The 1st Battalion, The Rhodesian Light Infantry, was one of the most innovative and successful counter-insurgency units in history. This study explores the unit's dramatic history, revealing the Rhodesian Light Infantry's airborne and combat capacity, which gave the unit, at times, near total tactical superiority against its opponents.
The 1st Battalion, The Rhodesian Light Infantry (RLI), was one of the most innovative and successful counter-insurgency units in modern history, developing and perfecting a range of tactics and operational concepts that have since become standard practise in modern military forces. Formed in 1961 and then re-formed in 1964 as a commando battalion after the dissolution of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, the RLI was an all-white unit that incorporated foreign soldiers from South Africa, The UK, USA, Canada and Europe into its ranks. It was a key weapon in independent Rhodesia's struggle against the Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army (ZANLA) and Zimbabwe People's Revolutionary Army (ZIPRA) during the bloody Rhodesian Bush War. This comprehensive study explores the unit's dramatic history, revealing the RLI's fearsome airborne and combat capacity, which gave the unit, at times, near total tactical superiority against its opponents.
