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Paul Moorcraft

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The Rhodesian War: Fifty Years On Kindle Edition

by Paul L. Moorcraft (Author), Peter McLaughlin (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

4.5 131 ratings

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A political and military analysis of this conflict in southern Africa with maps, photos, and a new introduction assessing its long aftermath.

A half century after the Universal Declaration of Independence, this superb book depicts the military history of Southern Rhodesia from the first resistance to colonial rule, through the period of UDI by the Smith government to the Lancaster House agreement that transferred power. There are vivid accounts of the operations against the black nationalist guerillas by the security forces, and the intensity of the fighting and courage of the participants will surprise and enthrall readers. Atrocities were undoubtedly committed by both sides as the protagonists played for very high stakes.

But this is more than just a book on military operations. The authors are able to provide expert analysis of the historical situation and examine events well into the twenty-first century, including Mugabe’s operations against rival tribes and white farmers. With a new introduction, this is essential reading for those wishing to learn more about a counterinsurgency campaign and why despite the ingenuity of the Rhodesian military fighting against overwhelming odds and restricted by sanctions, the outcome culminating in the Lancaster House Agreement was inevitable.

Print length

355 pages
Language

English
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On Kindle Scribe
Publisher

Pen & Sword Military
Publication date

January 20, 2016
File size

17707 KB
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Professor Paul Moorcraft has frontline experience reporting on over 20 years, from A-Z, from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe, as a correspondent for print, radio and TV for nearly 40 years. He is currently Visiting Professor at Cardiff University and Director of the Centre for Foreign Policy Analysis, London.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B08DL72KWW
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Pen & Sword Military; Illustrated edition (January 20, 2016)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ January 20, 2016
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 17707 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 355 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #1,047,084 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #193 in History of Southern Africa
- #407 in Revolutionary History
- #1,029 in Historical Study Reference (Books)

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4.5 131 ratings

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4.5 out of 5

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Shyster1

Flying in the Face of History

Reviewed in the United States on May 14, 2016

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Great rendition of the war that raged for decades over on the East side of Africa. I was a missionary there at the time and the people and events are set out as they happened. Gritty book, gritty time, gritty place. But written in a lively manner and like it was. Now the place is starving and the UN calls it a Kleptocracy, a government of thieves.

15 people found this helpful

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J at Kwaj

Political short history of the Rhodesian War

Reviewed in the United States on April 17, 2019

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This book gives a short mostly political history of the Rhodesian war. Most books on this war are more tactical or operational and do not cover the last couple of years when the Rhodesian govt began losing the numbers game. This book focuses on the political side. Includes the various strange bedfellows of neighbor nations that sometimes played both sides. Did not include enough details of the financial side of the war. Afterall, the white govt stayed in business for many years despite numerous sanctions.

8 people found this helpful

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Maverickzw

.

Reviewed in the United States on February 22, 2017

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Read this in conjunction with a Handful of Hardmen a biography of a Rhodesian SAS soldier. The book being reviewed gave a more political overview of the conflict. The book was detailed about the support for the various protagonists and particular Russian and Chinese support for the "freedom fighters. It was well researched and eye opening particularly for someone who moved to Rhodesia in the late 70's

11 people found this helpful

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Mike

True grit

Reviewed in the United States on June 15, 2021

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What really happened , and how it happened form the men on the ground. Its real, gritty, and honest. To late to make a difference, but its great to have an insiders perspective of the conflict.

2 people found this helpful

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F. Clark

Tell all book

Reviewed in the United States on August 25, 2017

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Excellent read, very informative and well presented. Unbais account of what
really transpired during the war. A must read for anyone interested in the Rhodesian war.

3 people found this helpful

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Harlan

good account of major issues

Reviewed in the United States on September 2, 2020

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This book covered various aspects of the war, from military to political. It has accounts of the insurgents' terrorism, the high standards and capabilities of the Rhodesian military, and reviews the toll that the war took on families as men were serving for several months each year in the bush.

3 people found this helpful

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James

Worth your time

Reviewed in the United States on October 11, 2016

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Highly recommend this book. If you are at all interested in the Rhodesia conflict it gives a pretty unbiased look at the operational and strategic levels while still adding enough tactical info to keep it interesting.

7 people found this helpful

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US Diver

Great history of a war largely unknown to Americans

Reviewed in the United States on October 22, 2017

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Great history of a war largely unknown to Americans. Told by insiders who were reservists in Rhodesia's bush war, this book focus on the political as well as the strategic and tactical aspects of the war. A good read.

3 people found this helpful

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Joakre

Rhodesien

Reviewed in Germany on May 25, 2024

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Good condition

JPS

Fighting a lost war

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 22, 2016

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This is a remarkable book whose first edition was published in South Africa in 1982, very shortly after the events related in the book, when these were still very fresh in the actors’ minds. It has been updated and republished in 2008 and now in 2015 for the fiftieth anniversary of the Unilateral Declaration of Independence (or UDI) of what was then called Rhodesia (or even South Rhodesia).

Despite being told from the side of the Rhodesian security forces, the book is, as another reviewer mentioned, a surprisingly non-partisan and lucid analysis of their counter-insurgency operations. The authors show that despite the superior organisation and training, the undermanned, outnumbered and outgunned Rhodesian forces were fighting a losing war almost from the very beginning and explain why this was the case.

While the book is written in a lively manner and makes no mystery about the atrocities that took place on both sides, it clearly shows how both the government and the security forces lacked a clear strategy and clearly defined objectives. It also shows how their propaganda only reached the small white minority that they were fighting for, and not the huge black majority which became increasingly “politicised” over the years as the regime gradually lost control of much of the countryside.

A further merit of this book is to show to what extent Rhodesian forces and government became increasingly dependent upon the barely covert support they were receiving through and from South Africa. It also shows how the latter’s Vorster government used them, applied pressure on them and manipulated them to suit its own interests. Finally, it makes no bones of the internal divisions and – at times – rivalries that hampered their war effort, divisions that were matched by those of the Marxist and Maoist guerrilla forces and parties that were opposing them.

Above all, however, this is a book about military history, the history of a war that – at least in retrospect – seemed impossible to win for the white Rhodesian minority although it refused to accept it and believed otherwise. It is also very much topical with regards to counter-insurgencies, with the events and operations that it includes still being studied in Western war schools.

Finally, and although the authors’ tone remains factual throughout the book, the book’s last section is about “doom and gloom”. It concludes on a war than could only be lost, the emigration of the (small) white minority and the complete and disastrous mismanagement of a country that used to be portrayed as a breadbasket but has known several famines since 1980. Five stars.

11 people found this helpful

Kindle Customer

For someone who lived through the post UDI years in ...

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 26, 2017

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For someone who lived through the post UDI years in Rhodesia and was brought up and educated in that country, this book proved a very bitter pill to swallow. I do, however, believe that the authors have tried to give an accurate and, as far as possible, unbiased account of the military history of that country. For anyone not familiar with the political and military situation in Rhodesia, the abbreviations for the names of the various groups involved can be very confusing but, as many of these names were fairly lengthy it would not have been practicable for the authors to use these in full all the time. Because this history is also told from various aspects it is, sometimes, quite repetitive. It is, however well worth reading.

2 people found this helpful

pilgrimmaster

Classic COIN: Lessons learned

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 21, 2016

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Detailed, comprehensive and surprisingly non-partisan analysis which remains required reading for anyone with a need to understand the vagaries of counter-insurgency operations, Moorcroft's work is highly recommended by this reviewer.

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