War Stories

Venter¿s choice of military events is eclectic. He has four chapters on Afghanistan, three on Somalia, several on how Lisbon fought its desperate rearguard colonial wars in Angola, Mozambique and Portuguese Guinea as well as several on the Rhodesian War. These include a tribute to his old friend Ron Reid-Daly, founder-commander of the Selous Scouts, a vivid profile of the RLI ¿Incredibles¿ in a cross-border strike on enemy positions in Mozambique as well as a chapter by Colonel Brian Robinson, longest serving commander of the Rhodesian SAS. Venter also draws heavily on his experiences as a military correspondent for Britain¿s Jane¿s Information Group in the Middle East: he accompanied the IDF when it went into Beirut in 1982. Neall Ellis who flew helicopter gunships against the rebels in Sierra Leone and is currently flying support missions in Russian Mi-8s in Afghanistan, Al Venter going into combat with a bunch of South African ¿Parabats¿ in a strike against enemy positions in Angola (where he was subsequently wounded), Mike Hoare¿s aborted invasion of the Seychelles a quarter of a century ago, an American mercenary in Iraq as well as a United States Navy rescue mission in Somalia are among more than 30 chapters that appear in this new book.