The U.K.’s Special Air Service needs no introduction to anyone remotely interested in military history or Special Operations. However, there is much more to learn about this elite unit when one traces its existence and influence across the once global British Empire. Much of the power of the Brits was derived from their colonies and their stock of available military recruits. Australia and New Zealand have retained the SAS as the designation of their Special Operations Forces.

After the end of the Second World War, the British government saw no further use for the unit and disbanded it in October 1945. Within a year of that decision, a reversal was made and the SAS was resurrected. They drew soldiers from the Territorial Army and continued training for future conflicts on the horizon. In 1950, Britain committed to helping the UN to stop communist aggression on the Korean Peninsula. After three months of preparation, 21 SAS was given orders to Korea. During this same period, another problem arose in Malaya, which was administered by the British. The problem perfectly suited the Unit’s capabilities.

In 1948, communist guerillas began attacking British infrastructure and challenging British rule. These insurgents were a reconstituted arm of the local units that the British had trained to fight Japanese occupiers in WWII. The terrain and tactics of the guerillas were difficult to counter with conventional forces. Sabotage and hit and run operations began against the transportation system and the lucrative rubber plantations that were vital to Britain. The guerillas would come from the impenetrable jungle and disappear back into it.

The British had learned many valuable lessons in jungle warfare while fighting the Japanese in South East Asia. This training and experience still lived on in the commanders of the Malayan detachment. With forces being committed to the Korean conflict and the need for manpower worldwide, it was decided to make a recruiting drive for men in the colonies to try out for the SAS. So troops were raised to fill A Squadron and B Squadron, mainly from experienced British Territorials who had geared up for wartime deployment to Korea.

These forces would form the Malayan Scouts (the forefathers of the modern SAS) whose primary mission would be reconnaissance and the interdiction of the Communist Terrorists (CTs) along their known supply routes. It was a steep learning curve for the two squadrons and jungle illnesses took a brutal toll.

In Search of a Few Special Men

In 1951, Major “Mad Mike” Calvert, the expedition’s commanding officer, decided to take a trip to the far away African colony of Rhodesia. Rhodesia had contributed greatly in proportion to its population in WWII and a few Rhodesians had served in the SAS. Those younger Rhodesian men, who had felt that they had missed their chance to fight for the Crown due to their youth during the ‘Big One’, applied in droves. This caused quite a stir and the applications were capped at 1,000. These 1,000 applicants were carefully screened and 100, i.e.- the top 10 percent of men were chosen to be a part of the Malayan Scouts and the now resurrected SAS.

Once they were chosen, they underwent basic training and onto the general skills of an SAS Trooper by two Rhodesian veterans of World War Two, Lt. Peter Walls and Lt. Ron Campbell-Morrison. Both were combat experienced and expected to be replaced by a British commander once in-country. With great fanfare and a crowd of 3,000 people in Salisbury, the 100 were sent off to war. Upon arrival in the harsh jungle environment, they were faced with the reality of a hard-bitten counterinsurgency campaign. The Rhodesians would be C Squadron, the unit designation that would unknowingly stick with them far into the future ( now over 70 years for a temporary unit! ).

Their reception was not a welcome one but the men of the established A Squadron made an impression on the Rhodesian recruits. Yet, being highly motivated and unspoiled, they remained hearty and willing to get on with the mission at hand.

Into the Fire

As a small, self-contained and isolated unit is often prone to, there were disciplinary problems among A squadron. While the Rhodesians did a six-week workup, discipline was restored among the other men and several of them were sent packing. After the training course in the country, it was decided that the Rhodesians would not be split up nor have a British commander. Peter Walls would command C Squadron for the duration of the deployment. During the ‘yet to come’ Bush War- the existential battle for the life of their beloved Rhodesia – Lt. Walls would later become the Combined Operations Commander for the Rhodesian Army.

The young men had been chosen for their background and ability to work with a team in a harsh environment. Rhodesia was a breeding ground for excellent soldiers. Many of the men had grown up working hard on their family farms, playing Rugby and most importantly, hunting and tracking which developed a sixth sense needed in true Light Infantry combat. Tracking in Africa was an essential skill that could not be learned overnight. They found themselves having to learn to operate in unfamiliar terrain- the jungle instead of an open, sunlit battlespace. In the Rhodesian bush, the sun would light the tracks and give the tracker information by the shadows created. This made it easier to spot spoor, making for a quick assessment and pursuit. Among the men was a youngster by the name of Ron Reid-Daly. His upcoming learning experience would eventually help revolutionize counterinsurgency warfare with the formation of the Selous Scouts in the Bush War.

The canopy of the jungle blocked the sunlight causing the men to look for different spoor than they were accustomed to. The floor of the jungle was full of rotting vegetation and oftentimes the bush was so thick that machetes had to be used to move forward. The vegetation was as much their adversary as the CTs were.

Here, the lessons of Guerilla Warfare and Counter Insurgency, took root in the Rhodesian unit. This war would not allow for the entire squadron to hack through the jungle in open pursuit of the enemy. To do so would invite ambush and death. Small unit tactics were refined to a razor’s edge. Operating in small groups, from a four- to a 14-man patrol was the norm. The conventional doctrine taught that soldiers could operate for a maximum of seven days in the jungle. Yet, the SAS had other plans.

The enemies were not large in number but their native mastery of the jungle allowed them to a lesser jungle experienced army. C Squadron’s job was to locate the CTs, take their safe havens away and destroy their supplies, ambush their trails and avenues of escape and then drive them out of the bush and into the hands of more conventional and heavily armed units. This took patience and resolve. The SAS would often spend weeks at a time tracking and piecing together the intelligence that they developed. The helicopter, a new tactical tool, allowed the men to be inserted deep into enemy-held territory and hunt their prey with the resources they had. Heavy, advanced and technologically superior air assets and pinpoint artillery strikes were rarely, if ever involved. It was mano y mano warfare of wits and skill, from the officer down to the lowly troopie. Every gun ( gat ), every bullet, every step and each recce mattered.

Typically, a team would insert into an area believed to be near to or exactly in the home of a band of CTs and plot out the areas to recon, methodically searching behind every bush for information that would lead them to their objective. A base camp would be set up and from there men would be sent in four distinct directions to create a 360-degree search area. This might go on for days or weeks until they would find a trail or a camp. Once the enemy was located, they would devise an ambush plan. It was rare to make an outright assault due to the small number of operators. Their training in Navigation, Patrolling, Snap Shooting, and Ambush was being implemented with an ever-growing proficiency.

The fresh-faced lads that arrived in 1951 turned into Men of War, Jungle Fighters, and Soldiers of the Elite C Squadron of the SAS. Their reputation as solid SAS men grew among the British. For nearly two years the valiant “100” navigated, patrolled, and battled the Communist Terrs, building not only a reputation of a competent part of the SAS but soldiers to be feared. That experience would pay off in spades and quite frankly helped hold the Rhodesians together many years beyond what it should have against a numerically superior and supplied enemy in the coming decades.

Due to their skill, patience, and fortitude, they returned home in 1953 after nearly two years of combat with only three KIA. For his leadership in a merciless environment, Lt. Walls received the MBE, Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire. More important than any medals or accolades that the British gave them was the fact that a foundation was created that Rhodesia could build an elite unit on par with the rest of the world. The unit was to battle the storm that was on the horizon in an increasingly fiery Communist superpower backed, trained and supplied war for Post-Colonial Africa.