In December, 1972, a lonely farmstead
in Rhodesia's North Eastern Border area was attacked by a band
of communist-trained infiltrators armed with machine-guns, grenades
and automatic rifles. An eight-year-old white child was killed.
This, the first of many incursions across the country's frontiers,
triggered Operation Hurricane, now part of a wider counter-insurgency
campaign which Rhodesian security forces are conducting - and conducting
in fine style.
Contact is a pictorial profile of the war and of
Rhodesia's armed services. John Lovett writes fluently and informatively
of the country's military tradition, of the political origins of
the present conflict, and of the history and nature of the operations
against terrorism. Thereafter, he devotes several substantial and
dramatically illustrated chapters to the security Forces themselves.
Special features of the book are the reproduction,
in full, of the many citations which have accompanied awards for
gallantry since 1966, a description, in color, of Rhodesian honors
and awards, and comprehensive rolls of medal recipients.
In his
foreword to Contact, the President of Rhodesia says: "[All this] combines
to represent a lasting testament to the courage and resolution
of our citizens of all races. . . . I join Mr Lovett in paying
tribute to our policemen, soldiers and airmen, to the members of
our Internal Affairs and Guard Force, to our farmers in the operational
areas and to the great many other civilians who contribute so splendidly
to the national war effort."
