Southern African Warfare

South Africa Links:

http://afraf.oxfordjournals.org/content/77/308/347.extract

http://scientiamilitaria.journals.ac.za/pub/article/view/103

http://scientiamilitaria.journals.ac.za/pub/article/view/15

http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0018-229X2014000200014

Rhodesian Links

http://www.readperiodicals.com/201111/2532870851.html

http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/1057610X.2013.784611#.Vu8x0RorK9Y

http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/0959231042000322567?journalCode=fswi20

South Africa

Durand, Arn. Zulu Zulu Golf followed by Zulu Zulu Foxtrot.

Durand talks about his years with the Koevoet police force in Namibia fighting SWAPO insurgents. It is an intense account, and shows how badly the lines were blurred when it came to dealing with civilians and insurgents. Even the Ovambo tribesmen that joined the unit shared the unadulterated hatred towards the insurgents, some of whom were from the same village. It is a bit edgy, but Durand shows some of the stark contrasts between the SAP and SADF. It is important to understand the contrasts, it contributes to a greater understanding of how the conflict evolved from a police action to a more conventional operation with a hint of COIN.

Greeff, Jack. A Greater Share of Honour.

Greeff fought with the Portuguese in Angola as a South African attachment and went on to become a Recce during the Border War. For context, think of the Recces as SF. They would go out on long patrols or fight with UNITA. The book is a first hand account of what he did and how the Recces evolved from Operation Savannah onwards. Interestingly enough, they did some operations with the Rhodesian SAS to try and learn how the Rhodesians managed to pull Operation Dingo off so well. Greeff also talks about fighting against the Cubans in Angola alongside UNITA guerrillas in support of Operation Reindeer. An interesting planning factor he highlights is wildlife, there is a good account of a Recce fighting off a crocodile while trying to place explosives of a bridge.

Mannall, David. Battle on the Lomba 1987: The Day a South African Armored Battalion Shattered Angola’s Last Mechanized Offensive - A Crew Commander’s Account

This is another first hand account that made its way over to the states about a year ago. Mannall talks about the drafting process, training, and experiencing the thrill of combat. The Battle on the Lomba was apart of Operation Moduler and the larger fight for Cuito Cuanavale. The 61st Mechanized Battalion, consisting of Ratels armed with 90mm cannons, managed to defeat the 47th brigade supplied with Soviet tanks. This focuses on the conventional aspects of the war that emerged in the mid to late 1980s.

Scholtz, Leopold. The SADF in the Border War, 1966-1989.

This is great overview of the Border War in Namibia and Angola. Scholtz encompasses everything from the beginnings of the conflict to the push into Angola. He also discusses the contrast of COIN operations between the Kovoet and the SADF, which surprisingly enough collaborated quite a bit. Scholtz is probably the most moderate historian that has covered these subjects, many of which are now receiving significant attention. Some of the early interpretations of the conflicts in Southern Africa throw way too much of their personal opinion into their writing. If you want to read some of those opinions, look up the book Southern Africa in Crisis.

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Neat thread OP.

Rhodesia

Cilliers, J.K. Counter-Insurgency in Rhodesia

This is an academic study written by a SADF officer studying the Rhodesian Bush War. Keep in mind the South Africans were very nervous about loosing their northern neighbor to communism. They assisted and closely studied the Rhodesians up to the end of the conflict in the 1980s. If you are looking for a brief overview of the conflict this is probably one of the better books out there. The best part is that Cilliers efficiently breaks down the structure of the Rhodesian army and is not a afraid to critique and praise it as he sees fit.

Daly, Ronald Reid. Selous Scouts: Top Secret War

The man, the myth, the legend, Daly. He formed the unit as an experimental force to fight ZANU insurgents in Mozambique. The book is his unit history for the fabled Selous Scouts, which is arguably one of the most misunderstood units of the war. The book covers everything from the formation of the scouts to it’s disbandment in 1979. Its full of colorful pictures, and sheds an interesting light on integrated units fighting in the war. The Selous Scouts also serve as a great case study of how effective intelligence can make or break an operation.

Wood, J. R. T. Counter Strike from the sky; The Rhodesian all-arms fireforce in the war in the bush, 1974-1980.

Wood does an excellent job of condensing the history and evolution of fire force operations while keeping the book readable. First hand accounts are woven into many of the chapters, giving a better sense of how a fireforce operation worked. One of the mainstays of the book is Chapter 15 which outlines Operation Dingo. Operation Dingo brought Fireforce to an operational level, and may have inspired the South African assault on Cassinga during Operation Reindeer. There are many books that focus solely on first hand accounts that you can find on Amazon.

Misc.

Stapleton, Timothy J. Warfare and Tracking in Africa, 1952-1990. (no. 11).

Stapleton covers most bush conflicts in most of Sub Saharan Africa in the latter half of the 20th century. The chapters are divided up by country, covering a large variety of how tracking was utilized during the conflicts. Much of the tracking schools used by the Rhodesians and South Africans evolved from guides and game wardens. Both militaries also relied heavily on indigenous trackers to find insurgents and build rapport with villages.

Thats all I've got. Enjoy!

Fuck ya thanks OP

Hey, I remember you, I'm the writerfag! Thanks for posting the info, I honestly thought you forgot about us.

>>29406006
Nah man. I've got a weird schedule and I can be lazy as shit when I'm not working. In Wood's book he talks about an American leading a Rhodie SAS stick during Dingo. That may be of interest for you.

Sadly I couldn't find a link to the Rhodesian Army File project that I was talking about. It probably died.

>>29406090

Nice, I'll read Wood's book first then. And shame about the RhA file project, but this information is great so far.

>>29406349
Glad you could use it, let me know if you want my email. I've got a lot more stuff you could probably use.

>>29406391

Sure, man, hit me up at [email protected]

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There's some ridiculous war photography from that era/region too. Fucking brutal.

>>29406581
They were brutal conflicts. On both sides.