Rhodesia and The Lessons We Can Learn 20-16

In this episode I talk about a few things. Rhodesdia and of course the Governors latest edicts. 

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I just finished a book called "Bush War Operator" By A.J. Balaam

he was in the RLI and then the Selous Scouts. The stuff they put these guys through it's amazing they were able to perform.

Imagine being treated like crap for weeks on end, think of it like brutal hazing for hazing sake. No Food. No water. Poor planning. No intel. No gear. And at training after 4 days without food they hand you a rotten baboon and tell you eat up boys. And you do. You also get to battle flies, mosquitos, and more. Oh and heat like you and I have never experienced. But you get to kill communists.

Rhodesia now Zimbabwe was the breadbasket of Africa. The white "evil colonizers" were very good farmers. Everyone was fed and happy. Till the communists from both China and Russia came in to destabilize the area. They sent thousands of fighters from Zambia and Mozambique to conduct terrorist activities in Rhodesia. The Western world was told they must de-colonize Africa after WW2 and create raw democracy (Mob-rule) throughout the continent. Nevermind that most of the native populations were not educated at all. Or that they had lower IQ's (70-80 on average) than their colonizer counterparts. It was decreed to be so.

In comes Ian Smith PM of Rhodesia. He says no! and the world is against Rhodesia. They have to put together a military, helicopters, vehicles, in a scramble to operate. French, Russian, and US mortars. Sanctions work to an extent. But many nations continue to trade with Rhodesia, the USA included, Chromium and tobacco being their big exports.

The Rhodesian Light Infantry, British SAS, and The Selous Scouts(RLI Special forces) conduct operations and frequently win.

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Dingo
[b]Operation Dingo [/b]was a major raid conducted by the Rhodesian Security Forces against the Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army (ZANLA) headquarters at Chimoio and a smaller camp at Tembue in Mozambique from 23–25 November 1977. Chimoio was a large ZANLA encampment and training facility, and a launchpad for insurgents infiltrating into Rhodesia. It was located at New Farm, known locally as Adriano's Farm.[3] The old farmhouse, and a number of related monuments and graves, are located some 18 kilometres north-northeast of Chimoio Municipality.(18°57′24″S 33°30′58″E) The positions of the fallen are marked by at least twelve mass graves which are clustered around the main New Farm complex.

While only one Rhodesian SAS soldier died in the operation, more than 3,000 ZANLA fighters were reported as killed. 5,000 ZANLA were wounded, compared to only six SAS.
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These guy were tough. And well trained. And lucky. The enemy was stupid(literally), well equipped, but poorly trained. They were also not fighting for their homeland but a paycheck. The operation above highlights the success on a massive scale. Most operations were small and yet the kill rate was still very high. The soldiers in the RLI were not all white.

What went wrong?

Nations like Dominos fell to pressure and soon Rhodesia was surrounded. The ruling government had no choice but to surrender. Unable to get arms, and supplies caused problems and you can't run an army on grit. The problem was they were not shooting the right communists. Robert Mugabe and others were the enemy, as much as the terrorist fighters they were fighting. More so as these communists were the ones to take control of the government. Had the Rhodesians killed these communists they would have survived. Ultimately the same spirit of "nation building" exists today in the UN and US State dept. We continue to stick our nose in other people's business and it never works out. Most of the issues we face in the middle east were brought on by this post WW2.

What can we take away from the Rhodesian Bush War?

1. A small dedicated fighting force can win.
2. Communists deserve no quarter.
3. It doesn't matter when the whole world is against you. STAND against tyranny.
4. Lesser men should never rule over you.
5. Surrender isn't an option.

I visited Zimbabwe in 1995 on a missions trip for 1 month. It was a great place. At the time the exchange rate was 10/1. Not bad. Today the communist policy of Robert Mugabe(may he rot in hell) destroyed the economy and brought starvation to his people. Hyper inflation led to the demise of the Zimbabwe Dollar. At one time they were printing 100 Trillion dollar notes and you couldn't buy bread with them. This was caused by the decimation of the white farmer who was driven from the country. As a result the economy crashed. When you subtract the producers the economy dies; Isn't that what we are doing in this lockdown?

I found these videos to be enlightening.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8qyYFNOBhQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-BWKNGRKuE