Rhodesian Defence Regiment

Rhodesian Defence Regiment
Crest of the Rhodesian Defence Regiment
Active	1978–1980
Country	Rhodesia
Branch	Regular Army
Type	Infantry
Role	Static guard unit
Size	2 Battalions
Engagements	Rhodesian Bush War

The Rhodesian Defence Regiment (RDR) was a unit of the Rhodesian Army during the last years of the Rhodesian Bush War.

It was formed on 1 January 1978 from existing units known as Reserve Holding Units and Protection Units. The Reserve Holding Units (for support roles) and Protection Units (for escorting supplies in combat zones) contained Rhodesia's coloured (i.e. mixed race) and Asian personnel, including both conscripts & volunteers.

The regiment consisted of the 1 Mashonaland Battalion at Cranborne Barracks in Salisbury and 2 Matebeleland Battalion at Brady Barracks in Bulawayo. The regimental training depot was located at Inkomo, near Salisbury.^[1][2]

One RDR battalion was attached to each brigade headquarters to guard military installations and lines of communication.^[3] From its formation, the regiment was also used to mobilise white reservists over the age of 38, although it was mostly coloured and Asian.^[4] The drafts of white reservists and conscripts were usually low quality and suffered from poor morale due to being attached to notoriously inefficient units. Due to its poor discipline, the RDR was disparagingly nicknamed the "Rhodesian Dagga Regiment", after the slang term for marijuana.^[3]

References

Citations

1. ↑ "Rhodesian Army Order of Seniority as at 26th February 1979". Rhodesia Army Association. Retrieved 2017-08-12. 
2. ↑ "The Rhodesia Defence Regiment". Fighting Forces of Rhodesia. No. 5. Salisbury: H.C.P. Andersen. 1978. Retrieved 12 August 2017. 
3. 1 2 Moorcraft & McLaughlin 2008, p. 58.
4. ↑ Moorcraft & McLaughlin 2008, p. 56.

Bibliography

• Moorcraft, Paul L; McLaughlin, Peter (2008) [1982]. The Rhodesian War: A Military History. Barnsley: Pen and Sword Books. ISBN 978-1-84415-694-8.