Conscription played a significant role in the history of Rhodesia, including during the Rhodesian Bush War that took place between 1966 and 1979. Men from the small white minority that dominated Rhodesia were required to participate in a national service scheme from 1957. The relatively large Rhodesian Security Forces, most of whose personnel were conscripts, contributed to the government's confidence to declare independence in November 1965 rather than agree to a transition to majority rule. Throughout the Bush War, the Security Forces relied on white conscripts. The great majority of the population, who were black, were exempt from conscription until shortly before the end of the war. Coloured and Indian men were subject to conscription and experienced racial discrimination in the Security Forces.
Young men who were eligible for conscription were required to undertake a period of full-time national service in the Security Forces. At the conclusion of this period, they remained liable for call up as members of the part-time reserves. This made conscription a major element in the lives of white Rhodesian men, though some evaded their obligations. Coloured and Indian conscripts received lower pay than whites for most of the war and undertook duties white personnel did not want to do. The government was reluctant to extend conscription to black men due to its racial views, the availability of sufficient black volunteers and concerns that such conscripts would be unreliable. Most of the blacks who were called up during 1979 did not report.
As the Bush War escalated and Rhodesia's military situation deteriorated, requirements on conscripts were increased. This included longer periods of mandatory national service as well as more frequent and lengthy call ups of reservists. Men from older age groups also became liable for service, with 50 to 60 year olds being required to serve in the Security Forces from early 1979. This placed a considerable burden on the white minority and contributed to high rates of emigration. It also harmed the Rhodesian economy. The declining white population undermined Rhodesia's war effort and contributed to the transition to majority rule as Zimbabwe in 1980.
Background
Southern Rhodesia was a British colony in southern Africa which was founded by the British South Africa Company in 1890 and achieved self-government in 1923. Its economy and government was controlled by the small white minority of its population. Black Rhodesians, who comprised the great majority of the population, faced extensive racially-motivated discrimination including restrictions on land ownership and employment. They were also largely excluded from political power. The Coloured (mixed-race) and Indian ethnic groups were also treated as inferior, but had more rights than blacks.
From 1962, the Southern Rhodesian government was led by the Rhodesian Front, a political party. Ian Smith served as Prime Minister from 1964 until 1979. The Rhodesian Front was deeply committed to maintaining the white community's privileged status, while the British government required majority rule before granting independence. This led to the government issuing Rhodesia's Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI) from the United Kingdom in November 1965, with the state becoming known as Rhodesia. UDI was illegal and caused Rhodesia to be internationally isolated and subjected to economic sanctions by other countries.
The number of whites in Southern Rhodesia increased from 82,000 in 1946 to 250,000 in 1965. Almost all of this growth was due to immigration from mainly English-speaking countries. The white population peaked at 277,000 in 1975–1976. Whites always comprised less than 5 per cent of Rhodesia's population. There were also around 30,000 Coloured and Indian people in the country. Few white migrants intended to settle permanently, and there were high rates of immigration into and emigration from Rhodesia during most years of its existence. This meant many whites did not have strong feelings of loyalty towards Rhodesia as they had migrated there intending to take up specific opportunities before moving on. The black population grew at a much faster rate than the white community between 1965 and 1980, due mainly to a higher birth rate.
UDI and Rhodesia's racial inequalities led to the Rhodesian Bush War. Guerrilla activities began in 1966, and initially involved small groups of communist-armed and trained African nationalists operating in northern areas of Rhodesia. Until the early 1970s, the Rhodesian Security Forces had little difficulty defeating the guerrillas.
Rhodesia's security situation deteriorated during the mid-1970s when the nationalists were able to establish bases in neighbouring Mozambique as Portuguese rule there faltered and ended in 1975. This caused rapid growth in the insurgency which the Security Forces could not contain. In March 1978, the Rhodesian Front government entered into the Internal Settlement with pro-western nationalists. Rhodesia transitioned to a form of majority rule in June 1979 as Zimbabwe Rhodesia. The transition lacked legitimacy, as the main nationalist groups had not participated in the Internal Settlement and the Rhodesian Front retained a strong influence on the government's priorities. As a result, the war continued. By this time the conflict was costing 2,000 lives each month. International pressure and a desire by the government and nationalist groups to end the fighting led to the Lancaster House Agreement, which was signed in December 1979. Zimbabwe Rhodesia transitioned to majority rule and became independent as Zimbabwe in early 1980.
Conscription of whites and other minority groups Early years Conscription was first implemented in Southern Rhodesia in 1928 and was initially limited to whites. In November 1940, during the Second World War, conscription was extended to young black men, with those who were called up being required to serve in the Rhodesian African Rifles (RAR). A labour conscription scheme was also introduced during 1940, with each district of the colony having to provide a specified number of black men to build airfields for the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan. From mid-1942, the Southern Rhodesian government required thousands of black men to work on white-owned farms. This scheme mainly aimed to address food shortages but also gave undercapitalised farmers access to cheap labour. District food production committees administered the farm labour conscription scheme, and it contributed to an increase in commercial agricultural production. This came at a cost of a reduction in food production by blacks for their own account. Between 50,000 and 100,000 men were conscripted for airfield or farm work over the course of the war. Due to the government's racial policies, Coloured and Indian men were not conscripted at this time. Farm labour conscription continued until 1946, when it was replaced by a scheme in which black men were forced to work on soil erosion control measures.
Conscription of white Southern Rhodesians continued after the Second World War. At this time, most members of the small regular army were blacks serving in the RAR; all members of this unit other than its officers were black. Part of the motivation for conscription was to ensure that all white men had military training and were available as military reservists in case the RAR became a threat to the white community. The 1957 Defence Act established a national service scheme which was applied to white, Coloured and Indian men. Following this reform, young men initially needed to undertake a six-week period of national service with the Rhodesia Regiment, during which they went through basic training. This usually occurred as soon as they left secondary education. Conscripts were then liable for part-time service for four years as reservists in the Territorial Force. At the conclusion of this period, they were assigned to the Territorial Force's Reserve with a reduced training liability but could be called up in an emergency. These different types of service remained in place until the mid-1970s.
Territorials were frequently called up between 1953 and 1963, when Southern Rhodesia formed part of the Central African Federation, usually for domestic security tasks. In 1960, Southern Rhodesian conscripts were deployed to what is now northern Zambia in response to the Congo Crisis. This crisis also led to the expansion of the Territorial Force, including by forming artillery batteries. During a crisis over the constitution of Northern Rhodesia in February 1961, the Southern Rhodesian government called up 5,000 Territorials for intensive training.
During the late 1950s and early 1960s the white elements of the Central African Federation's security forces were expanded in response to an official assessment that white rule would increasingly be challenged by African nationalism. As part of these changes, three additional Territorial Force battalions were raised and, from 1961, all white men aged between 18 and 50 became liable for Territorial service during emergencies. An all-white regular infantry battalion, the Rhodesian Light Infantry (RLI), was also formed that year as the Territorial units were considered too weak to defeat the RAR if it mutinied. The period of compulsory training was increased to four and a half months from the early 1960s. Conscripts were required to then serve in the Territorial Force or the British South Africa Police's (BSAP) Police Reserve. Reserve service usually involved training conducted over weekends. During 1963, the Central African Federation's Chiefs of Staff Committee proposed disbanding the RAR and replacing it with an enlarged Territorial Force due to their concerns over the loyalty of black soldiers. This was impractical due to insufficient white manpower. At this time, there were 15,000 Territorials in Southern Rhodesia. Following the break up of the Central African Federation, the Territorial Force was transferred to Southern Rhodesia, with the colony's government retaining conscription.
Changes during the mid-1970s
At the time of UDI, the period of full time national service remained at four and a half months. In 1966, the Rhodesian government decided that liability for conscription would primarily be based on residence rather than citizenship. This meant British subjects and South Africans living in Rhodesia were required to register along with Rhodesian citizens. Full-time national service was also extended to 35 weeks from April 1966. By 1967, there were eight 150-strong intakes of national servicemen annually. Twelve members of each intake were selected for further training; three as officers, three as non-commissioned officers and the others for the Army's specialist branches. At the conclusion of initial training, each intake was converted to an infantry company and deployed to an operational area for 14 weeks. The men were then posted to Territorial Force units.