Comments on: Today’s Military History Lesson: Fireforce

By: Bryson

Bryson — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 05:29:25 +0000

Are you from Rhodesia?

By: scarbomi

scarbomi — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 00:22:47 +0000

That’s a very good point, and if you ever went to college in Charleston; send me a reply.

By: Hayward

Hayward — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 21:30:34 +0000

There were really only two successful major insurgency suppressions in the 20th Century.
That of the Huk in the Philipines which even then with US assistance took 8 years. c. 1945–1954. The Hukbalahap initially had much support as they had been the main resistance movement against the Japanese occupation. But they lost support of the people and they were never large and also were isolated in their numbers maybe 60–80,000.
The other is the Malayan Emergency 1948–1960. To deal with this insurgency, at least the British did not call it a “war” Sir Robert Thompson became the main driver of the change in strategy and tactics to defeat the MNLA.
At Thompson

By: Rhyno327

Rhyno327 — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 14:07:51 +0000

Discard all the politics and racist BS, and wat you have here is a a lesson to be learned in Counter-insurg. Thier tactics and thier organization, with limited resources, are just unbelivable. Iam not all that familiar with the colonial Africa, but Zimbabwe was much safer when it was Rhodesia. They made thier homes there, and fought for them. Wouldn’t YOU??

By: Conor

Conor — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 22:36:07 +0000

The Fire Force is a remarkable strategy, the RLI took on forces 20 times it’s number and won. When other Rhodesian units were in a pinch, they could call in backup and a Fire Force would be on the scene in 30 minutes.

By: John Noonan

John Noonan — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 01:07:50 +0000

Bob. Yes. Already noted in the post.

By: Bob Bledsoe

Bob Bledsoe — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 15:26:28 +0000

The Rhodesians lost.

By: Sgt Oblat

Sgt Oblat — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 10:22:08 +0000

TODAY’S MILITARY HISTORY LESSON
When strategy conflicts with tactics throw away the strategy.
Vietnam was an exercise in mistaken idealism; Iraq in cynical money-making. And there’s no optimism or idealism now — Americans are tired of knowledge. Our leaders, the C-students from Yale, know this. We’re proud of being ignorant; that leaves virtue at our core
– Kurt Vonnegut

By: Chris C

Chris C — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 19:23:21 +0000

LEP, I think the difference is that with the Rhodesians, it actually worked.

By: Chris C

Chris C — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 19:01:56 +0000

Quoth one Rhodesian Light Infantry soldier, circa 1978: “Had we been fighting the Viet Cong, we would have lost this war years ago.”