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Attack On Altena Farm
The Attack on Altena Farm occurred in the early hours of 21 December 1972, during the third phase of the Rhodesian Bush War. ''Altena'' was a tobacco farm owned by Marc de Borchgrave, a white Rhodesian landowner who was unpopular among the local civilians. Some sources have indicated that this marked the beginning of the conflict proper, despite the minor threat already represented by guerrilla movements in Rhodesia in the late 1960s. Background Rhodesian intelligence, which had been monitoring ZANLA's activity and preparations, grew curious when over a four-week period in November 1972 sources of information suddenly began to "dry up", in the words of historian Alexandre Binda. "They sensed that something was afoot, but their superiors brushed off their fears," Binda says. "The senior Rhodesian authorities had been lulled into a sense of arrogant self-confidence based on the security forces' past successes." This false veneer of security was smashed on 21 December 1972 when a gr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rhodesian Bush War
The Rhodesian Bush War, also called the Second as well as the Zimbabwe War of Liberation, was a civil conflict from July 1964 to December 1979 in the unrecognised country of Rhodesia (later Zimbabwe-Rhodesia). The conflict pitted three forces against one another: the Rhodesian white minority-led government of Ian Smith (later the Zimbabwe-Rhodesian government of Bishop Abel Muzorewa); the Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army, the military wing of Robert Mugabe's Zimbabwe African National Union; and the Zimbabwe People's Revolutionary Army of Joshua Nkomo's Zimbabwe African People's Union. The war and its subsequent Internal Settlement, signed in 1978 by Smith and Muzorewa, led to the implementation of universal suffrage in June 1979 and the end of white minority rule in Rhodesia, which was renamed Zimbabwe Rhodesia under a black majority government. However, this new order failed to win international recognition and the war continued. Neither side achieved a military v ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
RPD Machine Gun
The RPD (russian: ручной пулемёт Дегтярёва, Ruchnoy Pulemyot Degtyaryova, English: Degtyaryov hand-held machine gun) is a 7.62x39mm light machine gun developed in the Soviet Union by Vasily Degtyaryov for the 7.62×39mm M43 intermediate cartridge. It was created as a replacement for the DP machine gun chambered for the 7.62×54mmR round. It is a precursor of most squad automatic weapons.Woźniak, Ryszard: ''Encyklopedia najnowszej broni palnej—tom 4 R–Z'', page 32. Bellona, 2002. It was succeeded in Soviet service by the RPK. History Work on the weapon commenced in 1943. Three prominent Soviet engineers were asked to submit their own designs: Vasily Degtyaryov, Sergei Simonov and Alexei Sudayev. Among the completed prototypes prepared for evaluation, the Degtyaryov design proved superior and was accepted into service with the Soviet armed forces as the 7.62 mm Ручной Пулемёт Дегтярёва, PПД (RPD, ''Ruchnoy Pulem ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1972 In Rhodesia
The following lists events that happened during 1972 in Rhodesia. Incumbents * President: Clifford Dupont * Prime Minister: Ian Smith January *11 January-11 March - The Pearce Commission arrives in Rhodesia to conduct tests of acceptability of settlement proposals which was agreed on in 1971 March *10 March - The African National Council is transformed into a political organisation and calls for a constitutional conference May *31 May - The United States Senate votes against re-imposition of embargo on Rhodesian chromite. August *22 August - International Olympic Committee asks Rhodesia to withdraw from the 20th Olympic Summer Games held in Munich, Germany December *21 December - Guerrillas of the Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army (ZANLA) attack Altena farm in Centenary area, marking an unprecedented escalation of the Rhodesian Bush War. Births *September 29 — Abel Chimukoko, long-distance runner Years of the 20th century in Zimbabwe Zimbabwe Z ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Guerrilla Warfare
Guerrilla warfare is a form of irregular warfare in which small groups of combatants, such as paramilitary personnel, armed civilians, or Irregular military, irregulars, use military tactics including ambushes, sabotage, Raid (military), raids, petty warfare, hit-and-run tactics, and Mobility (military), mobility, to fight a larger and less-mobile traditional military. Although the term "guerrilla warfare" was coined in the context of the Peninsular War in the 19th century, the tactical methods of guerrilla warfare have long been in use. In the 6th century BC, Sun Tzu proposed the use of guerrilla-style tactics in ''The Art of War''. The 3rd century BC Roman general Quintus Fabius Maximus Verrucosus is also credited with inventing many of the tactics of guerrilla warfare through what is today called the Fabian strategy. Guerrilla warfare has been used by various factions throughout history and is particularly associated with revolutionary movements and popular resistance agains ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Military Raids
Raiding, also known as depredation, is a military tactic or operational warfare mission which has a specific purpose. Raiders do not capture and hold a location, but quickly retreat to a previous defended position before enemy forces can respond in a coordinated manner or formulate a counter-attack. A raiding group may consist of combatants specially trained in this tactic, such as commandos, or as a special mission assigned to any regular troops. Raids are often a standard tactic in irregular warfare, employed by warriors, guerrilla fighters or other irregular military forces. Some raids are large, for example the Sullivan Expedition. The purposes of a raid may include: * to demoralize, confuse, or exhaust the enemy; * to ransack, pillage, or plunder * to destroy specific goods or installations of military or economic value; * to free POWs * to capture enemy soldiers for interrogation; * to kill or capture specific key persons; * to gather intelligence. Land Tribal societie ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Battles And Operations Of The Rhodesian Bush War
A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force commitment. An engagement with only limited commitment between the forces and without decisive results is sometimes called a skirmish. The word "battle" can also be used infrequently to refer to an entire operational campaign, although this usage greatly diverges from its conventional or customary meaning. Generally, the word "battle" is used for such campaigns if referring to a protracted combat encounter in which either one or both of the combatants had the same methods, resources, and strategic objectives throughout the encounter. Some prominent examples of this would be the Battle of the Atlantic, Battle of Britain, and Battle of Stalingrad, all in World War II. Wars and military campaigns are guided by military strategy, whereas ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
RPG-7
The RPG-7 (russian: link=no, РПГ-7, Ручной Противотанковый Гранатомёт, Ruchnoy Protivotankoviy Granatomyot) is a portable, reusable, unguided, shoulder-launched, anti-tank, rocket-propelled grenade launcher. The RPG-7 and its predecessor, the RPG-2, were designed by the Soviet Union, and are now manufactured by the Russian company Bazalt. The weapon has the GRAU index (Russian armed forces index) 6G3. The ruggedness, simplicity, low cost, and effectiveness of the RPG-7 has made it the most widely used anti-armor weapon in the world. Currently around 40 countries use the weapon; it is manufactured in several variants by nine countries. It is popular with irregular and guerrilla forces. The RPG has been used in almost all conflicts across the world since the mid-1960s from the Vietnam War to the 2022 Russo-Ukrainian War. Widely produced, the most commonly seen major variations are the RPG-7D (десантник – ''desantnik'' – paratro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rhodesian Light Infantry
The 1st Battalion, Rhodesian Light Infantry (1RLI), commonly The Rhodesian Light Infantry (RLI), was a regiment formed in 1961 at Brady Barracks (Bulawayo, Southern Rhodesia) as a light infantry unit within the army of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland. Barely a year after its creation, it was relocated to Cranborne Barracks (Salisbury) where its headquarters remained for the rest of its existence. The Regiment became part of the Southern Rhodesian Army when the Federation dissolved at the start of 1964 and, later that year, reformed into a commando battalion. After Rhodesia's Unilateral Declaration of Independence on 11 November 1965, the RLI became one of the country's main counter-insurgency units during the Rhodesian Bush War, which pitted the all-white (later white-controlled) government's security forces against the rival guerrilla campaigns of Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army (ZANLA) and the Zimbabwe People's Revolutionary Army (ZIPRA). An all-white regim ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rhodesian Special Air Service
The Rhodesian Special Air Service or Rhodesian SAS was a Rhodesian special forces unit. It comprised: *C Squadron, Special Air Service Regiment (Malayan Emergency (1951–1953) *"C" Squadron (Rhodesian) Special Air Service (1961–1978) *1 (Rhodesian) Special Air Service Regiment (1978–1980) C Squadron, Special Air Service Regiment was formed during the Malayan Emergency by volunteers from Rhodesia. It was disbanded in 1953 and became the nucleus of "C" Squadron (Rhodesian) Special Air Service, operational from 1961. In June 1978 "C" Squadron (Rhodesian) Special Air Service became 1 (Rhodesian) Special Air Service Regiment until Rhodesia became Zimbabwe in 1980. Formation During the Malayan Emergency, Malayan campaign (1951–1953), a group of men from Southern Rhodesia volunteered to go to Federation of Malaya, Malaya and were initially known as "The Far East Volunteer Group" later to become the Malayan Scouts. While in Malaya, they became "C" Squadron (Malayan Scouts) of t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
British South Africa Police
The British South Africa Police (BSAP) was, for most of its existence, the police force of Rhodesia (renamed Zimbabwe in 1980). It was formed as a paramilitary force of mounted infantrymen in 1889 by Cecil Rhodes' British South Africa Company, from which it took its original name, the British South Africa Company's Police. Initially run directly by the company, it began to operate independently in 1896, at which time it also dropped "Company's" from its name. It thereafter served as Rhodesia's regular police force, retaining its name, until 1980, when it was superseded by the Zimbabwe Republic Police, soon after the country's reconstitution into Zimbabwe in April that year. While it was in the main a law enforcement organisation, the line between police and military was significantly blurred. BSAP officers trained both as policemen and regular soldiers until 1954. BSAP men served in the latter role during the World War I, First and World War II, Second World Wars, and also provided ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
AK-47
The AK-47, officially known as the ''Avtomat Kalashnikova'' (; also known as the Kalashnikov or just AK), is a gas operated, gas-operated assault rifle that is chambered for the 7.62×39mm cartridge. Developed in the Soviet Union by Russian small-arms designer Mikhail Kalashnikov, it is the originating firearm of the Kalashnikov rifle, Kalashnikov (or "AK") family of rifles. After more than seven decades since its creation, the AK-47 model and its variants remain one of the most popular and widely used firearms in the world. The number "47" refers to the year the rifle was finished. Design work on the AK-47 began in 1945. It was presented for official military trials in 1947, and, in 1948, the fixed-Stock (gun), stock version was introduced into active service for selected units of the Soviet Army. In early 1949, the AK was officially accepted by the Soviet Armed Forces and used by the majority of the member states of the Warsaw Pact. The model and its variants owe their glob ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rex Nhongo
Solomon Mujuru (born Solomon Tapfumaneyi Mutusva; 5 May 1945 – 15 August 2011), also known by his nom-de-guerre, Rex Nhongo, was a Zimbabwean military officer and politician who led Robert Mugabe's guerrilla forces during the Rhodesian Bush War. He was from the Zezuru clan. In post-independence Zimbabwe, he went on to become army chief before leaving government service in 1995. After leaving his post in the Zimbabwe National Army, he got into politics becoming Member of Parliament for Chikomba on a Zanu PF ticket. He was generally regarded as one of the most feared men in Zimbabwe. His wife, Joice Mujuru, became vice-president of Zimbabwe in 2004. Biography Early life He was born Solomon Tapfumaneyi Mutusva Mujuru in Chivhu, Enkeldoorn, Southern Rhodesia. He was raised in colonial Rhodesia's Chikomba District, Chikomba region. Mujuru took an interest in politics at an early age. He was first arrested for his activism while a student at Zimuto High School (Zimbabwe), Zimuto Hig ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
