After a 15-year
guerrilla war with black nationalist forces, culminating in a
peace agreement in December 1979,
Robert Mugabe became the first Prime Minister of Zimbabwe on 11 April 1980 following his
ZANU–PF party winning the
general election. Mugabe declared that integrating
Zimbabwe's three armed forces would be one of Zimbabwe's top priorities. The existing
Rhodesian Army was combined with the two guerrilla armies; the 20,000-strong
Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army (ZANLA) forces of ZANU–PF and the 15,000-strong
Zimbabwe People's Revolutionary Army (ZIPRA) forces of PF-
Zimbabwe African People's Union. A British Military Assistance and Training Team played a pivotal role in assisting the creation of the new army, and was still in place in 2000. Meanwhile the
Rhodesian Air Force was reorganised as the
Air Force of Zimbabwe.
Mozambique Civil War The
Mozambique Civil War was a long-running conflict between the Marxist
FRELIMO Government, and anti-communist
RENAMO insurgents. During the 1970's,
Rhodesian intelligence supported the rebel group, but in the years following the election of Robert Mugabe in 1980, the Zimbabwe Defence Forces (ZDF) switched to support the
FRELIMO Government, in order to protect Zimbabwe's eastern city of
Mutare and the strategic railway line to Mozambique's port city of
Beira which were being attacked by RENAMO.
Operation Restore Legacy In October 2017, the ZDF was involved in a coup d'état which resulted in the resignation of long-serving President
Robert Mugabe and the formation of a new government under
Emmerson Mnangagwa. ==Notes==