hannes (July 2010). P. K. van der Byl: African Statesman. Johannesburg: 30° South Publishers. ISBN 978-1-920143-39-7. 
  • Williams, Gwyneth; Hackland, Brian (July 1988). The Dictionary of Contemporary Politics of Southern Africa (First ed.). London: Routledge. ISBN 978-0415002455. 
  • Wood, J. R. T. (24 May 1995). "Rhodesian Insurgency". Oudeschip: Allport Books. http://www.rhodesia.nl/wood2.htm. Retrieved 19 October 2011. 
  • Wood, J. R. T. (June 2005). So far and no further! Rhodesia's bid for independence during the retreat from empire 1959–1965. Victoria, British Columbia: Trafford Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4120-4952-8. 
  • Wood, J. R. T. (April 2008). A matter of weeks rather than months: The Impasse between Harold Wilson and Ian Smith: Sanctions, Aborted Settlements and War 1965–1969. Victoria, British Columbia: Trafford Publishing. ISBN 978-1-42514-807-2. 
  • Wood, J. R. T. (July 2009). Cocks, Chris. ed. Counter-strike From the Sky: The Rhodesian All-arms Fireforce in the War in the Bush 1974–1980. Johannesburg: 30° South Publishers. ISBN 1920143335. 
Further reading
  • Bond, Geoffrey (1977). The Incredibles: The Story of the 1st Battalion, The Rhodesian Light Infantry. Salisbury: Sarum Imprint. ISBN 0-7974-0233-0. 
  • Coey, John Alan (March 1988). A Martyr Speaks. Boring, Oregon: CPA Books. ISBN 978-0932050410. 
  • Croukamp, Dennis E. W. (December 2005). Only My Friends Call Me "Crouks": Rhodesian reconnaissance specialist. Cape Town: Pseudo Publishing. ISBN 978-0620293921. 
  • Gledhill, Dick (November 2001). One Commando: Rhodesian Light Infantry (Second ed.). Roodepoort: Covos Books. ISBN 978-1-919874-35-7. 

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