Hannes Wessels > Quotes

“In truth, his motivation could be compared to the old British military call for loyalty. Not King, not Country, this man, nor that man, but for something irresistible; for a band of brothers and comrades known as a regiment. In our case it was the Selous Scouts.”
― Hannes Wessels, Men of War: The Fighting Few Who Took on the World

“Walls, like most generals, quite correctly relied on junior officers to do all his staff work for him,” recalls an officer who worked with him. “Not having a personal staff officer at his side was certainly seen as very unusual.”
― Hannes Wessels, A Handful of Hard Men: The SAS and the Battle for Rhodesia

“Through lions, pestilence and loneliness a pioneering family had won itself a place in the sun but at a price and one, it appeared, they had not finished settling.”
― Hannes Wessels, A Handful of Hard Men: The SAS and the Battle for Rhodesia

“Andrew Young,”
― Hannes Wessels, A Handful of Hard Men: The SAS and the Battle for Rhodesia

“Amazingly,” says Watt, “I never saw anyone throw in the towel despite the strain. Pride in the regiment and being part of this unusual brotherhood made them determined to stay the course. Incredible when you bear in mind some of them were barely out of school and others had not yet even started to shave.”
― Hannes Wessels, A Handful of Hard Men: The SAS and the Battle for Rhodesia

“But he knew the support of the local populace was essential and wanted to have the resistance establish their credentials with the local people before lashing out at the enemy. Mao’s dictum was clear in his mind: the insurgent is like the fish, the people are the sea. Once local support was established, he would switch to a more aggressive role and take his fledgling army onto the offensive.”
― Hannes Wessels, A Handful of Hard Men: The SAS and the Battle for Rhodesia

“presciently:”
― Hannes Wessels, Strange Tales from the African Bush

“Back in London, on news of the atrocity, Dr Owen was asked to comment. He expressed reluctance to do so while awaiting confirmation as to the identity of the perpetrators. He was holding out the possibility the Rhode-sians had shot their own aircraft down then bayoneted the survivors to death. He refused to condemn the obvious and never did. It was an awkward situation in which he again found himself: the killers had acted on behalf of a leader who the British government refused to criticise.”
― Hannes Wessels, A Handful of Hard Men: The SAS and the Battle for Rhodesia

“You can practise as often as you like,” says Jordan, “but I challenge anyone to simulate this situation and the feeling that hits you. The desire, want and need to just run like hell is so strong but you have to remain perfectly calm and collected because that is what is going to save your life.”86”
― Hannes Wessels, A Handful of Hard Men: The SAS and the Battle for Rhodesia

“Before stopping, even if it was just for a smoke, we would do a dog-leg: walk past the point where we were going to rest, then double-back and hide where we could see our incoming tracks. Anyone tracking us would follow the spoor past our position and the sentry would raise the alarm. This tactic saved many lives.”
― Hannes Wessels, A Handful of Hard Men: The SAS and the Battle for Rhodesia

“He was extremely calm under pressure and could out-think the enemy even when the odds were stacked against him and his fighters.”
― Hannes Wessels, A Handful of Hard Men: The SAS and the Battle for Rhodesia

“With your senses hot-wired you become sensitive to trivia. Not helping the mood is almost continual pain and discomfort of some type. An itchy crotch causing severe scratching leading to irritating abrasions was common. Our feet stank and sweated in our boots so the skin peeled off our toes causing ‘foot-rot’, veld sores suppurated and brought the flies to feed on them. We invariably got the ‘runs’ and had sore bums. “That first night back with our arms around our fellow mates and our shrunken belly full of Castle Beer was like a ritual for us; a time to heal the mental wounds of war and remind one another that we loved each other; because only with that special, brotherly bond, we were going to survive what still lay ahead. This war had changed us all forever, for better or worse, we were living in a different world that was shaped by a closeness to violence and quick death that we knew could be coming our way soon. Although we had survived, we had all killed and we had seen, very vividly, how quickly life can end. We had won the last round but there was another coming soon and sudden death could well be our destiny.”
― Hannes Wessels, Men of War: The Fighting Few Who Took on the World

“He kept us committed and positive and this came from dedication and combat experience. “Darrell”
― Hannes Wessels, A Handful of Hard Men: The SAS and the Battle for Rhodesia

“True merriment comes from those Who have looked into their own open graves And walked away again To find life again. Whereon the world is richer”
― Hannes Wessels, Men of War: The Fighting Few Who Took on the World

“Times change, wars change The very things we fight for change But, at the bottom Is still the common soldier. —CHAS LOTTER”
― Hannes Wessels, A Handful of Hard Men: The SAS and the Battle for Rhodesia

“People clambered out the cab and went to work on the engine. In a flash Schulie was gone. He said nothing to me; just one moment he was there and the next he was gone. A few hours later he returned and reminded me that wherever you position yourself the first issue you must sort out is an escape route. He had already done this, and that was the route he followed the moment he felt there was a chance of being discovered.”
― Hannes Wessels, Men of War: The Fighting Few Who Took on the World

“He was a born leader and could get his men to do the impossible and always had a good chuckle after the battle was won as he saw the funny side of many a contact.”
― Hannes Wessels, A Handful of Hard Men: The SAS and the Battle for Rhodesia

“A forgotten hero but remembered by us few who served with him and are alive today with wives and children because of one unselfish, remarkable man. We were crazy about this calm, relentless bush-fighter who loved his job and his country; when you look at the evil in the modern world I know we need more people like him. The war is over for us but I, Sergeant Mike West of the C Squadron Rhodesian SAS, want to thank you for your outstanding leadership and devotion to duty and to us, your soldiers; for leading us into battle with the ferocity of a grizzly bear and being a dear friend when we were back in Civvy Street. I know I speak for one and all when I say you are always in our thoughts.” A”
― Hannes Wessels, A Handful of Hard Men: The SAS and the Battle for Rhodesia

“I never fought for racial domination. I fought against a force that I thought would destroy the country I loved. Sadly we soldiers were not allowed to complete our task and I have been proved right. Zimbabwe is a ruined country. This is the truth from my heart.”
― Hannes Wessels, A Handful of Hard Men: The SAS and the Battle for Rhodesia