Great book and ref. woak for sure.
I am nearly through the copy Russell very kindly 'personalised' for me when I was in Canberra in December last year. A number of brilliantly written and often hilarious accounts from so many contributors. It evoked many memories, mostly good, and the book was a reminder to me that so much happened in that beautiful country during those heady years beyond our own personal experiences. I also like the bite size chunks of the anecdotes, each of which contribute to the rich tapestry which is The Rhodesian African Rifles. Despite its 550 odd pages, I wager that there are a great many other as yet untold stories, and would like to think that there is scope for a 'follow up'. If I may say, I wouldn't be too concerned about book sales tapering off. A book like this has, I think, a specific audience able to appreciate the contributions largely based on personal exposure to and experience with our masodja, and a sequel would in my view go down just as well. My tuppence haypenny anyway. Well done to messrs Russell Fulton and Andy Telfer for all the hard work which they invested in this memorable read.
My copy of "Chibaya Moyo" arrived at a very opportune moment, what with me facing the prospect of a prolonged lay-up, occasioned by some recent and extensive surgery. Over a few weeks I did something I very seldom do, even though I think of myself as a fast and avid reader: I read the entire book, every single word, and cover to cover. Lying on my bed, foot propped up on a pillow, this book pretty much transported me, and I'm certain it allowed me to heal, both outside, as well as inside. And what about the book: what's the verdict? Well, I LOVED it. It is a composite of many, many different writers, and in these pages we get more than a sidelong glance at a remarkable time and some quite remarkable people. I learned a lot I did not previously know, and it was a real pleasure to read about the experiences of a few people I knew in those days. I was delighted at the scope of the narrative and reading this book gave me something I never had: an appreciation for something I was a part of during many of the best days of my 58 years on this strange, beautiful, bewildering planet. Having read this book I learned a very great deal about this brotherhood of which I was, for just under 2 years, a small part, and I now have a renewed sense of respect for the men with which I served. What this book also gave me, on a personal level, was the opportunity for some form of redemption, since I was able in a small way to contribute some little something to the well-being of the Old Masodja of the RAR. I found the book an unalloyed delight to read. I consider it an essential "read" for any student of this chapter in our history, and the stories brought back a flood of memories. I very greatly respect the enormous personal contributions of the two editors, Russell Fulton and Andy Telfer, both of whom I am now proud to number among my friends. Reading this book was very good for me: It stirred up so many emotions, by far mostly positive, and a lingering sense of nostalgia and sadnes...
I have just read CHIBAYA MOYO, co authored by Andy Telfer and Russell Fulton, both commissioned officers attached to the Rhodesian African Rifles; the RAR.
I have both read, and critiqued an array of Rhodesian books in my lifetime, but none come even close to the brilliance of this wonderful piece of Rhodesiana.
CHIBAYA MOYO is unique in that it is not about ”ME, and what I did” but it is about “WE and what WE did”.
It’s Genesis is a history of this great Rhodesian Regiment from its small beginning to its Revelation; the handing in of their revered Colours, with a smorgasbord of delightfully tasty anecdotes, poems and short stories in between. The vast array of contributors filling the pages of this book, reflect upon the lives, idiosyncrasies and achievement of a kaleidoscopic Rhodesian populace.
For me CHIBAYA MOYO joined many of the dots, in what was a vexedly, trying time in our turbulent history....and in so doing has brought closure for me on many aspects.
As I picture those proud ‘Masoja’ marching off into the annals of history singing their poignantly beautiful regimental song “Sweet banana”, I am filled with deep remorse and simultaneously filled with great pride, that they loved their Rhodesia, as I did.
To Andy and Russell, I salute you both for your tireless devotion, and selfless endeavours to honour these fine men, and setting up a fund to assist those who have suffered, and still do, in their beloved country through the sales of CHIBAYA MOYO.
This is the story of Schalk W Fourie’s ten years in the elite South African Army Special Forces, commonly known as the “Recces.”SW started his military career as a national serviceman at 1 Special Service Battalion, in Bloemfontein, South Africa. He volunteered for Special Forces and a year later, after completing the hardest Special Forces Selection in the world, and...
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This is the concise (738 pages split into two volumes) story of the final phase of the Buccaneer aircraft operated by 24 Squadron of the South African Air Force during the period 1985 to 1991 when the squadron closed down. Included are the H2 TV Guided bomb project as well as the participation in the last major operations of the...
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The Battle of Cuito Cuanavale has been a source of fierce contestation and emotion for decades, but up to now little was known about the Recces’ presence and impact during this controversial battle. In the last book of the nail-biting trilogy about 1 Recce, the award-winning author Alexander Strachan, himself an ex-Recce, reveals more on the Recces’ involvement there. Packed...
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Die Slag van Cuito Cuanavale is al dekades lank 'n bron van hewige konflik en emosie, maar tot nou toe was min bekend oor die Recces se teenwoordigheid en impak tydens dié omstrede gevegte. In hierdie laaste boek van die spanningsvolle trilogie oor 1 Recce onthul Alexander Strachan, bekroonde skrywer en self 'n oud-Recce, meer oor die Recces se betrokkenheid...
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AFRICA@WAR SERIES: VOLUME 54 WAR OF INTERVENTION IN ANGOLA VOLUME 4: Angolan and Cuban Air Forces, 1985-1987 - Tom Cooper, Adrien Fontanellaz, Jose Augusto Matos War of Intervention in Angola, Volume 4, continues the coverage of the operational history of the Angolan Air Force and Air Defence Force (FAPA/DAA) as told by Angolan and Cuban sources, in the period 1985-1987. Many accounts...
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It is May 1983. The UMR is celebrating the 100th anniversary of its Headquarters, the UMR Hall, in Greytown. A medal parade, civic dinner and a number of other events are on the programme. The members of the Unit are upbeat and enthusiastic and look forward to all the activities. There is an officers meeting in the old UMR Hall. On...
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AFRICA@WAR SERIES: VOLUME 53 THE CIA AND BRITISH MERCENARIES IN ANGOLA, 1975-1976 - Stephen Rookes The 1974 Carnation Revolution came as a blessing for independence movements in Portugal's African colonies: Angola, Mozambique and Portuguese Guinea. As had been the case in a number of sub-Saharan countries suddenly finding themselves free of the colonial yoke, the political vacuum left behind by a...
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This book tells the story of the author’s three contracts as a mercenary in the ‘64-‘65 Congo conflict. It is a vivid account of his personal experiences, from his first contract as a raw recruit to his last contract, when he was involved in the formation of the navy on Lake Tanganyika and was the first C.O. Hugh started writing...
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General Georg Meiring is the last of the BIG FIVE GENERALS of the Border War era – consisting of names that were commonly heard in South African households and often on the lips of many a young national serviceman of that time, Magnus Malan, Constand Viljoen, Jannie Geldenhuys, Kat Liebenberg, Georg Meiring. These were the leaders of the most powerful...
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AFRICA@WAR SERIES: VOLUME 52 FOR GOD AND THE CIA: Cuban Exile Forces in the Congo and Beyond c.1961-1967 - Stephen Rookes As the United Nations armed forces found themselves struggling to quell a series of armed rebellions, towards the end of 1962 the United States increased its military role in the Congo Crisis by providing the Congolese government with a small air...
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Until now little has been known about the Rhodesian contribution to the history of the SAS. Now at last the men themselves tell their own stories of the exploits of that Special Forces unit during the Bush War and the years before. SAS Rhodesia provides a comprehensive account of the origins and history of this famous Special Forces unit, as told...
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AFRICA@WAR SERIES: VOLUME 50 War of Intervention in Angola - Volume 3: Angolan and Cuban Air Forces 1975-1985 - Tom Cooper, Adrian Fontanellaz, Jose Augusto Matos Most accounts of the conflict known in the West as the ‘Border War’ barely mention the operations by the FAPA/DAA. A handful of published histories mention two MiG-21s claimed as shot down by Dassault Mirage F.1...
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Designed in response to a 1951 requirement, the C-130 Hercules is the most successful military airlifter ever built. Since it first flew in prototype form on 23 August 1954, more than 2,100 have been produced in over eighty different versions. Across its variants, the Hercules serves more than sixty air forces, as well as many civilian cargo operators, in a...
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AFRICA@WAR SERIES: VOLUME 51 RIPE FOR REBELLION: Political and Military Insurgency in the Congo, 1946-1964 - Stephen Rookes After many years of political struggle, the Belgian Congo was finally granted its independence in June 1960. Becoming the Republic of the Congo (and later the Democratic Republic of the Congo), what was supposed to be a momentous occasion in the country's history...
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By August 1974 the Portuguese had all but abandoned Angola, its erstwhile colony, and there was a fear in both the Intelligence services of South Africa and America that the country was likely to fall the hands of the MPLA, generally regarded as a Soviet surrogate. It was that fear that triggered the training by South Africa of guerrilla groups...
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This work is a serious, non-fictional autobiography, which inter alia is an expose of the times and personalities involved during the thirty years the author spent in covert operations with the Nationalist Party government of South Africa from 1966. The author’s targets during this period included Soviet and Cuban political and military activity in Southern Africa and those of the...
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Al Venter's latest book on South Africa's 23-year Border War along the Angolan frontier offers a host of new perspectives. These include details about units like the South African Air Force 44 Squadron which converted Dakota aircraft into flying gun platforms similar to those used in America's war in South-East Asia. He also has American nuclear specialist David Albright -...
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Executive Outcomes was already well known to several governments and private corporations before it exploded into controversy in 1993 after entering into a contract with Angola’s FAA to train a brigade-level force to decisively end their decades-old conflict with UNITA. It was also well known to those involved in fermenting conflicts in order to topple African governments with a view...
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Paratroopers or Fallschirmjäger as they are known in German, were the elite parachute troops (Fallschirmtruppe) of the Luftwaffe during the Second World War. Although the Americans and Italians, and to a greater extent, the Russians had experimented with airborne troops, it was the Germans who pioneered vertical envelopment using parachute, glider-borne and air-landed troops to conduct successful airborne operations in...
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Operation Savannah – the Troops’ Diaries Vol 1 & 2 Bookset Much has been written about Operation Savannah by politicians, historians, academics, generals, and senior officers. Those perspectives were not always shared by the very young men who were involved at the front. Many of Operation Savannah’s veterans have struggled to share their experience, even with family and friends. Most...
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