Rhodesian Bush War

Rhodesia in 1965. Rhodesia (green), Rhodesia's allies (purple) and Rhodesia's opponents (orange).

Rhodesia in 1975. Rhodesia (green), Rhodesia's allies (purple) and Rhodesia's opponents (orange).

The Rhodesian Bush War was a civil war in the British colony of Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) from 1964 to 1979.

It was a triangular war. It was fought between the white Government of Rhodesia, the Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army (which was the military wing of Robert Mugabe's Zimbabwe African National Union), and the Zimbabwe People's Revolutionary Army of Joshua Nkomo's Zimbabwe African People's Union.

Rhodesia was supported by Estado Novo (Portugal) until 1974 and Apartheid South Africa.

After the war ended in 1979, Southern Rhodesia became independent as Zimbabwe in 1980.

Rhodesian Bush War Media

• 
• 
• 

  Two soldiers of the Rhodesian African Rifles aboard a patrol boat on Lake Kariba, December 1976. Black Rhodesians made up most of the government's Security Forces.

• 

  In 1962, Rhodesia was split about equally between black (orange and purple) and white (yellow) areas. The ruling United Federal Party proposed the removal of racially defined boundaries, except for reserved Tribal Trust Lands (orange), which made up about 45% of the country.

• 

  Map showing the operational areas of the Rhodesian Security Forces during the conflict.

• 

  A Leopard APC, mine-protected vehicle, designed and built in Rhodesia during the late 1970s and based on a Volkswagen engine. This example is displayed in the Imperial War Museum North, Manchester, UK

• Audio from the cockpit of Green Leader during Operation Gatling at Westlands Farm.