Rhodesian War Stories: Someone At The Door
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- čas přidán 26. 09. 2019
- A Rhodesian war veteran describes a tense evening in an abandoned hut.
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I can't be the only one here who actually wants to hear more of these stories
Not FBI ... you shall not be disappointed. Many thanks for the compliment. Keep well.
rwandaprivatesecurity.
Africa Operations. 2020.
anti jihad operations.
A man must put some trust in his gut feeling, another top notch story.
I'm sure something was there, we all get that gut feeling when something is sour like that. Great story. You did good, God bless
A witch! Witchcratcy is meant for desperate times and war is one such.
“ everyone in that hut was gonna wake up post haste... to the sound of gun fire.” Amazing story. Rhodesia long may she reign
this is some of the best content on CZcams. Thank you and wish you the best.
I found your channel pursuing interest in the Selous scouts. Suddenly, I’m enthralled with Rhodesian history! Thank you! Please make more videos. You’re a natural story teller!
I dont know how i found this channel but this is interesting thanks for sharing
I wonder if you could do some videos later on about daily life in Rhodesia too
P77777777 Sorry for the late response...been so busy lately I hardly know what day it is. Yes, I shall be most happy to share something about life in Rhodesia. Thanks for the suggestion.
'Danger is everywhere in the bush' ... words to live by.
What a stressful situation that must have been. I can see why you would want to avoid huts and buildings in the bush!
Cole Friel agree what were they doing in the hut and why no guard?
These videos are fascinating. As an amateur "histrorian" of the Rhodesian conflict, hearing these reminiscences first hand is most interesting and educational. Thank you so very much, Five Romeo Romeo, both for sharing your experiences and for your service.
Thankyou for sharing your experiences, you really need to compile a book - this comes from an ex UK soldier
I'm so glad I found this channel. This is history that needs to be recorded
Please keep these stories coming, you set an example to be proud of. I salute you sir!
I just can`t imagine what was going through your mind that night. The advice you gave about speaking out is sound and solid and can be applied to many situations today. Thank you for sharing your military past, I find it enormously interesting.
Love the stories, can’t wait to hear more!
Thank you from your story. It kept me glued to chair to the end, it was so well told I started to tense myself of thinking that situation.
I MUST add another THANK YOU, Sir :)
How can i get in touch with you. would love to actually talk to you. i was born in Mutari in 63 and missed the war but have a hugh respect for all that you and the rest did
Rhodesians are awesome!
Thank you for sharing your experiences.
Much respect sir.
Kind of late response, but I have experiences like this in old buildings often. Doors, bookselfs, chairs and floorboards creeking and just making noises. Kid me would be often too scared to sleep thinking it was ghosts or something, but I got used to it now. Time just takes its toll on old furniture and buildings like that, and how you described the hut it very well might have been the case for it too.
I just came across this guy and his life In the army on CZcams. Absolutely brilliant .
God Bless You
Should have had rotating guards lying quietly awake
That's what I was thinking.
What a great story and you are such a great narrator , you bring to life the realities of fighting in the bush and you give one a sense that they are there with you sharing your fears and thoughts.
Brave man and your mates to
Really enjoy the way you tell your stories, keep it up👍
Just found your channel and I have really enjoyed it. Any chance you could put together a video series on how to fight a bush war? It would be a good way to pass down all of those hard-learned lessons and it would give you the opportunity to discuss in great detail all aspects of patrol methods, tactics, choice of gear, choice of weaponry, communication methods, coordination with other units, etc.
Thrilled to see a new video. Thank you for sharing these stories, I really enjoy them
Thanks Alec...and I enjoy making them. I'm really hoping I can get on with some camera work next week. Keep well.
No way would I have stayed in that hut without knowing one of my guys was outside on watch, awake, and reliable.
I read a book called The Red Circle by a navy SEAL named Brandon Webb. He had an experience in Afghanistan,if i remember correctly. Where he was coming to the end of a patrol and deciding where to camp. They saw a group of structures in the middle of a valley. His subordinate was saying to camp in the structures but he knew that if he camp there there was more likely to be insurgents. So they camped on the hills slope for the night. The next day they went through it clearing the buildings and they found doot prints in the dirt, camp fires, and tins of food with bits still in them.
Like your videos sir i had many rhodesian mates in south africa i cant find your name would love to know if i ever met you.
Cheers mo seery
Keep up great stories better than a book
really interesting videos, on a topic that's become reasonably hard to research; please keep uploading these gems
Great stories. Not much creature comfort in the field, is there? Somebody has to do it.
Another excellent account!
Great Story, during you tell your story , It´ s just like to see the situation for my eyes. To sleep in this moustrap was a mistake, and I can understand that you have slept from then on in the open bush. One question, what kind of ration or food you take on your patrols ? Greetings Ed
All army food is the same the world over.
@@scottleft3672 well actually there is 3 types 1. Terrible Crap 2. Really Bad Crap 3. Moderately Bad Crap some which make you continually crap and others that make sure you can't crap for a week
@@michaelrclements Hello Michael, thank you for your answer to me, very interresting to hear your experiences during your time as a Rhodesian soldier. I was soldier for 4 years in Germany during the cold war , and I have my 40 anniversary in the german Airforce. Greetings from Germany Ed
@@scottleft3672 I really hope you didnt have the 'Pork Patty' MRE like we did ... the most vile product ever to plague the army in the 80s
Appreciate your stories Sir - respect. Can i ask what school you went to ? PE. Myself but finished in 82 so didnt see what you saw
Channel been quiet for sometime, hope all is well, and u continue to share these great stories
Sorry Gilevi...I'm well, just working late every day and trying to fit everything in where I can. I hope to continue the channel for a long time to come. Thanks for the support. Keep well.
My brother served in Rhodesia, he snores loudly and he was made to sleep off on his own while out on patrol.
I served in both North Rhodesia and South Rhodesia.
I snore more loudly than most and was made to sleep on my own in both North Rhodesia and South Rhodesia while out on patrol.
@@DeliciousNavy No one who has been there would know what you're talking about. It's always known as Northern Rhodesia and Southern Rhodesia. No one was on patrol in Northern Rhodesia because there was no war there. It became Zambia in 1964 and a year later Southern Rhodesia became simply Rhodesia. In the Southern Rhodesian time there were no patrols as there was no war.
@@trilithon108 No wonder your father left you
Delicious Navy I know your just having a laugh but please many families were traumatized by this war regardless of who they supported or what happened to them,and as there is a very limited pool of people and this channel is truly a great place to reconciles with who we are and how we got here,please don’t joke about this,it’s still a rather sore nerve for some who had to abandon generations old farms.
En route from Marseilles with the Frogs, to Jack M’s operation in west Africa on board one of the nastiest old tubs disguised as a freighter, we were told by one of the crew that we had to remain below decks because they would be putting into port during the night, and we shouldn’t be seen.
Most of the lads just trotted off down the gangway, but SM and I looked at each other with same incredulous ‘I’m having none of that’ expression. Neither of us was fond of the stink of diesel, or being holed up in a puke inducing tin can behind doors that can be locked from the outside.
So as soon as the ship’s crew were busy with their various duties, we found a couple of decent spots on deck and bedded down, always with one ear open for whatever happened to go down, either at sea (ship to ship) or nefarious activities in random ports.
This policy meant I spent many a wet cold night in some uncomfortable places. But I never got seasick and on the one occasion when the crew couldn’t be trusted, the two of us on deck had advanced notice of their game.
Never sleep where they expect you to.
Never sleep where they expect you to. You avoid an ambush.
Paul Leckner True. No brainer mate. After visiting some people unannounced one night for sneaky look at their base, they woke up and started driving around in vehicles looking for us. We were all over the place very quickly, so we started across a deep rutted ploughed field. So we laid down between those ruts, hoping we wouldn’t have to engage - because we weren’t really there, so it wasn’t in the script.
Dogs would have changed that very quickly, as would a bit of patience and intelligently operated roof lights on their part. But they just charged around like idiots. American trained?
The funny thing about real stories is that they are usually more about waiting than doing. After they headed in the direction they assumed we had gone, we quietly left in the opposite direction.
But in reality, Just One sniper who didn’t behave like the rest, and remained in cover, would have stood a far better chance of dropping us.
Peace
I wonder if the door to the Kraal, came from a former farm front door.
Kkkkk RR5 we love them.stories
Top dit skip, my mouth went dry 👍
Was it not standard to have someone on night watch in the Bush War?
Interesting question. If I understood things correctly, the corporal was being a bit too confident at that time and didn't bother. Luckily things went smoothly.
In any fixed military base, absolutely! There would always be a structured guard system in place, but few stick leaders followed procedure as strictly when it was a temporary stop at night. There were a number of reasons for this, chiefly the fact that the enemy did not move during darkness unless they had a specific purpose for doing so, and if you kept off the beaten track - so to speak - the chances of an unexpected encounter were extremely remote.
Had I been there, I would have woken the others up immediately. Better to risk a few words, than to see the barrel of a terrorist rifle poking inside as the door slowly opens.
It was a close call, I'm glad it ended well for you guys.
Did you ever get confirmation of terrotists being in that area that night?
Ahh Stefano ... sometimes things happen too quick. it's hard to think of groping around for your sleeping mates in the discarded clutter of an old hut, when the threat to your life is less than a metre away from the soles of your feet. But, it would have been good to have had you with us. We'd have bliksem'd the Charlie Tangoes good an' proper! Keep well my fried.
@Marten Krueger I mean, at that point I'd just die I guess... Unless there were some good Rhodesian soldiers to back me up
Hi enjoy your reminiscing,brings back common memories. I cant recall us meeting but that is not unusual. Do you recall we had to get special permission to leave the country to go on leave. I managed to get the leave thanks largely to Col.Van Zyl. Stayed with my brother in Law in Centurion .Watching SA news one evening , they had an article on cattle ranching in the Transvaal. A familiar face came on the screen with his cattle in the background, grey haired , guess who the Rhodesian Minister of Defence at the time, name beginning with H. Guess my reaction
Hudson Chalmers So the Rhodesian minister of defence was off moonlighting/holidaying you mean?
It was PK Van Dr Byl at the start of the was but then Smithy made him Minister of Foreign Affairs and appointed Cowper as defence minister. Hope this helps..
@@pamberinehondo9447 It was Howman , before Cowper who was another specimen
Hudson Chalmers Yes, Jack Howman. Ian Smith’s best buddy as they were both born In Selukwe and went to junior school together. Jack was Defence before PK v.d. Byl not after. They all had money and property in SA and it was only us that left with nothing. Did you ever see Pete Wall’s house in Northcliffe in Johannesburg. Keep well
@@pamberinehondo9447 Thanks for the Correction I was highly pissed and came back from Holiday less patriotic. I did not see it. Did you know that the Fylde Military Airport near Hartley was built on vd Byl's Farm. I was Site agent for Tarmacadam and built it. The most unsuitable site you could have found. Soil testing was falsified. I put a D8 on the centre line to start clearing and it sank up to its footplates in mud and pebbles. We had to dig huge drainage system and had to excavate main runway to 8 metres to get a solid footing. Talk about Cost over runs. My Boss was happy
A hut with a real door, what luxury, normally a hut door is just a bundle of sticks.
Speaking of this, I have a curious question. Were there many friendly fire situations between the Rhodesian Forces?
There was the odd one caused by bad map reading. When Selous Scouts operated as psuedo terrs internally the area would be "frozen" & no army call signs were allowed to operate in these frozen zones. An area could be "unfrozen" just as quickly as it had been frozen so company commanders had to have their wits about them. The freezing of areas came about early in the war when Sgt Andre Rabie (SAS & Selous Scouts) was operating in a pseudo gang & unfortunately mis read his position & was some 8 or so kilometres out from his actual position. RLI got information that terrs were in an area far away from where Andre was, & unfortunately he was tracked down & killed by our own troops. The Selous Scouts barracks at Nkomo barracks were named after him. I also know of 2 sticks 1 from a Territorial company & 1 from the RLI operating close to the boundary of 2 op areas where 1 stick (in the dark l must add) wandered into the other op area(l can't remember who was at fault) & in the ensuing firefight with neither stick giving way l think 2 TF guys got severely wounded. I can't remember if anyone died in that particular friendly fire incident. I know in early 77 we had advise our local JOC if any of our call signs would be operating within 5 Kms of a common boundary. The thing was that Rhodesia was huge & often your company area of operation had no common boundaries with other units & it was often a case that if it moved at night (there was a dusk to dawn curfew for locals) then you shot it with very little chance of shooting your own troops. Hope that helps
I'm just here for the FN-FALs
Thumbs up if you too
I see there are plenty of stories by this man but which one is 1st, 2nd or 3rd and so on?
In SADF there would have been a rotating guard duty posted outside.
John ClawAfrica...quite rightly so too, but I think better by far to keep clear of such places! Many thanks for your comments - both here and elsewhere. Go well.
@@wyomarine6341 Hahaha! ... mixture of both! You should have come! You're precisely the kind of man we so desperately needed then. Many thanks for the interest... keep well.
Five Romeo Romeo Did you ever sleep in such a hut again? Thanks for the videos. Best wishes from Sussex, 🇬🇧 England.
What food was carried/eaten when on patrol? Was there a difference in what you guys and the RLI ate?
I wonder what was eaten since i know that at least the RLI went on patrol for weeks.
Also how did you sleep in the bush?
Thanks for your time.
Hi Mr D! Thanks for the questions. There was absolutely no difference in food, kit, or weapons between us and the RLI...in fact, in the bush you wouldn't have noticed any difference at all. Prior to a patrol, we would be provided with ration packs to make our own selection of what we liked to take with. 5RR patrols seldom exceed a week, and if they did, we could be resupplied by air or by other troops tasked for this purpose.
As a tracker, in anticipation of having to go out on a follow-up, I would have a huge breakfast first thing in the morning. Once on the spoor I would not eat again that day. I would drink water from rivers, streams, or even rain puddles to conserve what was in my water bottle. If the follow-up continued into the next day - using a hand-carved wooden spoon, I would finish off the contents of a small tin of bully-beef at around four in the afternoon - that's all. If the operation continued into the third day, I would not eat at all on that last day while on the trail. At sunset I would normally call the thing off - unless there were reasons to persevere a little longer. Back at platoon base, I would then get stuck into a good-sized meal. So, with everyone frugal in their eating, there was usually a great deal of food left over at the completion of a six-weeks call-up. None of this would be reissued but would destroyed in the bush or given to the troops to take home if they so wished.
Before nightfall, you would rest somewhere near to where you intended to sleep. No talking and no pointing in the bush while the stick-leader gives his instructions - also, you never sleep at that last resting spot! Then, there is a moment at twilight...it only lasts for about a minute at most ...when you can get up and move quietly under cover of darkness to your sleeping position. When you settle down there, make absolutely sure that you know where the others are lying - they should be more of less within arms reach or crawling distance of each other. The guard will be set - usually to eleven at night, (since we believed the gooks avoided contact after that hour,) so, each guy is probably going to be awake for about an hour and a quarter on sentry duty. One wristwatch is normally passed around - hence the need to avoid spreading the men out too much. One golden rule - nobody gets up to move around at night! You will be mistakenly killed by your own men! If you have to get up - make sure everyone in the stick is aware of it. Toss cartridges at them to wake them up and tell them not to pull you upon your return to your sleeping bag. Other than that, sweet dreams.
@@fiveromeoromeo5225 Interesting. I knew you guys traveled light but not that light.
If i remember right NATO counts between 3000-8000 kcal per soldier per day. Your ration looks more like 1000 kcal to me.
I also wonder that you could drink the water without problem, especially surface water... we have to treat it unless it`s from a well. I wonder if you have some tricks for maching. My best one is having a cherry stone in my mouth. I can track this trick back to ww2 where one of my grandfathers (never met him) supposedly used it.
We used to make a "hook" before resting or making camp so we could see the way we came from.
Did you use groundisolation with the sleepingbag?
How was the temperature/weather shince you could make do with just a parachutesleepingbag? I`m in central europe and know what cold at night does to you.
Since you talked about the "gutfeeling" how would you describe it? Usually if it get`s dangerous around/for me i get a "feeling". It`s like a twitching in my balls which makes it`s way up into my belly combined with a certain feeling and the tase&smell of iron (as if when you have bood in your mouth or when you ran without being fit). The interesting thing about this is i had this feeling up to 20 min before something happened. It`s very hard to find informations about this and so far i know of only two others who have the same.
I have watched a few videos of you by now. Interesting how much changes and how much stays the same.
Great content. Keep doing what you`re doing. Better than just reading about it.
@@wyomarine6341
Im not in anymore. I was in a german airborne unit.
I know guys who ate 3-4 MREs a day when deployed to AFG (atleast that`s what they claimed, they put on weight though and they used vehicles).
The thing is malnutrition takes its toll after a certain time and in the case of rhodesia it were usually footpatrols that took weeks. I hiked/marched by myself for a about a week and i lost weight although i consumed about 3k cal a day.
Edit: Actually it does matter over a period of time. Look at ww2 or at the US rangerschool. Terrence Popp also has something interesting on that.
@@wyomarine6341 Kein Problem. Nur nicht immer so voreilig sein.
Da oben bei Königsberg iergendwo sind zwei Brüder einer meiner Omas verschwunden (MIA). Vermutlich auf einem der Schiffe beim Rückzug untergegangen.
Ich habe einmal einen Fallschirmjäger der Wehrmacht kennengelernt. Der war auf Kreta, der Krim und sonstwo. Ist dann später mit der Legion nach Indochina. Er war im Krankenhaus auf dem selben Zimmer wie mein Opa und war da, weil er alt im Winter beim spazieren gehen hingefallen ist und dort in Eis und Schnee 2-3 Tage liegenblieb. Der war hart im Nehmen. Erinnerte meinen Opa an einen Fallschirmjäger, mit dem er in Südfrankreich aus französischer Gefangenschaft geflohen ist.
Darf man fragen, wie Sie in den USA gelandet sind und wo ihr Vater in Kriegsgefangenschaft war?
@@wyomarine6341 Ist ja ganz interessant. Da ist er ja wenigstens der Zwangsarbeit in Frankreich und den Rheinwiesenlagern entgangen. Ist ganz interessant, was mit der Zeit immer bekannter wurde und wird, obwohl da gezielt zensiert und Propaganda betrieben wurde. Allerdings wenn man sich nur deutschsprachige Quellen anschaut, dann ist man aufgeschmissen. Deutschland ist ja immer noch nicht unabhängig und sehr warscheinlich noch besetzt (angeblich hat dazu sogar Obama 2009 in Ramstein eine Rede gehalten, allerdings gibt es dazu kein video oder audio).
That shot from nowhere sounds like a Russian sniper on political tourism duty...the bastards.
did you ever get any clue as to who it could have been?
Who was on watch?
William Sheil He explains in another comment that the terrorists rarely moved at night unless on specific missions so guard duty could be sometimes more relaxed than in camp. The corporal made those calls in this scenario in this story.
No sentry set? Poor practice
We did the same it was not a standard practice we did every day but more so ground conditions allowed it bearing in mind we had good knowledge of the level of activity in our operations area
Mike Walrus Seems in comments here that terrorists rarely moved at night so posting stag was more relaxed than in camp. It was the corporals call.
why the flying fuck didn't you set up guard duties? Just all sleep in the hut? Bleeding Jesus
Im confused. You consol8date into combined secure villages. Yet leave the deserted ones? Wouldnt it be logical to destroy deserted villages to deny a dry nights sleep to the terrorists, like the dry night you had?
Please get off of the internet
Good question. Often they were burnt as they had thatched roofs but perhaps in some cases it was felt the residents might return after things quietened down (they never did).
@@trilithon108 You seem to know your stuff! How do you know all this?
Wait, oh yeah. Wikipedia!
"Hm, good question!" Ridiculous to use when you just Googled an answer and pretend to have known it for a long time.
@@DeliciousNavy Not sure what the need to be nasty does for you? RLI One Commando 1973.
@@trilithon108 I was not being nasty. Just stated accurate information on how you obtain and present your information.