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Fireforce—One Man’s War in the Rhodesian Light Infantry Chris Cocks R185.00 Rhodesiana/Military History/Africana March 2006 |
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THE HORROR OF GUERRILLA WARFARE IN AFRICA
Fireforce is the compelling, brutal but true account of Chris Cocks’ service in 3 Commando, The Rhodesian Light Infantry, during Zimbabwe’s bitter civil war of the ’70s—a war that came to be known almost innocuously as ‘the bush war’. ‘Fireforce’, a tactic of total airborne envelopment, was developed and perfected by the RLI, together with the Selous Scouts and the Rhodesian Air Force. Fireforce became the principal strike weapon of the beleaguered Rhodesian forces in their struggle against the overwhelming tide of the Communist-trained and -equipped ZANLA and ZIPRA guerrillas. The combat strain on a fighting soldier was almost unbelievable, for the Rhodesians, who were always desperately short of ground troops, were sometimes obliged to parachute the same men into action into as many as three enemy contacts a day. While estimates of enemy casualties vary, there seems little doubt that the RLI accounted for at least 12,000 ZANLA and ZIPRA guerrillas—but not without cost. Fireforce is not for the squeamish. Although it has been written with unforgettable pathos and humour, it tells of face-to-face combat in the bush and death at point-blank range. It is a book which does nothing to glorify or glamorize war, for as Chris Cocks found at such a young age, war is merely a catalogue of suffering, destruction and death. Fireforce has been described by critics as being to the Rhodesian War what All Quiet On The Western Front was to World War I and Dispatches was to Vietnam. Read it … it will an experience you never forget. Chris Cocks lives in Johannesburg. This is the fourth edition of Fireforce. He is a partner is the newly established South African Publisher, 30° South Publishers. Market:
“Fireforce is the compelling story of one man’s experiences … it is hard to put down—read it soon.” Major D. A. Wilson The Australian Defence Force Journal “Fireforce will be to the Rhodesian War what Remarque’s All Quiet On The Western Front was to World War I. A high claim indeed, but perhaps valid, for this moving book is a classic in any sense.” James Mitchell The Star “The narrative is raw … it gives the book a veracity so complete that it will transport anyone involved in the ordeal back across the years with the force of a body blow … Rhodesia does at last have its own version of Michael Herr’s Vietnam experiences, Dispatches. A sense of regret is what really lingers, that the whole nightmare had to happen at all. The list of names of boys killed, or scarred physically and mentally, is moving beyond mere words.” Robert Pritchard The Financial Mail “This is one of the best books to come out of the Rhodesian War … these pages put you right back into the bush.” Armed Forces South Africa “Few books have brought home the reality of war as well as Fireforce … it is not a book for the tender-hearted, but it makes for a cracking good read.” Jean Gardine Personality “Fireforce is the best book on the Rhodesian War that I have read … it is a remarkable account that bears comparison with other classics on war.” Dr. Paul L. Moorcraft “Fireforce is one of the few books to emerge from that era which is brutally honest, and intensely moving.” Joy Cameron-Dow Radio South Africa’s Talking of Books “Like Reitz’s work, Commando: A Boer Journal of the Boer War, Fireforce, by first-time author Chris Cocks, is a personal account of close-quarter warfare. It is a unique, compelling, sometimes brutal account of a young conscript’s three years of service in the elite Rhodesian Light Infantry … Cocks’ work is one of the very few books which adequately describes the horrors of war in Africa.” Dr. Paul L. Moorcraft Southern African Review of Books “Fireforce is bound to enjoy a large readership … of the many books that are appearing dealing with Rhodesia and the war years, this is probably the best.” Armed Forces South Africa “The Rhodesian bush war, like most conflicts, has spawned a large number of books but none has been written with the passion of Fireforce. Cocks’ book, more than any other of this particular conflict, smashes home the gross corruption of youth by war … it is an intensely moving story.” Patrick Taylor The Citizen “Chris Cocks’ Fireforce … is informative, entertaining and at times moving stuff.” The Frog Pretoria News “This book, however, is notable in that it is the first account of the Zimbabwean war by a Rhodesian soldier which does not attempt to deify the Rhodesians or their war. The strength of the book lies in that, in the same way as Platoon, it refuses to disguise the psychological trauma consequent on youth being conscripted into the army. Fireforce highlights some of the debasement and brutality that face the average recruit.” Oudtshoorn Courier “Chris Cocks has resisted the temptation to glorify the fighting to any extent at all. He sees it for the catalogue of destruction, suffering and death that war is all about; and in the bush it was, very often, a matter of face-to-face combat at point-blank range.” Homefront The MOTH magazine |
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