FREE : ONE MANS WAR IN THE RHODESIAN PDF

Chris Cocks | 368 pages | 19 Feb 2017 | 30 Degrees South Publishers | 9780958489096 | English | , South Africa Fireforce - Wikipedia

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We use cookies to provide our servicesfor example, to keep track of items stored in your shopping basket, prevent fraudulent activity, improve the security of our services, keep track of your specific preferences e. Performance and Analytics. ON OFF. We use cookies to serve you certain types of adsincluding ads relevant to your interests on Book Depository and to work with approved third parties in the process of delivering ad content, including ads relevant to your interests, to measure the effectiveness of their ads, and to perform services on behalf of Book Depository. Cancel Save settings. Home Contact us Help Free delivery worldwide. Free delivery worldwide. Bestselling Series. Harry Potter. Popular Features. Home Learning. Notify me. Description Fireforce is the compelling, brutal account of Chris Cocks' service in 3 , the Rhodesian Light Infantry, during 's bitter civil war of the s - a conflict that came to be known simply as "the bush war". The book's Fireforce: One Mans War in the Rhodesian Light Infantry refers to a tactic of total airborne envelopment developed and perfected by the RLI, together with the and the , that became the principal strike weapon of the beleaguered Rhodesian forces in their struggle against the overwhelming tide of the Communist-trained and -equipped ZANLA and ZIPRA guerrillas. The combat strain on a Rhodesian fighting soldier was almost unbelievable. Always desperately short of ground troops, officers were sometimes obliged to parachute the same men into action into as many as three Fireforce: One Mans War in the Rhodesian Light Infantry contacts a day. This book is not for the squeamish. It blends the intrinsic pathos and humour peculiar to war with face-to-face combat in the bush and death at point- blank range. A frank and moving factual account, the book takes the reader through three years of life in the RLI, with all its ferocity, pride, fear and survival recounted in a vivid, humble narrative. Now, here is your chance to read what several critics have called the best book on the Rhodesian War ever written. Product details Format Paperback pages Dimensions He was then offered a farming job in the country's Lowveld; however, the army refused to countenance a waiver of call-ups, so he attested into the British South Africa Police and spent the remaining 14 months of the bush Fireforce: One Mans War in the Rhodesian Light Infantry as a PATU Police Anti-Terrorist Unit stick leader and avoiding the Military Police. He moved to Johannesburg in and stumbled into a publishing career, Fireforce: One Mans War in the Rhodesian Light Infantry in southern African military history. Rating details. Book ratings by Goodreads. Goodreads is the world's largest site for readers with over 50 million reviews. We're featuring millions of their reader ratings on our book pages to help you find your new favourite book. Close X. Learn about new offers and get more deals by joining our newsletter. Sign up now. Follow us. Coronavirus delivery updates. Fireforce: One Man's War in the Rhodesian Light Infantry - Chris Cocks - Google Books

Register to bid Learn how to bid. Chris Cocks joined the RLI as a National Serviceman in for 12 months at the age of 18, then signed on as a regular for three years. He soon became a lance corporal and stick leader. His upbringing Fireforce: One Mans War in the Rhodesian Light Infantry been a sheltered one and he knew little of life - but he Fireforce: One Mans War in the Rhodesian Light Infantry due for a radical change. The combat strain on a fighting soldier was almost unbelievable, and the Rhodesians, who were desperately short of ground troops to deal with guerrilla incursions, sometimes parachuted the same men into as many as three contacts in a day. Fireforce is not for the squeamish, although it has been written with an unforgettable pathos and humour. It tells of face to face combat in the bush and death at point blank range. It is a book which does nothing to glamourise or glorify war. For as Chris Cocks found at such a young age, war is merely a catalogue of destruction, suffering, and death. SA Auction 86 starts in. Remember me. Sign in. Sign up for our newsletter. Lot preview. Email or share. Description Publisher's pictorial card cover. Internally clean and in good condition with mild age-associated edge wear. It was the closest parallel to the in recent times. Read it - it will be an experience you'll never forget. All rights reserved. Use of this website is regulated by our website Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Fireforce : Chris Cocks :

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 and, later that year, reformed into a commando . An all-white regiment, the RLI was made up wholly of professional soldiers untilwhen capable conscripted national servicemen were first introduced. Foreign volunteers from across the world, including many veterans of foreign conflicts, also joined and became a key part of the Regiment. So prominent were the airborne aspects of typical RLI operations that the battalion became a parachute regiment in The RLI served under the short-lived government of Zimbabwe inand the interim British government that followed. After serving under the new government of Zimbabwe for a brief period, the unit was disbanded in October The RLI's tactics and training contributed to repeated successes in its counter- insurgency operations. As a premise, a commando could have five troopsof which only four troops were normally activated. However, with the arrival of Intake in Maythe were up to full strength for the first and only time. Some of the commandos mustered five troops until the end of ; with the university students demobbing at Fireforce: One Mans War in the Rhodesian Light Infantry end ofthe commandos reverted to four troops in 2 Commando's case 9 Troop was deactivated. Support Commando had a history dissimilar to all the other units and had been called Support Group for the era prior to A sizable portion of the administrative support was performed by detachments from various military services Services Corps, Medical Corps, etc. A high percentage of Signals Troop had served in one or more Commandos before being selected and trained in-house as communicators; they focused on front line communications in support of special operations and . Others were trained by the Corps of Signals and provided essential services exchange of classified information, etc. During the early planning stages for proposed changes to Support Group, it was accepted that Base Group was more suitable as the cynosure for all signals. The troop headquarters section was relocated to the RLI Joint Operations Command JOCand a team of specialist operators — properly cross-trained as proficient riflemen for combat duties — was attached to and deployed with each of the Commandos. So Signals Troop was scattered but still functioned as the vital organ that connected all the detachments in the combined operations network. The majority were transmigrated to Support Group where they eventually became known as Reconnaissance Troop after the change to a Commando was actualised. Support Commando had been called Support Group and came from the original Headquarters Company; consequently, they had some additional skills and resources. Support Commando had a Headquarters and four cross-trained Troops: Mortar, Assault Pioneer, Anti-Tank and Reconnaissance, so every commando Fireforce: One Mans War in the Rhodesian Light Infantry a similar size 4 troops. The troops Fireforce: One Mans War in the Rhodesian Light Infantry not renamed because they maintained their capacity to provide the battalion with supporting fire and specialised resources in both conventional warfare and counter insurgency operations. During most counter-insurgency operations Support Commando fulfilled the same role as all the other commandos, which was enough to justify the change from being called Support Group. Mortar Troop was equipped with 81mm mortars and consisted of a headquarters section and three purposeful sections two mortars per section. Assault Pioneer Troop provided the Battalion with combat engineering capabilities through Fireforce: One Mans War in the Rhodesian Light Infantry headquarters section and three purposeful sections. Anti-Tank Troop was equipped with six mm recoilless rifles, and also consisted of a headquarters section and three purposeful sections two anti- tank weapons per section, each mounted on a modified Rodef 2. The remnants of Tracking Troop, with additional resources for reconnoitering, were the basis for the fourth troop: Reconnaissance Troop. The RLI was a fledgling unit when operations started, and it needed to grow and mature; albeit a very prominent unit in the permanent forces, its size did not warrant a full Colonel. The ranks above Colour Staff Sergeant were addressed as "Sir" by the subordinate ranks. All ranks tended to be called "troopies" by the Rhodesian media. The RLI was at the forefront of the Rhodesian Bush Wara conflict between the internationally unrecognised government, made up mostly of the country's minority whites, and communist guerrillas attempting to overthrow it and introduce majority rule. The country became known as Zimbabwe the following year. The RLI's characteristic deployment was the Fireforce rapid response operation, first created at Mount Darwin and then tested Fireforce: One Mans War in the Rhodesian Light Infantry Centenary in June The latter was Fireforce: One Mans War in the Rhodesian Light Infantry Cessna Skymasterarmed with two roof mounted. The RLI became extremely adept at the execution of this very technical type of military operation. A Commando would be based at an airfield with usually four helicopters, one DC-3 Dakota and the Cessna known as the "Lynx". This helicopter was called the K-car [n 9] with a Fireforce: One Mans War in the Rhodesian Light Infantry of three consisting of the pilota technician gunnerand the fireforce commander. The carrying capacity of the G-car dictated the combat organisation of the Commando: Stop-1 was assigned to the first G-car, Stop-2 to the second, and Stop-3 to the third. Stop-4 to Stop-8 were in the Dakota. All the rounds Fireforce: One Mans War in the Rhodesian Light Infantry 7. From early onward, a radio was also issued to one of the riflemen. The Dakota carried five stops of paratroopers, two on the port side and three on the starboard side. Apart from the parachutes, paratroopers equipment was tantamount to heliborne-troopers equipment; but the paratroopers had other problems akin to jumping. Every machine-gunner had to jump with his weapon strapped to his side. Together the eight stops, 32 men in total, were described as the "First Wave". Each Fireforce took charge of huge swathes of the country many thousands of square miles. Inherently there were only three permanent Fireforce bases. Any sighting of the enemy was reported and a siren sounded at the most convenient base. The First Wave of heliborne-troopers, already in a state of alacrity, would grab their weapon and webbing and everything else that they needed while rushing to the helicopters. At the same time, the paratroopers would run to a designated place where their equipment was kept ready, and dispatchers usually assisted by off-duty comrades would help them kit out. Normally the Second Wave, called the Landtail, rushed to trucks, although if "jousting" Fireforce: One Mans War in the Rhodesian Light Infantry the "scene" was nearby they would wait at the airfield to be picked up by the helicopters after the First Wave had been deployed. The Landtail was often an important factor as they helped with refueling the helicopters and recovering the deceased enemy and their weaponsthe parachutes and other equipment. Sometimes a smaller Third Wave had to prepare if numbers permitted; but quite often, only the First Wave was engaged in shooting. In general, most soldiers preferred to be in the Heliborne First Wave and, although the number of operational parachute jumps was truly remarkable, the majority of soldiers were carried into action by helicopter. The most important factors, apart from the reaction of the enemy and the terrain, in a Fireforce operation were the reliability of intelligence and the skill of the operations commander. The majority of successful engagements were enabled by the skills of the Selous Scouts many of whom were former enemy ; they had the capacity to insert observation posts into the bush without being noticed by the inhabitants. The difficulty of commanding the scene was extreme and good Fireforce commanders were highly prized by the men. Any advance warning for the enemy of the approaching helicopters, and the anticipated reactions caused by surprise and confusion, were decisive factors in the coming engagement. If the enemy was trapped in adverse terrain, such as a simple village surrounded by open ground, normally no-one escaped unless it was near nightfall. In addition to Fireforce, the four Commandos were often used as in patrolling actions, mostly inside Rhodesia, but sometimes inside and . Upon their return to base for re-supply, they were often required to turnaround and patrol again in short order. The Rhodesian Special Air Serviceused almost exclusively for external operations, often accompanied the Rhodesian Light Infantry on these operations, as did the Selous Scouts. Most of the Rhodesian Light Infantry's patrol operations took place in Rhodesia, though some patrols occurred in Zambia and Mozambique. Patrolling bush trips were Fireforce: One Mans War in the Rhodesian Light Infantry with the troops due to the arduous nature of the duty and the comparative lack of action to Fireforce operations. A Commando could be more exhausted from a patrolling bush trip than the most intense Fireforce period, even if the unit saw more combat in the latter. However the nature of patrolling work greatly expanded the minds of the troops. Patrols varied from travelling by day and setting up ambushes at night, to observation post work, where a position was occupied to observe Fireforce: One Mans War in the Rhodesian Light Infantry locality. Extreme precautions were made to be clandestine on these observation posts, though it was suspected that the locals were often aware of the Observation Post's presence. Fireforce: One Mans War in the Rhodesian Light Infantry the type of patrol, a night march would normally be made to the area. Conditions could make this task most difficult, especially when it was so dark that the troopies were completely blind. Scarcity of water could present an issue to the patrol. The civilians were not regarded as hostiles by the troops. There were numerous occasions when they helped each other and process of great empathy took place. If a patrol learned of enemy presence the patrol force immediately moved to engage the enemy. On occasions the patrols were ambushed. The larger raids combined Fireforce teams and were similarly executed, save for the greater scale of planning and logistics. Just like in a regular Fireforce operation, the element of surprise was most important. Canberra and Hunter jets would bomb the target just before the Commandos arrived; and outcomes could be out of all reason, from total "lemons" to the most successful days in the Battalion's history. Petter-Bowyer as an "astounding success". The stop of four was used in these raids though they were organised into larger entities. The plans for these raids varied from sudden and fairly simple operations subject to change on the fly to highly intricate. The political situation interfered on occasions and this was much resented: the troops always thought that these operations were most important. Riflemen were equipped with a 7. The primary infantry support weapon was the 7. Soldiers also carried a variety of hand grenades including high- explosive HEwhite-phosphorus WPand colored smoke. To prevent accidental ignition of a grenade, the safety levers which upon release activated the fuse of the grenade, were taped down. Soldiers were issued HE and WP rifle grenades [27] as well as anti-tank grenades or rockets. Sometimes "bunker bombs" were carried. Machine-gunners and some riflemen carried sidearms. The 7. This disparity in effectiveness, combined with the higher training standards and experiences of the RLI, would probably be a decisive factor in engagements when the RLI forces could fire upon the enemy from a distance less dangerous return fire. Still, the RLI favoured Fireforce: One Mans War in the Rhodesian Light Infantry close to the enemy. Often the stops stayed the night at a Fireforce scene and sometimes patrolled the area the next day, other times these operations led into the night Fireforce: One Mans War in the Rhodesian Light Infantry through the following day. On direct action missions, additional ammunition was issued to all soldiers for their personal weapons as well as for squad weapons such as mortars and machine-guns. Bergens with rations water, batteries for the squad radio, etc. Riflemen were required to carry a pangawhich could be used to chop down bush to create a landing zone so that helicopters could extract them. Strangely, some riflemen tried not to carry this piece of equipment, while some gunners and stop commanders also known as stick leaders and whose rank varied from Trooper to Captain did carry them. Only the Stop Commanders carried mini-flares. These devices were about the size and shape of a large pencil, which were used to signal positions, though never at night, and were popular with the troops.