Overview

Action-packed account of a member of the celebrated Rhodesian SAS, who fought with incredible tenacity and ingenuity against overwhelming odds in the Rhodesian Bush War of the 1970s. In his own words Andre Scheepers describes his childhood on a farm, learning about the bush from his African friends, and becoming a soldier. The family had to leave the farm after being ambushed by terrorists. A quiet, introspective deep thinker, Andre started out as a trooper in the Rhodesian Light Infantry commandos and was hectically engaged in Fire-Force combat operations before leaving for the SAS. Wounded 13 times, his operational record is exceptional even by the high standards that existed at the time and he really emerges as the quintessential SAS officer displaying extraordinary calmness and audacious cunning in the course of a host of extremely dangerous operations. Loved by his men, Andre writes very eruditely about his mental and emotional condition during the war and reflects very candidly on what he learned and how war has shaped his life since. Offered a commission in the British SAS after the conflict, he decided to stop soldiering and entered the seminary whereupon he became a minister. In addition to Andre's personal story the book also reveals more about the other men who were distinguished operators in other celebrated SAS operations. This is the story of soldiers, the hardships, the battles they fought and the challenges they faced. AUTHOR: Hannes Wessels was born in Southern Rhodesia, but grew up in Umtali on the Mozambican border. He is now part-owner of a lodge and game ranch in Zambia on the Zambezi and keenly interested in all matters relating to African wildlife and conservation. He is the author of the highly-praised 'A Handful of Hard Men: The SAS and the Battle for Rhodesia' (Casemate 2015). 32 pages of colour and b/w photographs

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9781612005874

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It is a book that left me breathless, angered and saddened. It is a book about soldiers fighting a war they were not allowed to win; a war to save a country from itself. It is a book of immense bravery and sacrifice against incredible odds. It is a book that proves that some men are born to become warriors, others to become heroes. Only a select few are born to be both. --Lt. Colonel Eeben Barlow, ex-32nd Battalion and Chairman of Executive Outcomes Andre was the best of the best and the bravest of the brave. --Captain Darrell Watt, ex-SAS If you have read Hannes Wessels's A Handful of Hard Men - among the best books to emerge on guerilla warfare in South Africa in recent times, then We Dared to Win will not disappoint. Working with Andre Scheepers - an outstanding SAS operator during the Rhodesian War - they have pulled together another remarkable panoply of events that ultimately changed history throughout South Africa. Indeed, these events are gripping, incisive and very well done! --Al J. Venter, author and war correspondent

Author Information

Hannes Wessels was born in Southern Rhodesia, but grew up in Umtali on the Mozambican border. He is part-owner of a lodge on the Zambezi and is keenly interested in all matters relating to African wildlife and conservation. He is the author of the highly-praised 'A Handful of Hard Men: The SAS and the Battle for Rhodesia' (Casemate 2015). After a childhood on a farm in the Rhodesian bush, Andre Scheepers joined the Rhodesian Light Infantry commandos in followed by the SAS in 1974. In the thick of the action during the Rhodesian Bush War he was wounded on 12 occasions. Turning down an opportunity to go into the British SAS, he elected instead to join a seminary and later became a priest. A true leader, beloved by his men, his calmness in extreme danger coupled with his ability to think his way out of tight corners made him the quintessential SAS officer.

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