Only My Friends Call Me "Crouks"

482 Pages·2008·105.187 MB·English

by  Dennis Croukamp

Reprint
2008
ly~ ~ • Og
'v
Iq~
%ra o~
KAR ISA
®~ICgy~
SINOLA
BALI SSIIRY
~e"
NCTCWA oe
PALIS
GATOOME
OP.GRAPPLE
RHODESIA
l9
GWELO
L
PORT VICTORIA
BU AWATO
+~
PLUM REE OP.REPUL
RIJTE NGA
VILLA
EALIZAR
B IT BR'OOE / MALVERNIA
/
. ~Ol,
Z9. 3l
OILY K ' Y F R I E I DS
CALL KE "CROUKS"
by
Dennis CrouRamp
Copyright © 2008 by Dennis Croukamp
Copyright 0< 2008 by Dennis Croukamp
The right of Dennis Croukamp to be idenrified as the Author of
the Work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright
Act 98 of 1978.
Dennis Croukamp:- dennisgcrouks.co,za
~v .crouks.co.za
All rights reserved, whether the whole or part of the material
is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, re-use of'
illustrations, recitation,'broadcasting, reproduction on CD,
microfilm or in other ways, and storage in data banks. No
part of' this publication may be reproduced or transmitted, in
any form or by any means, without permission given by the
Author.
First Published in Cape Town, South Africa 2006
First Edition April 2006 in paperback
Reprint February 2007
Reprint September 2008
Cover design, typesetting R book styling
by Barbara Mueller
This Work is registered by Pseudo Publishing
ISBN-13: 978-0-620-29392-1
RAN: 97$0620293921
Front Cover photograph - sm p 350
Sack Cover photograph - see p 301
About the Author
"ONLY MY FRIENDS CALL ME CROUKS" is a soldier's story
told simply, with feeling. humour and without heroics. It also gives a
fascinating insight into the personality of the author, who relates his
personal experiences in a down-to-earth, no bull style of storytelling,
AAer 35 years the Rhodesian bush war has been largely forgotten. but
the author's &ont-line account will rekindle the memories and depict
the bushw ar &om a squaddie's point of view.
Dennis Croukamp was born in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) and
lived an idyllic life in the bush. As a young boy he spent his free time
fishing and hunting and had shot his first buck at the age of seven. After
leaving school he was called up to do his national service and thereafter
in January 1965 enlisted in the Rhodesia Light Infantry as a Private. He
served in the Rhodesian Army until 1980„rising through the ranks to
eventually retire with the rank of %arrant OIIicer.
In his career as a soldier, Dennis at first served in an Infantry unit, but
later served as a member of the elite Selous Scouts under the command
of Lieutenant-Colonel Ron Reid-Daly. During the late 1960's the
Rhodesian bush war started and ZANU and ZAPU guerrillas infiltrated
into the country. As a member of the armed forces, Dennis was ofien
involved in skirmishes with the guerrillas. In 1970, not only was he
the most junior ranked but also the first person to be awarded the Rhod
esian Bronze Cross for gallantry and determination in action aAer a
fierce battle.
As a member of the famed Selous Scouts, Dennis became a
reconnaissance specialistan d carried out numerous reconnaissance
missions into Mozambique. N'hilst on one of his missions he became
separated &om his hvo companions and spent the following six days
making his way back to Rhodesia. all the while being pursued by
FRELIMO soldiers. During this epic escape and evasion saga. Dennis
had noc ommunication with his base; he had no food or support and had
to walk nearly 200 kilometres to get back to Rhodesia.
Dennis experienced guerrilla warfare from its inception in Rhodesia
in 1967 until the cease-fire in 1979 and the eventual transition &om
Rhodesia to Zimbabwe. He had an exciting and adventurous career:
was wounded in combat, and saw action on all border areas of Rhodesia
and alsoi n Mozambique, Zambia and Botswana. Some senior officers
have told their experiences of the Rhodesian bush war, but this book
givest he views and experiences of a man in the rank and fiel of the
Rhodesian Army. He pulls no punches in telling his story and the book
reflects his ability as a narrator.
Dedicated to the children
of all Rhodesians
"Se as proud as we were"
TABLE OF CONTENT%
iiiEJPWZArltPXXJtNit'PPPfiPPXJZXiJPJEtt'PPrÃWPi&
FOREWORD
Preface
CHAPTER 1: EARLY YEARS
CHAPTER 8: INTRODUCTION TO THE ARMY
1964
CHAPTER 5: ARMY IMTRODUCTIOM
CONTINUES
CHAPTER 4: 5 COMMAS%DO RHODESIAN
LIGHT INFANTRY
C~ TER 5: URBAN OPERATIONS
CHAPTER 6: TRAINING EXERCISES
CHAPTER V: UDI, RURAL OPERATIONS AND
VIL JOEN MURDERS
CHAPTER 8: MY FIRST PROMOTION 1967 88
CHAPTER 9: OPERATION CAULDRON
CHAPTER 10: BORDER CONTROL P MORE
OPERATIONS
CHAPTER 11: OPERATIONS IM MOZAMBIQUE 148
CHAPTER 18: EXILED TO LLEWZLLIN
BARRACKS
C~ TZR 13: SELOUS SCOUTS SELECTIOM
COURSE
C~ TER 14: MATABELZLAND OPS AND
LONG LEAVE
C~ TZR 15: ~ FIRST SCOUTS
RECONNAISSANCE 880
CHAPTER 16: ESCAPE AND EVASION
CHAPTER 17: ESCAPE AND EVASION
(CONTINUED) 880
CHAPTER 18: CROSS-BORDER OPERATIONS 504
CHAPTER 19: BIG BANG IM LITTLE RUSSIA 388
CHAPTER 80: LAST YEAR IM SCOUTS
CHAPTZR 81: A BUG (NOT AM INSECT)
CHAPTER 88: SCHOOL OF INFANTRY
INSTRUCTOR 406
CHAPTER 83: GOOD MEWS ALL ROUND
CHAPTER 84: AM EXCITING LIFESTYLE
DRAWS TO A CLOSE
BIBLIOGRAPHY 460
REFERENCES 470
It's not the critic who counts...The credit belongs to the man who
actually> is in the arena, who strives violently, who errs and comes up
short again and again.... 8'ho if he wins, knows the triumph of high
achievement, but who fi he fails, fails while daring greatly.
... Theodore Roosevelt.
Few professional soldiers, unless they are senior commanders,
commit their lives to memoir. This in itself is fairly easy to understand
if one stop to consider that the professional soldier is not concerned
with memoirs based on grand strategy and historical accuracy.
Professional soldiers live close to the coarse and often the brutal detail
of the battlefield, a far cry from the inner conflnes of map-covered
walls and communication equipment.
Many common soldiers' lives and particularly those in Special Force
units seem more suited to fiction rather than fact. A soldier's mind
too, can quite easily become a 'crowded' place. More may happen in
a minute of his life, and at times with regular repetition, than vvould
occur in an entire lifetime of the average person. There is little, if
anything, that can be described as beauty in war, and if so, it is rare.
Only years of training and discipline separate the soldier from the
chaos oft he moment.
Few soldiers would deny the fact that in time of war they become
a law unto themselves, dwelling, existing and surviving in a world
unto itself. Within this mental framework are the tedious boredom,
frustration and disorder that are the soldiers' lot. He knows that
his each and every action could result in his own death. Strange
as it may seem, there are those who thrive on such a life. Not mere
fleeting moments of it, but in its entirety: the parade ground and drill,
garrison life, training exercises, parachuting, patrolling, ambushing,
endless duties, boredom, discipline, noise, silence, and above all
adrenaline charged combat. This latter emotion, once experienced,
soon becomes an unquenchable thirst, the barometer against which
all else is measured.
Rhodesia'sw ar has been adequately covered by numerous books
and writings. lt ended in 1980 and to those who were not involved, or
had no ties to this small landlocked country that was once the pride
of Britain's African colonies, past events are of little consequence or
of interest now. Few modern travellers to Zimbabwe even know that it
was once called Rhodesia, nor does it seem they care,
One Special Forces soldier, who epitomises the word 'professional',
FOREWORD ...
fought in the Rhodesian war right from its early beginnings in the
mid nineteen sixties, up until the very end, when the country became
Zimbabwe. His is not a written memoir of his soldiering career. It is
more. It is a profound photographic record about much of his war.
Most conAicts are covered by countless professional photographers
working for various world media. The Rhodesian conflict was
somewhat different,p erhaps because of American preoccupation
with Vietnam, or perhaps because Rhodesia was merely perceived
to be a renegade British colony. At the end of the day Rhodesia was
England's delinquent in Southern Africa. However, it did not attract
the international media coverage of other convicts. At best, a few
minitsryof information service photographs were released together
with a terse and impersonal press release, and at worst, it received no
coverage ata ll,a part from briefi nner page newspaper comment, few
American photographers covered the event, and equally few British
photographers. One, Lord Richard Cecil, a friend of Rhodesia and a
former British SAS man, was killed in the conllict.
For a professional soldier who thrived on the heady adrenaline fix
of combat. and was not in any way a professional photographer, but
a self taught one, to have recorded much of his war on film whilst
carrying out and completing successful missions, is indeed unique.
This photographic record is
about just such a man.
I first met Dennis
Croukamp in January 1974.
It was at a Rhodesian Army
camp at Makuti in the north
of the country, in the Zambezi
Valley escarpment. Both of
us were candidates on the
first official Selous Scouts
selection course. Dennis at
the time was a Sergeant in
Fig.l. Lord Richard Cecil
in theforeground i nspecti ng
Russian-made w'eapons
captured from ZIPRA
terroristsjust outside Lusaka
in Zambia. Left back: RSM
Tony Pretorius and behind
Charley Krause.