Operation Griffin

Last updated

Operation Griffin
Part of the Rhodesian Bush War (or Second Chimurenga )
Date16-26 July 1968
Location
Chirundu, Rhodesia
Result Rhodesian victory
Belligerents
Flag of Rhodesia (1964-1968).svg  Rhodesia
Flag of South Africa (1928-1994).svg  South Africa 		Zimbabwe African People's Union flag.svg ZIPRA
Commanders and leaders
Flag of Rhodesia (1964-1968).svg Maj. Robert Southey
Flag of Rhodesia (1964-1968).svg 2Lt. Jerry Strong
Air Force Ensign of Rhodesia (1964-1968).svg Flt. Lt. Petter-Bowyer
Air Force Ensign of Rhodesia (1964-1968).svg Norman Walsh 		Zimbabwe African People's Union flag.svg Unknown
Units involved

Rhodesian Army flag late 1970s.png Rhodesian Army

Air Force Ensign of Rhodesia (1964-1968).svg RRAF
Flag of the South African Police.svg South African Police 		unknown
Strength
unknown 28 cadres
Casualties and losses
Flag of Rhodesia (1964-1968).svg  Rhodesia:
1 killed
7 wounded
1 helicopter damaged
Flag of South Africa (1928-1994).svg  South Africa:
1 killed
2 wounded		 27 killed
1 defected
An Alouette III 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 the 18 July 1968. RhodesianAlouette.jpg
An Alouette III 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 the 18 July 1968.

Operation Griffin was a military operation launched by the Rhodesian Security Forces, on 16 July 1968, in response to an incursion into Rhodesia by communist insurgents belonging to the ZIPRA based in Zambia.

Contents

Background

A group of 28 ZIPRA insurgents entered from Zambia near Chirundu on 13 July 1968, with the intention of operating in the Hartley area where the Viljoens had been murdered four years earlier. Three days after the crossing, one of them became lost while on reconnaissance and gave himself up to police at Chirundu. He divulged the present location of his comrades, on the bank of the Zambezi, as well as where they had crossed the river. Operation Griffin started the same day, 16 July.

The Operation

A patrol of South African Police (SAP) was despatched along with a detachment of RLI men from 3 Commando and some from E Company, Rhodesian African Rifles (RAR), who were in the area on border patrol. Noticing the increased helicopter activity of the security forces, the cadres realised they had been detected and moved into a defensive position in a deep gully.

The two the different forces came into contact with each other on the morning of 18 July, when the insurgents opened fire on 12 Troop, 3 Commando, led by Second Lieutenant Jerry Strong. The Rhodesians were initially pinned down but Strong and Lance-Corporal Terry Lahee crawled forward on their bellies and provided covering rifle fire, also tossing grenades at the enemy to allow 12 Troop to find better cover; 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. [1]

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 [2] was a small Rhodesian-made napalm bomb developed by the Royal Rhodesian Air Force during the 1960s. They were 1.8 metres (5 ft 11 in) long and filled with about 73 litres (16 imp gal; 19 US gal) of napalm. To hide their nature and purpose during development they were referred to as "frangible tanks", which gave rise to the abbreviation "Frantan", which stuck. [3] 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". [1] "Norman Walsh and Peter Nicholls [the two helicopter pilots] faced great difficulty because of steep mountainsides and the blackness of the night in conditions of thick haze," writes Peter Petter-Bowyer, then an RRAF flight lieutenant. "Visual contact with [the] ground [was] impossible until dangerously low and close." Flying at such low altitude, each pilot was blinded by the reflection of his own landing light when he looked towards the ground. Walsh noticed that he could clearly see the ground beneath the other helicopter's light, and so instructed Nicholls to turn off his landing light and allow him to illuminate the landing site for him. "This worked like a charm," says Petter-Bowyer. Guided by Walsh's landing light, Nicholls safely landed and collected some of the casualties, then did the same for Walsh as he picked up the rest. Flares were dropped during the night to help the ground troops search for guerrilla movement but none was seen. [4]

The RLI, meanwhile, was redeployed by Southey, and positioned to seal off likely escape routes from the gully. Ambushes were set up on each ridge and at both ends of the gully. At dawn four guerrillas attempted to break through a 3 Commando stop position at the eastern end; unfortunately for the insurgents, this ambush was headed by Commando Sergeant Major Al Tourle, [1] a particularly aggressive soldier nicknamed "Bangstick", [4] whose men shot and killed all four. Southey then led 12 and 14 Troops on a sweep of the gully from the west and found that the ZIPRA fighters had vacated their position, leaving most of their equipment. Two cadres hiding in a cave opened fire on Southey's men and were killed. Two insurgent bodies were found, burnt by the Frantans. By noon on 19 July the area was clear; 10 guerrillas had been killed while the security forces had lost one trooper and suffered six troopers wounded. Headquarters was moved to Kariba while 2 Commando was brought in from Salisbury to assist in locating the remaining cadres. [1]

Strong led a sweep up the river and met with no resistance while a squad of trackers including Tourle moved south, towards Kariba. [4] The latter group spotted the 10 insurgents in ambush in another gully at 13:30 on 19 July and a fierce battle ensued. [1] The RLI squad leader's faulty radio set meant that he was unable to issue orders, leading Tourle to take the initiative by shouting orders to soldiers around him. This made him the subject of concentrated ZIPRA fire, [5] but he nevertheless directed the RLI actions throughout the contact while also accounting for most of the opposing force personally. [5] "Tourle," says Binda, "armed with an MAG, moved with one other man to a rocky outcrop overlooking the enemy position and laid down a withering fire." [1] Under this cover Corporals Johnstone and Strydom flanked right and eliminated a ZIPRA sniper, while Corporal Kirkwood and Lance-Corporal Coom moved to the left. A sweep was then carried out, during which a guerrilla jumped out of cover and opened fire, wounding Coom; Johnstone killed the insurgent. [1]

Aftermath

The remainder of the search revealed that the other nine cadres were dead, six having been killed by Tourle. For his "gallantry and leadership" in this action, Al Tourle was awarded the Bronze Cross of Rhodesia on 23 October 1970. The remaining seven cadres were captured or killed over the course of the next week, leaving none unaccounted for when the operation ended at 12:00 on 26 July 1968. [1]

Related Research Articles

Operation Dingo was a major raid conducted by the Rhodesian Security Forces against the Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army (ZANLA) headquarters at Chimoio and a smaller camp at Tembue in Mozambique from 23 to 25 November 1977.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rhodesian Light Infantry</span> Military unit

The 1st Battalion, Rhodesian Light Infantry (1RLI), commonly The Rhodesian Light Infantry (RLI), was a regiment formed in 1961 at Brady Barracks (Bulawayo, Southern Rhodesia) as a light infantry unit within the army of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland. Barely a year after its creation, it was relocated to Cranborne Barracks (Salisbury) where its headquarters remained for the rest of its existence. The Regiment became part of the Southern Rhodesian Army when the Federation dissolved at the start of 1964 and, later that year, reformed into a commando battalion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Military history of Zimbabwe</span>

The military history of Zimbabwe chronicles a vast time period and complex events from the dawn of history until the present time. It covers invasions of native peoples of Africa, encroachment by Europeans, and civil conflict.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Air Rhodesia Flight 825</span> Passenger aircraft which was shot down in 1978

Air Rhodesia Flight 825 was a scheduled passenger flight that was shot down by the Zimbabwe People's Revolutionary Army (ZIPRA) on 3 September 1978, during the Rhodesian Bush War. The aircraft involved, a Vickers Viscount named the Hunyani, was flying the last leg of Air Rhodesia's regular scheduled service from Victoria Falls to the capital Salisbury, via the resort town of Kariba.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Alan Coey</span> American-Rhodesian soldier and medic (1950–1975)

John Alan Coey was an American soldier who served in the Rhodesian Army as one of "the Crippled Eagles", a loosely organised group of US expatriates fighting for the unrecognised government of Rhodesia during that country's Bush War. A devout Christian and fervent anti-communist, he was the first American fatality of the war. He moved to Rhodesia to join its army in 1972, the day after graduating from college in his home town of Columbus, Ohio, and served until he was killed in action in 1975. He kept a journal throughout his service that was posthumously published as A Martyr Speaks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of the Rhodesian Light Infantry (1961–1972)</span> Early history of the Rhodesian Light Infantry

The 1st Battalion, The Rhodesian Light Infantry, commonly the Rhodesian Light Infantry, was originally formed in 1961 as a regiment of the army of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland. Raised as a light infantry unit at Brady Barracks, Bulawayo in Southern Rhodesia, the Regiment served in the Rhodesian Bush War as part of the Rhodesian Security Forces between 1964 and 1979, from 1965 under the unrecognised governments of Rhodesia and latterly, during the second half of 1979, Zimbabwe Rhodesia. The RLI remained active during an interim period under British control and then, from April 1980, within the armed forces of Zimbabwe, before disbanding on 31 October 1980.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of the Rhodesian Light Infantry (1972–1977)</span> Late history of the Rhodesian Light Infantry

The 1st Battalion, The Rhodesian Light Infantry, commonly the Rhodesian Light Infantry, served in the Rhodesian Bush War as part of the Rhodesian Security Forces between 1964 and 1979, under the unrecognised government of Rhodesia following its 1965 Unilateral Declaration of Independence from Britain. During the second half of 1979 it fought for Zimbabwe Rhodesia, a black majority-ruled version of the same state which also failed to win international recognition. After an interim period under British control from December 1979 to April 1980, the RLI briefly remained active within the armed forces of Zimbabwe, but did not see action under this government. It disbanded on 31 October 1980.

The 1st Battalion, The Rhodesian Light Infantry, commonly the Rhodesian Light Infantry, served in the Rhodesian Bush War as part of the Rhodesian Security Forces between 1964 and 1979, under the unrecognised government of Rhodesia after its Unilateral Declaration of Independence from Britain on 11 November 1965. Latterly, during the second half of 1979, it fought for Zimbabwe Rhodesia, a reorganised version of Rhodesia under a black majority government which still went unrecognised. After an interim period under British control from December 1979 to April 1980, the RLI briefly remained active within the armed forces of the internationally recognised Republic of Zimbabwe, but did not see action under this government. It laid up its colours on 17 October 1980 and disbanded two weeks later.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">7 Independent Company (Rhodesia)</span> Military unit

7 Independent Company was a short-lived company of francophone volunteers in the Rhodesian Army during the Rhodesian Bush War. Numbering about 200 men at its peak, it was unique in the history of the Rhodesian Army as an exclusively expatriate unit. It existed between November 1977 and May 1978 as a company in the 1st Battalion, the Rhodesia Regiment, and served two counter-insurgency tours on Operation Hurricane in north-eastern Rhodesia.

The 1981 Entumbane uprising, also known as the Battle of Bulawayo or Entumbane II, occurred between 8 and 12 February 1981 in and around Bulawayo, Zimbabwe amid political tensions in the newly independent state. Zimbabwe People's Revolutionary Army (ZIPRA) guerrillas, mainly in the city's western suburb of Entumbane, rebelled, creating a situation that threatened to develop into a fresh civil war, barely a year after the end of the Bush War. The Rhodesian African Rifles (RAR) and other white-commanded elements of the former Rhodesian Security Forces, fighting for the Zimbabwean government as part of the new Zimbabwe National Army, put down the uprising. Groups of Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army (ZANLA) fighters attacked both ZIPRA and the government forces during the revolt, which followed a smaller outbreak of fighting between guerrillas in November 1980.

The attack on Altena Farm occurred in the early hours of 21 December 1972, during the third phase of the Rhodesian Bush War. Altena was a tobacco farm owned by Marc de Borchgrave, a white Rhodesian landowner who was unpopular among the local civilians. Some sources have indicated that this marked the beginning of the conflict proper, despite the minor threat already represented by guerrilla movements in Rhodesia in the late 1960s.

Operation Aztec was a military operation launched by the Republic of Rhodesia against the communist backed insurgent group ZANLA, in Mozambique from 28 May to 2 June 1977. The successful operation resulted in the destruction of Mozambique's railway in Gaza Province, limiting the movement of enemy soldiers, and equipment from Mozambique to the Rhodesian border.

Operation Flotilla was a military operation launched by the Rhodesian Army working with the Portuguese Army in Mozambique in response to the threat posed to Rhodesia by a group of 17 Lusaka-based nationalists who had the intent of entering Rhodesia through its border with Mozambique.

Operation Nickel or the Wankie Campaign or the Wankie Battles was a military operation launched by the Rhodesian Security Forces on 1 August 1967 in response to the group of ZIPRA and Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK) fighters crossing the Zambezi River, which marked the Rhodesian-Zambian border. The operation was a success with only one of the cadres out of a force of seventy-nine making it back to Zambia.

Operation Cauldron was launched by the Rhodesian Security Forces in response to an incursion by ZIPRA insurgents on 28 December 1967. 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.

Operation Birch was an operation launched by the Rhodesian Security Forces in response to a group of 22–25 ZIPRA insurgents crossing the Zambezi River, which marked the border between Rhodesia and Zambia, in January 1970.

Operation Excess was a military operation launched by the Rhodesian Security Forces, on 27 July 1968, in response to an incursion of ZIPRA terrorists in Mashonaland West province.

Late on 22 December 1972, a troop from the Rhodesian Special Air Service, followed shortly by the Rhodesian Light Infantry, reported to the police station in Centenary. The land mine in Altena's driveway was discovered, disarmed and removed. For their own safety, Marc de Borchgrave and his family were sent to Whistlefield Farm, which was owned by Archie Dalgluish and his family, while their family home was being repaired.

Operation Gatling, which took place on 19 October 1978, was a joint-force operation into Zambia launched by the Air Force and Army of Rhodesia; the main forces which contributed were Rhodesian Special Air Service and Rhodesian Light Infantry paratroopers. Gatling's primary target, just 16 kilometres north-east of central Lusaka, Zambia's capital, was the formerly white-owned Westlands Farm, which had been transformed into ZIPRA's main headquarters and training base under the name "Freedom Camp". ZIPRA presumed that Rhodesia would never dare to attack a site so close to Lusaka. About 4,000 guerrillas underwent training at Freedom Camp, with senior ZIPRA staff also on site.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cashel South African Air Force Alouette crash</span>

On 23 December 1975, an Aérospatiale Alouette III helicopter of the South African Air Force carrying a two-man crew and four Rhodesian Army officers crashed near Cashel in Rhodesia after it collided with a hawser cable mid-flight. The accident dealt a severe blow to the Rhodesian Security Forces, then fighting bitterly against ZANLA and ZIPRA insurgents in the Rhodesian Bush War, for the officers involved were some of its best and would prove difficult to replace.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Binda 2008 , pp. 84–88
  2. ↑ A "Frantan"
  3. ↑ Petter-Bowyer 2005 , p. 88
  4. 1 2 3 Petter-Bowyer 2005 , pp. 138–139
  5. 1 2 Binda 2008 , pp. 514–515

Bibliography

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.