7 Independent Company (Rhodesia)

7 Independent Company
Active	November 1977 – May 1978
Disbanded	May 1978
Country	Various French-speaking nations
Allegiance	Rhodesia
Branch	Rhodesian Army
Type	Infantry
Size	Company
Part of	1st Battalion, the Rhodesia Regiment
Garrison/HQ	Cranborne Barracks, Salisbury
Colours	French tricolour
Engagements	Rhodesian Bush War
Commanders
Officers commanding	Major Roland de l'Assomption Major Mario La Viola

7 Independent Company (7 Indep Coy; French: 7ème Compagnie indépendante) was a short-lived company of francophone volunteers in the Rhodesian Army during the Rhodesian Bush War. Numbering about 200 men at its peak, it was unique in the history of the Rhodesian Army as an exclusively expatriate unit. It existed between November 1977 and May 1978 as a company in the 1st Battalion, the Rhodesia Regiment, and served two counter-insurgency tours on Operation Hurricane in north-eastern Rhodesia (today Zimbabwe).

During the Bush War, the Rhodesian Army augmented its ranks with foreign volunteers, who were accepted into regular regiments with the same pay and conditions of service as locals. Most foreign recruits enlisted in the Rhodesian Light Infantry (RLI), which launched an overseas recruitment programme in 1974, but required successful applicants to speak good English. The Army attempted to alleviate the strain on its troops during late 1977 by recruiting French-speakers as well, and formed a designated company in the Rhodesia Regiment for them. The regiment already had six independent companies, so the francophone unit became 7 Independent Company.

The company's men, a mixture of former French paratroopers, ex-Foreign Legionnaires and young adventurers, had trouble from the start integrating with the Rhodesian forces, and became unsettled by the respective ranks they were given in the Rhodesian Army. In an attempt to raise their morale and create a strong esprit de corps, the Army issued them beret insignias backed with the French tricolour and allowed them to raise the flag of France alongside that of Rhodesia each morning. Apparently under the impression that they had signed up as highly paid mercenaries, many of the French troopers returned home after their first bush trip, unhappy to have received no more money than a regular Rhodesian soldier.

On operations their performance was generally below par, but the Frenchmen were involved in some successful actions during February and early March 1978. Their oppressive treatment of the black villagers they encountered made them very unpopular in the operational area. The Rhodesians quickly deemed the experiment a failure and following a series of disasters for the company during the latter part of its second tour, including two friendly fire incidents and several fatalities, it was disbanded in May 1978. Forces led by one of its members, Bob Denard, later that month executed a coup d'état in the Comoros with French, Rhodesian and South African governmental support.