The Rhodesian War (1965-1980): Counter-Guerrilla and Black-Market Armaments as an Example of Counter-Insurgency Warfare

Abstract

The Rhodesian War (1965-1980), known to Anglo-Saxons as The Bush War and to Zimbabweans as the Second Chimurenga conflict or War of Liberation, was the conflict that pitted Ian Smith's unilateral white minority government against pro-independence Zimbabwean guerrillas supported by various communist countries. The nature of the conflict, which was characterized for the small number of combatants, the isolation of the Rhodesian regime, the presence of guerrillas, and the difficulties in obtaining materials, led to the mechanisms of counter-insurgency warfare being set in motion. In this text, the different characteristic elements of this type of warfare have been analysed in terms of combat tactics and military operations, the kind of troops, and the weaponry used as an example of a counterinsurgency conflict.