Operation Enterprise: The Battle for Salisbury, Rhodesia

Operation ENTERPRISE was the most successful internal operation of the Rhodesian war, and arguably the most important, being fiercely fought just 20 km’s north of Salisbury. It foiled ZANLA’s plan to infiltrate the Capital and disrupt the elections in April 1979 which brought about the transitional Government of Zimbabwe Rhodesia. Deployment tactics for as many as three contacts in a day were pioneered by 1 Commando RLI along with the introduction of a “Jumbo Fire Force” which was perfected and executed with precision and recorded success. Due to the timing of my voluntary enlistment I found myself deployed to the front line as an untrained medic in an operational Mobile Surgical Unit set up at Enterprise Fire Force base.
Shortly after my arrival I was introduced to Special Branch Officer Mike Norton whose records, along with accounts from others involved, are detailed in this book which tells the story of the Top Secret intelligence leading up to the establishment of Enterprise and just how close the war was to the country’s Capital, with its residents oblivious to the threat at their doorstep.