The 1st Battalion, The Rhodesian Light Infantry, was one of the most innovative and successful counter-insurgency units in history. This study explores the unit's dramatic history, revealing the Rhodesian Light Infantry's airborne and combat capacity, which gave the unit, at times, near total tactical superiority against its opponents.



The 1st Battalion, The Rhodesian Light Infantry, was one of the most innovative and successful counter-insurgency units in modern history. Formed as a commando battalion in 1964 after the dissolution of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, the RLI was an all-white unit made up of South Africans and men from the UK, Europe and US. It was a key weapon in independent Rhodesia’s struggle against the Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army and Zimbabwe People’s Revolutionary Army during the bloody Rhodesian Bush War. This comprehensive study explores the unit’s dramatic history, revealing the RLI’s fearsome airborne and combat capacity, which gave the unit, at times, near total tactical superiority against its opponents.