World Orders and Decorations
‘The closer I got to the store the more confident I became that the road had not been mined. Suddenly, my head felt like it was going to burst. I screamed in pain as I tried to cover my ears with my hands, my chest felt as if a great weight had been placed on it, as the force of the blast sucked all the oxygen from my lungs and threatened to rupture my eardrums.
As I lay there in the mud with pieces of metal, rubber and rocks falling around me, all I could think of was my weapon.’ (Ibid) During one Fire Force deployment, aged 19, Balaam led his patrol into contact with a Terrorist group entrenched in their camp:
‘Walking over to where the terrorist bodies were lying, I could not help but notice the smell. It was a smell I would never forget. The combination of unwashed bodies, drying blood, wood smoke and body fluids, all baking in the hot sun, put out a smell that was sweet and nauseating, very similar to the smell around abattoirs.
Taking a closer look at the bodies, I noticed that the faces were of youngsters similar in age to mine: nineteen. I wondered what promises had been made to them when they were convinced to join the ranks of ZANLA. In the distance, I could hear the beat of the approaching helicopter coming to remove the bodies and take the trooper wounded by the mortar bomb back to base for further treatment.’ (Ibid)
Selous Scouts’ selection - a rendezvous with a rotten baboon After a number of successful contacts Balaam volunteered for the Selous Scouts’ selection in 1975:
‘The Selous Scouts’ selection was run in an extremely isolated area on the shores of Lake Kariba... The Kariba climate is extreme, with temperatures reaching the high forties in summer and barely less in winter. The array of biting, stinging insects is mind-boggling, never mind the lions, hippos, leopards, crocodiles and elephants that occupy the area. Throw in several instructors with unlimited power and you have a selection course designed in hell....
The first phase of our selection finally came to an end after what seemed to be a lifetime, and we were presented with the first food we had seen for over a week: a rotten baboon. The smell was beyond belief. It had been shot the previous week and hung from a tree in the hot sun. Now as it lay on the hot, dry ground in front of us, with liquid running out of its eyes and mouth, it appeared to move as the millions of maggots went about their business. The skin was expanding and contracting as the maggots moved from one place to the next, which gave the impression the baboon was alive.’ (Ibid)
Pseudo-operator
Having successfully completed selection (Parachute Number 041) and trained in pseudo-warfare, Balaam was deployed with the Selous Scouts along the Mozambique border. On one occasion:
‘There were four of us in the group, each dressed in Frelimo uniform, blackened up and carrying our normal AK-47s... Our task was to attack the Frelimo base situated on the Ruya River, about ten to twelve kilometres into Mozambique’s Tete Province... the base was up and running and the crossing of ZANLA terrorist groups into Rhodesia had started up again. The aim of our little attack was to remind Frelimo of what happened last time when they had continued to assist Rhodesian terrorists, even though they had been warned not to do so.’ (Ibid)
Balaam spent several days reconnoitring the base, and planning the course of his attack. Having decided upon the plan:
‘I was walking up front and to say I was nervous would be the understatement of the decade. It was broad daylight, I was in Mozambique and heading for a large Frelimo base that I intended to attack with a 60mm mortar, ably assisted by my three comrades. I was shit scared, to say the least. My body was so tense that my legs would not bend at the knees. I walked as if I had a carrot up my arse... My hands gripped my AK-47 so tightly they throbbed. My eyes darted from one clump of bush to the next... We had already passed groups of locals working in the fields; they waved and we waved back. Dressed as we were in Frelimo uniform, we were accepted as the real deal... (Ibid)
Balaam managed to manoeuvre his men into position and carry out the mortar attack. Results were successful at first, before his mortar fired into a nearby tree covering him and his men with light shrapnel wounds. The Frelimo then turned their own, larger calibre, mortar on the Selous Scouts forcing Balaam into a hasty retreat. He suffered further shrapnel wounds to the legs during the withdrawal.
Early in 1976 Balaam was deployed in Operation Thrasher in the Eastern Highlands area. Amongst other employment, he and his ‘gang’ were engaged on a ‘snatch’ mission deep behind enemy lines. Disguised as freedom fighters wanting to cross into Rhodesia, the group successfully located the target, however he died whilst they were trying to subdue him. In June of the same year Balaam was once again engaged on another ‘snatch’ mission in Mozambique. This one was to act as a precursor for the planned attacks on Mapai and Chicualacuala.
Attack on Mapai
Prior to the actual raid on Mapai (a ZANLA ammunition depot) in June 1976, a reconnaissance team was sent into Malvernia, Mozambique with the aim of capturing a member of either Frelimo or ZANLA. The team, which included Balaam, was led by the Selous Scout legend Sergeant-Major Jannie Nel. A ZANLA liaison officer was captured, however, he managed to escape enroute back to the border. The plan had been to garner intelligence regarding the transit camp at Chicualacuala. Thwarted:
‘Several nights later we were back on the same road where the failed snatch had taken place, only this time we were heading deeper into Mozambique, not trying to get out. Our target was the small town of Mapai that was being used by Rhodesian freedom fighters, ZANLA, as a transit, resupply and storage depot. Situated about a hundred kilometres, as the crow flies, from the border with Rhodesia...
Our armed column consisted of six Unimogs, the first one being a Pig, a Unimog converted to an armoured personnel carrier. I was travelling in the last Unimog with a section of two 60mm mortars and all the petrol bombs that Pete Mac and I had made. A lot of care, attention and time had been put in to make the vehicles look exactly the same as those used by Frelimo, right down to the number plates. The same amount of care taken to make the vehicles look authentic was also put in to make ourselves, the raiding party, appear as Frelimo-like as possible.
We had crossed into Mozambique earlier that evening and, using a series of cut lines, had joined up with the main road-rail link between Malvernia and Maputo, just before Mapai. The idea was that we would hole up just short of Mapai and attack at first light the next morning.... With me on this venture were some of the finest fighting men in the world: Jannie Nel, Dale Collett, Pete Mac, Tim Bax, to name but a few....
At first light we arrived at Mapai... Our vehicle came to a stop. With a croaking voice, I ordered the mortars into action. Within a matter of seconds, the crews had the mortars set up, ready to fire. The task given to me and the mortar crews was to inflict as much damage as possible on the retreating enemy once the attack started.’ (Ibid)
Expecting to be opened fire on immediately, the Rhodesians were surprised to find the trenches and defences seemingly deserted. Balaam started, with the rest of the force, to destroy the depot with petrol bombs. It was a trap, however, leading to the death of Balaam’s friend - Jannie Nel, and ‘two wounded - one paralysed and the other’s legs attached to his body by a few bits of skin and the odd muscle.’ (Ibid)
An air-strike was eventually authorised and the terrorist force was neutralised. The Selous Scouts were rushed back to the border, and Chicualacuala was left untouched. After the disaster at Mapai, the Selous Scouts were thrust straight back in to the action with the Nyadzonya raid.
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