Chapter Two
The Rhodesian Sucession
February 12th, 1945
General Grigg, commander of the Rhodesian 1st Army Corps, stood before a disciplined mob of men. Most of these new Rhodesian troops were young, though their age ranged from seventeen to fifty. The troops were almost exclusively white veterans of the war in North Africa and Europe, though some were newly of age.
"They look so eager," he noted, smiling inwardly. He knew they'd get more than their share of battle soon enough.
He walked past, eyeing the troops, and he was enormously impressed by the
inspection. These men looked fierce in their tan uniforms, green berets and Lee Enfield rifles held at their side, gun stock on the ground.
The 1st Rhodesian Army Corps consisted of four Infantry and a Head Quarters division, though they were equipped with obsolete 1941 weapons. General Griggs, who had been assigned to command the Garrison of Bulawayo, which was the Rhodesian Capital.
"Sir!" the Division commanders chorused, saluting smartly.
"Very good," He nodded, returning their salutes. "Dismissed!" They nodded and repeated the order.
About fifty miles west, in Gaberones, the Rhodesian VIII Army Corps was awaiting final inspection as well by Lieutenant General Christison. The two infantry divisions, the 2nd Rhodesian Infantry, and the 3rd Rhodesian Infantry, were also using out dated 1941 equipment, as was every unit in the
Rhodesian Army.
North West of them, in Kalabo, Lieutenant General wa Ltunga, an African Native, addressed his II Kalabo Guerrilla Corps.
"You know this land. You, your father, and his ancestors a thousand years
back have lived and died on this ground. We will never let anyone take it
from us! Anyone who tries, we will kill!" Cheers erupted from the uniformed
masses of troops, who raised their rifles in the air and chanted war songs.
In every province with a military Garrison, similar events occured. The
Rhodesian army, which consisted of 13 infantry divisions, and 6 Guerrilla
troops organized into 8 Army Corps, was ready to be an effective defensive
force. The Rhodesian Parliment was quite pleased by the success they had in
their recruitment drive for men, and how many volunteers they had gained.
By February 14th, the Army was fully organized.
And so, at 13:00 February 17th, The Rhodesian Parliment met again. To write
their Statement of independence from Britain.
Sir Herbert Stanley was decided to act as Head of State. He had been
effective as the Governor of British Rhodesia, and so everyone concurred he
should act as the President of Rhodesia. Godfrey Huggins was decided to be
the Head of Government, as he had served as Vice Governor to Stanley and
Consul of Northern Rhodesia in the past. Foreign Minister Sir Evelyn Baring
remained the diplomat to Britain, and patiently awaited their declaration to
England, so that he may present it to them. Sir Robert Hudson was granted
the position of Armaments minister, and the position of Minister of Security
fell to Anthony Sillery. Sir Philip Richardson was granted the spot of Head
of Intelligence.
"Excellent," Stanley said. "We now have our Government Cabinet worked out.
But who to lead the Armed Forces? Britain will not let us free without a
bugger of a fight. Who can was trust to win when the time comes?"
"I will vote that our Chief of Staff should be Eric de Burgh. He was our
Garrison commander in the past, and should do well in the future."
"Is that seconded?" Stanley asked. All in the room nodded in agreement.
"Very well, Eric," he said, facing Eric de Burgh, "You are our Chief of
Staff. Now then, how about Chief of Army?" It was decided that Philip
Carrington should be the Chief of Army.
They went to work then, writing their Declaration of Independence, which
fully stated their grievences, and why they felt they could no longer be
part of the Commonwealth.
Upon its completion, it was telegraphed to England, and they waited for a
response.
Two Hours later, they recieved word that the British were organizing forces
to attack, the first of which being the Kenyan Colonial rifles division.
Also, the Ist Rhodesian Army Corps, which was situated along the Limpopo
river, saw that the South African 1st Infantry had mobilized to position
itself along the river, and company sized patrols moved along it each day.
14:00 February 19th
Rhodesian I Army Corps ambushes 1st South African Infantry Division
stationed at Pretoria, South Africa's capital province.. After an hour of
fighting, a fourth of the South African division is dead, while the
Rhodesians suffer almost no casulties.
13:00 February 19th,
The 2nd Armor arrives, and reinforces the pinned down 1st SA Infantry
division. The Rhodesians begin taking casulties, and organization begins to
collapse.
16:00 February 19th,
Lieutenant General Christison, aware that General Griggs is being defeated
now with the arrival of heavy armor, assaults down the river, catching the
armored division on the side. They kill numerous tanks and infantry, and
force the enemy to fall back. However, they cannot drive them out of the
area, and force a general retreat. The enemy digs in at the other bank. The
Rhodesians do not press the attack, and rather return to their positions as
well.
"The general strategy of the Rhodesian Army," decided Chief of Staff Eric
Burgh, "Is to fight a defensive war. If we can prevent them from taking our
land, and kill enough of their troops, they shall stop coming." This was
accepted by the other commanders, and the Rhodesian Government. And thus, became the warfare doctrine for how they would deal with the British and South Africans from then on.
00:00 February 20th
All was quiet along the Rhodesian Border. No combat occured between the
Rhodesians or the British and their Allies. However, even at this late hour,
the Parliment was still working with the General Staff.
"Our next move," General Griggs said, "Should be to attack the Kenyan Rifles
at Lindi. Lieutenant General Clutterbuck's X Corps should be able to drive
them away from our border. Once they've been beaten, our North Border will
be clear of enemy troops. We need to keep Lindi as a buffer zone. Everytime
a Division is brought up, we drive it out!"
"Good plan, if it works, then that should be incorporated into our doctrine." Replied Burgh, and was agreed upon by the Parliment.
Stanley nodded as well. "Good, good. Apparantly, the whole of the Allies have declared war on us, so we have quite a few enemies now. We'll need to
watch ourselves. I declare this meeting closed. Go get some rest gentlemen. We're going to need it."
The Rhodesian War for Independence had begun.
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Reading the title, I thought it'd be ethnic Rhodesians fighting for independence. This is pretty unexpected. Either way, with the low IC of Rhodesian provinces, it doesn't seem like they'll be much better off.
