1 Psychological Operations Unit

Facing what was perceived as dwindling public support for the war, the 1POU was tasked with eliminating rural guerrillas and “terrorists”, purportedly to protect the populace and therefore win their support. Subsequently, the 1POU distributed propaganda (airborne leaflet drops), encouraged enemy defections, and assisted the Central Intelligence Organisation in covertly sabotaging supply lines.

History

In the mid–1970s, rebel forces had largely infiltrated most aspects of rural civilian life. According to Sergeant Nick Daws, formerly of the unit, there was a “belated recognition” that conventional military tactics would not be enough to win the war in its evolved state; instead, civil infiltration and propaganda campaigns would be required.

Following two years of unspecified actions under the provisional names of “Sensor” and “Psyac”, the Rhodesian Army’s psychological branch was finally designated as such on 1 July 1977. Organizationally under the Infantry Branch and headquartered at Old Cranborne Barracks in Salisbury, the new ‘1 Psychological Operations Unit’ was under the command of Captain (later Major) Tony Dalton. The new detachment was given its own printmaking supplies, and began to produce and distribute anti-communist flyers and leaflets.

It has been alleged that near the end of the conflict Rhodesian PsyOp planners used Anthrax to kill and injure civilian farmers’ cattle, before blaming it on ‘contamination’ from diseased guerrillas (who were presumably hiding in the communities). It has been claimed that this was part of a broader campaign “to alienate the local population from the insurgents”. A 2025 article by an American emergency medicine specialist concluded that the Anthrax outbreak was likely the result of natural causes and the disruption caused by the war rather than a bioweapon.