Ground combat was our forte

LAST week, CDE SOLOMON MOYANA (SM) chronicled how he and other freedom fighters defeated Ian Smith’s Selous Scouts in a battle in Mutoko in late 1978. This week, he concludes his account by telling our Political Editor KUDA BWITITI (KB) about some of the battles he was involved in before the country attained independence.

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KB: What happened after you defeated the Selous Scouts at Dzvengwe in Mutoko?

SM: We left that area for another base. I think this was now in 1979 and we fought several battles against enemy forces. I cannot recount all of them, but I can tell you about a few.

KB: Tell us about the few you remember the most from 1979.

SM: Overall, what I can say is that the enemy soldiers knew that in terms of infantry, or ground combat, we were better than them. This is why we won most of the ground battles against them. The only advantage they had was military aircraft.

One of the battles that evokes vivid memories in 1979 was when we fought against the Rhodesia security forces at a mountain called Gomorenzou, also in Mutoko.

At the Gomorenzou mountain, there was a large cave. We gathered that the enemy forces would usually hide in that cave. If that was the case, it meant small ammunition would probably not work because of the size of the cave. We needed to use heavy artillery to make sure the enemy would be pummelled into submission.

We, thus, decided to carry heavy weapons, like the M90, bazookas, and RPG-7 and RPG-2 rocket launchers.

We decided to go after them at night. On that night, there was a full moon. From a distance, we could hear them talking.

We stealthily approached their position. We then got to a spot where we felt the missiles would hit them hard. We discussed with our bazooka man, Cde Dhingaka, on the exact target to aim for maximum effect.

When he fired the first missile, it was right on the mark.

We heard them wailing in agony. He then fired again; this time, it was rapid fire, aiming at the same target.

We knew that because of the destructive nature of our ammunition, the enemy forces would suffer massive casualties.

After a succession of rapid fire, there was no wailing but utter silence. It was clear they were all dead. We decided not to go and retrieve their bodies because it was possible that they had laid some anti-personnel mines.

So, we left that area convinced that we had eliminated the enemy because of the heavy artillery we had used.

KB: Did you get to confirm that indeed you had killed them?

SM: Yes, the next morning, we heard from the povo that there were multiple bodies strewn all over. Indeed, we had crushed them. Their bodies were in pieces. We had literally blown them to smithereens.

KB: How many casualties were there?

SM: We learnt that the body count was about 20 men. It was a memorable victory for us. Although we had won as a team, we gave a lot of credit to Cde Dhingaka, who was our bazooka man. He proved that he was a sharpshooter. Cde Dhingaka was a good friend of mine. What still disappoints me is that he died during one of the last battles we fought in 1979.

KB: What happened?

SM: We were on the top of a mountain and engaged in yet another battle with the Selous Scouts. We saw them below us and one of their men noticed that Cde Dhingaka was about to fire from his machine gun. They took aim at him and he was hit. We retreated and carried him into the bush. After walking for a few kilometres from that battlefront, we buried him close to a river in Mutoko.

KB: After his death, who succeeded him as a bazooka man?

SM: This was now 1979 and we did not engage in many other battles after his death.

KB: Tell us about the last days of the war?

SM: We were called into assembly points. I went to the Dendera Assembly Point in Mutoko, which is where we gathered first.

We were then relocated to Harare (then known as Salisbury). From Harare, we proceeded to Inkomo Barracks. We were then interviewed to join the national army. I was successfully attested into the national army and deployed to the Chipinge 35 Infantry Battalion.

KB: For how long did you serve in the army?

SM: I did not serve for long. I was one of the ex-combatants who was demobilised a few years after 1980. That is how I left the army.

KB: What did you engage in after the war?

SM: After vetting, we received some funds. I worked in Harare for several companies for some years. For me, independence was not complete until we got back our land. I was, therefore, one of the war veterans who were involved in the Third Chimurenga in Mashonaland East, which was the revolutionary fight to reclaim our land from white commercial farmers.

I helped many people to acquire farms, and I was also allocated one. I now reside on this farm.

KB: Thank you very much, Cde Moyana.

SM: You are most welcome.