"Be a Man among Men" – with Eureka Miniatures

The 1966-1979 Rhodesian Bush War, called Second Chimurenga (meaning "revolutionary struggle") by most black Zimbabweans, was typical of the long drawn-out wars of insurgency that have punctuated the post-colonial era. Although not a 'clean' war by any means (like most insurgencies), the conflict does offer many interesting military aspects for the modern period wargamer to explore. Now you can try to "Be a man among men" (in the words of the infamous Rhodesian Army recruiting poster of the time) with sculptor Kosta Heristanidis' new 28mm range of Rhodesian Light Infantry and ZANLA guerrillas.

Operating from bases in the neighboring countries of Mozambique and Zambia, guerrillas belonging to the organizations ZANLA (Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army) and ZIPRA (Zimbabwe People's Revolutionary Army) fought against the security forces of the state of Rhodesia in an internal conflict that lasted 15 years. This began in earnest after the Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI) in 1965, when Rhodesia's white African minority government broke from the Commonwealth in order to resist pressure from Britain to transfer political power to the country's black African majority. Rhodesia later proclaimed itself a republic in 1970 and the insurgency steadily escalated from 1971 onwards. While successful militarily, the white minority government ultimately recognized the steadily increasing strength of its opponents and in 1980 ceded power to the black majority under a British-brokered peace settlement. This gave rise to the new state of Zimbabwe, but as early as 1982 splits had started to appear between ZAPU and ZANU (the political wings of ZIPRA and ZANLA) and the consequences of this remain with Zimbabwe to this day.

Drawing on counter-insurgency techniques learned during the Malayan Emergency, the Rhodesian army was able to field highly motivated and well-trained troops, exemplified by the Rhodesian Light Infantry (RLI), Selous Scouts, and Rhodesian African Rifles. In time, the Rhodesian government forces evolved a highly effective operational technique known as Fire-Force. This was a way to use the government's limited manpower resources effectively on the battlefield, using a combination of helicopter-borne and para-dropped troops to surround and destroy guerrilla units once identified on the ground - a process sometimes called 'vertical envelopment'. As well as Fire-Force operations within Rhodesia, the RLI were active in external operations against guerrilla camps in neighboring countries, such as Operation Miracle, staged against a large ZANLA camp in Mozambique in September 1979. Airstrikes and armored cars played a large part in this attack, which was dubbed 'Monte Casino' by the Rhodesians. The base featured fortified positions and bunkers linked by a trench system and protected by anti-aircraft guns.

Although under international arms embargo, Rhodesia nonetheless received support from South Africa, Portugal, and Israel. The basic rifle was the SLR (actually the South African version, known as the R1) with FN MAG light machine-guns as the support weapon. With these sturdy arms, and MG151 20mm cannon-armed Alouette helicopters (known as K-cars) in the air above, the RLI became a ruthlessly effective fighting force. The size of the RLI 'stick' of four men was determined by how many men could deploy from an Alouette helicopter.

For their part, the guerrilla groups received backing from China, North Korea and the Soviet Union, and this is reflected in their weaponry. A wide range of weapons were supplied to the guerrillas; AK-47s, RPD light machine-guns and RPG-2s being indicative of a well supplied unit. Photos of the guerrillas show a surprising amount of uniformity, with various types of tan shirt and trousers very commonly worn, often in combination with Rhodesian- or Portuguese-issue camouflage items.

We would recommend that gamers interested in this period and conflict should take a look at Iron Ivan Games' Seek Out, Close With and Destroy rules and their supplement Man among Men: The Rhodesian Bush War. As well as the miniatures released here (and don't forget to check out our new release offer below), we will be interested in adding more figures to this range if there is enough demand. So we have listed the following items in our 100 Club.

100CLUB20C56  BSAP Rhodesian 1977
100CLUB20C62  Rhodesian paratroopers c.1977
100CLUB20C63  Rhodesian African Rifles (RAR)
100CLUB20C64  Greys Scouts (mounted) c.1970
100CLUB20C65  Alouette 3 Helicopter

If we can get a total of 150 figures pre-ordered across at least ten customers, we will make them!

Here are the codes and details for the new figures and details of our limited new release offer.

28mm 1970s Rhodesians and ZANLA guerrillas (from our Moderns range)

Sculpted by Kosta Heristanidis

100MOD120 - 1970s Rhodesian Light Infantry set 1: four man 'stick' wearing peaked cap. Includes 1 x 'stick' leader with radio, 2 x 'troopies' with SLR, 1 x machinegunner with FN MAG
100MOD121 - 1970s Rhodesian Light Infantry set 2: four man 'stick', bare headed or boonie hats. Includes 1 x 'stick' leader with radio, 2 x 'troopies' with SLR, 1 x machinegunner with FN MAG
100MOD122 - 1970s Rhodesian Selous Scout tracker (1)
100MOD130 - 1970s ZANLA guerrilla leader, with AK-47, in beret (1)
100MOD131 - 1970s ZANLA guerrilla, with AK-47, in beret (4)
100MOD132 - 1970s ZANLA guerrilla, with AK-47, in peaked cap (4)
100MOD133 - 1970s ZANLA guerrilla, with AK-47, bear headed (4)
100MOD134 - 1970s ZANLA guerrilla, with RPG-2, in peaked cap (1)
100MOD135 - 1970s ZANLA guerrilla, with RPD LMG, in peaked cap (2)
100MOD136 - 1970s ZANLA guerrilla, with AK-47, in sun hat (1)

Figures are sold individually unless a set is indicated. The number in parentheses denotes the number of available variants for that product code. Variants are supplied randomly, but Eureka Miniatures will always endeavor to supply a representative sample.

New Release Special Offers

THE "We don't want to be vertically enveloped" DEAL

All 17 available ZANLA guerrilla figure variants for $45.00 AUD (normally $50.15 AUD)*

* Excluding shipping (and 'Goods and Services Tax' payable by Australian customers only)

Customers in the U.S.A. or the U.K. can choose to order our figures from our representatives Eureka Miniatures U.S.A. or Fighting 15s respectively, as well as directly from us.