Post by AltHistoryNerd on Nov 23, 2019 14:58:40 GMT
“We didn’t know that things would end up that way. We didn’t know that those terrible tragedies were going to happen. We didn’t know that we would be walking down those empty streets with AKs in our hands killing off every single one of them that we could find. We didn’t know that our once beautiful land would be ripped apart in a matter of weeks. We didn’t know that us and those boys from down south would become some of the most hated men in the world. And we didn’t know that Quartz and Hectic would become some of the darkest words in human history.”
- George Peter Walls, former Head of the Armed Forces of Rhodesia, from the Channel 4 TV documentary series End of Empire (1985)
“The morning of March 4th, 1980 was a pretty tense one, actually. Me and the other guys in ‘E’ Squadron were biting our lips listening to the ZRBC as the election results were about to come in. Polls had indicated things would be tough for both sides: whilst Mugabe, of course, had blacks up and down the country firmly on his side, Nkomo and Moruzewa appeared to be much tougher opponents for him than expected, so those fanatical anti-ZANU types among us definitely had something to look forward to.
We had crowded around our newly supplied T-55s, listening to the crackling radio broadcast word for word. Based on what we heard, no party had managed to gain a significant majority in the election. Mugabe’s ZANU had come in second place in terms of seats, with both Nkomo and Moruzewa making significant gains. Those rumors and speculation about a possible Nkomo-Moruzewa coalition appeared to have come true. Some of the men started cheering, the bastard having lost his shot at becoming Prime Minister, with me and the rest sitting in stunned silence with a slight sense of worry.
Most of us had been informed of a possible ‘contingency plan’, though I found coup to be a much more appropriate word, one that would involve striking against ZANU and Mugabe if they lost the election to prevent them from launching a coup of their own. Though the reasoning behind this preventative strike didn’t really sit with me, the polling had definitely convinced leadership to keep it around, since ZANU hadn’t exactly proven themselves trustworthy those last few years. I myself hoped the plan would never be executed: we didn’t need the country to once again turn into a cesspool of violence and bloodshed.
Those hopes were most certainly dashed when one of the Radio Operators came toward us looking all sweaty and nervous, saying he’d just received a radio message from the higher-ups, containing only a single codeword:
‘Quartz.’”
- Jack Gillard, former member of Rhodesian Armoured Corps ‘E’ Squadron, from Quartz and Hectic: Twenty Years On (2000)
MILITARY STAGES COUP IN SOUTHERN RHODESIA
“Violent clashes between ZANU and Rhodesian Security Forces.”
- The Times; March 5th, 1980
- George Peter Walls, former Head of the Armed Forces of Rhodesia, from the Channel 4 TV documentary series End of Empire (1985)
“The morning of March 4th, 1980 was a pretty tense one, actually. Me and the other guys in ‘E’ Squadron were biting our lips listening to the ZRBC as the election results were about to come in. Polls had indicated things would be tough for both sides: whilst Mugabe, of course, had blacks up and down the country firmly on his side, Nkomo and Moruzewa appeared to be much tougher opponents for him than expected, so those fanatical anti-ZANU types among us definitely had something to look forward to.
We had crowded around our newly supplied T-55s, listening to the crackling radio broadcast word for word. Based on what we heard, no party had managed to gain a significant majority in the election. Mugabe’s ZANU had come in second place in terms of seats, with both Nkomo and Moruzewa making significant gains. Those rumors and speculation about a possible Nkomo-Moruzewa coalition appeared to have come true. Some of the men started cheering, the bastard having lost his shot at becoming Prime Minister, with me and the rest sitting in stunned silence with a slight sense of worry.
Most of us had been informed of a possible ‘contingency plan’, though I found coup to be a much more appropriate word, one that would involve striking against ZANU and Mugabe if they lost the election to prevent them from launching a coup of their own. Though the reasoning behind this preventative strike didn’t really sit with me, the polling had definitely convinced leadership to keep it around, since ZANU hadn’t exactly proven themselves trustworthy those last few years. I myself hoped the plan would never be executed: we didn’t need the country to once again turn into a cesspool of violence and bloodshed.
Those hopes were most certainly dashed when one of the Radio Operators came toward us looking all sweaty and nervous, saying he’d just received a radio message from the higher-ups, containing only a single codeword:
‘Quartz.’”
- Jack Gillard, former member of Rhodesian Armoured Corps ‘E’ Squadron, from Quartz and Hectic: Twenty Years On (2000)
MILITARY STAGES COUP IN SOUTHERN RHODESIA
“Violent clashes between ZANU and Rhodesian Security Forces.”
- The Times; March 5th, 1980