Our August 2023 Lecture - Guerilla War: Rhodesia 1972-1980

-

 

This talk will present a general history of the Rhodesian Bush War focusing on its military aspects, covering strategy, tactics, equipment and weaponry during the war’s final phase starting around 1972 to 1980. The conflict was a civil war in the unrecognised country of Rhodesia which pitted three forces against one another: the Rhodesian government under Ian Smith, and guerilla forces of the Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army led by Robert Mugabe and the Zimbabwe People’s Revolutionary Army under Joshua Nkomo. In 1980 Zimbabwe was granted independence and majority black rule under Mugabe, which brought the war to a close.


Fabian Cohnen lived in Rhodesia and was called up for National Service in 1979 like most other school leavers. He underwent basic infantry training in Bulawayo and transferred to the Rhodesian Light Infantry Training Troop in Salisbury, following which he went to officer selection in Gwelo. Fabian graduated in the last Regular Rhodesian Infantry Officers Course in 1980 (Inf 25/23) and was posted as 2nd Lieutenant to the Rhodesian African Rifles (RAR). The Bush War was in transition at that point and the retraining and amalgamation of the Rhodesian and guerilla forces was starting (mostly) under regular army supervision with light assistance from the British Army. Before leaving Zimbabwe for South Africa in 1981, Fabian was Officer Commanding C Company 3RAR as a Lieutenant. 3RAR was then rebadged as 33 Infantry Battalion under the Zimbabwe National Army. Growing up in Rhodesia, being surrounded and having personal experience of the Bush War and becoming part of the military left Fabian with a lifelong interest in all aspects of military history. Fabian is a member of the Military History Society of NSW. 

LECTURE TIME AND VENUE: 10:30AM Saturday 5 August 2023 at The Auditorium, Anzac Memorial Hyde Park, Hyde Park South, corner Elizabeth and Liverpool Streets, Sydney CBD. Admission is free of charge but a donation would be appreciated. For information call 0419 698 783 or email: president@militaryhistorynsw.com.au

The Society's main website is here: www.militaryhistorynsw.com.au

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Bathurst RSL Letter on Bathurst Boer War Memorial - Lt Peter Handcock

-
Image
Lt Peter Handcock O n Anzac Day this year journalist Peter FitzSimons wrote an article published in the Sydney Morning Herald calling for the removal of the name of Lieutenant Peter Handcock from the Bathurst, New South Wales, Boer War Memorial on the ground that he was a convicted war criminal, for which he was executed by firing squad alongside Lieutenant Harry "Breaker" Morant  in South Africa on 27 February 1902. Handcock was a Bathurst district local. James Unkles is an author, former naval reserve officer, military and civilian lawyer, and campaigner for a pardon for Morant, Handcock and the third convicted man, George Witton. On 30 May 2021 James posted a response to FitzSimons on his website. The response notes that on 4 May 2021 the Bathurst Sub-Branch of the RSL wrote to Bathurst Regional Council, which controls the monument, opposing the removal of any names from the Memorial. A copy of the letter is reproduced below. Bathurst Regional Council has declined to re...
Read more

Second World War Tour 2025: Anzac Day in Athens - Greece and Crete

-
Image
  On the 6 April 1941 the German Army launched its attack against the Greeks on the Metaxas Line and the Imperial Expeditionary Force at Florina. The Allied force was pushed off Greece by 28 April and so began the Battle of Crete. Join our memorial tour lead by Lt-Colonel Ron Lyons (retd), Vice President, Military History Society of NSW, in conjunction with Battlefield History Tours, to Greece and Crete visiting the battlefields where the 6th Division and the New Zealand Division confronted the German Army. This is a special tour developed for the very special purpose that we hope will, in a small way, ensure that this part of Australian and New Zealand history is not forgotten. As we visit the battle sites, each with an informative briefing, we will meet the local dignitaries who maintain our military heritage and pay our respects at the resting places of our fallen. ABOUT BATTLEFIELD HISTORY TOURS www.battlefieldhistorytours.com.au Battlefield History Tours is one of Australia’s ...
Read more

Statement on the Vandalisation of Public Monuments and War Memorials

-
Image
  STATEMENT ON THE VANDALISATION OF PUBLIC MONUMENTS AND WAR MEMORIALS The following statement was adopted by the Council of the Military History Society of New South Wales at their meeting on Monday, 28 October 2024: As a body dedicated to preserving and honouring our state’s military heritage, the Military History of New South Wales is disturbed by continuing instances of defacement, vandalism and misuse of historical public monuments, including war and veterans memorials. Acts of physical destruction as a means of political expression should be condemned unreservedly. These attacks represent an infringement of community rights. They are an illegitimate substitute for the democratic processes by which these monuments are properly managed with broad popular consent. This is true even if controversy surrounds the monument in question. In the case of war memorials, the attacks dishonour the sacrifice, and insult the relatives, of those who gave their lives for the precious freed...
Read more