Quote:
Originally Posted by Flagg
There are HEAPS of good ones.
And fortunately, some are available in Ebook format for reasonable prices…..whereas before you had to have them shipped out of Africa, or pay extortionist prices for the limited copies that made it into the west.
I'm sure Guymullins will be along with some good suggestions.
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Some good reading on the Southern African Bush War. Rh=Rhodesia and SA= South Africans in Namibia and Angola.
My OC and the father of three units ( Recce, 32 Bn and 44 Para Brigade) in the SADF, Col. Jan Breytenbach has written a few good books. Eagle Strike is a very comprehensive book on the battle of Cassinga where he was OC the attacking paratroopers.(SA)
Buffalo Soldiers is about the beginnings of the first multiracial outfit that combined ex-enemy guerrillas and other black fighters from Angola under the command of white South Africans. 32 Bn operated from behind enemy lines for most of its existence and was the most feared force among the enemy as it was made up of soldiers who had been fighting continuously for up to 20 years.(SA)
The Tempered Sword, is a more complete account of 32Bn published recently.(SA)
Counter-strike from the sky, written by JRT Wood is an excellent book about the birth of the Fire-force concept where small Alluette helicopters together with Dakota para aircraft combine to make a powerful killing machine. The chain of action from the Selous Scouts detecting the enemy through to the attack by K-Car (cannon-bearing helicopter) and G-Cars carrying small sticks of troops into the attack chasing the enemy into the arms of the para-dropped RLI stopper groups was a constantly evolving skill. The Rhodesian had to make do with minimal equipment and manpower because of international sanctions. A good read for anyone wanting the details of how to run a successful counter-insurgency operation.(RH)
Executive Outcomes, by Eben Barlow tells the story of the first private security contracting company in Africa. EO accomplished great things in Angola and Sierra Leone where conventional forces became bogged down and outfoxed by a savage enemy. Many of the soldiers in EO were ex-32Bn and ex-Recce and Parabats.(SA)
Ron Reid Daly, the founder of the Selous Scouts wrote Pamwe Chete, the book on the unit. The Scouts used turned terrorists working with white Scouts to form pseudo groups that pretended to be terrorist insurgents. This enabled them to get information about other terror groups entering the country and either eliminate them themselves, or call in Fire Force to do so. A very good book about an unconventional leader who thought outside the box.(Rh)
The Selous Scouts by Peter Stiff is also a good compendium of many of the SC operations.(Rh)
Then of course, there is my own book, The Battle for Cassinga by Mike McWilliams. This book is a shorter account of the battle filled with the photographs I took at the battle.(SA)
19 With a Bullet was written by a friend who now lives in California called Granger Korff. It is the story of the operational career of a typical Parabat. Granger became a very good professional boxer who after the army went to America to live. A good book to get the feel of the South African armies iron fist, its Paratroopers.(SA)