Operation Nickel The RLI continued to grow in strength during the latter part of 1966 and the beginning of 1967; it first began to experiment with parachutes early during this year, borrowing equipment from the SAS to do so. Walls was replaced as CO on 18 June 1967 by Lieutenant-Colonel Jack Caine, formerly of the British Coldstream Guards. The next guerrilla incursion came on 1 August 1967, when a combined force of 79 ZIPRA and South African
Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK) fighters crossed the Zambezi about east of
Victoria Falls. Having mislaid 10 men along the way, they based up a week later in the
Wankie Game Reserve, in the extreme west of the country, near the border with
Botswana. The cadres, whose intention was to recruit local black Rhodesians and subsequently attack white farms and police stations, split into two groups. One headed towards
Tjolotjo and the other made for
Nkai. Operation Nickel, described by Ron Reid-Daly as one of "the most significant operations of the war," was launched. At first the incursion was countered by the RAR, but after a tactical error in its third engagement with the guerrillas led to casualties, the African Rifles were joined by 2 Commando, RLI on 25 August 1967. Prime Minister Ian Smith attended the RLI's Annual Regimental Sundowner on 1 February 1968, commemorating the founding of the Battalion seven years earlier. Smith stood and proposed a toast to the Regiment and the health of "the incredible Rhodesian Light Infantry". The toast was widely publicised by the Rhodesian press and had such impact that "The Incredibles" became a second nickname of the RLI alongside "The Saints". Captain F. Sutton, who had three years earlier composed the Battalion's slow march,
The Rhodesian Light Infantry, renamed the march
The Incredibles.
Operation Cauldron Despite the death or capture of 77 out of 79 men, ZAPU, from its base in the Zambian capital,
Lusaka, did not regard the incursion as a failure; on the contrary, its leaders were pleased that they had inflicted some casualties on the Rhodesian African Rifles. Buoyed by what they perceived as a success, they planned another operation to take place in northern
Mashonaland: about 100 men—75 ZIPRA and 25 MK—were to infiltrate the Zambezi valley and establish a series of camps, including underground caches containing food, clothing, weapons and other equipment. They were instructed to avoid the Rhodesian Security Forces "at all cost" while they recruited local tribesmen to the nationalist cause and trained them. Once a sufficient indigenous force existed, they were to inform Lusaka, which would then coordinate a mass uprising. The aim was not to defeat the government forces, but rather to force the British military to intervene. If the operation were a success, the MK men were to be escorted to South Africa to begin similar activities. The group, which in the actual event numbered 126, .|alt=The viewer stands by a tree beside a stream. On the other side can be seen a wide, flat field and, in the distance, mountains. "The appropriately named
Cauldron," says Binda, "was to be the crucible in which the fighting character of the RLI was to be forged. ... It revealed to the world what outstanding and peerless anti-terrorist fighters the RLI were." A Joint Operations Centre (JOC) was formed on 16 March 1968 at Karoi, made up of two RAR platoons, a BSAP patrol and 1 and 3 Commandos, RLI. A patrol of 13 troopers from 14 Troop, 3 Commando, led by Lieutenant Bert Sachse, made first contact with the enemy on the morning of 18 March, encountering 14 nationalists near the Angwa River in the
Mana Pools area. Attacking an enemy on higher ground, Sachse's men killed 10 guerrillas but lost
Trooper E. N. F. Ridge to sniper fire. He was first RLI soldier to be killed by enemy action. Nevertheless, the official operational report describes the contact as "a first-rate action in which Lieutenant Sachse's leadership and the determination of his men achieved an extremely successful result." On the same day Lieutenant Chris Pearce's 13 Troop, 3 Commando, on patrol with a platoon of Rhodesian African Rifles under Lieutenant Ron Marillier, was fired upon on the bank of the Maura River in northern Mashonaland by about 70 ZIPRA, encamped in a strong defensive position on the side of a hill feature. "We were going on up the bank and all hell broke loose," recalled Pearce. "How we didn't take casualties I didn't quite know." Pearce's 12 men were pinned down by heavy machine-gun fire and outnumbered by around six to one. Lance-Corporal Dennis Croukamp "on his own initiative and with complete disregard for his own safety" in the words of the official report, twice crawled forward to throw grenades at the enemy position to allow the troop to redeploy into better cover. Pearce unsuccessfully attempted to assault the enemy position, then gave covering fire to an abortive flank attack by Marillier's RAR men. The security forces then attempted one final assault just before nightfall, but this also failed due to the superior numbers of ZIPRA fighters. The cadres dispersed and evacuated the area during the night and were gone when a Rhodesian sweep took place the next morning. A series of contacts over the following days resulted in the guerrilla squads being split up and severely weakened, with the men who did not surrender or desert being killed or arrested; on 21 March, the insurgent commanders in Lusaka realised that their men had been detected and ordered the only remaining intact team, made up of 26 men, to return to Zambia. An assault on an enemy camp near
Sipolilo on 26 March by 21 men from RLI Training Troop resulted in the deaths of two Troopers, R. A. Binks and G. D. Wessels. By 27 March, 28 cadres had been killed and 15 captured; by 3 April, the figures stood at 36 dead and 24 in custody. Five more were arrested on 4 April and one shot dead by men from 1 Troop, 1 Commando, south of Makuti. "It now appeared obvious," says Binda, "that the insurgents had scattered and were on the run." On 9 April, the last contact with any significant number of guerrillas involved took place north of Karoi. A police unit and 4 Troop, 1 Commando encountered a group of insurgents and killed all seven, but lost Trooper M. E. Thornley to a fatal chest wound. When Operation Cauldron was closed on 31 May 1968, 58 of the 126 fighters who had crossed from Zambia had been confirmed killed and 51 were captured. Of the 17 outstanding, nine had returned to Zambia, leaving eight unaccounted for. Having acquitted themselves well during the operation, the young RLI troopers, many still teenagers, earned high praise from Platoon Warrant Officer Herod of the RAR, who had been wounded fighting alongside them on the Maura on 18 March 1968. "We of the RAR used to laugh at your soldiers," Herod said to RLI Sergeant Tim Baker, who was visiting him in hospital. "To us they looked like boys. But they showed us how to fight. They have the faces of boys, but they fight like lions."
Operation Flotilla Covert coordinated efforts between the Rhodesian and
Portuguese Armed Forces had started in 1967, and soon after
Cauldron ended, the RLI was involved in a joint operation in Mozambique. A group of 17 Lusaka-based nationalists infiltrated Mozambique's north-western
Tete Province, between Rhodesia and
Malawi, in April 1968. Their presence was reported to Portuguese authorities on 20 May by local tribesmen from Catumbula, a small village just north of the
Mazoe River, which in that area ran along the border with Rhodesia. A Portuguese patrol contacted and scattered the guerrillas the next day. The nationalist fighters, split into two groups, then moved towards Rhodesia, one team heading south-west and the other south. Acting on information given by the Portuguese, the Rhodesians started Operation Flotilla, based at the border town of
Nyamapanda, on 23 May. 1 Commando, RLI was sent out on patrol the same day under
Major Peter Rich. However, no trace of the insurgents was reported by Rich's men, apart from the tracks of six men on the northern (Mozambican) side of the Mazoe River. The cadres had not actually left Mozambique; a counter-insurgency effort by the Portuguese military and police resulted in most of them being captured or killed. Six who did eventually cross into Rhodesia in early June were captured by the BSAP.
Operation Griffin helicopter of the
Rhodesian Air Force, pictured in 1962. Covering
FN MAG fire from such an aircraft proved vital during the first contact of Operation Griffin on 18 July 1968. the official report calls this an "act of supreme gallantry [which] undoubtedly saved the lives of several of the troopers who were in exposed positions." Covering
FN MAG fire from a
Royal Rhodesian Air Force (RRAF)
Alouette III helicopter, with Major Robert Southey aboard, then allowed Strong's men to pull back. 12 Troop joined up with 14 Troop, the SAP and the RAR platoon on a ridge to the north of the ZIPRA position. The SAP attempted to descend into the gully from the eastern end but found themselves trapped on the slopes by shooting from the insurgents. The Alouette was then hit and, although only lightly damaged, forced to withdraw, leaving the ground troops without covering MAG fire. Now covered by the Rhodesian ground troops and Frantans dropped by
Percival Provosts, the South Africans made several unsuccessful attempts to pull back from the banks of the gully throughout the afternoon which led to two injuries and the death of Constable du Toit. The SAP men were eventually able to withdraw under cover of darkness, while Rhodesian and South African injured were uplifted by helicopter in an action described by Southey as "sheer brilliance". This latter group spotted the 10 insurgents in ambush in another gully at 13:30 on 19 July and a fierce battle ensued. but he nevertheless directed the RLI actions throughout the contact while also accounting for most of the opposing force personally. Pearce reported that the guerrillas numbered about 50, and followed them eastwards during 28 July. Flight Lieutenant Petter-Bowyer led a detail of four Alouette IIIs providing air support. Petter-Bowyer's helicopters spotted the insurgents encamped by a stream beneath some dark, shady trees, leading Strong's 12 Troop, 3 Commando to be brought forward to contact them the following morning. Strong's fresh men were sent into the trees while Pearce was reluctantly forced to withdraw and provide back-up. Strong called back almost immediately after entering, "
Terrs left about one minute ago – in a hurry. There is abandoned equipment—no time to collect—moving east on tracks." 12 Troop pursued the guerrillas and trackers found that they numbered only about 20, meaning that the majority had gone in another direction. Pearce, who had been sent into the camp after Strong, found tracks from the remainder of the cadres that headed south. He followed them while 12 Troop continued to head east and reached the Mozambican border at nightfall on 30 July. At this time they were able to confirm from bootprints at the road crossing that the exact number of ZIPRA they were pursuing was 15. 12 Troop entered Mozambique on 31 July 1968 and contacted the enemy around noon, when Strong heard voices ahead and ordered his men out for a sweep. The guerrillas, encamped under trees on a slightly higher position on the other side of a dry riverbed, opened fire, wounding an RLI trooper. Strong called on the insurgents to surrender, to which they responded with obscenities and anti-white racist slogans before resuming fire. The presence of guerrillas to the south was reported by local tribesmen, leading a troop under Lieutenant Fanie Coetzee to investigate. A group of insurgents opened fire on Coetzee's troop from a high ridge, but he was able to move his men gradually around their flank to their rear, from where Petter-Bowyer says "he gave the terrorists a serious walloping". Around the same time the RAR defeated a third ZIPRA group of 25 men in Operation Mansion, killing six and capturing 18, as well as 14 ZANLA cadres, of whom four were killed and 10 arrested during Operation Gravel. ==More attempts for settlement; the armed struggle stagnates==