Looking for a Rhodesian Bush War video game? There's no standalone title - but BUSHWAR lets you play the Bush War right now as a modern military game, built as a free community overhaul mod for Arma Reforger.
For fifteen years, the unrecognised state of Rhodesia fought a counter-insurgency against the guerrilla armies of ZANLA and ZIPRA. Outnumbered and under international sanction, the Rhodesian Security Forces answered with speed, audacity, and some of the most studied small-unit tactics of the twentieth century.
The Conflict
After Rhodesia's Unilateral Declaration of Independence in 1965, nationalist movements ZANU and ZAPU committed their armed wings - ZANLA and ZIPRA - to guerrilla war. Operating from bases in Mozambique and Zambia, insurgent columns crossed into Rhodesia to mine roads, attack farms, and politicise the rural population.
The Rhodesian Security Forces - the Rhodesian Light Infantry, the Rhodesian African Rifles, the SAS, and territorial units - faced a war of infiltration across thousands of kilometres of bush. Manpower was always short. The answer was to make every contact count.
Fireforce
Fireforce was the war's signature innovation: a heliborne quick-reaction force built around Alouette III gunships and troop carriers, often with paratroopers from an ageing Dakota overhead. When observation posts spotted insurgents, the Fireforce launched - K-Car commanding from orbit, G-Cars dropping four-man sticks to sweep and stop. A contact could go from sighting to envelopment in minutes.
The Selous Scouts ran the war's darker, quieter side: pseudo-operations in which turned insurgents and disguised soldiers infiltrated guerrilla networks to fix them for the Fireforce. Their reconnaissance was credited with the majority of insurgent contacts in the war's later years.
In BUSHWAR
BUSHWAR brings the Bush War to Arma Reforger with period-accurate Rhodesian kit, FN FAL rifles, camouflage, and the BUSHWAR x FRM Alouette III - the helicopter featured in Bohemia Interactive's official newsletter. Fly K-Car overwatch, drop sticks from a G-Car, or walk the bushveld as a ZANLA section trying to slip the net.
Operations recreate the rhythm of the war: observation posts, farm defence, cross-border raids, and full Fireforce drills against AI or live opponents.
Frequently Asked
Is there a Rhodesian Bush War video game?
No studio has released a standalone Rhodesian Bush War title, but you can play the war today through BUSHWAR - a free community overhaul mod for Arma Reforger, Bohemia Interactive's current-generation military game on PC and Xbox. It adds period Rhodesian kit, vehicles, maps, and full Fireforce operations.
Can you play as Rhodesia - or the guerrillas?
Both. You can serve in the Rhodesian Security Forces - the Rhodesian Light Infantry, the SAS, and Fireforce heliborne sticks - or take the insurgent side as ZANLA and ZIPRA fighters slipping across the border.
What weapons and vehicles are in it?
Period kit including the FN FAL rifle, Rhodesian camouflage, and the BUSHWAR x FRM Alouette III gunship featured in Bohemia Interactive's official newsletter - flown as K-Car overwatch and G-Car troop carrier in recreated Fireforce drills.
How do I play it - is it free?
BUSHWAR is a free, non-profit community mod. You need a copy of Arma Reforger; the mod and our PvP and PvE servers are free to join. Hop into our Discord to get set up.
No political affiliations. We do not seek to glorify any participants in the conflicts we portray. Historical depiction only, within Arma Reforger.