The Bush War in Rhodesia: The Extraordinary Combat Memoir of a Rhodesian Reconnaissance Specialist - Incomplete Copy [Reprint ed.] 1324670753, 9781581606140

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About

the Author

The Bush War in Rhodesia is a soldier’s story told sim, humour and without heroics. It also gives a fascinating 1.

personality of the author, who relates his personal experience. to-earth, no bull style of storytelling. After 35 years the Rhodes

war has been largely f orgotten, but the author’s front-line accow. rekindle the memories and depict the bush war from a squaddie’s pu of view.

Dennis Croukamp was born in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) and lived an idyllic life in the bush. As a young boy he spent his free time fishing The Bush War in Rhodesia: The Extraordinary Combat Memoir of a Rhodesian Reconnaissance Specialist by Dennis Croukamp Copyright © 2006, 2007 by Dennis Croukamp

ISBN 13: 978-1-58160-614-0 Printed in the United States of America Published by Paladin Press, a division of Paladin Enterprises, Inc., Gunbarrel Tech Center 7077 Winchester Circle Boulder, Colorado 80301 USA +1.303.443.7250

Direct inquiries and/or orders to the above address. Originally published in Cape Town, South Africa, under the title Only My Friends Call Me “Croucks” PALADIN, PALADIN PRESS, and the “horse head” design

are trademarks belonging to Paladin Enterprises and registered in United States Patent and Trademark Office.

All rights reserved. Except for use in a review, no portion of this book may be reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the publisher. Neither the author nor the publisher assumes any responsibility for the use or misuse of information contained in this book.

Visit our Web site at www.paladin-press.com

and hunting and had shot school he was called up January 1965 enlisted in served in the Rhodesian eventually retire with the

his first buck at the age of seven. to do his national service and the Rhodesian Light Infantry as Army until 1980, rising through rank of Warrant Officer.

In his career as a soldier, Dennis

After leaving thereafter in a Private. He the ranks to

at first served in an Infantry

unit, but later served as a member of the elite Selous Scouts under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Ron Reid-Daly. During the late 1960s the Rhodesian bush war started and ZANU and ZAPU guerrillas infiltrated into the country, As a member of the armed forces, Dennis was often involved in skirmishes with the guerrillas. In 1970, not only was he the most junior ranked but also the first person to be awarded the Rhodesian Bronze Cross for gallantry and determination in action after a fierce battle.

As a member of the famed Selous Scouts, Dennis became a reconnaissance specialist and carried out numerous reconnaissance missions into Mozambique. Whilst on one of his missions he became separated from his two companions and spent the following six days making his way back to Rhodesia, all the while being pursued by FRELIMO soldiers. During this epic escape and evasion saga, Dennis

had no communication with his base; he had no food or support and had to walk nearly 200 kilometres to get back to Rhodesia.

Dennis experienced guerrilla warfare from its inception in Rhodesia in 1967 until the cease-fire in 1979 and the eventual transition from Rhodesia to Zimbabwe. He had an exciting and adventurous career, was wounded in combat, and saw action on all border areas of Rhodesia and also in Mozambique, Zambia and Botswana. Some senior officers have

told their experiences of the Rhodesian bush war, but this book gives the views and experiences of a man in the rank and file of the Rhodesian

Army. He pulls no punches in telling his story and the book reflects his

ability as a narrator.

TABLE OF CONTENTS VL isddsdddddddddcddddddddddddddddddddddddaddééd ix

FOREWORD

XV

PREFACE

Dedicated to the children of all Khodesians.

“Be as proud as we were.”

1

YEARS

CHAPTER

1: EARLY

CHAPTER 1964

2: INTRODUCTION

TO THE

ARMY

CHAPTER 3: ARMY INTRODUCTION CONTINUES CHAPTER

4:

3 COMMANDO

RHODESIAN

a9

CHAPTER

5: URBAN

CHAPTER

6: TRAINING

OPERATIONS

Ov

EXERCISES

CHAPTER 7: UDI, RURAL VILJOEN MURDERS

AND 51

8: MY FIRST PROMOTION,

CHAPTER

9: OPERATION CAULDRON CONTROL

11: OPERATIONS

45

OPERATIONS

CHAPTER

CHAPTER

19

LIGHT

INFANTRY

CHAPTER 10: BORDER OPERATIONS

9

1967

77 85

& MORE 10]

IN MOZAMBIQUE

131

CHAPTER 12: EXILED BARRACKS

TO LLEWELLIN

CHAPTER 13: SELOUS COURSE

SCOUTS SELECTION

157

167

CHAPTER 14: MATABELELAND AND LONG LEAVE

OPS

17"

187

CHAPTER 15: MY FIRST SCOUTS RECONNAISSANCE CHAPTER

16: ESCAPE

AND

EVASION

CHAPTER 17: ESCAPE (CONTINUED)

AND

EVASION

18: CROSS-BORDER

CHAPTER

19: BIG BANG

CHAPTER

80: LAST YEAR

CHAPTER

21: A BUG

CHAPTER

13°

ROO

OPERATIONS

IN LITTLE

RUSSIA

IN SCOUTS

CNOT AN INSECT)

297 O15 551 or?

OF INFANTRY 40]

23: GOOD NEWS ALL ROUND

421

CHAPTER 84: AN EXCITING LIFESTYLE DRAWS TO A CLOSE

443

REFERENCES

457

NAME

OP. GRAPPLE

275

CHAPTER

CHAPTER 22: SCHOOL INSTRUCTOR

ell

& BIBLIOGRAPHY

459

INDEX

.. Wi...

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GOREN a

It’s not the critic who counts...The credit belongs to the man who actually is in the arena, who Strives violently, who errs and comes up short again and again.... Who if he wins, knows the triumph of high chievement, but who if he fails, fails while daring greatly.

Foreword

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_. Theodore Roosevelt.

Few professional soldiers, unless they are senior commanders, commit their lives to memoir. This in itself is fairly easy to understand if one stops to consider that the professional soldier is not concerned with memoirs based on grand strategy and historical accuracy. Professional soldiers live close to the coarse and often the

brutal detail of the battlefield, a far cry from the inner confines of map-covered walls and communication equipment. Many common soldiers’ lives and particularly those in Special Force

units seem more suited to fiction rather than fact. A soldier’s mind, PS pea

too, can quite easily become a “crowded” place. More may happen in

pos Re

a minute of his life, and at times with regular repetition, than would

SasiRetr Sate nen oN see ITED eh eae Sees Testa

CPEs S aN rsEe

Wethe P eStats TA Ree

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occur in an entire lifetime of the average person. There is little, if anything, that can be described as beauty in war, and if so, it is rare.

Only years of training and discipline separate the soldier from the chaos of the moment. Few soldiers would deny the fact that in time of war they become

a law unto themselves, dwelling, existing and surviving in a world unto itself. Within this mental framework are the tedious boredom, frustration and disorder that are the soldiers’ lot. He knows that his each and every action could result in his own death. Strange as it may seem, there are those who thrive on such a life. Not mere fleeting moments of it, but in its entirety: the parade ground and drill, garrison life, training exercises, parachuting, patrolling, ambushing, endless

duties,

boredom,

discipline,

noise,

silence,

and

above

all

adrenaline charged combat. This latter emotion, once experienced,

soon becomes an unquenchable thirst, the barometer against which all else is measured. Rhodesia’s war has been adequately covered by numerous books and writings. It ended in 1980 and to those who were not involved, or had no ties to this small landlocked country that was once the pride of Britain’s African colonies, past events are of lithe consequence or of interest now. Few modern travellers to Zimbabwe even know that it was once called Rhodesia, nor do they seem to care. One Special Forces soldier, who epitomises the word “professional,” s Wits.