ZAPU AND ZANU

BY F. A. GODFREY

IN THE EARLY STAGES of the confrontation between black nationalist groups and the government of Rhodesia (Southern Rhodesia until 1965), the aim of the nationalists was to use what political pressure they could muster, inside and outside Rhodesia, to influence the government, peacefully, to change its policies. As these methods met with little success they turned in the early 1960s to the use of violence. The campaign in 1960—62 was restricted to cases of minor sabotage, arson and intimidation which could be carried out with the use of explosives, stolen from mining companies, and home-made petrol bombs.

The decision was taken in mid-1962 to go out in search of foreign sources of support in the provision of arms and training in their use. From 1963 there was increasing evidence of the nationalists’ success in the pursuit of these policies. February 1964 saw the first attempt at mounting a guerrilla operation by a group of insurgents which called itself the Crocodile Commando. A police post was attacked and later a white farmer shot dead. However, the group was successfully broken up by security forces acting with the benefit of good intelligence. In the period 1964 to 1965,just prior to the unilateral declaration of independence by the Rhodesian government, training for the members of the nationalists’ embryonic guerrilla armies got under way on a proper basis. Arrangements were made for training, carried out by foreign experts, in some African countries and even further a field. Between March and October 1964, courses were organized for ZAPU guerrillas in the USSR, the People’s Republic of China and North Korea. Men from ZANU received training in the same period in Ghana and Tanzania.

In 1966 and 1967 there were many attacks mounted by armed and uniformed groups crossing into Rhodesia from Zambia, and although the security forces got early warning of the movements and were quickly able to respond it was accepted that the guerrillas were by then rather better trained and prepared. Perhaps of even more importance, a perceptible rise in the guerrillas’ morale was noticed at this time despite the neutralization of the vast majority of their attempted operations.

In early 1968 a major attempt to infiltrate guerrillas was once again foiled and later, in August, a complete group of 28 well-armed men was destroyed by security forces. Details of the weapons and equipment captured from these men were publicized and they are extremely interesting in providing an insight into the types of equipment the guerrillas were now able to obtain directly or indirectly from other countries. The list is a formidable one:

3 light machines guns (RP-46) with 9 magazines

3 RPG-2 anti-tank rocket launchers with 24 projectiles

19 Kalashnikov AK47 rifles

6 Simonov carbines

6 automatic pistols

112 grenades

150 slabs of explosive

40,000 rounds of ammunition (most 7.62mm).

The bulk of the weapons were identified by Rhodesian security forces as being of Soviet manufacture.

The war escalates

From 1969 onwards the guerrillas conducted operations from sanctuary in Zambia across the Zambesi into Rhodesia in ever increasing numbers. Groups of anything from 30 to 100 uniformed men, armed with PPSh sub-machine guns, Simonovs and Kalashnikovs, would make their way into the tribal trust lands and game reserves. A new piece of equipment the land mine — was introduced in the 1970s and at first it caught the security forces napping. The mines were used to disrupt traffic on roads and tracks most frequently used by the army, police and administration. As operations by the guerrillas became more sophisticated they would use the mines in conjunction with attacks on government offices, police posts and isolated farms. By placing the mines on roads and tracks leading to the target it was hoped to take the reacting security forces by surprise. The army and police quickly responded to this threat and approached with caution but vital minutes, sufficient to allow the guerrillas to escape, were thereby lost.  

After 1974, when Mozambique became independent, the guerrillas were provided with another sanctuary from which to launch their attacks into Rhodesia. From then onwards the ZANU faction of the nationalists made use of  Mozambique and its guerrilla arm, by then known as the Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army (ZANLA), directed operations in that area. The forces of ZAPU, now known as the Zimbabwe Peoples Revolutionary Army (ZIPRA), continued to train and launch their operations from Zambian territory.  

It was from the mid-1970s that Soviet support, in particular, escalated. It is generally accepted that by 1979 there were some 1400 Russian, 700 East German and 500 Cuban military instructors working in Mozambique and many were directly supporting the efforts of the guerrilla forces. In the same way in Angola over 19,000 Cuban soldiers, 6000 East Germans and a few Czechs and Bulgarians provided, via Zambia, the same sort of service. Arms and equipment were shipped into southern Africa at this time via the ports of Beira in Mozambique and Luanda in Angola.

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***NOTE***  Source for this article was obtained from the book: WAR IN PEACE: CONVENTIONAL AND GUERRILLA WARFARE SINCE 1945. printed 1982, author Major F. A. Godfrey MC.