Selous Scouts - Context

Context

The period during which the Selous Scouts were most relevant was known as the Rhodesian Bush War or Second Chimurenga. This was a war of annihilation through terrorism and insurgency waged by black guerrillas (ZANLA/ZANU and ZIPRA/ZAPU) with the goal of ending white minority rule in Rhodesia, a colonial nation led by Ian Smith. Rhodesia at the time had the highest levels of wealth and one of the highest gross domestic product of any nation in Africa, and its white minority citizens enjoyed one of the highest standards of living in the world.

However, it was a small nation of a few hundred thousand whites, principally farmers, and lacked access to the sea. As a land-locked nation, which had recently broken away from the British rule, Rhodesia was quickly isolated by the Labour Government of the United Kingdom and the Democratic government of the United States, both of which favoured majority rule in European colonies. It was hoped this policy would neutralize the Soviet Union's efforts at using race warfare and class warfare in lobbying the third world nationalist movement to the Soviet Bloc. In turn, by tacitly collaborating with the Black guerrilla groups and isolating Rhodesia and other white minority-ruled nations in Africa, Western corporations would retain access to Africa's strategic minerals.

Although Rhodesia had excellent armed forces, which included highly decorated and effective services such as the Rhodesian Air Force, and the Rhodesian Army, its size relative to the larger Black African nations surrounding it, a lack of support from crucial Western suppliers, and aid provided by the Soviet Union to its insurgents put the country in a precarious situation. To deal with the rising insurgency, the Rhodesian government strengthened diplomatic and economic ties with the Republic of South Africa and with Portugal which controlled the neighbouring colony of Mozambique.

Additionally, it began strengthening its paramilitary and counter-insurgency forces such as the British South Africa Police, the Rhodesian Light Infantry, the Rhodesian Special Air Service (SAS), and the Rhodesian African Rifles. Ultimately, these efforts led to the creation of its counter-insurgency unit, the Selous Scouts.

Created under the command of Lt. Col. Ron Reid-Daly, it was organized as a mixed-race unit, consisting of recruits of both African and European descent, and whose primary mission was operating deep in insurgent-controlled territory and waging war on the hostiles' rear through irregular warfare including the use of pseudo-terrorism as a means of infiltrating the enemy. The Selous Scouts had many Black Rhodesians in their ranks who were from 50%–80% of its ranks, including the first African commissioned officers in the Rhodesian Army.