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    A Handful of Hard Men: The SAS and the Battle for Rhodesia
    Unavailable
    A Handful of Hard Men: The SAS and the Battle for Rhodesia
    Unavailable
    A Handful of Hard Men: The SAS and the Battle for Rhodesia
    Ebook527 pages8 hours

    A Handful of Hard Men: The SAS and the Battle for Rhodesia

    By Hannes Wessels

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    About this ebook

    During the West’s great transition into the post-Colonial age, the country of Rhodesia refused to succumb quietly, and throughout the 1970s fought back almost alone against Communist-supported elements that it did not believe would deliver proper governance.

    During this long war many heroes emerged, but none more skillful and courageous than Captain Darrell Watt of the Rhodesian SAS, who placed himself at the tip of the spear in the deadly battle to resist the forces of Robert Mugabe and Joshua Nkomo.

    It is difficult to find another soldier’s story to equal Watt’s in terms of time spent on the field of battle and challenges faced. Even by the lofty standards of the SAS and Special Forces, one has to look far to find anyone who can match his record of resilience and valor in the face of such daunting odds and with resources so paltry. In the fight he showed himself to be a military maestro. A bush-lore genius, blessed with uncanny instincts and an unbridled determination to close with the enemy, he had no peers as a combat-tracker (and there was plenty of competition). But the Rhodesian theater was a fluid and volatile one in which he performed in almost every imaginable fighting role; as an airborne shock-trooper leading camp attacks, long range reconnaissance operator, covert urban operator, sniper, saboteur, seek-and-strike expert, and in the final stages as a key figure in mobilizing an allied army in neighboring Mozambique.

    After 12 years in the cauldron of war his cause slipped from beneath him, however, and Rhodesia gave way to Zimbabwe. When the guns went quiet Watt had won all his battles but lost the war. In this fascinating biography we learn that in his twilight years he is now concerned with saving wildlife on a continent where they are in continued danger, devoting himself to both the fauna and African people he has cared so deeply about.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherCasemate
    Release dateOct 19, 2015
    ISBN9781612003467

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    Reviews for A Handful of Hard Men

    4/5

    9 ratings3 reviews

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    • 2/5
      I usually love special forces books but this seemed rambling and disjointed, maybe would be interesting if reading a hardcopy but listening to the audio book was really messy. Don't recommend.
    • 4/5
      Apart from the obvious concentration on a single character, it's one of the better books on the Rhodesian conflict, especially now that Nell's self service fabrication has been excised.
    • 3/5
      Exceptional collection of war stories as told by the soldiers themselves. The political backdrop is provided in a hugely biased manner. I don't think anyone can claim a moral highground there.