Lasting from the mid-1960’s to 1980, the bush war in Rhodesia saw this tiny land locked nation surrounded by communist backed insurgents operating from the adjacent nations of Mozambique, Zambia, and Botswana. Robert Mugabe’s ZANU was supported by Red China while Joshua Nkomo’s ZAPU was primarily a Soviet sponsored insurgency.

With guerrilla fighters pouring across the borders, Rhodesia’s military fought tooth and nail, especially as the war heated up around 1976. Fighting the war on a shoe string to a point difficult to compare to today’s War on Terror, the Rhodesian forces conducted lightening fast raids and parachute jumps behind enemy lines.

The Rhodesian African Rifles (RAR), the Rhodesian Light Infantry (RLI), and the Rhodesian Special Air Service (RhSAS) all preformed impressively throughout the war, but one unique unconventional warfare unit took the fight to the enemy in a way that may not have been seen before or since.

Unconventional Warriors

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Founded by the indomitable Colonel Ron Reid-Daly, the Selous Scouts was born. Named after African bush hunter Frederick Courtney Selous, this unique Special Forces unit engaged in so-called pseudo-operations. Operating under official cover as a military tracking unit, the Selous Scouts were involved in far more perilous activities in which white Scouts would be paired up with black Scouts, or more often than not, communist guerrillas who had been captured and turned to fight against their former comrades.

Unconventional Tactics