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Fireforce: One Mans War in the Rhodesian Light Infantry Free FREE FIREFORCE: ONE MANS WAR IN THE RHODESIAN LIGHT INFANTRY PDF Chris Cocks | 368 pages | 19 Feb 2017 | 30 Degrees South Publishers | 9780958489096 | English | Johannesburg, South Africa Fireforce - Wikipedia Cookies are used to provide, analyse and improve our services; provide chat tools; and show you relevant content on advertising. You can learn more about our use of cookies here. Are you happy to accept all cookies? Accept all Manage Cookies Cookie Preferences We use cookies and similar tools, including those used by approved third parties collectively, "cookies" for the purposes described below. You can learn more about how we plus approved third parties use Fireforce: One Mans War in the Rhodesian Light Infantry and how to change your settings by visiting the Cookies notice. The choices you make here will apply to your interaction with this service on this device. 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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 Commando, the Rhodesian Light Infantry, during Zimbabwe'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 Selous Scouts and the Rhodesian Air Force, 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 French Foreign Legion 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 battalion. 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 Rhodesia 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 commandos 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 airborne forces. 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.
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