Index
Azanian Rhino Heavy Tank
Rhino Family
Rhino Export Customers
Rhino Varients
Rhino Weapon Systems
Rhino Unit Organisation
Notable Rhino Units
Notable Rhino Crew Members

The Rhino is a somewhat ageing Azanian heavy ground tank that, with the Kafer war, has finally found a chance to win its spurs in combat in the twilight of its career. Unlike many other heavy tank users, who simply wanted something to make the ground shake during military parades, when it came time to replace their old Olifants in the late 2250s the Azanian Armoured Corps carried out a careful study of what exactly a heavy ground tank could, would and should be used for before ever setting stylus to scrawl-pad on a set of requirements. Their conclusions were startling, calling into question whether Azania even needed a heavy ground tank.

Modern mechanised warfare, the study concluded, was now reaching speeds and levels of mobility such that the concept of a distinct battle area, especially one with a definite line between the two participant forces, no matter how confused, was no longer strictly applicable. Instead the battlespace should be considered as a set of strategic and tactical nodes, which could be anything from a communications link to a convoy to the bridge they both happened to pass over at point X, whose strategic value would vary independently for each side on a real-time basis. Victory would go not to the side that held the most ground, but to the side which maximised its nodal values while forcing the enemy’s nodal-value to the lowest levels possible.

Inevitably this Nodal Value Theory was derided as handing victory to the mini-maxers by many traditionalists, but more thoughtful observers were willing to consider it as a new variation on Effects-Based Warfare, Positional Gravity and other related strategies that had come and gone from favour over the years. Whether or not it was accepted abroad was irrelevant to the AAC, it was their theory and the problem was it said their offensive tactical assets had to be able to shift between nodes as rapidly as possible, something ground tanks just couldn’t match hover tanks for over the long distances of the Azanian Veldt. That might have been enough to damn the AAC heavy tank units to disbandment, but the AAC team had taken the analysis to a further level. The heavy tank was less than optimal for offensive action in open country, they concluded, but it was particularly useful for defensive action around fixed nodes, such as urban centres, or for deliberate offensive action against fixed nodes, particularly ones in close terrain, with urban centres again being the focus. What was needed, they concluded, was a heavy tank built to be a bull in a china shop, or, this being Azania, a Rhino in a china shop.

INDEX

The Azanians started with the crew facilities and worked outwards, building the vehicle around the people who would fight it. Driver, Gunner and Commander were seated across the hull, the central position displaced forwards to allow the fourth crew-member, the second gunner, to be seated behind it and facing to the rear. Standard practise puts the driver in the middle, the gunner on the left and the commander on the right, but any of the four workstations can be used in any role. The crew bay is surrounded in an inner armoured cell heavier than that found on some HIFVs. Forward of the crew-bay was the engine bay, housing two separate MHD turbines to give a considerable degree of redundancy, while hydrogen tankage was stored between crew-bay and the outer armour array. The running gear was largely conventional, independently driven road-wheels powered through hub-motors running off the multiply redundant power-bus. Unlike the French and Manchurians the Azanians saw no need to make the Rhino articulated and any deleterious effects on the vehicle’s mobility (the crews have few complaints) was more than made up for by the considerably cheaper and more reliable chassis that resulted. Anticipating operations in extensive rubble along with a potential need to dig vehicle hides during defensive operations, the Azanians equipped the Rhino (and all other members of the family) with a retractable dozer blade mounted under the nose of the vehicle. Around everything the Azanians wrapped an armour package that, if not innovative, was at least the equivalent of that mounted on the CC-17, which set the standard at that time.

The weapons package saw the Azanian’s most innovative thinking. For defensive operations on the edge of urban areas the Rhino needed long range anti-armour capability, for offensive operations in the middle of such areas it needed a short-ranged demolition gun, for both it would need strong point-defence systems and for the inner urban area it would need extremely good close-defence armaments to stop it being swarmed by infantry. Long-range anti-armour capability demanded both anti-vehicle missiles and a medium calibre projectile weapon, short range demolition gun work demanded a large bore projectile weapon. The Azanians combined both in a single weapon by producing the largest calibre direct fire mass-driver that had been seen to date. For close-range work the 180mm weapon could use shells from the Azanian’s standard 175mm binary howitzer converted with the driving rings needed by a mass driver, for long distance work the 180mm weapon could fire an 80mm sub-calibre penetrator wrapped in the kind of sabot more normally seen in a conventional gun and the hull additionally mounted six vertical launch cells for Knobkerrie AVMs. The 180mm and its auto-loader went in a remote turret mounted towards the rear of the Rhino hull with the main ammunition supply mounted immediately below. For lighter, faster targets the Rhino was provided with a second remote turret mounted atop the main turret and mounting a 50mm MDC and a coaxial 9mm HMG. Both the 50mm and the 9mm have their ammunition supply entirely within the upper turret to avoid the complications of feeding through the lower turret. The 50mm’s ammunition ‘tank’ is an intelligent auto-loader able to supply any round held in any order, it incorporates blow-out panels to minimise damage in the event of a penetrating hit. Each turret moves completely independently of the other, the vehicle control system taking care of concerns such as making sure the barrels don't clash if the 180mm is elevated and the 50mm needs to revolve past it. For point and close defence the Azanians decided to again combine the requirements in a single weapon, but also to go for overkill, with the result that the Rhino mounts no less than four Sjambok HMG-based point defence systems (one on each corner of the hull just inboard of the tracks).

For some street-fighting tasks not even the 180mm was adequate and the AAC took over a 240mm gauss gun-mortar project that the Azanian Corps of Artillery had been toying with for several years. The new weapon was too large to fit in the Rhino’s turret mounting and the Azanians completely rejigged the Rhino from front-engined to rear-engined with the gun in a barbette mounting in the nose, shrouded in a high-tech version of the saukopf mantlet used on German assault guns of the mid-20^th Century. For self-defence the upper remote turret was mated directly with the hull, retaining the 50mm MDC and 9mm binary MG. The 240mm’s ammunition, initially solely a two-stage anti-fortification round consisting of a shaped-charge breaching charge and a follow-on blast-frag round, but later supplemented by thermobaric and ‘special purpose’ (i.e. chemical or nuclear) rounds, was stored in automated feeds along the sides of the Rhino, capable of being reloaded under armour through an access port in the rear of the vehicle. The crew retained their central position in the hull, though in markedly more cramped facilities. Initially developed as the Mod 2 variant of the Rhino, the assault gun was renamed the White Rhino before entry into service.

Heavy tanks and assault guns may be able to break into enemy positions, but to secure them requires infantry delivered right to the point of contact, and in street-fighting that meant they either operated on foot, taking advantage of every last scrap of cover, or under very heavy armour. The Azanians therefore set about developing the Hippo infantry carrier from the Rhino. Unlike the White Rhino the Hippo retained the front-engined layout, but again dispensed with the main turret, mounting the 50mm turret directly atop the hull. The space freed by the elimination of the 180mm’s ammunition supply and autoloader and of the Knobkerrie cells was used to provide a cramped bay for up to two eight-man infantry squads.

The Rhino family was rounded-out by the Black Rhino Logistics Vehicle. Initially intended to function solely as a ammunition resupply vehicle for the White Rhino, the Black Rhino was modified to a multi-role configuration allowing it to function as ammunition resupply vehicle, combat engineering tractor or recovery vehicle as circumstances required. A vehicle launched-assault bridge was developed for the Black Rhino but not fielded, restricting gap-crossing equipment to pipe fascines, of which up to three may be carried (though carriage of more than one immobilises the turret and blocks the PDS systems above 30 degrees of elevation). Based very closely on the design of the White Rhino, the Black Rhino replaces the gun-mortar with an Ammunition Delivery System, which is essentially an armoured, extensible conveyor capable of feeding rounds from the Black Rhino directly into the White Rhino’s autoloader. The ADS, and particularly its docking procedure, inevitably draws phallic innuendo, and the ADS is usually referred to as ‘the horn’ by Rhino crewmembers. The autoloader of the standard Rhino was modified during the Mod 3 upgrade programme to also be compatible with the ADS. The Black Rhino itself may be restocked through the ADS, which is a notably laborious process, but the preferred mechanism is to load palletised ammunition through the large roof hatch using the Rhino’s own crane.

Upgrades since entry into service have seen the Rhino fitted with a replacement 50mm, the plasma-gun based Sjambok 2 and a slightly improved version of the GT53. Almost the entire vectronics and sensor suite has been replaced along the way and the armour suite has been upgraded with new materials. The AAC’s current Rhino fleet is about 80% Rhino Mod 3 and 20% Rhino Mod 4 with Rhino Mod 1 retained only in the colonial Independent Heavy Tank Platoons. The upgrade programme to Rhino Mod 4 is expected to be complete by 2307. 5^th Heavy Assault Battalion on the French Arm is entirely equipped with Rhino Mod 4. Basic Rhino Mod 1s remain relatively common with export customers although the standard configuration offered on the market has been the Mod 3 for the better part of a decade now. Upgrades to the Hippo, Black and White Rhinos have been slower in coming, but the Mod 2 programme to fit them with the GT70 turret, Sjambok 2 and some systems and sensor upgrades is expected to get underway in the first quarter of 2304.

INDEX

Rhino export sales have been slow and moderately profitable rather than spectacular. Most sales have been on the African continent, with the Azanian client states of Angola and Zimbabwe first to take limited numbers, followed by more extensive sales to first Tanzania and then Kenya (during the Ethiopian problems of the 2270s). The largest single sale has been to the UAR, which purchased enough vehicles for a complete brigade in 2273 and came back for a second set in 2285. Sales outside of Africa have been limited, Bolivia bought a battalion in 2281, Arabia 100 vehicles in 2288, the survivors of 50 vehicles sold to Thailand in a rushed transfer in 2267 now serve in the Indochinese army. Limited sales (company level or less) have been made to Bulgaria, Zambia, Somalia and several of the Indian states. Most clients bought Rhinos only, with only the UAR buying the full family, while Arabia bought a 50:50 mix of Rhinos and White Rhinos. Heavily urbanised Azerbiajan broke the mould by buying Hippos only, a move echoed by Nigeria, which is the most recent buyer, coming back for a second batch of 50 in 2301.

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The Rhino Mod 4 is the latest refit of the Rhino, in this instance focussing on the close defence system left untouched in the Mod 1 to Mod 3 conversions and replacing the Sjambok with the Sjambok 2. To further boost defensive firepower the Rhino’s armour is fitted with mountings for up to 6 Askari directional mines along each side and 2 each at front and rear. In addition the GT53 180mm is upgraded to the GT 53 Mod 1 with an increase in barrel length to 45 calibres giving a higher muzzle velocity. The coaxial R62 9mm binary MG is replaced with the R90 gauss MG to standardise ammunition supply with the Sjamboks.

The Mod 3 version of the Rhino upgrades the weapon package with the new GT70 50mm MDC and improved fire control and sensor systems. The GT 53 is retained unchanged but the autoloader is modified with a port in the rear-hull compatible with the Black Rhino’s Ammunition Delivery System. Armour is upgraded to CC-21 equivalent levels.

The original model of Rhino, the Mod 1 is obsolescent, but the most common model encountered. Few remain in Azanian service, but most export sales remain in this configuration. The UAR is known to be in discussion with the Azanians over a Mod 1 to Mod 4 upgrade package for their two Rhino brigades, this reflects the largest single group of Mod 1s remaining and may encourage some of the other users to piggy-back their own upgrades on the UAR order. For those who do not the long term future of their Rhinos is doubtful as wear and tear begins to combine with obsolescence.

The Black Rhino is the Jack of All Trades of the family, delivering ammunition, clearing obstacles, and recovering disabled Rhinos.

Part of a long tradition of tank to assault infantry carrier conversions that goes all the way back to the British Army’s Mark V* of 1917, the Hippo has the armour to deliver infantry on target under volumes of fire that would destroy any hover-APC.

INDEX

The GT55 was originally an Azanian Artillery Corps project intended as a possible alternate armament for their next-generation Wildcat SPG, however due to its inherently short range it was never the favoured armament and the whole Wildcat programme was placed in jeopardy when the 175mm Binary howitzer intended as the primary armament of the design failed to perform reliably (or often at all). In an unusual example of inter-corps cooperation the Azanian Armoured Corps adopted the GT55 project for the assault gun variant of the Rhino while the Artillery borrowed the Armoured Corps 180mm GT53 design as a basis for transforming the Wildcat into a Gauss Howitzer armed design.

In the Rhino installation the GT55 has a 15 calibre barrel and is restricted to 30 degrees elevation, limiting the indirect fire performance. The autoloader feeds from two 14 round ammunition feeds along the sides of the vehicle, but also has two single round slots intended to hold special purpose rounds. Azanian practise is to load one feed entirely with Anti-Fortification rounds, the other with alternating Anti-Fortification and Thermobaric rounds and to use the special purpose slots for sub-calibre 180mm Cargo Shells.

Anti-Fortification First Stage	Direct Fire Only	EP = 65 Tamped
Anti-Fortification Second Stage	Direct Fire Only	EP = 40
Thermobaric (TB)	Direct or Indirect Fire	Detonation Radius: 125, Concussion Value: 40

The 180mm GT53 took direct-fire MDCs to a whole new level when it first appeared in the late 2250s, however its anti-vehicle performance is now little better than that of the 120mm Type 8 MDC on the Manchurian Type 27 heavy tank. On the other hand the GT53 retains a substantially better performance than the Manchurian weapon (or the pulse laser on the CC-21) in the anti-structure and indirect-fire modes due to its use of what is effectively a conventional 175mm artillery shell. Indirect fire performance is limited by the low elevation of the weapon and is considerably less than that of what is effectively the same weapon fitted to a dedicated artillery mounting on the Wildcat SPG.

The autoloader in the Rhino heavy tank is able to select any round from amongst those carried, allowing the loadout to be varied in accordance with the mission. The original weapon had a 40-calibre gun tube, in the reworked Mod 1 the tube has been lengthened to 45 calibres to improve the anti-armour performance while retaining the existing mechanism.

80/180mm APDSFS (GT53)	Direct Fire Only	DP = Short: 120, Medium: 100, Long: 80, Extreme: 60
80/180mm APDSFS (GT53 Mod 1)	Direct Fire Only	DP = Short: 135, Medium: 110, Long: 85, Extreme: 65
High Explosive (HE)	Direct or Indirect Fire	EP = 60
High Explosive Anti-Tank (HEAT)	Direct Fire Only	EP = 60 Tamped
White Phosphorous/Smoke (WP-SMK)	Direct or Indirect Fire	Burst Radius = 30m, Smoke 30*200
Cargo: Anti-Vehicle	Indirect Fire Only	12 * Active Homing Submunitions, Homing Value 12, EP = 7 Tamped Attack Radius 500m
Cargo: Mixed	Indirect Fire Only	Burst Radius = 150m, DP 4, 3 * Active Homing Submunitions, Homing Value 12, EP = 7 Tamped, Attack Radius 500m
Cargo: WASP	Indirect Fire Only	Burst Radius = 250m, DP 4
Thermobaric (TB)	Direct or Indirect Fire	Burst Radius: 75, Concussion Value: 25

The GT70 MDC is an indigenous Azanian weapon system (intended as a replacement for the long serving GT58), but in a successful example of cooperative development uses the same ammunition as the British L88A1 51mm MDC which was developed over a similar timescale. The sole difference in the two ammunition series is that the Azanian produced rounds use a slightly narrower driver ring. In practice this means that British vehicles can use Azanian ammunition with about a 10% reduction in effective range, but that Azanian vehicles cannot use British ammunition. So far this has proved no more than a minor irritant. As a contingency measure both nations have qualified each other’s ammunition plants to produce both variants of ammunition and in fact Azanian units on Joi are being supplied from a British plant in New Cornwall. In comparison to the L88A1 the GT70 is slightly lighter and has a slightly less capable fire control computer, but has negligible difference in ballistic performance. Although capable of dual-feed operation, on the Rhino series vehicles the GT70 is fed from a single 150 round tank, which incorporates an intelligent feed mechanism capable of selecting any round in the system.

Armoured Piercing Secondary Effect (APSE)	DP = Short: 50, Medium: 45, Long: 37, Extreme: 25
High Explosive (HE)	EP = 18
White Phosphorous/Smoke (WP-SMK)	Burst Radius = 15m, Smoke 15*75
High Explosive Anti-Tank (HEAT)	EP = 7 Tamped
Thermobaric (TB)	Detonation Radius: 25, Concussion Value: 8

50mm GT58 Mass Driver Cannon

Originally developed for the Jackal light hovertank, the GT 58 was a solidly performing heavy MDAC in its day, but is now aging and slowly being replaced as the systems using it go out of service or are updated with the more modern GT 70. The gun is a single feed design, the 150 round ammunition tank common to both the Jackal and the Rhino being capable of selecting and feeding any round carried, obviating the need for the complications of a multiple feed design.

Armoured Piercing Secondary Effect (APSE)	DP = Short: 40, Medium: 30, Long: 25, Extreme: 20
High Explosive (HE)	EP = 15
White Phosphorous/Smoke (WP-SMK)	Burst Radius = 10m, Smoke 10*75
High Explosive Anti-Tank (HEAT)	EP = 6 Tamped
Thermobaric (TB)	Detonation Radius: 20, Concussion Value: 8

9mm R90 Gauss HMG

South Africa’s standard gauss HMG, the R90 has proven very reliable in service and there are absolutely no concerns about the performance of its 9mm HEAP flechette, a derivative of the heavy 9mm Binary round used by its R62 predecessor. A field tripod is available, but rarely used because of the weight of the weapon, the vast majority of R90s being vehicle mounted. On the Rhino Mod 4 the R90 feeds from a turret mounted 1000 round cassette and is powered from the vehicle’s power system

A short-barrelled version of the R90, the Mod 1 forms the armament of the Sjambok 2A variant PDS.

A rather elderly binary HMG, the R62 is reliable, but otherwise unspectacular. The basic gun is the coaxial vehicle mounted version, but an infantry version (Mod 1) and a short-barrelled weapon (Mod 2) for use in the Sjambok PDS also exist. In vehicle use the 500 round integrated cassette is standard, but the gun may also use the 150 round cassette of the infantry version. The weapon fires a notably long and heavy round with considerable damage potential.

A short-barrelled version of the R62, the R62 Mod 2 (Mod 1 is the man-portable variant still in use with Azanian infantry units) forms the armament of the Sjambok PDS. The weapon feeds from an internal 1000 round drum within the Sjambok mounting.

The launcher for obscuration and countermeasures cartridges on the Sjambok, the R65 uses the mechanism of the R59 combat shotgun modified for linkless feed and firing through a very short barrel. The weapon feeds from an internal magazine on the Sjambok mounting

The RP5 is the plasma gun armament of the Sjambok 2B variant PDS. The weapon uses the 10x70mm plaser cell of the German A-9 Sturmgewehr in an action closely related to that used in Azania’s new RP4 Plasma assault rifle.

The Knobkerrie is a heavy, much-loved (or loathed by those condemned to carry the man-portable version) but now somewhat ancient AVM system. The system is built to ESA standards and will therefore interface with most fire-control and ISS systems without difficulty. The Knobkerrie 2 upgrade fits the basic Knobkerrie with the guidance electronics of the German Luchs AVM, improving the anti-countermeasures performance of the original missile considerably. Azania is funding an upgrade programme for its large inventory, however the vast majority of missiles are still at the basic standard and the upgrade is not regarded as completely successful as the Luchs guidance suite costs more than the original missile and the relatively ungainly Knobkerrie is unable to exploit the full capabilities of the system.

A fairly standard MG-based point defence system, the Sjambok is perhaps most notable for its multiple installation on the Rhino. The system mounts a short-barreled variant of the R62 binary HMG to ensure clearance between the rear Sjambok positions and the turret. For passive defence an 18mm R65 automatic launcher is mounted coaxially. In theory this could fire standard shotgun shells, but it is exclusively intended as launcher for obscuration and decoy cartridges. As the R65 does not have a dual-feed capability it is standard practise in the Azanian army to load one Sjambok per side with decoy rounds and the other with obscuration rounds. Other nations vary in their practise, the UAR pattern loads with a 2:1 mix of obscuration to decoy rounds and Somalia and some of the other more cash-strapped users rely solely on obscuration rounds.

Sjambok is capable of both anti-missile and anti-personnel roles, with both modes capable of fully automated operation. IFF functionality is incorporated, but is not 100% effective against ground targets. Active gunner control is preferred where there are friendly troops on the ground and when this is operating two weapons may be simultaneously slaved to the gunner’s targeting system.

The Sjambok 2 upgrades the Sjambok with upgraded sensors and a new weapon suite creating two variants, the 2A with the R90 Mod 1 Gauss HMG and the 2B with the RP5 plasma gun. The 18mm launcher is retained unchanged. Standard fitting on the Rhino Mod 4 is 2As at Right Front and Left Rear, 2Bs at Left Front and Right Rear, although any combination would be theoretically possible. Sjambok 2 is a drop-in replacement for Sjambok.

Named for the Askari wa Kifaru (‘the Rhino’s Guard’) the Swahili term for the tick-eating Oxpecker bird found living cooperatively with many of Azania’s large ungulates, the Askari serves both as a conventional directional mine and as a vehicle mounted close-defence weapon. It may be command-detonated, or fused by optronic, pressure or trip-wire detonators. Compared to similar weapons, such as the British Lochaber, the Askari throws more, but lighter fragments, as heavy personnel armour is unusual on the African Veldt.

Type: Anti-personnel Mine

Nation: Azania

Weight: 0.35kg

Endurance: 7 days operations

Range: 0m

DP Value: Burst Radius = 10m, DPV per fragment = 0.5/ 0.3

Notes:

100%/50% chance of 4D6 hits in direction of detonation (60 degree arc) in

burst/twice burst radius. 30%/10% in other directions

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Independent Heavy Tank Companies are Army level assets designed to plug into any Azanian unit of battalion strength or higher which finds itself assigned a mission requiring a heavier punch or more staying power than can be provided by hovertank units. The unit consists of a command platoon with 2 Rhinos and 2 Ardvark command vehicles, two four Rhino tank platoons and a four Hippo carrier platoon. Logistics support is provided by a Technical Service platoon with 2 Aardvark-based workshop vehicles and 4 Kudu hover logistics vehicles for resupply. The company does not include the infantry dismounts for the Hippos, who must be provided by the unit to which the company is attached, as must any indirect fire support.

Heavy Assault Battalions are the hammer of Azanian corps level formations, a permanent heavy assault unit reporting directly to the corps commander and able to reinforce any subordinate division in the attack or the defence. The overstrength battalion is led by a Command Company with command, medical and other technical support elements mounted largely in variants of the Aardvark protected truck, however the Reconnaissance Platoon has 4 Aardwolf recce vehicles and the battalion commander and 2i/c each have Rhinos available. Two Heavy Tank Companies have a near-identical organisation to the Independent Heavy Tank Companies, but replace the Carrier Platoon with a third Tank Platoon. Two Carrier Companies have Command and Technical Service Platoons identical to the Heavy Tank Company, but three Carrier Platoons replace the Tank Platoons. A single Heavy Assault Gun Company echoes the organisation of the Heavy Tank Company with White Rhinos replacing the Rhinos and Black Rhino Logistics Vehicles replacing the Kudu hover logistics vehicles of the Technical Services Platoon. A Technical Services Company includes a Direct Support and Logistics Platoon equipped with Black Rhino Logistics Vehicles (primarily operating in the combat engineering and recovery roles although also available to resupply Rhinos of the Heavy Tank Companies where the fire is too intense for their integral Kudu logistics vehicles), along with a full spectrum of higher-level logistics and technical support assets mounted on a variety of platforms. The Heavy Assault Battalion generally relies on the Corps and Divisional Artillery Groups for indirect fire support, but under certain circumstances can use the main guns of both Rhinos and White Rhinos for indirect fire support.

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The garrison of each of the Azanian colonies was provided with an Independent Heavy Tank Platoon of 4 semi-obsolete Rhino Mod 1s. Usually regarded by the garrison commanders as far too heavy for the colonial environment and a waste of resources, the Invasion changed that assessment forever. The Independent Rhino Platoon at Okavango on Kimanjano, along with around a battalion worth of mixed regulars, commandos (militia) and civilian volunteers, was destroyed in a day-long battle holding the Ncome river line against a Kafer thrust of approximately brigade strength. The Kafers eventually destroyed the platoon, with only a single crewmember surviving (infantry casualties exceeded 80%), but the delaying action blunted the Kafer thrust for long enough for a considerable part of the populace to evacuate into the hinterland. The battle has drawn inevitable comparison to Thermopylae, the Alamo, Camerone and other doomed defences, but many hold the closest parallel to be 2 Para at Arnhem Bridge.

Azanian Mechanized Divisions do not normally include an integral Heavy Assault Battalion, but for the reconquest of Kimanjano 3^rd Mechanized was considerably reinforced, taking, amongst other units, the 5^th Mechanized Corps’ Heavy Assault Battalion under direct command. 5^th Heavy missed the fierce fighting around the landing zones, its vehicles too heavy to take any kind of priority in the landing queue. However this meant that the battalion was at full strength when the time came for the assault on Fromme itself. During the assault on the French colony’s capital 3^rd Mech was assigned to the Armee de Liberation’s 2e Corps, operating in the open country to the west of the city, while 19e Corps was charged with reducing the urban area. As 5^th Heavy was specifically designed for city assaults the battalion was chopped to 19e Corps for the operation and teamed with the US 173^rd Airborne and 1^st Marine Brigades, giving those lightly-equipped units the heavy cutting edge they needed for the street fighting that lay ahead.

During the initial assault phase of the Battle of Fromme 5^th Heavy was used en masse to secure one of two lodgements within the Kafer defensive perimeter (2e DMC and the Tirailleurs de Kimanjano secured the other), but as the breakthrough expanded individual platoons and sometimes even individual vehicles found themselves supporting American light infantry companies and platoons in localized battles against Kafers who were now thoroughly smart and dug deeply into the rubble. The battle was ultimately successful, but it cost 5^th Heavy nearly 70 per cent of its vehicles (though a number were recovered in repairable condition once the city was secured) and over 50% of its personnel. For the first time a Heavy Assault Battalion had fought the mission it had been designed for, and it had won at a price, though if truth be told not an unexpected one.

The survivors of 5^th Heavy were re-united with 3^rd Mech for the liberation of Okavango, but the Kafer resistance had been gutted around the landing zones and at Fromme and fighting in the Azanian colony was much less intense than the earlier battles. In one of the few notable incidents a White Rhino scored a kill on a Behemoth it caught at close-range during the street-fighting, gutting the Kafer heavy tank with an anti-fortification shell that penetrated the front glacis before disembowelling it through the rear hatch and turret ring.

With the completion of the liberation of Kimanjano, 5^th Heavy has been engaged in rebuilding its strength with battle casualty replacements and new vehicles. It has been declared to the Theatre Reserve as a specialist unit for city fighting, but so far there has been no further call for its particular talents. The battalion is devoting a considerable amount of effort to producing an extensive After Action Report and a critique of the Heavy Assault Battalion concept in the light of actual combat experience.

INDEX

Piet de Witt won the first Star of Azania awarded for service off-Earth when he used his Rhino to draw the focus of battle away from a vulnerable spot on the Ncome River on the outskirts of Okavango during the initial Kafer assault. At the time his Rhino was the sole survivor of the four Rhinos in the Independent Heavy Tank Platoon attached to the Okavango Defence Brigade, it did not survive the battle. Post-battle reconnaissance images taken during Operation Entente appear to show the wreckage of five Deathsleds, a dozen or more tracked IFVs of various models and a single Behemoth in the vicinity of the wrecked Rhino. This ties in well with the testimony of then Corporal Mbandla, the sole survivor of the crew, who attributes the eventual destruction of the Rhino to ‘some sort of air-delivered HVM’. Staff Sergeant de Witt was immediately nominated for the Star of Africa, but the process was stalled until the Liberation of Kimanjano due to the lack of any surviving witnesses of senior rank. With the reconquest Staff Sergeant de Witt’s Rhino was recovered from where it had been destroyed and the intact data from its mission recorder proved sufficient to fast-track the award. There is currently an unseemly squabble as to whether the Rhino should be displayed in Okavango or returned to Earth for display at the Azanian National Military Museum.

Piet de Witt was married with four children, his family lives in Cape Town.

Then Corporal Sissie Mbandla was lead gunner in Piet de Witt’s Rhino during the Battle of the Ncome River Bridge (as the Azanian Army officially refers to the battle) or 2^nd Blood River (as it has passed into legend within the Azanian Armoured Corps). During that single engagement she scored sufficient vehicle kills that she is still the highest scoring AAC gunner of the Kafer War, even after the longer duration combat of the Liberation. Following the eventual and inevitable destruction of their Rhino, Corporal Mbandla was left with severe leg injuries, but was dragged to the Ncome river by Staff Sergeant de Witt, the only other survivor. The two attempted to swim the river in darkness, but Staff Sergeant de Witt was growing steadily weaker from his own injuries and the two became separated. Corporal Mbandla managed to drag herself onto the friendly bank, where she was eventually found and taken to an aid station, Staff Sergeant de Witt was never seen again. At the aid station surgeons amputated Sissie’s left leg and, but for an influx of more critical casualties, might have amputated her right leg as well.

Swept up in the Operation Entente evacuation and dumped in an Alician rehab hospital, where her right leg was salvaged in an epic series of operations, Sissie Mbandla found herself largely forgotten about, but, feeling she had experience that it was vital to pass on, she volunteered her services to the battle school being set up by the Alician Ground Wing’s Northern Greys to bring the other Alician armoured regiments up to speed as they converted to the Montgomery. The Alicians were quick to reject the approach of the one-legged Azanian non-com, but Sissie Mbandla is a persistent woman and they finally allowed her to show what she could do in a simulator, in full expectation that she would embarrass herself and go away. What she could do proved to be little short of artistry and the Alicians were forced to disregard their prejudices and offer her a job.

With the reorganisation of Azanian forces on Alicia as reinforcements came forward Sissie found herself awarded the Medal of Gallantry, promoted to sergeant and assigned as an instructor to the Commonwealth Armoured Battle School. As the Liberation grew closer she attempted to have herself transferred to 5 Heavy Assault Battalion, the Rhino unit attached to the Azanian 3^rd Mechanized Division, but Azanian medics refused to pass her as fit for combat duties as she still limps heavily (due to the injuries to her right leg, rather than her prosthetic left leg). Discussing the situation with her Alician friends an intriguing offer was made, if she were to transfer to the ADF-Ground Wing then she could go to war under Alician colours, no matter which leg she limped with. In fact they would throw in OCS just to sweeten the deal.

The Azanians were quite willing to release the services of a medically unfit NCO who was making a nuisance of herself, the Alicians were very willing to take on a combat veteran with a proven ability to pass on what she knew and Sissie just wanted to kill more Kafers, so the deal went through quickly. Ironically Sissie still missed the Liberation as she was only halfway through OCS when 8^th Brigade shipped out for Beta Canum, however she is now a Troop Commander with A/Northern Greys and is helping bring the entire 4^th Brigade up to speed before they ship out to relieve 8^th Brigade. She has recently passed the Master Tactics course with flying colours (having already qualified as a Master Gunner while instructing at the Armoured Battle School) and is quietly hoping for accelerated promotion to captain.

Sissie Mbandla is a tall woman of predominantly Xhosa descent from the rural Transvaal (though like most Azanians she can lay claim to a little bit of everything in her heritage). Having seen the enemy at closest range and (mostly) survived the experience, little seems to disturb her sense of equanimity. However, she is notably stubborn when she is blocked from what she wants to achieve and is still learning to bite her tongue when opposed by senior officers. Out of uniform she likes loud music and louder colours and has recently been seen in some of Heorot’s more fashionable nightspots in the company of a Major from the Alician Intelligence Corps.

Mdlaka kaMahole comes from a Zulu family with a long history of service in the Azanian Army (his father retired as a Lieutenant General). He entered the army at 18, eschewing Military College to enter as a private soldier. Posted to the Armoured Corps, he rapidly climbed through the NCO ranks, becoming a tank commander and then a Squadron Sergeant Major before being finally convinced to accept a posting to OCS. His first posting post-commissioning was to Lubumbashi on Joi, helping put the local para-military police motorised border patrol units on a more professional footing. He did well on the assignment, gaining a reputation for being able to work comfortably with disparate elements outside of the military and also forming several firm friendships with British officers in the New Cornwall garrison. On return to Azania he rapidly progressed through Troop and Squadron command before several staff jobs, finally claiming his own battalion in 2299. Over the next several years Lt Col kaMahole turned 5^th Heavy Assault Battalion into one of the highest scoring battalions in the Azanian Army’s annual unit readiness assessments. When the time came to pick a Heavy Assault Battalion to reinforce 3^rd Mechanized Division for the Liberation of Kimanjano, Lt Col kaMahole lobbied strongly for the assignment, but 5^th Heavy was already the obvious choice, something only boosted by the reputation he had gained during his time on Joi.

The Liberation campaign began frustratingly, with 5^th Heavy held back in orbit, but the Battle of Fromme brought the battalion all the combat any of them could ever want. Lt Col kaMahole led from the front, being instrumental in stabilising the initial lodgement within the city, for which he was honoured by both his own government and the French. 5^th Heavy took 50% casualties in the battle, a heavy toll by anyone’s standard, but the allied assault emerged triumphant and as Battle Casualty Replacements and replacement vehicles have filtered through to Kimanjano Lt Col kaMahole has been busy driving his men to bring the unit back up to the standard it had reached before being mauled.

Restoring his battalion’s cutting edge hasn’t been the only thing occupying Mdlaka’s time. As the Battle for Frome progressed and 5^th Heavy took increasing casualties he became increasingly frustrated with the performance of the US Marines and Parachute Infantry attached to his unit. It wasn’t that they lacked anything in bravery or professionalism, the problem was that they weren’t trained to operate with his tanks, assault guns and carriers, and when they went to ground under fire or assaulted a strongpoint the vehicles were often left exposed to close-assaults from unexpected directions. This weakness has led him to drive his battalion staff in producing a comprehensive After Action Report, the initial drafts of which advocate the expansion of Heavy Assault Battalions with one or more integral infantry and/or combat walker platoons in every company to provide the close escort his vehicles need.

Mdlaka kaMahole maintains a family home on his family’s estate in the uKhahlamba (Drakensberg) Mountains, he is married with two sons and a daughter, the latter of whom has just been posted to 44 Parachute Brigade as a platoon commander.

INDEX

30/04/06

Copyright 2006, David Gillon