Foreign volunteers in the Rhodesian Security Forces

There were hundreds of foreign volunteers in the Rhodesian Security Forces during the Rhodesian Bush War. The Rhodesian government actively recruited white personnel from other countries from the mid-1970s to address manpower shortages. It is not known exactly how many foreigners served in the Rhodesian Security Forces, with estimates ranging from 800 to 2,000.

The volunteers had a range of motivations. The most common motivation was opposition to governments led by black people, but other volunteers were motivated by anti-communism or a desire for adventure. They generally joined the Rhodesian Security Forces individually after seeing advertisements or after being contacted by recruiters. The volunteers frequently received a hostile response from Rhodesians in the units they were posted to, and many ended their contracts early as a result.

It was illegal to serve with the Rhodesian Security Forces in many countries, though these laws were not enforced regarding Rhodesia in the United States and the British Government proved unable to stop volunteers leaving to fight. The volunteers were often labelled as mercenaries by opponents of the Rhodesian regime, though the Rhodesian government did not regard or pay them as such.

Background[]

The white minority government of the British colony of Rhodesia issued an illegal Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI) from the United Kingdom in November 1965.^[1] At this time, the Rhodesian government was led by members of the Rhodesian Front political party. The party was deeply committed to maintaining the white minority's dominance over Rhodesia, with this motivating the decision to declare independence.^[2]

The Rhodesian Front's ideology held that the end of colonial rule in Africa and the development of African nationalism over the 1950s and 1960s had been the result of international communism aided by a policy of appeasement adopted by the United Kingdom and other western countries.^[3] The party believed that Rhodesia needed to take a stand against the perceived communist threat to protect western civilisation in Africa.^[4] The academic Michael Evans has written that "the Front’s world-struggle ideology was based on a conspiratorial interpretation of modern politics that emphasised virulent forms of Anglophobia, anti-communism, anti-internationalism, and anti-liberalism". He also noted that the party drew on the ideas and language used by the contemporary radical right movement in the United States to justify UDI.^[4] The historian Donal Lowry has endorsed Evans' views, noting also that "the Rhodesia Front sought to combine the notion that Rhodesia embodied the best of true Britishness, the notion that white Rhodesians were ‘the sort of people who once made the “Great” of Britain’, while turning to America as the only remaining champion of the ‘Free World’.^[5] It took pains to not be seen as racially or politically extreme, however, and the party's rhetoric was focused on the need to combat the perceived communist threat rather than the goal of sustaining racial superiority.^[6] This ideology attracted support from many mainstream conservative politicians and military veterans in the United Kingdom and United States, as well as from some far right groups in those countries.^[7]

UDI and Rhodesia's racial inequalities led to the outbreak of the Rhodesian Bush War.^[1][8] The resistance to the Rhodesian regime was dominated by two black nationalist movements, the Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) and the Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU). The ZANU was supported by China and the ZAPU by the Soviet Union, both of which were communist countries. The two movements espoused Marxist beliefs and were regarded as communists by the Rhodesian government. However, they and their guerrilla armies were motivated mainly by nationalism and a desire to end discriminatory practices and establish majority rule in Rhodesia.^[9] The guerrillas began to gain the upper hand from the mid-1970s.^[10] The war continued until 1980 and ended in a transition to majority rule and the establishment of Zimbabwe.^[1]

Shortages of white manpower were a persistent problem for the Rhodesian Security Forces. While most of the security forces' personnel were black, the Rhodesian government had a strong preference for whites. The expansion of the military, increasing battle casualties and a decline in the white population caused the shortages of white personnel to worsen over the 1970s. Young white men also increasingly evaded conscription by taking up deferments to study or emigrating.^[11]

Recruitment[]

The cover of a Rhodesian Army recruitment leaflet sent to British soldiers in 1976^[12]

As part of its response to the shortage of white manpower, which also included increasing the numbers of conscripts and the periods they were obliged to serve for, the Rhodesian government began seeking white volunteers from outside the country in 1973.^[11][13] Men with previous military experience, and especially service in wars, were preferred. The Rhodesian government also attempted to attract white people to emigrate to the country. It was expected though that most of the volunteers for the security forces would not settle in Rhodesia.^[11]

From the mid-1970s the Rhodesian government began placing advertisements seeking volunteers in the international media. Due to the sanctions against Rhodesia, these ads were generally lodged via front organisations and were vague about the country the volunteers would serve in. The Rhodesian government openly advertised in the American Soldier of Fortune magazine during 1975.^[14] This magazine had been established that year to promote mercenary opportunities, and provided a positive portrayal of the lifestyle available to mercenaries. Its editor was a strong supporter of the white Rhodesian cause and wanted to encourage Americans to fight for Rhodesia.^[15] Advertisements were also placed in other American magazines, including Shotgun News and Shooting Times.^[16] Some ads described service in Rhodesia as "fun".^[17] The ads and other coverage of Rhodesia in Soldier of Fortune led to a "steady stream of volunteers".^[18][19]

The Rhodesian Security Forces' recruitment staff responded to people who wrote letters of inquiry after reading the advertisements. These letters were closely scrutinised, as many of the men who had written them were considered "obviously nuts" by the Rhodesian Army's recruitment officer Major Nick Lamprecht. Those who were considered potentially suitable were sent information packs, and asked to supply documentation to support their application; preference was given to applicants who provided notarized documents in their response. Successful applicants were then offered a rank in the Security Forces.^[20] The Rhodesian government paid the airfares of volunteers who were unable to afford to travel until 1977.^[21][20] Other volunteers were expected to pay their own way.^[20]

In addition to using advertisements, Rhodesian recruitment teams, including some led by Lamprecht, visited several countries. Rhodesian officers also attempted to use their networks in other militaries to attract volunteers.^[22] In 1976 some current and former British soldiers were sent unsolicited leaflets that encouraged them to enlist in the Rhodesian Army and explained its conditions of service.^[12]

Several individuals and companies recruited United States citizens to fight in Rhodesia. These organisations provided recruits for the security forces as well as private industry, including farms, mines and timber companies.^[23] Some of the Americans volunteered to work as security guards on farms in Rhodesia as this offered the opportunity to fight communists while receiving higher pay than that offered by the security forces.^[24]

Most of the foreigners who volunteered to fight for Rhodesia did so individually.^[25] An exception was a group of almost 200 French military personnel who enlisted together in 1976.^[26][25][27] Small numbers of black ex-Flechas from Mozambique were also accepted after the end of Portuguese rule in that country; they were paid at lower rates than white Rhodesian soldiers.^[26]

The Rhodesian government did not accept all offers of volunteers. In 1976 former Portuguese officials offered 2,000 white soldiers who had served with UNITA in Angola. This proposal was quickly dismissed as the Rhodesians did not see how they could arm or use large numbers of non-English speakers. A proposal by the mercenary Mike Hoare to establish an international brigade modelled on the French Foreign Legion was also rejected. In 1977 the pretender to the Albanian throne, Leka I, asked the Rhodesian government to train a battalion of Albanians that he hoped to recruit. He offered Rhodesia the services of these men after they completed training, though he intended to eventually use them to retake Albania. The Rhodesian government did not formally reply.^[26]

Volunteers' motivations[]

Most foreign volunteers for the Rhodesian Security Forces did so as a result of their political and ideological beliefs or a desire for adventure.^[28] The academic has written that they were commonly opposed to the establishment of governments run by black people and did not have any particular commitment to Rhodesia itself.^[29] Many volunteers were also strongly anti-communist, and wanted to stop the further spread of this ideology in Africa.^[30] Some American volunteers were attracted by a belief that the war in Rhodesia was comparable to that which had been fought on the American frontier.^[16] As a result, White has observed that the volunteers were typically more willing to fight and even die for the ideology of the Rhodesian Front party than Rhodesia itself.^[31] Economic factors also influenced some of the volunteers, as they believed that the Rhodesian Security Forces offered better career prospects than those available in their home country.^[32]

The Rhodesian Special Branch sought to vet all of the foreign volunteers for security risks. This proved impossible due to the large numbers and difficulty of checking their backgrounds. Some of the volunteers were later identified as agents of the United States Central Intelligence Agency.^[33]

Numbers of volunteers[]

As historians have found it difficult to access Rhodesian records, it is not known exactly how many foreigners volunteered for the Rhodesian Security Forces.^[34] The high proportion of white Rhodesians who were born outside the country or held citizenship of another country also complicates the matter.^[35] As a result, there are a range of estimates of the numbers of foreigners who travelled to Rhodesia to serve with the security forces:

• The historians Peter Godwin and Ian Hancock have written that approximately 10 per cent of Rhodesian Army recruits in 1972 were non-Rhodesians.^[34]
• Historian Michael Raeburn put the figure in 1978 as between 1,500 and 2,000.^[36]
• A British deserter from the Rhodesian military claimed in 1976 that 2,000 of the 6,000 regular soldiers in the Rhodesian Army were British and another 100 Americans.^[37]
• The American journalist Robin Wright and South African journalist Paul Smurthwaite separately reported that there were 1,000 foreigners in the Rhodesian military.^[38]
• The ethnographic and historical researcher Henrik Ellert has written that there were 1,500 in 1977–78.^[36][39]
• The British Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) estimated in November 1978 that there were approximately 800 foreigners serving in Rhodesia, of whom around half were British and most of the others American.^[36]
• Military historians Paul L. Moorcraft and Peter McLaughlin have written that the number was likely around 1,400, but estimates range as high as 2,000.^[40]
• The historian Luise White noted in 2004 that "the figure most sources cite is 1,500 foreign soldiers, of whom perhaps 400 were American", though the Rhodesian Army put the number at 1,000 including 100 Americans.^[31] However, in 2021 she wrote that the numbers of foreign volunteers may have been small, and the ex-Rhodesian generals she had interviewed "scoffed at me when I asked if there were fifteen hundred foreigners in the Rhodesian Army". In this work she estimated that around 100 Americans served with the Rhodesian Security Forces between 1976 and 1980.^[41]

British citizens made up the majority of the foreign volunteers who served with the Rhodesian Security Forces. Most of the other volunteers were from the United States, Australia, New Zealand and Europe. Many of the Europeans had previously served with the French Foreign Legion.^[31]

In addition to the actual volunteers, large numbers of South African Police and South African Defence Force personnel were deployed to Rhodesia by the South African government to serve in or alongside the Rhodesian Security Forces. These men were often directed to wear Rhodesian uniforms, and the South African government falsely claimed that some had volunteered for the Rhodesian Security Forces.^[42]

Conditions and service[]

Foreign volunteers who were accepted were required to swear an oath of loyalty to Rhodesia, and the Rhodesian government considered them to be members of the security forces rather than mercenaries.^[43] They enlisted for a period of three years, which was the same as white Rhodesians who joined up on a full-time basis.^[44] The volunteers also received the same pay as white Rhodesians,^[28] between $US 4,000 and $US 7,000 annually.^[45] These pay rates were lower than those in some other armies; for instance, they were around half the levels in the United States Army and between 50 and 60 percent of the Australian Army's pay scale.^[46][20] Rhodesian recruiters told prospective Australian recruits that the cost of living was much lower in Rhodesia.^[20] Foreign volunteers were also offered land if they settled in Rhodesia after completing their service with the security forces.^[32]

All foreign volunteers were required to complete basic training upon arrival in Rhodesia, even if they had prior military experience.^[46] Those who failed this training had to leave the country, with their airfare home being paid by the Rhodesian government.^[44] Foreign volunteers who openly expressed extreme racial views were deported.^[18]

After completing training, many of the volunteers were assigned to the all-white Rhodesian Light Infantry and particularly its 3 Commando sub-unit.^[40] This led to men from 38 different nationalities serving with the Rhodesian Light Infantry, and over 10 percent of the unit's members were foreigners.^[47] Other volunteers were posted to a range of units, including protection companies mainly made up of black soldiers and the largely white Grey's Scouts and Rhodesian Armoured Corps.^[48] The volunteers found conditions in Rhodesia to be tough, and those who had joined up due to a belief that they would enjoy a good lifestyle were rapidly disappointed. The difficult conditions contributed to high desertion rates.^[49]

The large group of Frenchmen who enlisted together were used to form 7 Independent Company. This unit performed poorly and committed atrocities that included raping women during operations. Most of its members left Rhodesia after the company was withdrawn from operations to be retrained, though some settled in Rhodesia.^[50][51] Two of the former French volunteers who remained in Zimbabwe after the war were sentenced to death for murdering a cafe owner during a robbery in 1982 and were executed the next year.^[52]

Rhodesian responses[]

Despite its need for foreign volunteers, the Rhodesian government was uncomfortable with them.^[53] There were concerns that many of the volunteers were motivated more by a desire to fight in a war than a commitment to Rhodesia. The need for non-Rhodesians to sustain the country's independence was also considered problematic.^[29] The Rhodesian military rarely discussed the foreign volunteers with journalists.^[54]

The Rhodesian Army regarded the volunteers as disloyal and undisciplined.^[55] Foreign volunteers typically received a hostile reception from their Rhodesian comrades, and many left before the end of their contract as a result.^[41] The desertion rate among foreigners serving in the elite Rhodesian Special Air Service was particularly high.^[20]

The Canadian spree killer Mathew Lamb was able to join the Rhodesian Army in 1974 after being released from a mental institution.^[46] He had previously attempted to enlist in the Israel Defense Forces, but was rejected.^[56] The Rhodesian Army only learned of Lamb's history after his death during an operation in 1976.^[46] The revelations about Lamb's history embarrassed the Army and led to concerns in Rhodesia about the quality of the foreign volunteers.^[46][57]

Nationalist and foreign responses[]

Nationalists[]

The nationalist groups that were fighting the Rhodesian regime and many progressive groups worldwide considered the volunteers to be mercenaries. White notes that this was "not because of how they were paid for fighting but because of why they were fighting", with it being argued that the volunteers had involved themselves in a war that was not theirs.^[29] Opponents of the regime frequently highlighted the issue of 'mercenaries' fighting for Rhodesia, and claimed that they were often mentally unstable and had little regard for civilian casualties.^[58] Rhodesia attempted to counter the "mercenary" claim by processing the volunteers through the Department of Immigration and framing them as prospective Rhodesian citizens, though few ever applied for citizenship.^[59]

The nationalists argued in their propaganda that the Rhodesian regime's need for foreign volunteers illustrated its political and military weaknesses.^[60] Both the main nationalist groups believed that the volunteers' presence indicated that western governments supported the Rhodesian regime. The ZAPU argued that the failure of the British and US governments to stop the flow of volunteers was a barrier to reaching a negotiated settlement with the Rhodesian government, and demanded in 1977 that this be halted.^[61] Many Africans believed that the inaction of the western governments demonstrated their lack of commitment to combating white minority rule in Rhodesia and South Africa.^[62]

Foreign governments[]

The British government was opposed to its citizens fighting for Rhodesia. The sanctions it imposed following UDI banned efforts to entice British citizens to live or work in Rhodesia.^[63] British citizens were banned from joining the Rhodesian Security Forces under the terms of an embargo enacted in 1968.^[24] This proved difficult to enforce, as it was not possible prevent Britons leaving the country. It was also unclear whether serving in the Rhodesian military was illegal under laws that prohibited service in foreign militaries as the British did not recognise Rhodesia's independence.^[64] Various approaches were considered to develop legislation to ban recruitment by the Rhodesian Security Forces during the late 1970s, but none eventuated.^[65] The FCO advised anyone who sought information about fighting for Rhodesia that doing so was illegal, but did not explain why. The British military did not take up a suggestion by the FCO that it warn servicemen against enlisting with the Rhodesian Security Forces on the grounds that serving as a mercenary was not actually illegal. The military took steps to prevent material encouraging enlistment with Rhodesia from being circulated in its bases and service newspapers, however.^[66] In 1977 the British government provided a tentative response to an American proposal that the United Nations Security Council adopt a resolution requiring UN members to prevent their citizens from serving in the Rhodesian military. The British noted that such a resolution might prove impractical as many Rhodesians held dual citizenship.^[67] There is no record of any British citizens being punished for serving with the Rhodesian Security Forces.^[68] The historian Hugh Patterson noted that the relatively small numbers of volunteers from the UK indicates that "however vocal the support for Rhodesia by some on the political right, very few men were actually willing to put their futures on the line for the Smith regime".^[69]

The United States' Neutrality Act prohibits American citizens from enlisting with foreign militaries or working as mercenaries for other governments.^[70] This law can only be enforced within the United States, meaning that American citizens who enlisted to fight for Rhodesia while overseas were immune from prosecution.^[67] The United States government did little to slow the flow of volunteers to Rhodesia. There is evidence that the Departments of Justice and State tacitly encouraged Americans to volunteer for Rhodesia as part of efforts to prevent the country collapsing before a negotiated solution to the war could be finalised. The Carter Administration considered taking steps to stop Americans serving with Rhodesia, but this did not result in any policy changes.^[71] The activities of Americans in Rhodesia were widely publicised in the United States, leading to protests.^[72] Many of the American volunteers wrongly believed that their government opposed their presence in the country, with articles in Soldier of Fortune and works by the author Robin Moore also claiming this.^[73]

The legality of volunteering for the Rhodesian Security Forces varied between other countries. Doing so was illegal under laws banning mercenary activity in Israel, West Germany, Switzerland and the Netherlands. The Australian parliament passed legislation banning Australians from serving with Rhodesia in 1978. The Portuguese government banned Rhodesian recruitment in the late 1970s, but was unable to enforce the legislation. Canada had similar laws to the UK, and France and New Zealand were unable to prevent their citizens from travelling to Rhodesia to fight.^[68]

Removal of the volunteers[]

Under the terms of the Lancaster House Agreement that ended the war the British government resumed control over Rhodesia in December 1979, with the country temporarily reverting to the colony of Southern Rhodesia until elections could be held.^[74] As part of the negotiations that led to this agreement, the British government made a commitment to not remove foreigners from the Rhodesian military prior to the election.^[75] On 21 December that year the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 460 that, among other things, called for the British authorities to expel all "mercenaries" and South African forces from Southern Rhodesia. The United Nations General Assembly had adopted a similar motion several days earlier at the behest of several countries in southern Africa.^[76][77]

The ZANU won the February 1980 Southern Rhodesian general election. The new Prime Minister Robert Mugabe directed shortly after the election that "mercenaries" be dismissed as they were among the "irregular features of the present Army" and were "not needed". All other white military personnel, other than members of the Selous Scouts unit that had a reputation for atrocities, were given an assurance that they would not be required to leave the military.^[78][79]

Literature and historiography[]

A range of works have provided positive portrayals of the foreign volunteers. Soldier of Fortune ran large numbers of articles on foreigners in the Rhodesian Security Forces during the Bush War; each edition published between 1975 and 1980 included at least one article on the subject. These articles frequently highlighted the experiences of Americans who were fighting in Rhodesia. The articles in Soldier of Fortune reflected Rhodesian government propaganda, as they claimed that the country was a western democracy, the war was being fought against communism and did not discuss the oppression of Rhodesia's black majority.^[80] Robin Moore included profiles of twelve volunteers as part of a non-fiction book he wrote in 1976 that argued that the Rhodesian government was not racist and sanctions against it should be lifted.^[81] He also wrote a novel based on the experiences of American volunteers that was finished in 1980 and published in 1991.^[82] Stephen Jeffreys' 1980 play 'The Jubilee Too' included a British volunteer who had returned from Rhodesia as one of its characters. During the play the former volunteer slept with the niece of one of the main characters and threatened the other, an ex-soldier who was recruiting mercenaries to serve in southern Africa, with a gun.^[83]

Few works by historians have been published on the volunteers who served with the Rhodesian Security Forces. As of 2021, the literature largely comprised brief discussions of the topic as part of books and academic journal articles on broader issues.^[84]

See also[]

• List of foreign volunteers

References[]

Citations[]

Works consulted[]

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• Moorcraft, P. L.; McLaughlin, P. (2010). The Rhodesian War: A Military History. Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania: Stackpole Books. ISBN 9780811707251.
• Pattenden, Hugh (July 2021). "Britain and the Rhodesian Mercenary Issue, c.1970–1980". The Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History. 49 (4): 777–804. doi:10.1080/03086534.2021.1896647. S2CID 233693334.
• Voß, Klaas (January 2016). "Plausibly deniable: mercenaries in US covert interventions during the Cold War, 1964–1987". Cold War History. 16 (1): 37–60. doi:10.1080/14682745.2015.1078312. S2CID 155764949.
• Whitaker, Blake (2014). "The 'New Model' Armies of Africa?: The British Military Advisory and Training Team and the Creation of the Zimbabwe National Army". PhD thesis. Texas A&M University Libraries. OCLC 900987479.
• White, Luise (2004). "Civic Virtue, Young Men, and the Family: Conscription in Rhodesia, 1974-1980". The International Journal of African Historical Studies. 37 (1): 103–121. doi:10.2307/4129074. JSTOR 4129074.
• White, Luise (2021). Fighting and Writing: The Rhodesian Army at War and Postwar. Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press. ISBN 9781478021285.