Story of Legendary Force Comprising Special Forces and Mercenaries from Around the World

Comprised of mercenaries, the Rhodesian Army
gathered special forces from around the world
subsequently infiltrated South Africa

A military unit composed of renowned special forces from around the world. Just hearing about it makes any military enthusiast’s heart flutter. The individual capabilities of the soldiers would be world-class, and they would not hesitate to carry out any operation successfully.

There was a unit comprised of special forces and mercenaries from various parts of the world. The protagonist of this story is the Rhodesian Army, the predecessor of Zimbabwe, located in Africa. Let’s take a closer look at the story of the Rhodesian Army, a name that is now rarely heard.

In the white-dominated Rhodesia,
mercenaries were a necessity, not a choice

Rhodesia was a white supremacist state founded by white immigrants from Britain. Therefore, as they suppressed all local black independence movements, relations with the indigenous people worsened. As a result, they had no choice but to use mercenaries when conscription became impossible locally.

With the rise of communist guerrillas, the population of 220,000 could not handle the situation. Therefore, they sent out global recruitment notices for mercenaries, and numerous special forces and professional mercenaries began to gather in Rhodesia.

Troops of diverse origins
After disbandment, they headed to South Africa

The origins of the Rhodesian Army soldiers were very diverse. There were members from the British SAS, French Foreign Legion, U.S. Green Berets, and even the legendary Irish mercenaries known as the Wild Geese.

Their combat power was formidable, with regular infantry suffering losses at a 1:8 ratio and special forces at a 1:50 ratio. However, with the establishment of the Zimbabwe regime under Mugabe, who would later become a dictator, the white regime collapsed, and the Rhodesian Army was also disbanded. They then planned coups in other countries or escaped to the Republic of South Africa, contributing to enhancing South Africa’s combat power.