Military history of Rhodesia

Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 35. Chapters: British Commonwealth Air Training Plan, History of the Rhodesian Light Infantry (1961¿1972), History of the Rhodesian Light Infantry (1972¿1977), History of the Rhodesian Light Infantry (1977¿1980), Nhari rebellion, Operation Overload, Southern Rhodesian military involvement in the Malayan Emergency, Southern Rhodesia Medal for War Service. Excerpt: The 1st Battalion, The Rhodesian Light Infantry, commonly the Rhodesian Light Infantry (1RLI or RLI), was originally formed in 1961 as a regiment of the army of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland. Raised as a light infantry unit at Brady Barracks, Bulawayo in Southern Rhodesia, the Regiment served in the Rhodesian Bush War as part of the Rhodesian Security Forces between 1964 and 1979, from 1965 under the unrecognised governments of Rhodesia and latterly, during the second half of 1979, Zimbabwe Rhodesia. The RLI remained active during an interim period under British control and then, from April 1980, within the armed forces of Zimbabwe, before disbanding on 31 October 1980. The RLI was formed in February 1961 as a light infantry battalion made up exclusively of white recruits. After first seeing action in September 1961 on the Northern Rhodesian border with Katanga, it relocated to Cranborne Barracks, Salisbury the following year and remained there as part of the Southern Rhodesian Army after the Federation dissolved on 31 December 1963. Violent political intimidation of black Rhodesians by two rival communist revolutionary parties, the Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU) and Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU), necessitated a specially trained counter-insurgency unit, and the RLI was accordingly reformed into a commando regiment during 1964 and 1965 under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Peter Walls. Following Rhodesia's Unilateral Declaration of Independence from Britain on 11 November 1965, the RLI became widely known for its counter-insurgency operations during the Rhodesian Bush War against incursions by ZAPU and ZANU's respective military wings, the Zimbabwe People's Revolutionary Army (ZIPRA) and Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army (ZANLA). The Regiment acquitted itself well in several such operations, with some of its soldiers winning decorations for their actions. Some operations, such as Operations Flotilla and Excess in 1968, involved