The Beginning of the Second Chimurenga War (1965-1971)

Ian Smith and Harold Wilson aboard the HMS Tiger

• The war started in the late 1960s but was weak because Nationalist leaders such as Nkomo and Mugabe had been arrested in 1964 only to be released a decade later in 1974
• The remaining leaders had to go in exile to prepare for the war
• In December 1963 both ZANU and ZAPU were recognized by the OAU Liberation Committee

Crocodile Commando (4 July 1964)

• It was a group which was led by William Ndangana
• They killed a Rhodesia Front Chairman near the Eastern Border of Melsetter called Petrus Oberholtzer 

Sinoia (Chinhoyi) Battle 29 April 1966

• The first batch of war fighters were trained between March and October 1964 in Moscow, North Korea, NanKing and Pyongyang
• The forces smuggled arms into the country and planned to strike on 29 April 1966
• Only seven freedom fighters fought the war at Sinoia and six perished
• The six are Simon Chimbodza, Godwin Manyerere, Christopher Chatambudza, David Guzuzu, Arthur Maramba and Nathan Charamuka
• Ephraim Sherenje survived and was captured by the Security Forces
• Fighting continued at intervals up to 1967

Wankie Game Reserve Battle of 27 August 1967

• ZAPU forces attacked in 1967 after they had got a military alliance with ANC of South Africa
• They fought various battles in Karoi, Bulawayo, Kariba, Lomagundi, Lupane and Figtree
• Of these battles the Wankie battle was the fiercest and lasted about 6 hours
• The Africans were eventually defeated as they were few in numbers and unreliable
• The first recruits of ZAPU and ZANU were usually of Zimbabweans living outside the country
• They were forcibly recruited into the army, ill trained and they deserted the army
• The nationalists had to restrategize

Tiger (1966) and Fearless (1968) Talks

• The British noticed that the Zimbabwean situation was getting out of hand and the sanctions they had imposed on him were not working
• They realized they had to have face to face talks with Smith
• They met aboard the HMS Tiger which was a Royal Navy Cruiser anchored near Gilbraltar
• The British urged the Smith to grant majority rule unimpeded before independence
• Africans viewed the talks as a sell out as they were not involved in the talks
• Many other talks were done but they did not produce any results as Smith became more harsh

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