Fireforce: One Man's War in The Rhodesian Light Infantry 4th Edition, Kindle Edition

Written from an infantryman's perspective, this memoir of the Rhodesian Bush War takes the reader from intake to demobilization in a way that academic texts cannot replicate. The writer is no literature professor or other detached intellectual - he's was a grunt, a ground pounder, an Infantryman in one of the finest light infantry outfits in modern history. His accounts take the reader right down into the action, with no glorification or Hollywood style drama.This is an episode of history that more people could stand to read about, most especially for the facts surrounding the fall of Rhodesia, and the culpability of the west in helping the Communists to topple the last of the western style democracies in Africa.

I have nothing but the highest respect for Chris Cocks and the entire Rhodesian armed forces. The book was a good read and very interesting, but the second half seemed to be filler in the form of military newspaper artices and letters Cocks wrote to his fiancee.Although there was some degree of racism within many of the whites in Rhodesia, this was mostly due to the cuture clash between modern western whites and the majority blacks which generally lived much like they had for hundreds of years. Rhodesia was far more integrated than South Africa during this time, and its sad that the England and the rest of the world forced them to give up their country to allow the indiginious population to rule. As history shows, Zimbabwe was and still is a complete failure of a country because of the deeply criminal behavior of its leaders... This same end seems to have occurred in every former colony in Africa, the entire continent is basically a lost cause, and the former colonial powers are largely to blame.Regardless, the Rhodesian armed foreces were some of the very finest gorilla fighters, and should be proud of their accomplishments.

In the introduction, it is claimed that Chris Cocks' FireForce was to the Rhodesian Bush War as All Quiet on the Western Front is to World War I. At first I dismissed this statement as self-boasting, however I was to find this was actually an accurate comparison. Both are well written, amazing, tragic stories of war as witnessed through the eyes of a young soldier.Now I myself have served 4 years in the US Regular Army- Active Duty. My service included a 12 month tour of duty in South Korea, and a 12 month deployment to Ramadi, Iraq, and I am currently serving in the Army National Guard. With this being so, I felt I could easily connect with the author's stories. His description of military life mirrors my own experiences in many respects (not talking about the intense close quarters combat the author described of course!). If this book was to be read by someone with no military experience, they may have difficulty understanding various military jargon and what not, but I doubt this would prevent one from enjoying the book none-the-less.I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in the recent past in regards to the decolonization of Africa, the oft forgotten Rhodesian Bush War, or just interested in the counter-insurgency tactics employed by the RLI, tactics described greatly within the book and tactics that are studied today by American commanders in Afghanistan and elsewhere.I feel this book should be more popular then it already is, as I can't find any faults with it. It is neither outright pro-, nor anti-war, and written well enough to be enjoyed by all.

I bought this book because a Rhodesian friend of mine fought against the rebels in this war and I wanted to learn something about it. I'm not sure it would be as interesting to one who has no hint of personal connection to that conflict. It's sort of like reading the author's diary of what happened to him and his various sticks in the hundreds of actions in which he took part, almost daily, over several years. It includes not only details of his personal involvement and reactions, but also a lot of information about the military situation as he knew it in various parts of the country, as well as the names and stories of other soldiers who fought alongside him, and too often died. You watch him go from an untried young recruit, to an experienced fighter, to battle-weary soldier who finally only wants to be done. It's a look from the inside at both the bravery and the brutality that soldiers experience.

I, like most Americans, knew almost nothing of the Bush War that marked the end of Rhodesia and the beginning of Zimbabwe. But here you will find a moving account of what one man experienced in that conflict.Obviously Chris Cocks is not an author, and the editors, at least of the kindle version haven't done him any proofreading favors. But overlook that and you'll find a man with something to say on war, life and coming of age in the most brutal way possible. Full of interesting characters and amusing stories, Cocks also tells us about man's inhumanity to his fellow man, on both sides.This isn't a romantic adventure story. You'll come away torn at how much you like and at the same time disapprove of these men. But their fight for their country, even if we in the West disowned it, even if the fundamental principles it was built on were unjust, is compelling reading for anyone.

A fascinating book, it is raw and comes across as a very honest account of one man's experience of the Rhodesian war. It is graphic and takes the reader through a journey of how a person becomes transformed into a killing machine and the impact it has on that person's life. When you think you have reached the part of in the book where it appears the depth of humanity can reached, the reader is taken into further depths, where there are no winners or losers, it is a fight just to survive. It does leave the reader wondering whether the soldiers are just as caught in a ruthless war wondering what it was all for and also explains how civilians were caught in the middle. Resources were short, the soldiers had to keep going with limited R&R, it was relentless; people died but you just moved on without looking back. It is clear the enemy had just a bad a time or even worse - such a waste of life. The banter reminded me so much of the harsh sarcastic sense of humour people had at the time and the rough friendships. As someone who was around in the country at the time, I can relate to the content, though my partner who had never been there, or had never lived in a war found it very difficult to comprehend just how tough it was - this was daily face to face combat with limited resources. The sense of humor was always lurking around the corner, though very dark and perhaps it's only one who understood the way of life at the time can pick up on it, whereas my partner was not so able to.Once sentence really stood out "This was my father's war" - these 5 words stood out and certainly made me think about it and I completely agree with it. The author was a teenager and probably had never voted, thus never had any input or say to progress a solution, yet his, like many others of his age, life was on the line.It's a tough book to read.

Chris Cocks is brutally honest. I write this in 2017 as the sentence of a British marine, Alexander Blackman, has just been changed from murder to manslaughter for the war crime of executing an enemy soldier in Afghanistan. Similar things happened during the Rhodesian bush war and Cocks pulls no punches in describing such events and putting them into the context of his own personal feelings and experiences as a soldier on the ground. Zimbabwe in 2017 is a country ruined by a dictator. This is the story of some of the brave people who tried to stop the advance of people like Mugabe and his communist-inspired "freedom fighters". History will determine whether the fight was worthwhile, but even now that history is still being written. A luta continua, is how the saying goes. Indeed, war against Mugabe's tyranny continues.

A very detailed and honest account of a tough conflict fought by so few against so many. NB the OCR process to make the book digital has quite a few fails, especially on South African names, words and Rhodesian slang. I read this as a paperback in the original published version many years ago. This revised version is even better, revealing more of the social climate and of the lives of the soldiers. Also the effects the war had on them and their families. All the action is still in the book and the description of the scenery amidst the conflict is breathtaking. RIP Rhodesia.

Having developed an interest in the Bush War I soon found that this book was a 'must read'.It gripped me from the start, from the harsh training regime through to the even harsher realities of bush warfare.The author manages to convey a sense of what it must have been like to have been there, from black humour to war crimes, nothing is spared from the reader.If you have any interest in Rhodesia and the Bush War, this is highly recommended, the only down side is numerous grammar and spelling errors, a common theme with Kindle books in my experience.

A great read, and a good insight into a little understood and unfortunately mostly forgotten period of history. The author gives a true an authoritative account of the life of a junior rank in this all or nothing bitter counter insurgency war. From the challenges of initial training to the mundane routines and discipline of life while not in the bush, to the adrenaline filled close contacts and the effects of the stress of daily combat on young men at war really strikes a chord, especially if you have served on operations yourself.Highly recommended to anyone with even a passing interest in this period of history, or modern warfare.