Short description
This classic account of the Rhodesian war has been revised and updated 25 years after it was originally published. Widely praised by military experts worldwide, it has become a standard text for the study of counter-insurgency, especially its application to the current 'war on terror' in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Long description
This classic account of the Rhodesian war has been revised and updated 25 years after it was originally published. Widely praised by military experts worldwide, it has become a standard text for the study of counter-insurgency, especially its application to the current 'war on terror' in Iraq and Afghanistan. It covers the three main stages of the war. First from 1965 when the security forces were winning, to a 'no-win' war from 1972-1976 and, finally, the intense period from 1976-1979 when white Rhodesians, led by Ian Smith, were saved from defeat by the Lancaster House talks in London. The military structure, strategy and tactics of both sides are analysed with graphic details of individual contacts in the bush to the daring raids into neighboring states. The title also considers the international pressures on the rebel state and the social effects of the war inside the country on both blacks and whites. The immediate aftermath of the war is examined, in particular Zimbabwe's continuing conflict with South Africa pre-Nelson Mandela. The final chapter looks at the war from the perspective of the last three decades, especially in the light of Robert Mugabe's destruction of a once prosperous land. Fresh information on intelligence dirty tricks, scandals, and political back-stabbing will generate further debate about this erstwhile British colony transformed into a rogue pariah state which, once more, threatens the stability of the whole southern African region.