Survival Course: Rhodesian Denouement and the War of Self

by Chris Cocks

Overview

This is a thoroughly reworked and updated edition of Survival Course, sequel to the best-selling Fireforce—A Trooper's War in the Rhodesian Light Infantry.
Part 1, 'War', chronicles Chris Cocks's final 16 months of combat in the Rhodesian bush war, as a stick leader in PATU, the Police Ant-Terrorist Unit. It is a time of unbelievable cruelty as the part-time white reservists battle overwhelming odds, without air support and ... without a future.
Part 2, 'Peace', recounts the author's painful adjustment to life as a civilian—a fifteen-year odyssey in the embryonic state of Zimbabwe. It is an intensely personal journey in which the author pulls no punches as he describes his clumsy attempts to come to terms with a) the new dispensation of black Africa and b) himself. It is a cri de couer, the story of a young man, brutalized by war, who seeks escape in alcohol and drugs, and who, in the process, causes immeasurable pain and suffering to those around him. These too are the casualties of war.
Ultimately, though, it is a story of hope, of a man's triumph over his own demons.

"Too many people learn about war with no inconvenience to themselves. They read about Verdun or Stalingrad without comprehension, sitting in a comfortable armchair, with their feet beside the fire, preparing to go about their business the next day, as usual. One should really read such accounts under compulsion, in discomfort, considering oneself fortunate not to be describing the events in a letter home, writing from a hole in the mud. One should read about war in the worst circumstances, when everything is going badly, remembering that the torments of peace are trivial, and not worth any white hairs. Nothing is really serious in the tranquility of peace; only an idiot could be really disturbed by a question of salary. One should read about war standing up, late at night, when one is tired, as I am writing about it now, at dawn, while my asthma attack wears off. And even now, in my sleepless exhaustion, how gentle and easy peace seems!
Those who read about Verdun or Stalingrad, and expound theories later to friends, over a cup of coffee, haven't understood anything. Those who can read such accounts with a silent smile, smile as they walk, and feel lucky to be alive."
Guy Sayer, The Forgotten Soldier
By kind permission of Batsford Brassey, Inc

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781666244274
Publisher:	Barnes & Noble Press
Publication date:	09/01/2018
Pages:	222
Sales rank:	679,540
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.47(d)

About the Author

Chris Cocks was born in Salisbury, Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) in 1957 as the sun was setting on the British Empire. In 1965, the colony unilaterally declared independence (UDI) from Great Britain, triggering the 15-year-long civil war, known as the “bush war”. He saw combat from 1976 to 1980, often on a daily basis, firstly as a paratrooper and latterly as counterinsurgency militia. His two autobiographical accounts—Fire Force: A Trooper’s War in the Rhodesian Light Infantry and the sequel Survival Course—evoke the era. First published in 1988, and then in 2006 and 2020, Fire Force is now regarded as a classic on war, and has sold over 35,000 copies. He was author/editor of The Cheetah regimental magazine (2007–12), and co-author of Africa’s Commandos: The Rhodesian Light Infantry (2012). His novel, Deslocado Redemption (2018), set in Beira, Mozambique, explores post-colonial racial attitudes in southern Africa. He is a freelance editor, specializing in military history, and lives in Gloucestershire, UK.