Rhodesian Bush War: The Altena Farm Attack

In the predawn hours of 21 December 1972, a guerrilla unit cut the phone lines to the remote farmhouse. Then they attacked.

by Gatimu Juma

The night was quiet along the northeastern frontier of Rhodesia. Altena Farm, a tobacco property, lay near the Mozambique border, where far-flung farms were connected by dirt roads and telephone lines. In those days, trouble on the farm came from drought or pests rather than armed men moving through the bush. That changed in the overnight hours leading into 21 December 1972...