Rhodesian Light Infantry

1st Battalion, Rhodesian Light Infantry
Emblem of the Rhodesian Light Infantry. The absence of the Queen's crown is evidence that this is the post-1970 pattern.
Active1 February 1961[1] – 31 October 1980[2]
Disbanded31 October 1980[2]
CountryRhodesia
Branch Regular Army
TypeCommando
SizeBattalion
Part of2 Brigade
HeadquartersCranborne Barracks, Salisbury[3]
Nickname(s)The Saints[4][5] The Incredibles[5][6]
Motto(s)Various; none official[n 1]
Colours   Tartan Green and Silver White
MarchQuick: When the Saints Go Marching In[4][9]
Slow: The Incredibles[n 2]
Mascot(s)Cheetah[4]
Anniversaries1 February 1961[n 3]
11 November 1965[n 4]
EngagementsRhodesian Bush War
DecorationsFreedom of the City of Salisbury
25 July 1975[10]
Commanders
First COLt-Col J. S. Salt[n 5]
Final COLt-Col J. C. W. Aust[n 6]
Notable
commanders		Lt-Col G. P. Walls[n 7], Lt-Col J. C. W. Aust

The 1st Battalion, Rhodesian Light Infantry (1RLI), commonly The Rhodesian Light Infantry (RLI), was a regiment formed in 1961 at Brady Barracks (Bulawayo, Southern Rhodesia) as a light infantry unit within the army of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland. Barely a year after its creation, it was relocated to Cranborne Barracks (Salisbury) where its headquarters remained for the rest of its existence. The Regiment became part of the Southern Rhodesian Army when the Federation dissolved at the start of 1964 and, later that year, reformed into a commando battalion.

After Rhodesia's[n 8] Unilateral Declaration of Independence on 11 November 1965, the RLI became one of the country's main counter-insurgency units during the Rhodesian Bush War, which pitted the government's security forces against the rival guerrilla campaigns of Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army (ZANLA) and the Zimbabwe People's Revolutionary Army (ZIPRA).

An all-white regiment, the RLI was made up wholly of professional soldiers until 1973, when capable conscripted national servicemen were first introduced. Foreign volunteers from across the world, including many veterans of foreign conflicts, also joined and became a key part of the Regiment. The RLI was nicknamed "The Saints" or "The Incredibles."

So prominent were the airborne aspects of typical RLI operations that the battalion became a parachute regiment in 1976. The RLI served under the short-lived government of Zimbabwe Rhodesia in 1979, and the interim British government that followed. After serving under the new government of Zimbabwe for a brief period, the unit was disbanded in October 1980.

The RLI's tactics and training contributed to repeated successes in its counter-insurgency operations. "The advantage this gave them..." says United States Army Lieutenant-Colonel Dave Grossman, "...added up to nothing less than total tactical superiority."[19] Alexandre Binda writes that the RLI "...earned for itself an enviable reputation as one of the world's foremost anti-terrorist forces,"[1] while Major Charles D. Melson, chief historian of the United States Marine Corps, calls it "The Killing Machine".[5]

  1. ^ a b Binda 2008, p. 20
  2. ^ a b Binda 2008, pp. 473–474
  3. ^ Binda 2008, p. 36
  4. ^ a b c Binda 2008, p. 22
  5. ^ a b c "The home of the RLIRA". The Rhodesian Light Infantry Regimental Association. Retrieved 25 September 2011.
  6. ^ Streak 1980, p. 2
  7. ^ "Motto". The Rhodesian Light Infantry Regimental Association. Retrieved 25 September 2011.
  8. ^ a b c d Streak 1980, p. 21
  9. ^ a b "Marches". The Rhodesian Light Infantry Regimental Association. Retrieved 25 September 2011.
  10. ^ Binda 2008, p. 149
  11. ^ a b c Binda 2008, p. 488
  12. ^ Binda 2008, p. 493
  13. ^ Abbott & Botham 1986, p. 11
  14. ^ Wood 2005, p. 244
  15. ^ Palley 1966, pp. 742–743
  16. ^ Smith 1997, p. 305
  17. ^ "Rhodesia reverts to British rule". London: BBC. 11 December 1979. Retrieved 26 September 2011.
  18. ^ Wessels 2010, p. 273
  19. ^ Cite error: The named reference grossman was invoked but never defined (see the help page).


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