This is Africa: The story of the Rhodesian Light Infantry
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 8 มี.ค. 2022
- The Tactical Historian sits with John Van Zyl, veteran of the Rhodesian Light Infantry and creator of a TH-cam Channel that covers the Rhodesian Bush War and Stories of Africa ( / johnvanzyl7 . We cover his experience in the conflict and learn valuable lessons both on the tactical and the strategic levels of warfare.
I lifted a beer to toast this guy while listening, great interview!
Being forced to leave that area breaks the heart. Africa gets into your soul and never leaves you.
It's heartbreaking what happened to Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe is just another giant African beggars bowl.
The Rhodesian SAS were some of the most experienced guys back in the day, totally stabbed in the back by vile carrier politicians, much respect from England, we haven't forgotten you and your fight against the communist and Soviet backed Mugabe forces!
‘N where is Rodhesia now? ‘N the Rodhesian people!?
@@moisesfuentes2090 .... Zimbabwe.
@@moisesfuentes2090 its freedom for everybody or freedom for nobody
The English caused all this
@@Devourer221 Explain?
Ex Rifleman from The Royal Green Jackets here from UK's former Light Infantry. The aim were to be the sharpshooters of the fighting brigade and able to move fast and outflank the enemy providing fire support and be the shock troops to piss off the enemy . Due to this tradition, the Light infantry in the UK march much faster than all other regiments. The Regiment is now called The Rifles with a bugle cap badge.
Much respect to my infantry brothers from the Royal Green Jackets! Hope you enjoy my channel.
@Dan Didnot 😂😂😅😅
@@tacticalhistorian1249 Thanks and yes mate, great content. A few of my officers had had deep family connections from the RLI and SF. Thanks again.
In Rhodesia, we had family friends by the name of Godfrey. They were English born. Their oldest son joined the Green Jacket’s to fight in Malaya, unfortunately he was killed in action. Blessings from South Africa.
@@terrynaude284 dreadful environment to have to fight a war in
Excellent John, you have a natural, engaging and comfortable manner in front of the camera. Well done my China.
Good job " Tactical Historian" on selecting John.
Glad you enjoyed the episode! More to come!
Russel you are a man among men, supporting John like this. Take care. Q
Fantastic overview of the RLI SAS Bush war and political situation in Rhodesia. Every time you are interviewed you add more depth and colour to the history of a great country and people.
John did an amazing job!
Mr. Mugabe armed with just arches & arrows defeated & destroyed the white Rodhesia for good!
@@moisesfuentes2090 Yes, and so continued the history of this great countries evolution and advancement to what it is today.
@@CrashedSuperman yap equality,respect and getting regarded as a human is fantastic
The great Zimbabweans
Good laughs Boss John .. nice chat . You represented the veterans and all Rhodesians perfectly. . Great insight . Tatenda John . 👍👏🙏🏻
I went to school with a number of Rhodesians in South Africa back in the 1980's. Intelligent, physically fit and really tuned into their surroundings, overall really good guys to be amongst when the shit hit the fan but do not piss these guys off...2 sayings from when I was growing up in South Africa - Never piss off a Rhodie...and beware a Rhodie on the rampage!
Regardless of politics...respect for Mr Van Zyl ...obviously a decent man..I hope hes safe and well..Time changes everything.
History will judge Rhodesians a lot less harshly than they have been judged in the past, as the outcomes of African independence are shown to the world.
The bed net in the background reminds me of my childhood growing up in Far North Queensland (Aust) in the 60s. No one had fly screens on their windows those days.BTW John is a good story teller.
Hooroo from Mid North Coast NSW mate. Always good to see other Aussies on youtube!
Same here mate. Still had the bed net into the late 70s
Irrespective of your political views capturing these stories whilst the guys who were there are still alive and can paint a multi layered technicolor story is just brilliant.
Just starting off listening - I have a casual friend who is Rhodesian, fought as a citizen soldier in the bush war. Mr. Van Zyl's accent immediately brought back fond memories of this other chap.
Interesting side fact - I have known / been friends with multiple Rhodesians - and NEVER ONCE heard a racist comment from any of them. They genuinely love / thought highly of the blacks, in many cases they were fighting ALONGSIDE blacks.
Most of the whites who loved and respected the blacks voted against Ian Smith and his party, the Rhodesian Front, and supported liberal politicians like Garfield Todd, Pat Bashford and Allan Savoury.
Happy the guys you knew were like that. They were in the minority.
Great Respect RLI and Scout Sellas - this dudes GREAT FOR ALL TIME.
Both my granddad and his brother served in that war, and the stories they told were amazing. Growing up there myself it's beautiful, fancy him going to peterhouse, it's such a small world
Enjoyed especially John's "funny" experiences at his own expense. I had a couple of those too in the SADF. On one occasion I was marched into the CSM's office to "explain". My explanation was so funny that he almost swallowed his handlebar mustache and told me to "get out" of his office. I was happy to do so!
Excellent interview. First hand recollections are essential to understanding world affairs. Bravo!
This is a true gem. Thank you! and thank you John Van Zyl!
John you are so right, even on so called "clandestine" night vehicle drop off to set up OP's we were compromised often by a goat herd, almost a "Hello Baas" situation on first light. Eventually we were dropped off many km's from OP position and walked in during the day to set up OP
That is the infantry way. Always prefer to be on foot.
I was a kid at Rhodesias independence, living in neighboring portuguese east africa (Mozambique) and remember everybody becaming so happy with the event! We also wanted independence from Portugal, as the guys from europe had no clue (and still dont).
thanks for the video! History will eventually vindicate us.
@T800 I meant "the guys IN europe"; not thre Rhodesian whites...
Mozambique gained its independence in 1975. Zimbabwe was 1980. President Samora Machel closed the border and the fuel pipe that line than ran from Beria to Umtali.
You mean the colonials fighting majority rule?
@@ayodejiolowokere1076 no, the ones fighting for the land they had always known as 'home'.
Not everybody believed in some strange ideal.
@@phillydelphia8760 That's false. They were fighting to maintain the dominance of the white electorate. This is so, as they were fighting to stop majority rule.
Furthermore, most white adults were not born in Southern Rhodesia.
John's comments are very interesting and he was a very experienced operator. Concerning the Rhodesian Air Force which flew DC3 (not DC4 or DC5) and Canberra (not Lancaster), as well as Hawker Hunters and helicopters aircraft etc. But, the military also had access to a variety of private air transport with a variety of aircraft.
I have a friend who was a farmer in Rhodesia and his father had a light Beechcraft airplane. His Dad had flow Boston medium bombers in WW2 and he had outfitted his Beechcraft with a .303 machine gun in each wing as well as a crude bombing setup involving a tube filled with grenades that had a simple pin at the bottom to let the lot go.
FMF Corpsman here. Very interesting unknown piece of history here. He is very pleasant to listen to. I am particularly impressed that they had knowledge on crycs and other somewhat advanced medical procedures and triage.
The RSF (Rhodesian Security Forces) are arguably the finest counter guerilla fighting force of its era. Between the development of their Fireforce doctrine, the RLI, Selous Scouts, C Squadron 22 (Rhodesian SAS), the Grey's Scouts (horseback mounted commandos), Chopper Tech etc. A fantastic military with incredible flexibility and adapted to its environment.
@@notundermywatch3163 what about Malaya in the 50s by the British? The British had the results in their favour too (despite insurgencies being very difficult to vanquish).
Despite that, the Rhodesians were amazing in their alignment of doctrine, training and equipment!
☝🤓
This was the best interview I've ever watched. Please invite him back
ZIPRA (the Soviet-trained army) was mostly manned by Matabele, members of a tribe of Zulu origin which settled in what became Rhodesia in the late 1830s.
Whereas ZANU-PF and its military arm was mostly Chinese/North Korean-trained.
@@Waldemarvonanhalt imagine nk in Africa making moves lol
@@KB8Killa They actually did. They helped Mugabe in his genocide of the Matabele and eviction of White farmers.
@@Waldemarvonanhalt very fitting. I guess NK used to actually have some global power once upon a time? cuz today I don't think they are involved too much in global politicking and war funding
@@KB8Killa They still do today - their guns show up everywhere even nowadays. It’s just very covert. I’ve been to conflict zones in the past to try to find rare weapons (when I have the money I’ll be heading off to Syria, Afghanistan, Pakistan to try find some STG-44s and the like to import to the US where people who’ll appreciate them can get their hands on them), and North Korean (or associated) gun traders are everywhere. One guy’s stall literally had only korean stamped AKMs, AK74s, and some weird handmade guns from I think vietnam… K picked up an M1 Carbine that looked like it had been carved by hand… fully functional in semi automatic fire in 7.62x39 which was bizarre!
Anyway good times. Soon as I have a bit of cash I’ll head out to the wild again. There’s the mythical crate of Yugo Para STGs I want to find, but the govt there likely isn’t corrupt enough to let me try lol (I’ll still do my best, don’t worry).
The price of sturmgewehrs is about to go down significantly… (I hope, I’m the last guy you’d expect to TfL this and everything I do is haphazard - but I try my best for the collectors :))
Cultural awareness helps not to make more enemies than what you have. I saw this when I was in Iraq for 2 years.
Great interview. These guys were extremely legit at counter-insurgency.
Excellent interview. Thanks.
Really good interview. Thanks!
I was with Capt Bob lines training the 300 IPOU black volunteers, in 1978 .We had a huge problem to get these guys to understand a "Aim Picture" on weapon training. Using FN's fortunately had fully auto on the last click, unlike the AK47 where auto was first
‘N did ya win the war? He he hehehe he
@@moisesfuentes2090 how many pigeons can a hawk eat it's the same with budgies in Africa, hawks can't expect to win. But which is a more noble bird? Ha ha you must be a Budgie
@@moisesfuentes2090 They won the day "zimbabwe" asked all the whites to come back because they were starving and the economy collapsed and the new "leaders" didn't know fuckall about running a country.
Look at em now. That country, to quote a great man, is a shit hole.
@@davidkershaw5379 cope
@@davidkershaw5379 Nice subtle racism, but I get what you mean.
Great interview! This guy is great! Super easy to listen to. Really enjoyed the story about the ND as well.
Glad you enjoyed! More to come!
Brilliant interview!
This was really interesting and had me listening the whole time thank you very much for sharing
Johna, awesome narrative of your experience in the RLI. I enjoyed your openness and honesty about the African system.. Take care brother.
Very interesting! Thanks for sharing.
A very educaded man, not only tells, he lived it. I am impressed, War everywhere since the beginning of time. May God bless them all,and may the Righteous prevail. Forgive us our sins. Tks Bearhunter5
Great video dude, this video will greatly help me research for my second video on the Rhodesian military. You earned a subscriber
Thank you. Subscribing right back!
Hey good job man
@@jeremyromero2000 thank you
Beautiful story. Thank you, for sharing. A good friend of mine was RLI and a RC boarding school before the Army. Rhodesia is a terrible loss to the British world.
Absolutely
A loss for the British world is a win for humanity. Sorry. I don't make the rules.
@@jrwatkins3872 as an american communist. I am now reassured that we were not hard enough on you after the civil war. You forgot your places again the moment after you were shown them.
Great podcasts guys, Both my grandfather and father served as RSM s in the Bucks light infantry and served in both World Wars,Ive visited South Africa researching both the Zulu and Boar wars and was extremely well received there by both the White South Africans and the Zulus in their Krall's,I now live in South East Asia after visiting here in 1993 and researching the American War in Vietnam, Fascinating Tacticts you used against the Communists surrounding there forces and setting up cut off points as they obviously tried to escape from your main force,and you're dead right John about democracy, that will never work here in South Asia.
Thanks for the kind words. Seeing as you are interested in the Vietnam War, please check out my interview on the Son Tay Raid. Would love to hear your thoughts in regards.
@@tacticalhistorian1249 Thanks ,will do.
The youth years sound great! There's too much tech in entertainment for the young in the USA. Nice video!
Excellent interview
Interesting and informative interaction. Thanks for the upload. New subscriber here.
Britains Standard Operating Procedure: Throw you under the Bus
English political procedure: Promise, Renege, Lie.
@@KernowekTim You mean British. England hasnt existed as a seperate entity since 1707.
Sounds also a lot like the yanks
@@seanperrings8460 Yanks yup. Them damn Northern industrialists lmao. The SOUTH WILL RISE AGAIN!!
Merchants
Fascinating interview!
Well told. I believe that I hav paused at least twice to shop for Rhodesian camouflage.
Great Interview ( from an English Veteran)
I appreciate the support. More to come!
Great interview
love your channel... Much Respect to the Bush fighters in Rhodesia.. Retired Platoon daddy. US Army. 11-B 40v
Thanks for the support! Just subscribed to your channel! Like what I see. Hopefully we can collab in the future.
As an ex Green Jacket (UK) I loved that interview, I came very close to joining the RLI.
Dave B. Thailand.
Greetings from Poland, very interesting story.
Great vid!
Ja! At 50:15 John is not describing a criminal offence but rather improper weapons handling drills which really requires additional training as opposed to criminal sanction, so goes the Canadian military justice logic. Rather than jail him or make him run, run him through weapons handling drills until his fingers bleed. Then he'll likely never misfire his weapon again.
Yea.Recall on a call out there was an AD from one of the ouens running to the chopper.Certainly a bad time to have an AD,if ever there was a good one,but the young man was going to a contact with the likelihood of DB on his return.Not good.Felt for him.
The intro reminds me of watching the history channel back in the day as a kid.
My grandmother, uncle and cousin were killed by the Rhodesian forces that were camped at the Romesly Army base in Wedza on May 6 1978. She was an angel in human form whose only crime was feeding anyone who came by the farm. The accusation was that she was feeding the ZANLA forces, even though she was known to be apolitical but had a policy that anybody's son is as my son, and if they are hungry I will feed them. She was a devout Christian who had converted through the outreach of members of the Dutch Reformed Church. I was bitter about that for years but i understand the reality of war. The moral of the Rhodesian story is you can't keep the majority of any population as 2nd class citizens. Those black forces that made up 80% of the Rhodesian forces were not allowed to buy homes in the segregated white suburbs or send their kids to Govt 'group A' schools like Alan Wilson, Churchill of Prince Edward. The system could not be sustained. I was one of the first batch of students to desegregate Govt schools and those first few years were harsh for us black students.
I was in Llewellyn a few years after this and I too signed up regular, I was supposed to go to the RLI, but as a MA lll Medic I stayed in Bulawayo and deployed from there. I am not sure you will be able to get anyone to talk about it, but have you interviewed a Selous Scout? They were basically trained to live and disappear into the busy months at a time.
It was an interesting time, like Israel, their neighbours did not accept their existence. We learned a lot from them and our tactics were very similar. No rules, just get it done.
Great operators along with SA. Top of experience in Africa
great channel, but would like to hear more about your experiences
Got a few “personal ramble videos” planned. Although most of these folks are far more interesting haha
John's view on democracy is interesting but I dispute that democracy never worked in Africa. In my view the elder/headman/chief/kgosi system is democratic. The head the household might get his position by being the oldest man in the house, but the household will certainly make their views known to him. The village headman his a brave man who goes against the will of the heads of household or elders. And so it works up the system. There aren't elections in our sense but the mood of the people is respected.
I totally agree on the imposition of foreign ways and values though. I would say that one of the biggest reasons the west failed in Iraq and Afghanistan was well-meaning attempts to I,pose western values and philosophy on people not acquainted with them.
Legendary guys. They achieved the impossible against huge odds. Some of the greatest military accomplishments .
very good video
awesome
I was not the greatest of soldiers but was and still am proud to have served in the 1RLI 2 Commando !
Rhodesians Never Die 💚🤍🐘
Thanks James, my first Platoon Sergeant in the American Ranger Regiment was a veteran of the RLI. I think the RLI was finest Light Infantry of the 20th Century. Thanks for standing the line. Sua Sponte.
Long dead Rhodes
Thank you for your service against mugabe
Just randomly found your channel. Great topic man you let him speak the whole time. You’re experienced
I’ll have other videos where I’ll ramble haha. But during interviews I believe the guest should have center stage. 👍 thank you for the kind words.
@@tacticalhistorian1249 you should bring this guy back. there is not enough content about rhodesia
He's a remarkably wise and smart man for infantry lol
Some of the major differences between the SAS and RLI were that the SAS were more a precision surgical raid spec ops unit whilst the RLI were used more for purely commando direct action operations. Its argued as far are pure fighting men, who took the fight to the enemy, fought the enemy close to and in the heat of the battle, the RLI was the better unit. At what the RLI did, no unit including the SAS was better than it. However the Selous Scouts were more effective than SAS although not as professional. Its interesting now that a new British army Ranger unit shares almost exactly the same cap badge of the selous scouts. In my opinion, I believe this is tacitly admitting how elite and how they admire the Selous Scouts!
Try fighting a real army next time
@@effewe2
You should say the same to the USA army in Vietnam..... These are tough wars........
@@arotogtech Dude, the NVA were tough Mofos, fighting for centuries and were ready to go. These poor African kids and farmers were no match for Nazis (RLI/SAS and SADF)...and they held their own against them, including the Chemical and Biological weapons employed by Ian Smith, who by the way is in hell!
@@effewe2 Name one.
22:15 the equipment is fascinating.
Accidental Discharge... also Negligent or Unauthorised... LOL! In Australia, the trick, if you're quick, was to yell "Snake!!" and fire a few more shots... then ""Fuck! I missed him!..." ...and stick to the story during the charge!
Loved working with the Aussies when I was over there for training. Some of the hardest charging soldiers I’ve ever met!
I saw that once they still tore his ass up. But it was damn good try lol.
Always very interesting to listen to John. John, when are you being interviewed by Hannes on Fighting Men of Rhodesia?
Interesting.
Ian Smith had favored a more gradual transition to majority rule, considering the effects that 40 years of Mugabe and his thugs have had on that nation I suppose his approach would have been far more merciful for the population
Mugabe. Hero!!!!
Best points made, do not forcibly impose your cultural differences on the indigenous, traditional cultural ways in other countries, respect their ways.....gg, Tampa Florida
17:57 1857 - just the Anglo-Indians, the foreign service regiments, the Gurkhas, and the Punjabis who stuck with the Company.
50:00 Here in Canada we've eliminated criminal sanction from Negligent Discharge scenarios unless the conduct was reckless or wanton. The reality herein is that if such offences were to go to Court Martial (as they do based on rank and circumstance of the offence), convicting someone of a Negligent Discharge (ND) where there is no reckless conduct on the part of the accused is near impossible because you can't prove the mental fault element of the offence. IOWs where someone negligently or accidentally allows something to occur there is no guilty mind element to the offence in that he didn't intend for it to happen. Rather its more akin to a regulatory offence wherein one can be convicted on a lesser administrative level say like when your parking meter runs out and you are ticketed on that basis.
He's not lying about the high-sights thing 32:30 ish. This was true for American mercs working in Mozambique, Zamb, Congo esp w Mocambiqer guys. It's ironic right Mozambique puts an AK on the flag but how well did their regulars use one?
Hi John my friend
A man among men!
Worst thing that happened to Rhodesia was 1980.
1890 or 1965.
Wanna know how you tell who the real badass units are?
When their CO/NCO has *very few* medals on their chests
Leaders draped in decoration invariably didn't do anything to earn them and having a chest full of gold and silver is usually a bigger demonstration of structural military weakness and overcompensation than of genuine accomplishment
You’re not wrong.
Needs more Martin (5RR)
What is the name of the RLI theme song (sounds like oh when the saints go marching in)… would like to buy it
Thx😊
Keep the memories alive brothers
Top
I worked for a gentleman years ago who fought in Rhodesia. I’m interested in Rhodesia and the bush war. What book is recommended on the bush war. Thanks for the video.
THERE ARE a no. of very good books out there !! GALAGO PUBLICATIONS are the ones to track down it really depends on WHERE (COUNTRY OR NATION ) YOU ARE BASED !! GD LUCK with the searching for books ! GIVE ME a few days and I'll msg bk with some BOOK TITLES ETC ANY REGIMENTAL INTEREST OR are you after BUSH WAR generalised !??? in subject??
Any good books on the Rhodesian bush war would be appreciated. Thanks
@@laughingdog6010 Fireforce by Chris Cocks (a former member of the Rhodesian Light Infantry) is one of the best books.
Thanks
Ok LD IF YOU are interested ??!! get bk to me with a reply and I'll send the RHODESIAN BUSH WAR BOOKS titles that I mentioned ! UNFORTUNATELY I AM unable to get my hands on the GALAGO PUBLICATIONS that I have BUT working from memory etc I have a list of books and related info CHEERS !
Tom Kratman
Point of order, Tranzi (transnational progressive) bleating aside, White Phosphorus is legal to use. Some uses are illegal but there's no broad ban.
Point of order #2, a patrol is any unit sent out from a larger unit for purposes of combat or reconnaissance. When he says "patrolling," I'm pretty sure he means active patrolling, the kind of search and destroy we engaged in in Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan. And he's quite right that this was largely a waste of time (though not completely; there's a lot to be said for just keeping the enemy off balance if you can pay the price for doing so). But those OPs he mentioned on mountain tops or moving down to the trails at night? Those _were_ patrols.
Reply
On a technicality, Britain only agreed to Rhodesian independence on the understanding that Rhodesia would become a majority governed nation.
The Rhodesian government objected to this and declared independence to prevent this from happening.
Britain didn't betray its agreement for Rhodesian independence, instead Rhodesia didn't agree to the terms.
Had 2 Cousens in the Selous scout.
Imagine having a beer with this guy. Best bro date evar
What a great narration. Nothing like a Rhodesian firestorm. A lighthouse of civilised rule in Africa. Now they don’t even produce food to put on their tables 😂.
Mujibhas were the non-military personnel that carried the gear for the combatants. Those little boys were not mujibhas, they were just kids herding cattle who if they saw something and did not alert, their own families were in danger.
He is wearing Rhodesian brush stroke pattern camouflage. Its very rare. Wish I had some myself but its very hard to find. It was used by the Rhodesian military from 1965 to 1980. Its one of my favorite camouflage patterns.
Ian Smith was right
Thanks that's exactly what is happening all over the world like the war between Russia and Ukraine and with democracy from the West.
hearts and minds,
WW1 ended 11th of 11th at 11h00 1918..same as Rhodesias independance. 11th of 11th at 11h00 1965
holy fuck. Dude looks a lot like my dad who was a CAF 2 RCR sniper.
Long Live the RLI. They are immortal. We will not forget
Had we picked an entire Shona/Ndebele generation and provided them a similar education and followed that through as far as we could we would have (a) undermined the village elder system, plus their animist culture and (b) provided that generation with an argument to enter adult society as equals because they had begun to understood what 'being white' means. It is just another culture; one that has boot prints, used car lots and abandoned picnic sites on at least two celestial bodies. To them the Communist argument would struggle to penetrate. They would understand that learning, hard work, and application are the pathway to a better future. Sthn Rhod. was the most enlightened ex-colony in Africa, we did try, Mugabe was identified and made ready for Uni, but...? Too many immigrant Brits imho. Most of them adopted an upper class accent on the boat and arrived as instant toffs, ready to command and criticise. Still do.
I know, pointless, but I am homesick nearly 60 years later.
Ironically, Ian Smith was very proud of the Britishness of Rhodesia and his own parents were born and bred in the UK.
@@glendodds3824 The History of the internal and formative ructions of Britain is a font of decency (Why: Democracy, Rule of Law, Separation of Powers, Political Responsibility, etc.) but the citizens of an ex-empire still dream of regaining that status, that inviability of thought processes: based simplistically on how well they chose their parents. Hence their arrogance.
Try this line on them: 'The only thing we can learn from the English is in the third and fourth last chapters of a good history book'. A guaranteed arrogance check. It became apposite circa the 1910s.
RLI a great Regiment, Rhodesia a great country and Rhodesian`s a great people.
The story of Rhodesia's lost wealth is heartbreaking but the British were morally right for demanding majority rule before independence
Queen Elizabeth II was right
Yes, because railroading a minority is "morally right" as long as they're white. 🙄
Mugabe’s reign of terror would suggest otherwise.
Majority rule is a terrifying idea. That's why I like the idea of a representative republic. Just imagine....49% having to bend to the will of the 51%.
And what if the majority mainly consists of idiots?
It seems that my country is going to minority rules. Either way, someone gets screwed. Everyone should have a fair shake in their life.
The revolt he speaks of happened in 1857 in India.
My uncle joined the Rhodesian Army in 1975 after his 2 tours in Vietnam with the Green Berets. He was there until 1980. Has said since then that Rhodesia was awesome and Mugabe ruined it. I don't know if you knew him. His name was Richard Pardue.