RAR created a particular military culture in which its troops developed powerful bonds of soldiery loyalty to their regiment. This loyalty was created through the Rhodesian Army mimicking the invented traditions of British colonial regiments, which were historically successful in creating in-group solidarity among troops. In contrast to much received opinion, recruitment to the RAR was not dependent upon either ethno-regional or familial identity, and soldiers from all over the country joined the army for myriad reasons. Masvingo catchment area became important, although not dominant, in supplying recruits. Likewise, soldiering became a metier prevalent within certain families. By the onset of the war for Zimbabwe, the RAR’s soldierly potency had been greatly enhanced by operational experience. structure and ethos of the RAR underwent significant changes at the tail end of the Federation and after the Rhodesian Front’s rise to power. In particular, a new emphasis upon the counter-insurgency doctrine learned during the Malayan Emergency indicated a shift towards being deployed on COIN tasks within Rhodesia.

Once the RAR was an established, regular force, new forms of micro-level solidarities particular to regular soldiers took root, which fundamentally differentiated these soldiers from other combatants. professionalism of the Rhodesian Army was institutionalised and embedded during its transformation to a regular army, and was modelled upon British practice, doctrine, and traditions. This chapter thus uses a literature which has studied the British practice of creating soldierly cohesion and loyalty. Incorporating the arguments of military sociologists, particularly the work of Anthony King, and historians, it shows how a soldierly identity was shaped, which itself fed into an ideal of soldierly professionalism which become co-constitutive. Through extensive training, black RAR soldiers acquired great confidence not only in their own abilities, but also those of their peers, whom they could expect to fight for them in difficult situations. Underpinning these professional norms was a system of military discipline that relied upon a quasi-juridical form of oversight, which my interviewees attested was rational and fair.

This chapter uses archival documents and oral history interviews to conclusively demonstrate that the Rhodesian Army was systematically racist, contradicting both Rhodesian-era and post-war neo-Rhodesian accounts. It also shows that some senior army officers and ministers blocked reforms of the army’s racist treatment of black soldiers and sought to retain systematic discrimination. reafter it argues that, despite the prevalence of racism within the army, it was not corrosive to the loyalties of black soldiers. In part, this reflected how the army’s practices of discrimination were less severe than those in other areas of Rhodesian life. It also reflected how the professional ethos of the Rhodesian Army also served to minimise the impact of racism upon black soldiers. Within the RAR, a distinctive military culture flourished that attempted to mitigate the racism of the wider army and society, founded upon adherence to a professional ethos. In this regiment, relationships between black and white came to be premised upon mutual respect and camaraderie in a way that differed from the rest of the army, and which enhanced the loyalties of black soldiers.

Experiences of combat and the type of warfare experienced also bolstered the extant loyalties of black Rhodesian soldiers. It is clear from the testimony of black veterans that they felt that they had triumphed during their clashes with the liberation forces, and this informed their understanding that they were militarily on top throughout the conflict. Although not strategically accurate, these perceptions reflected the unique perspective of elite infantry troops. escalation of the war altered the perception black troops held of the liberation forces. ir exposure to incidents of guerrilla violence against civilians, and the widespread targeting of off-duty soldiers and their families, meant that many came to despise elements of the liberation armies. This also served to solidify a notion that the RAR and the wider army were on the ‘right side’ of the war, and that they protecting civilians against the violence of guerrillas. In this manner their regimental loyalties were boosted, as they came to deem the RAR a more moral actor than guerrilla forces.

Black Rhodesian soldiers were integrated into the new Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA) by Robert Mugabe’s ZANU government, contrary to widespread fears of persecution. This was highly unusual, as in the aftermath of many wars of decolonisation, the fate of those who had fought for the colonial army was dire. Mugabe government’s prime motive was to retain the RAR’s military capabilities, which it relied upon to control conflicts between the liberation armies in the tumultuous post-independence period. This chapter also discusses how black ex-Rhodesian troops played a decisive role in quelling inter-liberation army fighting in the Assembly Points (APs) and the ZNA battalions that were being integrated during 1980 and early 1981. My interviewees felt that, during the conflicts of 1980–1, their military performance demonstrated their loyalty to the ‘government of the day’ and their military skills, and thus cemented their place in the ZNA. Finally, this chapter discusses the nostalgic reminiscences of these veterans and how the hindsight of the post-2000 ‘crisis’ years has impacted their narratives.

loyalties of black soldiers to the Rhodesian Army became highly contentious during the war in the eyes of nationalists, who labelled them sell-outs for what they saw as their collaboration with the Smith regime. Black soldiers rejected this portrayal of their loyalty and positioned themselves both during and after the war as apolitical troops who served their country and the ‘government of the day’, regardless of its political orientation. In this there was a stark contrast to white soldiers, whose loyalties were often premised upon political support for minority rule; their commitment to the war waned as the inevitability of decolonisation became clear. Black soldiers had strong instrumental reasons during the war to portray their loyalty as apolitical and distance themselves from accusations of collaboration. Veterans may have emphasised the apolitical aspect of their service in retrospect, but this chapter shows that there is a great deal of evidence that this stance was both genuine and contemporary. Black RAR soldiers’ positioning of themselves as apolitical and militarily effective also meant that they could become the acceptable face of the Rhodesian Army.