As a military man selous had no formal training but a great deal of practical experience. Tales of derringdo by rhodesias superb pseudo operations regiment the selous scouts, told by its commander ron reiddaly, during the bush war to preserve white rule in rhodesia in the 1970s. Oct 21, 2008 theo williams, a former special forces major with the rhodesian army, gave a briefing for the 10th special forces group airborne at their regimental mess oct. It details the formation of this highly specialized team of counterinsurgency specialists who were extremely successful in beating the insurgents terrorists or freedom fighters your choice at their own game. This connection can be analyzed by combining the existing literature on the. A topsecret unit, the selous scouts numbered about 120 initially and operated under the cover of a tracking unit. If you are a lost scout or know of a lost scout, please. Its purpose on formation was the clandestine elimination of zanla and zipra guerrillas, both within and outside rhodesia. Ron reid daly released his own updated version of the book in 2000 titled pamwe chete the legend of the selous scouts and this is it. The national ist leaders, robert mugabe and joshua nkomo, were making impossible demands while ian smiths delegation, led by his surrogate. A significant number of records have been lost or members left the unit to serve elsewhere. Selous scouts military conflict, military history, vietnam. When guerrillas were sighted usually by the multiracial selous scouts dressed as insurgentsalouettte helicopters and, later.
The rhodesians claimed 300 zanla and 30 fam armed forces of mozambique soldiers were killed. Gallery of selous scouts insignia and related items. Top secret war books on rhodesiazimbabwe war by ron reiddaly isbn. Our goal in creating this website is to provide an exceptional source of information on the scouts and to pay tribute to this fine regiment. Kitson, gangs and countergangs barrie and rockcliff, london, 1960. Predictably the selous scouts, rhodesias answer to terrorist infiltration, its most battlehardened unit, has been selected for this dubious purpose. African soldiers afterwards air force aircraft ambush armed armoured cars army headquarters attack barracks basil moss bindura botswana bush callsign camp. Selous scouts do this sort of thing to make the guerrilla movement unpopular. Rhodesian counterinsurgency specialists peter baxter its members consisted of some of the finest guerrillafighting men in the western world, unconventional in many ways, disregardful of paradeground discipline, unorthodox in their dress, yet a force so tightly knit in the face of danger that those who knew anything about them. The closeness of the selous scouts continued even after the end of the war, when the white scouts realized the danger their black comrades in arms would face in zimbabwe. Selous scouts were expert mantrackers, masters of bushcraft and pseudoterrorist specialist of. A large number of primary sources were consulted to obtain the basic historical data for this study, but the africa research bulletin series was.
He did, however, call for an international inquiry into the honde massacre for which his uneasy partner, mr. This week i look at some crude admissions made by the smith regime that they were entirely responsible for the deaths of thousands of zimbabweans now lying. Formed in 1973 by legendary lieutenantcolonel ron reiddaly at the behest of rhodesian military supremo general peter walls, the selous scouts were to write their name into the annals of military history as one of the finest counterinsurgency units of all time, through their innovative pseudoguerrilla tactics, brilliant reconnaissance operations into zambia and botswana and daring flying. The scouts evolved to varying extents from the tracker combat unit of the rhodesian army, the cio central intelligence organization, and the special branch of the bsap british south africa police. The selous scouts are to be trained for, and be prepared to take part in any of the operationstasks mentioned below. The use of surrogates in southern africa 19751989 5a. Top secret war books on rhodesiazimbabwe war special ops. The rhodesian security forces ii weapons and warfare.
Henry rider haggard is said to have based the character of allan quatermain on the. Secrets of the rhodesian war the spectator archive. Originally published in 1982 as selous scouts top secret war by peter stiff following extensive conversations with the author, the late lt. Nov 07, 2011 founded by the indomitable colonel ron reiddaly, the selous scouts was born. Top secret war second edition by lt col ron reid daly, peter stiff isbn. Dec 10, 2011 auddis ward, an american selous scout. The selous scouts, a uniquely rhodesian solution to. Signed twice on title page with inscription to phil with my best wishes ron reid daly.
The conflict pitted three forces against one another. The selous scouts took its name from the wellknown nineteenthcentury hunter, frederick courteney selous. This is a historical site dedicated to remembering the selous scouts. The selous scouts was a special forces regiment of the rhodesian army that operated from 1973 until the reconstitution of the country as zimbabwe in 1980. Selous scouts top secret war ron reid daly, peter stiff on. This pdf ebook is one of digital edition of bush war operator memoirs of the. However this unit is in no way associated with the elite selous scouts. Dec 19, 2011 selous scouts by peter baxter is one of the best books ive read on this storied regiment. O ne of the notable units to come out of the 196479 rhodesian bush war a.
Named after african bush hunter frederick courtney selous, this unique special forces unit engaged in socalled pseudo. Bunch of five faber and faber, london 1977 and low intensity operations, faber and faber, london, 1971. Considering the scope of the conflict, comparatively little that is available to the public has been written on the war itself. The selous scouts accounted for 68% of all guerillas killed or captured during the war. Molnar, human factors considerations of undergrounds in insurgencies department of the army pamphlet no 550104, washington dc, 1965. The book is tightly bound with moderate wear, slight spine cock. Counterinsurgency in rhodesia connecting repositories. The name selous comes from the name of the famous british hunter and explorer of africa, frederick courteney selous 18511917.
Named after the british explorer frederick courteney selous 18511917, its motto was pamwe chetea shona phrase meaning all together, together only or forward together. His value during the matabele rebellion in rhodesia in 1896 was thanks largely to his skill as a scout and his general fluency with native languages and behaviour. Reiddaly ordered the white command element to lead by example. A scout team aboard a helicopter taking them on a raid into neighboring mozambique.
The original selous scouts was an armour unit in the former central african federation army. Some of the operations border on the incredulous, recklessness borne of desperation of fighting against long odds with the entire world against them and. Internal security operations, urban and rural isops. Rhodesian atrocities from the horses mouth celebrating. Once the most feared counterinsergency force on the african continent. Military photos, military history, south afrika, joining the military, men are. Declassified selous scoutstop secret war published by user, 14 years ago this book should be a mandatory read for noncommissioned officers and officers serving in special mission units or special operations the world over. The selous scouts were the toughest and most efficient.
The selous scouts were formed in 1972 and named after a famous big game hunter kind of appropriate actually. Contains everything you need to know about the selous scouts. Rhodesian special operations, small wars and insurgencies, vol. Named after the british explorer frederick courteney selous 18511917, its motto was pamwe chetea shona phrase meaning all together, together only or forward together the charter of the selous scouts directed them to the. Selous scouts, top secret war by lt col ron reid daly. James macmanus details new evidence of the part played by the selous scouts in the war against the guerrillas ten years ago this month the war in rhodesia was reaching a climax while in london the lancaster house conference stumbled towards deadlock. The selous scouts was a special forces regiment of the rhodesian army that operated from. Pamwe chete was the scouts regimental motto meaning in native.
This is the story of the selous scouts regiment of rhodesia, which was formed in 1973 and abolished without benefit of formal disbandment, when robert mugabes zanupf took power after the british supervised elections in 1980. The rhodesian bush waralso called the second chimurenga and the zimbabwe war of liberationwas a civil conflict from july 1964 to december 1979 in the unrecognised country of rhodesia later zimbabwerhodesia. The selous scouts have for the first time admitted that thev have been used on hot pursuit raids into mozambique including the highly spectacular and tactically successful raid on the nyadzonya terrorist training camp last august in which over 300, and possibly more than 500, terrorists were killed. Top secret war ron reiddaly, peter stiff snippet view 1982. Sep 26, 2016 download selous scouts top secret war p. The selous scouts, a uniquely rhodesian solution to counter. Nov 12, 2015 the victims were villagers and supporters of black nationalists who were killed more than 24 years ago by special forces units such as the selous scouts of the former white minority regime.
This site is dedicated to all who served, both operational and support. Pdf informationbased conflict in africa researchgate. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. To understand the selous scouts methods, one must first understand the selous scouts mission. To attempt division and dissension within the army itself. Operation eland, also known as the nyadzonya raid, was a military operation carried out by operatives of the rhodesian selous scouts at nyadzonya in mozambique on 9 august 1976.
The more modern selous scouts were formed from the tracker combat unit. Software sites tucows software library shareware cdroms software capsules compilation cdrom images zx spectrum doom level cd. This resulted in the formation of the selous scouts whose role was to infiltrate pseudogeurillas into enemy groups, gather intelligence and turn captured guerillas into progovernment fighters. Now incoming insurgents were able to simply merge with a receptive local. Stability operations combine two mutually interde pendant and. Top kodi archive and support file vintage software community software apk msdos cdrom software cdrom software library.
The product image of the book cover displayed herein may vary from the original book cover for sale. This website is dedicated to the selous scouts regiment. The period during which the selous scouts were most active was during the rhodesian bush war. When the white selous scouts went to south africa they took many of the black scouts and their families along with them, and fought to have them incorporated into no. The initial selous scouts were formed on 1st january 1964 as an armoured car regiment of the central african federation of southern rhodesia former rhodesia, now zimbabwe, northern rhodesia now zambia and nyasaland now malawi, and were named after frederick courtney selous 18511917 a famous hunter and friend of cecil rhodes. It is a work in progress and the plan is to continually add new sections, photos and information as it becomes possible.
Bush war operator memoirs of the rhodesian light infantry selous. See more ideas about military history, special forces and africa. The selous scouts engaged in a wide range of operations, from. Aug 28, 2015 two new units to emerge during the war were the selous scouts, which adopted the name relinquished by the armoured car regiment, and the greys scouts. Performing organization names and addresses school of advanced military studies sams number 250 gibbon.
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