THERE’S an audible crackle, not loud or piercing, but as if someone is screwing up sweet paper close to your head, and like a string of green fairylights, tracers arc their way almost lazily towards the darkened homestead. Immediately, or so it seems, from behind an unlit window an FN rifle barks its harsh reply, followed by another and another. From a rock outcrop, slightly elevated so that attacking fire is aimed advantageously down on the farmhouse, a mere 100 metres away, the first mortar thumbs skywards. It soars high over the house and, thankfully for its occupants, explodes harmlessly in the bush. The long swish of a rocket, the deadliest of projectiles, is followed by an explosive thump. A hit! Hot lead ricochets off brick wall and rock outcrop, sparking, whining in a cacophony of crossfire.
–THE FARMER AT WAR
By Trevor Grundy and Bernard Miller Published by Modern Farming Publications Salisbury 1979
hat tip: TEOTWAWKI Blog, which notes the in-depth discussions of homestead defensive fortifications. Download the whole thing.
And despite all that preparation and support, Rhodesia lost to the terrorists in the end. Witness the “freedom” of Zimbabwe now. Depressing thought…