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The Elite: the Story of the Rhodesian Special Air Service
The Rhodesian Special Air Service, one of the most formidable fighting forces in the world, operated almost exclusively across borders during the long bitter bush war, undertaking deep-penetration missions against insurgents being harbored inside neighboring Mozambique and Zambia. There were missions into Botswana too, and at one stage, the SAS was operating without benefit of passport in all three neighboring territories at the same time. Long before the war escalated and the whole region became their battlefield, clandestine missions across the border were undertaken by SAS operators. Later, when the situation intensified, they were responsible for some of the most audacious and highly sensitive missions of the war.
The writer takes the reader from the early days on the Western Desert to the formation of the Rhodesian SAS for service in Malaya, then back to Africa where the action spans the days of the Federation, the UDI era and finally the decolonization of Rhodesia by the British in 1980. This is the first book to detail the secret exploits of this elite regiment and it has been based on rare firsthand interviews with operators themselves. Some of their exploits may seem far-fetched, even impossible, but then, truth is often stranger than fiction. It is a history of high adventure and daring, courage and humanism, be it driving through the streets of a neighboring capital, knocking out trains, bridges and installations or swooping out of the morning skies then, with the ability to hit hard and fast, attacking and taking their leave, the devastation complete, the mission accomplished.
This edition, which combines the original and the subsequent pictorial editions-originally published in the mid-1980s and long since out of print-is presented in a modern, attractive, upgraded format.
The writer takes the reader from the early days on the Western Desert to the formation of the Rhodesian SAS for service in Malaya, then back to Africa where the action spans the days of the Federation, the UDI era and finally the decolonization of Rhodesia by the British in 1980. This is the first book to detail the secret exploits of this elite regiment and it has been based on rare firsthand interviews with operators themselves. Some of their exploits may seem far-fetched, even impossible, but then, truth is often stranger than fiction. It is a history of high adventure and daring, courage and humanism, be it driving through the streets of a neighboring capital, knocking out trains, bridges and installations or swooping out of the morning skies then, with the ability to hit hard and fast, attacking and taking their leave, the devastation complete, the mission accomplished.
This edition, which combines the original and the subsequent pictorial editions-originally published in the mid-1980s and long since out of print-is presented in a modern, attractive, upgraded format.
459 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1985
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February 8, 2025
Powerful story about a superb unit that held off the Communist Terrorists for a decade and a half while virtue-signalers in Britain and America openly supported the CTs.
Who was right, Harold Macmillan, Ronald Reagan and Jimmy Carter, or the Rhodesian SAS? Professor Sam Ramani provides the answer in his book Russia In Africa all that Macmillan, Carter and Reagan's support for ZANLA, the ANC and SWAPO got them was...Zimbabwean and ANC support for Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Who was right, Harold Macmillan, Ronald Reagan and Jimmy Carter, or the Rhodesian SAS? Professor Sam Ramani provides the answer in his book Russia In Africa all that Macmillan, Carter and Reagan's support for ZANLA, the ANC and SWAPO got them was...Zimbabwean and ANC support for Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Displaying 1 of 1 review