Terrorist Incursions into Rhodesia 1966 - 1972
Top of Page Army Home Page Site Home Page Contact Us
Laid out below are the bare details of thirty operations which took place from 1966 - 1971 inside Rhodesia. These details have been extracted from School of Infantry lecture notes kindly supplied by Lt. Col. Ian Buttenshaw now serving in the Defence Force of the Sultanate of Oman.
It is possible that they are not completely accurate in all respects and we would be grateful for comments on them and personal experiences of members who took part in them.
The details of Op TEMPEST I and II between Mtoko and Nyamapanda have been omitted. These took place in 1972 and resulted in the recovery of weapons, ammunition and explosives from caches by 1 RAR in support of SB.
| Date
of crossing! Start of Op |
Codename of Operation |
Party Affiliation & No. crossed |
Crossing Point |
Intended Area of Ops | Details of Operation |
| 3 April 1966 | Pagoda I | ZANU 20 in 4 groups | Nr Chirundu |
Hartley, Umtali and Fort Victoria. 5 ters Umtali 2 ters Fort Victoria 6 ters Zwimba Reserve 7 tars Midlands | Well led & disciplined gang. Main aim to recruit locals. First evidence of affiliation to witch doctor. Had a trained cartographer whose maps were very accurate. The Midlands group were eliminated by joint Police Air Force action near Sinoia early in the op. The Zwimba gang murdered Mr & Mrs Viljoen, & were then pursued by SF NW to Karoi & then NE to Kanyemba where one of their number was killed by B Coy 1RAR. This gang turned up in Bulawayo & last two were captured near Mount Hampden. |
| 19 July 1966 | Pagoda II | ZAPU group of 11 |
TT2271 Nr Kanyemba |
Mount Darwin Mtoko | Attempted to cross Zambezi at Kanyemba. Got swept downstream and landed in Mocambique. Op Pagoda I was in progress and ten captured by SF SW of Hunyani Msn. One escaped to Botswana. |
| 30 July 1966 | Grampus |
ZAPU Three groups of about 6 to 8 each. |
NL 6082 Chete |
Nkai, Gwelo and QueQue. | Two groups eliminated in the Zambezi Valley. Third group evaded SF and made its way into Lupane area (Op Vermin). D Coy 1 RAR accounted for the two groups the first of 6 were captured intact by a 5 man (Coy HQ) follow up of some 30 miles to an area SE of Kariyangwe Mission in the Manjolo TTL. |
|
7 August 1966 (Start of Op) |
Vermin |
ZAPU One group of 8. | NL 6082 Chete | Lupane TTL | Evaded border patrols on Grampus and established themselves in the Lupane TTL. After the murder of a headman they were hunted down and eliminated by 1RAR and B Coy DRR. |
|
17 July - 12 August 1966 | Cantata | ZAPU 2 groups totalling 13. |
MJ 6901 Botswana Border SW Corner of Wankie Game Reserve |
Tjolotjo / Kezi | Due to disorganisation groups became confused & returned to Botswana. 7 arrested by SF and other 6 goaled in Botswana for illegal entry. |
| 13 September 1966 | Yodel | ZANU Two groups totalling 15. |
Nr Chirundu Sugar Estates | Sinoia,
Karoi and Urungwe | 14 eliminated by 1 RLI after they had murdered an African driver of a pantechnicon. One escaped back to Zambia. |
| 17 May 1967 | Glamour | ZANU group of 9. | Sebungwe Narrows |
Midlands/Fort Victoria and Umtall. | Complete group arrested by 1 RAR with the aid of local Batonkas. |
| 26 May 1967 | Pantechnicon | ZANU | Nr Chirundu | Salisbury |
Ter group hidden in pantechnicon. Stopped by SB/SAS at lay by near Makuti Eliminated in vehicle This was a Suicide squad who intended to open up with automatic weapons in 1st Street Salisbury on a Saturday morning |
| 13 June 1967 | HUSK | ZANU | PN 9705 | Salisbury | One shot by his comrades over argument re money One killed and eight captured by 1 RLI/1 RAR |
| 25 June1967 | Isotope I | ZANU group of 5. | PN 9705 Nr Chirundu | Midlands / Fort Victoria | One killed and four captured |
| 31 July 1967 | Isotope II | ZAPU group of 21 |
Downstream Nr Chirundu |
Midlands | 16 captured I killed in general area of penetration Two arrested in Midlands 3 escaped |
| 1 August 1967 | Nickel | ZAPU/SAANC 79 | LL 9612 Batoka Gorge East of Victoria Falls |
Figtree, Lupane Transvaal | First major crossing 79 crossed, 29 killed, 17 captured in Rhodesia, 25 apprehended in Botswana. 8 unaccounted for. |
| 23 Dec 1967 | Bonfire | ZANU Total 9. | ON 5159 Mana Pools | Mtoko/nyanga | Initial contacts with RLI & SAS whole group subsequently eliminated |
| 29 Dec 1967 | Breeze |
ZANU 2 groups - total 9. | ML 7307 East of Matepa Island on Zambezi |
Wankie, Fort Victoria and Salisbury | Six captured by 1RAR in the Kamativi Tindi areas One each captured at Nyamandhlovu, Bulawayo and Enkeldoorn respectively |
| December 1967 to March 1968 |
Cauldron | ZAPUISAANC 125 plus. | RN 0971 Chewore |
Sipolilt/Moun1 Darwin Mtoko, Mrewa. | Second large scale crossing. Five large camps established. 1 RLI, SAS, E Coy 1 RAR and 1 RR deployed 58 tern killed and 52 captured |
| 7 April 1968 | COSMIC | ZANU group of 11 | ML 7307 East of Mapeta Island. |
Gokwe Aim to attack Skombela Restriction Centre (ZANU) and release detainees |
D Coy 1 RAR killed 4 and captured 4. Two subsequently captured by BSAP. One unaccounted for. |
| 16 April 1968 | Flotilla | PAC/CORE MO South African & Portuguese ters group of 17. | VS 9954 Baobab Beacon Mkota TTL. |
South Africa | Operated In area of Mazoe River. Several killed in contact near Vila Pery in June in combined Portuguese 1RLI operation. 2 subsequently captured in Melsetter area. |
|
Glove Extension of Cauldron | ZAPU leader Hadebe sighted near Marangora Base Camp. Two ters wounded and captured. Hadebe subsequently captured by Portuguese | ||||
| 13 July 1968 | Griffin |
ZAPU/SAANC group of 28. |
PN 9705 South of Chirundu | Hartley |
1 RLI, E Coy 1 RAR and BSA Police. 25 ters killed, two captured and surrendered |
| 12 July 1968 | Mansion | ZAPU Platoon of 25. | ML 9212 Gwaai River Mouth | Lupane/Gokwe | Platoon fully uniformed & equipped down to steel helmets. Hemmed in on promontory between Gwaai River & Devil's Gorge. All eliminated by 1 RAR and BSAP. |
| 12 July 1968 | Excess | ZAPU group of 38. | RN 1669 R. Makuku Nr Chewore | Mount Darwin.Umtali | 13 killed, 18 captured mainly by 3 Cdo 1RLI. 7 unaccounted for. |
| 7 August 1968 | Gravel |
ZANU group of 14. |
ML 7307 East of Mapeta Island | Gokwe | Whole group eliminated by 1 RAR within 3 days of crossing. 4 killed and ten captured |
| 30/31 Dec 1969 | Birch | ZAPU group of 22 | ST 7969 Chewore/ Mwanja Mouth |
Mtoko/Mount Darwin Umtali Melsetter |
1RLI killed 6 and captured 10. Of the six
outstanding two were killed by the Portuguese. |
| 1 Jan 7 Jan 11 Jan 1970 |
Teak I Teak II Teak III | ZAPU total 21. |
ML 9313 NL 6578 LL 8312 | Lupane/Naki Binga Wankie TTL | Attacked Victoria Falls airport & railway line. (Abortive). 5 killed 8 captured and 8 escaped to Botswana. |
| 1 March 1970 | Pluto | ZAPU 6 man Recce group. | Nyamuomba Farm area | Kariba |
Abortive bazooka attack on Kariba airport. No damage. Ters escaped back to Zambia. |
| 2 Feb 1970 | Granite | ZAPU group of 6 | NL 6474 Chete Island | Kezi | 4 ters to Matopos 10 April 2 captured by BSAP, 2 escaped to Botswana. Of the other two 1 captured by Botswana Police, one whereabouts unknown. |
| 9 Feb 1970 | Chestnut | ZAPU group of 7 | ML 8712 Msuna | Lupane | 3 captured near Dett, 3 escaped to Botswana. Leader subsequently picked up by BSAP but died in Wankie Hospital. |
| 29 Aug 1971 | Lobster | Frelimo | US 8686 |
Chikanga Mill US 8389 |
1RLI follow up into Mocambique give indications of ZANU/Frelimo tie up. |
