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7 Independent Company (7 Indep Coy; (フランス語:7ème Compagnie indépendante)) was a short-lived company of francophone volunteers in the Rhodesian Army during the Rhodesian Bush War. Numbering about 200 men at its peak, it was unique in the history of the Rhodesian Army as an exclusively expatriate unit. It existed between November 1977 and May 1978 as a company in the 1st Battalion, the Rhodesia Regiment, and served two counter-insurgency tours on Operation ''Hurricane'' in north-eastern Rhodesia (today Zimbabwe). During the Bush War, the Rhodesian Army augmented its ranks with foreign volunteers, who were accepted into regular regiments with the same pay and conditions of service as locals. Most foreign recruits enlisted in the Rhodesian Light Infantry (RLI), which launched an overseas recruitment programme in 1974, but required successful applicants to speak good English. The Army attempted to alleviate the strain on its troops during late 1977 by recruiting French-speakers as well, and formed a designated company in the Rhodesia Regiment for them. The regiment already had six independent companies, so the francophone unit became 7 Independent Company. The company's men, a mixture of former French paratroopers, ex-Foreign Legionnaires and young adventurers, had trouble from the start integrating with the Rhodesian forces, and became unsettled by the respective ranks they were given in the Rhodesian Army. In an attempt to raise their morale and create a strong ''esprit de corps'', the Army issued them beret insignias backed with the French tricolour and allowed them to raise the flag of France alongside that of Rhodesia each morning. Apparently under the impression that they had signed up as highly paid mercenaries, many of the French troopers returned home after their first bush trip, unhappy to have received no more money than a regular Rhodesian soldier. On operations their performance was generally below par, but the Frenchmen were involved in some successful actions during February and early March 1978. Their oppressive treatment of the black villagers they encountered made them very unpopular in the operational area. The Rhodesians quickly deemed the experiment a failure and following a series of disasters for the company during the latter part of its second tour, including two friendly fire incidents and several fatalities, it was disbanded in May 1978. Forces led by one of its members, Bob Denard, later that month executed a ''coup d'état'' in the Comoros with French, Rhodesian and South African governmental support. ==Background== (詳細はself-governing colony of Rhodesia (or Southern Rhodesia), led by Ian Smith, unilaterally declared independence on 11 November 1965. Britain and the United Nations refused to recognise this and each imposed economic sanctions on Rhodesia. Meanwhile, the country's two most prominent communist-backed black nationalist groups, the Zimbabwe African National Union and the Zimbabwe African People's Union, mobilised their respective guerrilla armies, the Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army (ZANLA) and the Zimbabwe People's Revolutionary Army (ZIPRA), for what they called the "Second ''Chimurenga''", with the goal of overthrowing the government and introducing black majority rule.〔 The Rhodesian Bush War was the result, beginning in earnest on 21 December 1972 when ZANLA attacked Altena and Whistlefield Farms near Centenary in the country's north-east. The Rhodesian Security Forces launched Operation ''Hurricane'' in response and fought back strongly, reducing the number of guerrillas active within the country to under 300 by December 1974. In the period October–November 1974, they killed more nationalist fighters than in the previous two years combined. However, a South African-brokered ceasefire, which the security forces respected and the insurgents ignored, helped the nationalists to win back ground.〔 By 1977 there were 2,500 guerrillas operating in Rhodesia, with several times that number in training abroad. The Rhodesian Army, though mostly made up of local men, also included some foreign volunteers, who were integrated into regular units under the same salary and conditions of service. Almost all of the foreigners served in the Rhodesian Light Infantry (RLI), a heliborne commando battalion with a glamorous international reputation. The RLI initiated a major overseas recruitment drive in 1974, targeting potential volunteers from Europe, Oceania and the Americas, and requiring successful applicants to speak good English. This campaign was bearing considerable fruit by May 1976, when the RLI's largest ever intake included more foreign volunteers than any before, and the enlisting of men from overseas into the RLI would increase yet further. By 1977–78 there were around 1,500 foreigners in the Rhodesian forces.〔 However, the Rhodesian Army remained stretched and low on manpower. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「7 Independent Company (Rhodesia)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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