Sundaymail EditorThe Battle of Mavonde, also known as the Battle of Monte Cassino, was a duel fought during the Lancaster House talks that pitted a supposedly superior white Rhodesian Air Force against crack Zanla artillery, where the Rhodesians intended to weaken the Patriotic Front’s Zanu and Zapu’s bargaining power at the talks. This was, without doubt, the most decisive battle of the liberation struggle.
Location of Mavonde
Nyadzonia and Chimoio had been disastrous, these civilian camps had been soft targets for the Rhodesians. Mavonde was different, many of the artillery-trained cadres were coming back, with over a thousand men populating the base. The diplomatic wing had stressed stronger rear bases near the border and Mavonde had gained from this tactic. Mavonde was located about 20km from the Mozambique border. The camp was a strategic military position designed for the Frelimo freedom fighters by the Soviets during their war with the Portuguese settlers. It was a model military facility with about a 1 000-strong “commando” Zanla force unit resident at the camp.
Structure and advantages
of the camp
The site had its advantages: mountains Chimbuyanemwana stretched across the north-east, while grander Nedzirwe lay to the north and Pungwe River a couple of kilometres away. The mountainous nature of the area was also a plus for guerrilla warfare. The peak of Nedzirwe Mountain was a great position from which to monitor the enemy. Six sub-bases had been established: headquarters, intelligence, operations, training, logistics and supplies and political education and recreation. In addition, there was a defence unit, which was responsible for the defence of all the sub-bases: the artillery cadres were concentrated in this unit. The main base had anti-air artillery, heavy machine guns, 60-82mm mortar bombs and B10 recoilless rifles. Strategic trenches, handakis, had been dug and they ran zig-zag through the sub bases. Food was stored in trenches.
The Six-Day Battle
On September 29 1979, Rhodesians launched a surprise attack on Mavonde using 20 phantom jets and vampires in quick succession. Zanla forces returned fire and the fire power became unexpectedly concentrated.
The battle raged on for two days and on the third day, Zanla forces organised themselves and realised they could corner the Rhodesians at their base. They had three or four tanks in the camp and steered the enemy to a gum tree plantation. This gave Zanla forces an edge and they were able to attack the enemy from different positions. On the fourth day, the battle began to even out with fire exchanges continuing throughout the day. The fifth day proved a brutal stalemate, by end of which some Rhodesian units were withdrawing. Guerrillas began to organise themselves and Frelimo joined them. The Rhodesian Infantry came under heavy gunfire from the trenched Zanla guerrillas using AK-47 riffles, RPG-2 bazookas, rifle grenades and mortar 60 bombs, which decimated the Rhodesians in their numbers. The mighty Rhodesian Air Force and its Infantry had suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands of a disciplined and alert Zanla unit at Mavonde Camp. The casualties on the Zanla side were negligible and among them was Patrick Mupunzarima, a high command member. The Zanla victory was totally home-grown, as there was no involvement of any outside international force in the fateful encounter.
General Peter Walls, the commander of the Rhodesian Defence Forces, conceded defeat and this virtually marked the end of the liberation struggle. The stakes for the Mavonde Battle were very high. Zanla forces wanted their leaders to negotiate from a point of victory. If they had lost that battle, Independence would have been long in coming. Their victory forced Ian Smith to conclude the Lancaster House Talks that ushered in Independence. While the attack was a major blow to the liberation movement and a dark cloud to the local population, it motivated the revolutionary spirit within the freedom fighters, there was no quitting or going back.
To re-organise after the attack, political orientation intensified and people began to have a deeper sense of why the enemy had to be defeated. The camp was abandoned by Zanu and people moved to Gondola, Doroei and some went for training in various countries and Maputo for other assignments. —The National Museums and Monuments of Zimbabwe
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