Selous Scouts & Rhodesian Bush War
Tracker combat teams and the secret war in Rhodesia 1965–1980
9 booksThe Selous Scouts were the Rhodesian Army's elite tracker-combat unit — a pseudo-operations force that operated deep in enemy territory using turned insurgents alongside white Rhodesian soldiers. In fifteen years of bush war, they accounted for more enemy killed than any other unit. This collection covers the memoirs, histories, and operational accounts of the men who fought in the Rhodesian Bush War.
Fire Force: One Man's War in the Rhodesian Light Infantry
Chris Cocks
1997
An account of the Rhodesian Light Infantry's fire-force operations — rapid-response helicopter insertions and direct action tactics.
Bush War Operator
Andre Scheepers
2011
A Rhodesian bush war combatant's memoir — ground-level perspective on patrol operations, ambushes, and survival in the bush.
A Handful of Hard Men: The SAS and the Battle for Rhodesia
Hannes Wessels
2015
Wessels' comprehensive history of the Rhodesian SAS — their formation, tactics, and the brutal cross-border war they fought in Mozambique and Zambia. One of the best written books on the Rhodesian conflict.
Three Sips of Gin: Dominating the Battlespace with Rhodesia's Elite Selous Scouts
Tim Bax
2012
Bax served with the Selous Scouts and provides a ground-level account of pseudo-operations, tracker combat, and the psychological warfare that made the Scouts so effective against ZANLA and ZIPRA insurgents.
Shadows of a Forgotten Past: To the Edge, with the Rhodesian SAS and Selous Scouts
Paul French
2016
French served with both the Rhodesian SAS and Selous Scouts — a rare dual perspective on the two most elite units of the bush war. Covers cross-border operations, pseudo-ops, and the final desperate years of the conflict.
The Elite: The Story of the Rhodesian Special Air Service
Barbara Cole
1984
The original definitive history of the Rhodesian SAS — Cole's exhaustive account of the unit from its formation through the end of the bush war. Essential reference.
Selous Scouts: Rhodesian Counter-Insurgency Specialists
Peter Baxter
2011
Baxter's Africa@War series entry on the Selous Scouts — concise, well-illustrated operational history covering the unit's formation, tactics, pseudo-operations, and key engagements.
We Dared to Win: The SAS in Rhodesia
Hannes Wessels & Andre Scheepers
2015
Wessels and Scheepers compile the stories of Rhodesian SAS operators — missions into Mozambique and Zambia, the audacious raids on ZANLA and ZIPRA infrastructure, and the brotherhood of the regiment.
Recce: Small Team Missions Behind Enemy Lines
Koos Stadler
2015
Stadler's memoir of South African Recce operations — some of the most dangerous small-team reconnaissance missions ever run, deep in southern Africa alongside the Rhodesian conflict. Operationally specific and unflinching.