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Operation Eland, also known as the Nyadzonya [a] Raid, was a military operation carried out by the Rhodesian Selous Scouts at Nyadzonya in Mozambique on 9 August 1976. [2]The raid had adverse political and diplomatic consequences for Rhodesia.
The Selous Scouts / s ə ˈ l uː / was a special forces unit of the Rhodesian Army that operated during the Rhodesian Bush War from 1973 until the reconstitution of the country as Zimbabwe in 1980. It was mainly responsible for infiltrating the black majority population of Rhodesia and collecting intelligence on insurgents so that they could ...
At 10 a.m., two troops of Selous Scouts and a RLI section (around 100 men) led an assault on Monte Cassino. The summit was taken after the partisans had retreated, as was Hill 761. [ 11 ] At the end of that day, Nhongo ordered his fighters to retreat, with mortar teams providing cover fire. [ 12 ]
The Rhodesian military considered two units to be special forces, the Special Air Service and the Selous Scouts. [2] Combined Operations also considered the Grey's Scouts mounted infantry unit to be an elite unit, but it was not as well trained or effective as the SAS or Selous Scouts. [3]
During this period the Bush War intensified and the Rhodesian Army established the Selous Scouts as a less elitist special forces unit than the SAS. The Selous Scouts commander Ronald Reid-Daly was an old friend and was willing to accept the terms except the last. Because two men could evacuate a wounded third or, in extremis, kill him, Reid ...
The Americans suffered seven combat fatalities and many others were wounded in combat, some maimed for life. Five served in Rhodesia's most prestigious unit, the Selous Scouts. [7] The United States' Neutrality Act prohibits American citizens from enlisting with foreign militaries or working as mercenaries for other governments. [8]
In 1979, some special forces units were accused of using counter terrorist operations as cover for ivory poaching and smuggling. Colonel Reid-Daly (commander of the Selous Scouts) was court martialled and dismissed for insubordination. Meanwhile, support for ZANU-PF was growing amongst the black soldiers who made up 70% of the Rhodesian army.
In late 1973, he was persuaded by General Peter Walls, then chief of the Rhodesian Army, to return to active duty in order to form the Selous Scouts, an elite special forces unit to combat the growing threat posed by communist guerrillas. Drawing on his Malayan experience, Lieutenant Colonel Reid-Daly built a skilled and highly professional ...