Uncovering the True Story of SAS Courage and Fear

#specialforces #sas #military
In this video we describe, "Courage and Fear," offers an intimate and powerful account of military courage during the Rhodesian Bush War in the late 1970s, as experienced through the stories of real SAS soldiers.
The video follows the experiences of the Rhodesian SAS soldiers, providing insight into their day-to-day lives in combat and highlighting the heroism and sacrifices required to defend their country. Ian Mackenzie, a Rhodesian SAS operative, shares his personal account of what it was like to be a special forces operative and the challenges he faced while fighting against all odds.
The video delves into the depths of human fear and the heights of human courage, highlighting the realities of the Rhodesian Bush War and the impact it had on soldiers' physical and emotional wellbeing. By sharing this honest and thought-provoking account, the video offers a glimpse into the realities of war and the sacrifices made by those who have served in armed conflicts.
Ian Mackenzie's down-to-earth storytelling adds to the captivating nature of the video, providing a more personal and relatable perspective on the experiences of Rhodesian SAS soldiers during the Rhodesian Bush War.
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Should you wish to find more information on these battles the books they are available on Amazon and can be obtained by clicking on the link below:
Clouds In The Wind: A story of danger, love and tragedy
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The Elite: Story of the Rhodesian Special Air Service
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A Handful of Hard Men: The SAS and the Battle for Rhodesia
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We Dared to Win: The SAS in Rhodesia
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The Long Range Desert Group in Action 1940-1943: Rare Photographs from Wartime Archives (Images of War)
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Other great reading:
The End Is Always Near: Apocalyptic Moments, from the Bronze Age Collapse to Nuclear Near Misses
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Four Flashpoints: How Asia Goes to War
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Break Point: SAS: Who Dares Wins Host's Incredible True Story
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Historic Military Interviews is an Amazon Affiliate and we do receive a small commission on Amazon linked purchases which contributes to the cost of the channel.
Ian discusses a range of topics including helmets, body armour, drones, communications and various tactics.
For anyone who has served in the military or been in combat they will be able to relate to many of these stories.
Thank for the use of images:
Images have been used from the Rhodesian SAS Website and from the following books:
www.therhodesia...
The Elite The Story of the Rhodesian Special Air Service by Barbara Cole.
The Elite Pictorial by Barbara Cole
Weapon images from Wikipedia.
"Lest we forget"
"They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old;
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them."
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[@HistoricMilitaryInterviews]

In forty years we have seen significant changes in combat. It is great to reflect on just some of these.

[@greg_4201]

it's all about scale and Coin vs Conventional... none of the changes are fixed. and the war I fought in Afghanistan is strikingly similar to the Rhodesian Bush War. the only thing that has changed really is that there are now economic interdependency, political will, and resource/production contrasts that would limit the scale and time-scale of conventional war without extreme societal reorganisation. and while the doctrinal and tactical changes are not fixed, the trend is that the dynamics just keep accumulating and expanding. no aspect of it is 'consigned to history'. readiness, training and contingency just becomes more and more complex...

[@HistoricMilitaryInterviews]

@@greg_4201 Thanks for the perspective.

[@nigill7081]

You've got to get Ian back again he's so engaging, I could listen to him all day, great study 👍👍👍

[@HistoricMilitaryInterviews]

Thanks for watching, we sure will.

[@schweinhund7966]

Outstanding comments about “tooth to tail” ratio. As a retired 7th SFG(A) guy we were very good in the jungles and mountains of Asia and Latin America but we always had a LOT of people in the rear enabling us to employ our skills (intelligence, transportation, resupply, communications, weapons, medical, food, special equipment, air support, etc) but modern military is very different in terms of “protection.” Moving through jungles (countless water crossings and extreme temperatures with humidity) and serious mountains (snow in the Andes) we never wore helmets and body armor due to the sweating and subsequent freezing issue in the high Andes and drowning issues in the jungles…. Ultimately the body armor and helmets were bad for us but when in an urban fight it was outstanding. We found our opponents could outrun us in the field with all of the government issue kit so we did what most combat soldiers do…. Determine your real serious needs (bullets, grenades, two way communications, drinking water purification and food) and leave everything else behind. Body armor and helmets are for conventional warfare and urban warfare but a serious hinderance for successful operations in the jungles and snow covered mountains. We always scoffed at images of Rhodesian troops in short pants…. We ALWAYS wore long trousers and long sleeves on our patrols. Great interview! Thanks for posting this wisdom from a real combat soldier!

[@HistoricMilitaryInterviews]

Thanks for providing additional perspectives on the commentary.

[@calummackenzie1797]

Yes Ian is quite right about wearing full camo. It was alright for Fireforce to wear shorts & T-shirts because basically the terrs could see you deplaning from the choppers, but when we were operating clandestinely it would be full camo & "black is beautiful". If a guy wanted to wear shorts then he had to blacken up his legs, so trust me it was better to wear full camo & only have to blacken hands & face. We used to use a skin dye & not camo cream, so after 6 weeks of using this continually it got into every crease of your knuckles & your face looked like it was covered in blackheads. Once back in Salisbury, l took Vim (scouring powder) & a stiff scrubbing brush to my hands & face. Only once as I'm sure that l took the first layer of skin off my face 😂😂. Prior to the next camp l tried to dye my skin by bathing in Potassium Permanganate. Got a very dark arse because that was the bit sitting in the solution the longest 😂😂. My face came out streaky probably because of the oil in my skin

[@HistoricMilitaryInterviews]

Thanks for sharing your story.

[@lesliemackay7853]

Brill listening to an Old Rhodie. I laughed when He was talking about His Dad. Gran was a comptometer operator in Southern Rhodesia, Dad was Reserve Police, day job, English Electric. Dad only took an interest in computers after He retired, 90's, when I showed Him how to get newspapers and agencies online. Now I'm the alleged smartphone expert?! I was born in Que Que, more than sixty years ago! Parents still laugh at Me, never had sunburn, worked Middle East without block, can walk barefoot on anything and squat for hours. My Daughter did on one occasion ask how? And Dads response was, "You can take the boy out the Bush.........." My ancient Paternal Gran did the week plus flight, stayed over a year and wasn't murdered? Decided that because I got naked so quickly outside in My pram Mum wasn't doing it right! So I got old school swaddled, apparently it slowed Me by 4 or 5 seconds! Five years ago I did My first full year in Scotland for long enough, never went out without a fleece, Man I saw some sights, if a bikini comes in GXXXXXL maybe wear a marquee?!

[@HistoricMilitaryInterviews]

Thanks for watching and your feedback.

[@jamaicaigot9335]

I cant find you on audea - can you post audio versions of your videos there? i would love to listen to them! thanks again for the great content!

[@HistoricMilitaryInterviews]

Thanks Jam, we will look into setting up audio's.

[@HistoricMilitaryInterviews]

Hi Jam, we have started to add our shows on iTunes and Spotify and a few other pod catchers.

[@KMN-bg3yu]

The Rhodesian army did more with less than any other in modern history

[@royalordinance]

Thank God certain ops and information steered clear of Ken Flower. Otherwise every bloody operation was a lemon.

[@HistoricMilitaryInterviews]

Thanks for the input.

[@xray6667]

Ken Flower should have faced a firing squad Traitor and Spy

[@BV-fr8bf]

The description of the armor appears to be closer to the Flak jackets in Vietnam or kevlar bullet proof vests of the 1970s. (The 'vests' were rated for pistols, *not* rifle cartridges.) Afghanistan or Iraq US military body armor was 7 to 8 lbs of hardened steel + antispalding coating/per plate and 2 plates were issued. US is transitioning to ultra high density polyethylene to reduce weight.

[@HistoricMilitaryInterviews]

Thanks for adding more information to the discussion.

[@user-vv6sy2ox4q]

I agree with your first sentence, however the plates we used were ceramic, not steel, and we were issued 4 plates, not 2. You are giving incorrect information.

[@chrismoll6862]

Tx

[@cm2973]

Uh... not quite right on the body armor comments or 5.56 but I still tip my hat.

[@HistoricMilitaryInterviews]

Thanks for the contribution

[@catharperfect7036]

5.56 can definitely penetrate soft body armor. Google even says this. Plus I believe a former SAS and life soldier than a random guy in the KZbin comments section. No offense. "Most bulletproof vests are what we call “soft armor”, usually based on Kevlar. These are what we typically see police officers and the like wear. A rifle round will go through these vests like it's not even there."

[@cm2973]

@@catharperfect7036 almost nobody goes to combat without hard armor. All of which stops 5.56. Sit down.

[@catharperfect7036]

@@cm2973 He's saying the type of body armor being used then was not effective against it, and Google agrees. I believe ex-SAS over arm-chair good-ol boi with a cartoon wizard as his avatar on the KZbin comments section. :)

[@cm2973]

​@Cathar Perfect and I'm telling some faceless NPC the plates being used at the time in question stop 5.56. It's not uncommon to see people assume being in a unit makes you infallible.

[@johnwilliamson4025]

Misleading title - merely a discussion of warfare then and now - nothing much on S A S !

[@HistoricMilitaryInterviews]

Thanks for the feedback.

[@angloaust1575]

Fighting alone against communism no help From other sas units Unless they were incognito!

[@HistoricMilitaryInterviews]

Thanks for watching