Counter-strike from the Sky: The Rhodesian All-Arms Fireforce in the War in the Bush, 1974-1980 [Hardcover]

J.R.T Wood (Author), Chris Cocks (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 10, 2009 | ISBN-10: 1920143335 | ISBN-13: 978-1920143336 | Edition: Har/DVD

Fireforce as a military concept dates from 1974 when the Rhodesian Air Force (RhAF) acquired the French MG151 20mm cannon from the Portuguese. Coupled with this, the traditional counter-insurgency tactics (against Mugabe's ZANLA and Nkomo's ZIPRA) of follow-ups, tracking and ambushing simply weren't producing satisfactory results. Visionary RhAF and Rhodesian Light Infantry (RLI) officers thus expanded on the idea of a 'vertical envelopment' of the enemy (first practised by SAS paratroopers in Mozambique in 1973), with the 20mm cannon being the principle weapon of attack, mounted in an Alouette III K-Car ('Killer car'), flown by the air force commander, with the army commander on board directing his ground troops deployed from G-Cars (Alouette III troop-carrying gunships and latterly Bell 'Hueys' in 1979) and parachuted from DC-3 Dakotas. In support would be a propeller-driven ground-attack aircraft armed with front guns, pods of napalm, white phosphorus rockets and a variety of Rhodesian-designed bombs; on call would be Canberra bombers, Hawker Hunter and Vampire jets.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'Wood's prose, graphics, illustrations, and Cock's audio-visual presentation successfully bring the reader and viewer into the intense world of Fireforce operations. This is a fully documented work written and edited from the insights of participants. I highly recommend it as the lessons of the past have a relevance to the needs of the present.' --Charles D. Melson, Chief Historian United States Marine Corps

About the Author

DR. RICHARD WOOD, born in Bulawayo, Rhodesia, is a Commonwealth Scholar, Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and a graduate of Rhodes and Edinburgh universities. He has enjoyed sole access to the hitherto closed papers of Ian Smith to write this book. So Far and No Further! complements his definitive The Welensky Papers: A History of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland: 1953-1963 and The War Diaries of André Dennison.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: 30 Degrees South; Har/DVD edition (July 10, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1920143335
• ISBN-13: 978-1920143336
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 5.9 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #956,016 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #29 in Books > History > Africa > Zambia

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Mixed Reference, December 7, 2009

By 

Annay Dawson - See all my reviews

This review is from: Counter-strike from the Sky: The Rhodesian All-Arms Fireforce in the War in the Bush, 1974-1980 (Hardcover)

The book Counter-Strike from the Sky by J. R. T. Wood details the use of the Alouette III K-Car and the practices that lead to the counter-insurgency tactics that became Foxfire in Rhodesia. Counter-Strike from the Sky details the concepts of Fireforce and the dates that it was implemented, details the equipment used in the program, as well as the history before, during, and after it that brought it into existence. J. R. T. Wood has also included a DVD with the book that some will find an added benefit. Before starting this book it would be helpful to have some idea of what Fireforce is, but not a requirement. The beginning of the book provides the background needed and the ideas of the concept in the first few pages and chapters. The information and set up is comprehensive. In this book research into the details the years of Fireforce and the phases down to detailed numbers, "894 mines were detonated or recovered a the rate of 2.44 mines a day," and, "From 1972-1980 there were 2,504 detonations by vehicles of landmines ... killing 632 people and injuring 4,410." This shows me the amount of time and energy that has been put into getting both the facts and the story correct in this book. The glossary and prologue are important pieces of the book and are located at the beginning of the book and are very helpful to the reader. If a reader is looking for specific information there is and index that has been included as well. There are three rather large sections in the book, two of photos and one of maps and diagrams that give the reader a visual reference.
This is not a book I would recommend to just any reader of Rhodesian history. It is not a book that can be picked up as light nightly reading and it is certainly not a book that one would pick up thinking that they would escape back to another day and time. It is a book that I would recommend to any historian of this time period. J.R.T. Wood has done a wonderful job of organizing and presenting the data into a all-inclusive unit.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Enhanced with an accompanying DVD, January 11, 2010

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Counter-strike from the Sky: The Rhodesian All-Arms Fireforce in the War in the Bush, 1974-1980 (Hardcover)

Some tactics prove so effective they are dissected to be better studied. "Counter-Strike From the Sky: The Rhodesian All-Arms Fireforce in the War in the Bush 1974-1980" tells of a phenomenal military unit. Their use of certain weapons is discussed, and many technical details are presented and elaborated upon. "Counter-Strike from the Sky" is enhanced with an accompanying DVD, and is quite the recommended addition to military studies collections.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One word - Detail!, March 22, 2010

By 

One of Marius' Mules (Texas) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Counter-strike from the Sky: The Rhodesian All-Arms Fireforce in the War in the Bush, 1974-1980 (Hardcover)

This is without question the most thoroughly researched historical work available on "everything" related to Fire Force operations in the Rhodesian War. Although this is your typical 9 x 6 hardcover, it has a very Osprey "feel" to it. By that, I mean the author included several color plates and several sections of quality photos that make the book seem more like something Osprey would publish. That doesn't mean, however, that the written sections are given short shrift. On the contrary, so much detail is presented here that the casual reader may become bogged down. I don't want to give the impression that this is an encyclopedic reference, but I do wish to convey that it is wonderful in its detail of minutiae. Included here is a plethora of maps, b&w photos, colour photos, prints, graphs, a glossary, an index, and even an accompanying documentary DVD. It's likely that Fire Force operations comprised the majority of lethal contacts with terrorists operating in and around Rhodesia during the war. Wood's "Counterstrike" is easily one of the best historical sources available on the Rhodesian War. So if you're a serious student of this conflict, this is a "must read."