Africa's Vietnam: Rhodesian Bush War | Animated History

Sources:
Disappearances and Political Killings: Human Rights Crisis of the 1990s: A Manual for Action (Netherlands: Amnesty International, 1994).

Abbott, Peter., Botham, Philip. Modern African Wars (1): Rhodesia 1965-80 (Oxford: Osprey Publishing, 1986).

Baxter, Peter. Bush War Rhodesia: 1966-1980 (United Kingdom: Helion & Company, 2014).

Baxter, Peter. Rhodesia: A Complete History 1890-1980 (United States: Amazon Digital Services LLC - KDP Print US, 2018).

Cross, Glenn. Dirty War: Rhodesia and Chemical Biological Warfare 1975-1980 (United Kingdom: Helion & Company, 2017).

Kapungu, Leonard T. Rhodesia: The Struggle for Freedom (New York: Orbis Books, 1974).

Loney, Martin. Rhodesia: White Racism and Imperial Response (Manchester: Penguin Books, 1975).

Moorcraft, Paul., McLaughlin, Peter. Chimurenga! The War In Rhodesia 1965-1980 (United States: Sygma Books Ltd. & Collins Vaal Ltd.).

Wood, J. R. T. Zambezi Valley Insurgency: Early Rhodesian Bush War Operations (United Kingdom: Helion & Company Limited, 2012).

Music:
Cold War Games - Gabriel Lewis
The Prophet
Seekers and Finders
Digital Future - Christoffer Moe Ditlevsen
Talking Drums - Ethan Sloan
New World - Hampus Naeselius
Unburned Fuel - Hampus Naeselius
Hunger, Thirst - Johannes Bornlof

Armchair Team Credits:

[turkkebab]

I have a suggestion, the Portuguese overseas conflict was the conflict that was most associated with Vietnam, which is why it was called Portuguese Vietnam, it is a conflict little talked about, but it is one of the most emblematic conflicts of the decolonization era

[lordsoupsoup]

This reminds me of something I read from the Bush War
-Rhodies recover enemy rifles after each engagement
-They keep finding rifles with the rear sight dialed in to the highest setting, practically fucking indirect fire
-They are extremely confused by this
-Eventually they ask a prisoner about it during interrogation
-Literally none of them know what the sights are for, they think that choosing the biggest number makes the gun shoot harder
Warfare in Africa is truly unbelievable

[TheIrishvolunteer]

This war was a fantastic example of why tactics and strategy are very different things.

[clementyip]

The Rhodesian Bush War is a definition of "complete tactical victories but hampered by utter strategic failure".

[Dawn.tless.]

Never ask:
A woman her age.
A man his salary.
The reason Rhodesia had a licensed copy of the UZI under the name “Ruzi”

[Peter-ekub]

There are so many complicated and compelling episodes of history like this from Africa. We need a video on the Angolan Border War, the Portuguese Colonial wars in Angola and Mozambique (that lead to final collapse of the Portuguese Empire), Biafra and the Ugandan invasion of Tanzania as a few.

[danielnaude]

So glad you guys finally did a video on this. Cheers from all the South Africans

[ReverendMeat]

One thing that should have been mentioned is that Smith's government had begun talks with Nkomo looking to unite against Mugabe, and after Mugabe was no longer a threat allowing black majority rule and Nkomo's leadership. This was as close as possible to an equitable solution but was permanently dashed when Nkomo's ZANLA shot down two civilian passenger planes flying tourists to Victoria Falls, murdering the crash survivors.

[tkmiz_fan]

You should make a video about the Portuguese colonial war, a conflict that also took place around the same time the Rhodesian bush war took place

[CousinPaddy]

You left out Mugabe’s genocide after taking power. Sort of an important detail.

[bigfloppa]

My father lived right on the border near Murehwa (Rhodesia). Lived through hell, fought like hell. His whole family had to defend their farm and animals from night raids and full scale raids. Amazing man, but the war has left its scars on the family, forced off their farm right after the war.

[deadsweetheart]

I once met a woman here in the US who actually fled the area back than her parents stayed here father was tortured and shot on his own farm they tried to get his wife she fled to the house and fought them off, they burned her alive in the family home

[mlg]

I am SO happy you covered this! Im a big nerd for African war conflicts in the cold war, and the bush war really peaked it. Amazing video and well documented especially without the biases and all that.

[HistoryHustle]

Was waiting this one. I find this a very interesting and overlooked conflict.

[connorsproles]

The conflict didn't end there. Once Mugabe took power he launched a genocide called the gukurahundi.

[simeonsmit]

Ian Smith once challenged Mugabe to walk with him through a densely-populated township (historically black-owned land near towns and cities) without any security and see who made it out alive. Smith was convinced of his position and favour amongst the black population right to the end. Mugabe refused.

[nyashasamuriwo-bpmv]

As a Zimbabwean🇿🇼 this is by far the best documentation of the war I've seen covered, with less focus on the propaganda and biases, but highlighting the vast complexities that often blurs the lines during wars! Thanx mate!

[MayumiC-chan]

My husband served in the SANDF from 2005-15 and he is very interested in his culture (his family members still live in Eswatini) and he loves this channel

[reecejones]

I'm so glad he's finally covering this war. As a South African I can really appreciate this conflict being explained more because they don't teach this at school here in South Africa

[elongated_musket]

Can you please cover the civil war in Myanmar? It is way too overlooked.