Atlas of Battles

campaign, Cold War

Operation Miracle

Operation Miracle was a campaign fought in 1979 at Chimoio, in what is now Mozambique. Its exact site is not recorded; the atlas places it at Chimoio. It was part of the Rhodesian Bush War, which ran from 1964 to 1979. The recorded result: Rhodesian Victory.

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Fought1979
WhereChimoio, Mozambique19.117S, 33.450E, placed at the location, approximate
OutcomeRhodesian Victory
BelligerentsZimbabwe RhodesiaagainstZANLA; 22px|border FRELIMO
Part ofRhodesian Bush War1964 to 1979

Where it sits in the Rhodesian Bush War

Battle of Sinoia, 1966Operation Yodel, 1966Operation Flotilla, 1968Operation Griffin, 1968Operation Excess (Rhodesia), 1968Operation Eland, 1976Battle of Hill 31, 1976Operation Dingo, 1977Operation Snoopy, 1978Operation Uric, 1979Operation Miracle, 197919661979Operation Miracle, 1979
12 placed engagements of the Rhodesian Bush War in time order; taller ticks are more widely documented. Each tick is a link.

Record

Date1979 (year precision)
PlaceChimoio, Mozambique
19.117S, 33.450E
KindCampaign, Cold War
Strength100 Selous Scouts; 100 RLI; 6 Eland Mk 6 Armoured cars; 20 Unimogs; 1 (Pig) Armoured Command car; 4 Canberras; 4 Hawker Hunters; 4 Alouette III (1 K-Car) (3 G-Cars); several Impala (ZANLA claims)6,000; 4 tanks (T-55s)
Casualties and losses8 killed; 3 wounded; 1 Canberra and 1 Hawker Hunter shot down; 1 Alouette III crashedZANLA: more than 1000; Frelimo: 1 tank destroyed
Commanders
  • Peter Walls
  • Ronald Reid-Daly
  • Norman Walsh
  • Solomon Mujuru
  • Paradzai Zimondi
  • Josiah Tungamirai
Operation MiracleOperation MiracleOperation DingoOperation ElandOperation ElandBeiraMutareDondo100 km19.117S, 33.450E
Placed at Chimoio; the exact site is not recorded. with the nearest other engagements in the atlas. Present-day coastlines, rivers and borders; towns from Natural Earth.

Nearest engagements

In the same war

Elsewhere in 1979

Operation Miracle is one of 4,429 engagements of the 20th century in the atlas and one of 24 in present-day Mozambique.

Sources

Identity, coordinates, dates and the war from Wikidata Q16971210, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Operation Miracle (Rhodesia), revision 1370693821, read 2026-11-15, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; the article's text is not reproduced here. Present-day country and state from Natural Earth. Dates before 1582 follow the Julian calendar as recorded.