Rhodesia

The Republic of Rhodesia came into being on 11 November 1965 following a Unilateral Declaration of Independence from the United Kingdom. The nation was originally home to the Shona Kingdom of Zimbabwe, which ruled from 1220 to 1450, and was later replaced by the Kingdom of Mutapa, which fell into decline after a series of wars with Portugal in the 16th century. The Zulu-speaking Ndebele fought their way into the Transvaal region of South Africa in 1836, but were driven out by the local Boers and moved into the region that would become Rhodesia, dominating the Shona in the process.

In the 1880s, the British South Africa Company under Cecil Rhodes obtained a concession for mining rights from King Lobengula of the Ndebele, which in turn landed him a royal charter from the United Kingdom to settle Europeans in the lands of both the Ndebele and the Shona and to establish Fort Salisbury. The British South Africa Police (BSAP) were created in 1880 to watch out for the interests of the British South Africa Company as well as to protect white settlers moving into hostile tribal territories. From November 1893 to January 1894, the BSAP and Ndebele engaged in the First Matabele War, which culminated in the destruction of Bulawayo, the death of Lobengula, and the military defeat of the Ndebele. In 1895, the name Rhodesia was adopted for the territory, which in 1898 became Southern Rhodesia (the region south of the Zambezi) and Northern Rhodesia (the region now called Zambia).

A Second Matabele War was fought between March 1896 and October 1897, incited by an Ndebele spiritual leader who claimed the European settlers were responsible for drought, locust plagues and cattle disease. With the majority of the BSAP in the Transvaal at the time, the Europeans were initially caught with their defences down. Subsequently by the war's end, more than 400 whites had been killed and as many as 50,000 natives. Subsequently, land distribution (controlled by the BSAC) heavily favoured Europeans, with many tribes being displaced from their traditional homes.

Southern Rhodesia became a self-governing British colony in October 1923, but in 1953 Britain consolidated the two colonies with Nyasaland (now Malawi), creating the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland. Growing African nationalism and general dissatisfaction with colonial rule, however, persuaded Britain to dissolve the Union in 1963, forming three colonies. Subsequently, the Southern Rhodesian government led by Ian Smith's Rhodesian Front (RF) dropped the designation "Southern" in 1964, and issued a Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI) the following year, breaking free of British control. What followed were economic sanctions instigated by the British government and a permanent attitude of self-sufficiency for Rhodesia.

Meanwhile, two nationalist movements began their struggle for majority rule in Rhodesia: the Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU), and the Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU). The struggle rapidly became a civil war pitting the Rhodesian security forces(Army, Air Force, the BSAP and native militias) against the military wings of ZANU and ZAPU, the Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army (ZANLA), and the Zimbabwe People's Revolutionary Army (ZIPRA). The war raged from 1972 until 1979, with Rhodesia supported cursorily by South Africa and the two insurgent movements receiving large scale military aid from China and the USSR respectively. Additionally, both ZANLA and ZIPRA received training and sanctuary in neighboring countries friendly to their cause (Mozambique, Botswana and Zambia). Although the Rhodesian security forces were militarily far superior and insurgent casualties exponentially greater, the Rhodesian government was unable to hold out indefinitely against worldwide pressure and lack of support. In 1979 an interim government for a new nation, Zimbabwe-Rhodesia, was agreed to by the Smith government, but so-called "free" elections in 1980 saw ZANU's Robert Mugabe win the office of prime minister, a position he has held continuously (by electoral "victories") ever since. In 1980 the name of the nation was officially changed to Zimbabwe.

Rhodesian Camouflage Patterns

• Rhodesian brushstroke pattern. Introduced around 1965-66. Zimbabwe uses the same pattern, but where the original Rhodesian uniforms were printed green over brown the Zimbabwian ones are printed brown over green.