Fireforce: One Man’s War in the Rhodesian Light Infantry

Fireforce: One Man’s War in the Rhodesian Light Infantry

Fireforce is the compelling, brutal but true account of Chris Cocksâ€™ service in 3 Commando, The Rhodesian Light Infantry, during Zimbabweâ€™s bitter civil war of the â€™70sâ€”a war that came to be known almost innocuously as â€˜the bush warâ€™. â€˜Fireforceâ€™, a tactic of total airborne envelopment, was developed and perfected by the RLI, together with the Selous Scouts and the Rhodesian Air Force. Fireforce became the principal strike weapon of the beleaguered Rhodesian forces in their struggle against the overwhelming tide of the Communist-trained and -equipped ZANLA and ZIPRA guerrillas.

The combat strain on a fighting soldier was almost unbelievable, for the Rhodesians, who were always desperately short of ground troops, were sometimes obliged to parachute the same men into action into as many as three enemy contacts a day. While estimates of enemy casualties vary, there seems little doubt that the RLI accounted for at least 12,000 ZANLA and ZIPRA guerrillasâ€”but not without cost.

Fireforce is not for the squeamish. Although it has been written with unforgettable pathos and humor, it tells of face-to-face combat in the bush and death at point-blank range. It is a book which does nothing to glorify or glamorize war, for as Chris Cocks found at such a young age, war is merely a catalogue of suffering, destruction and death.

Fireforce has been described by critics as being to the Rhodesian War what All Quiet On The Western Front was to World War I and Dispatches was to Vietnam. Read it â€¦ it will an experience you never forget.

Country	USA
Author	Chris Cocks
Binding	Paperback
EAN	9780958489096
Edition	4Rev Ed
ISBN	0958489092
IsEligibleForTradeIn	1
Label	30 Degrees South Publishers
Manufacturer	30 Degrees South Publishers
MPN	116 colour & b/w photos
NumberOfItems	1
NumberOfPages	320
PartNumber	116 colour & b/w photos
PublicationDate	2009-09-01
Publisher	30 Degrees South Publishers
Studio	30 Degrees South Publishers
ReleaseDate	2012-06-22

Fireforce: One Man’s War in the Rhodesian Light Infantry

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