 . Many Rhodesians also resented the apparent lack of sympathy emanating from overseas governments , especially considering the character of the attack and its civilian target .   = = = Memorial service , 8 September 1978 = = =   At a memorial service held on 8 September 1978 for Flight 825 's passengers and crew at Salisbury 's Anglican Cathedral , about 2 @,@ 000 people crowded inside , with another 500 standing outside on the steps and pavement , many listening to the service inside on portable radio sets . Prominent among those present in the cathedral were uniformed Air Rhodesia and South African Airways personnel , as well as Rhodesian Special Air Service soldiers and senior officers from other military units . Smith and several government ministers also attended , including P K van der Byl , the co @-@ Minister of Foreign Affairs .   Dean John de Costa gave a sermon damning what he described as a " deafening silence " from overseas . " Nobody who holds sacred the dignity of human life can be anything but sickened at the events attending the Viscount , " he said . " But are we deafened with the voice of protest from nations who call themselves civilised ? We are not ! Like men in the story of the Good Samaritan , they pass by on the other side ... The ghastliness of this ill @-@ fated flight from Kariba will be burnt upon our memories for years to come . For others , far from our borders , it is an intellectual matter , not one which affects them deeply . Here is the tragedy ! "   = = = Smith – Nkomo talks halted = = =   The talks between Smith and the ZAPU leader that had been progressing so promisingly were immediately halted by Salisbury . Smith himself called Nkomo a " monster " . Cilliers comments that the ending of the Smith – Nkomo talks at this time was " potentially the most serious result of the Viscount massacre " , as the talks had been progressing well before the incident . He surmises that an agreement between the two " at this critical stage " might have helped the transitional Rhodesian government to secure international recognition .   On 10 September , the Prime Minister announced to the nation that certain areas of the country would be placed under a variation of martial law , which he said would be applied in particular regions as and when needed . He declared Rhodesia 's intent to " liquidate the internal workings of those organisations associated with terrorism " , and warned neighbouring countries to prepare for " any defensive strikes we might undertake " against guerrilla bases in their respective territories . He claimed that the war had escalated because Britain and the United States were supporting the Patriotic Front . William Irvine , the co @-@ Minister of Transport , warned the guerrillas that Rhodesia " w [ ould ] not let these innocents go unavenged " .   = = Rhodesia strikes back = =   = = = Operation Snoopy ; Rhodesia hits New Chimoio = = =   Because ZAPU and ZIPRA were based in Zambia , many Rhodesians clamoured for a massive retaliatory strike against terrorist targets in that country , but the first external target hit by the security forces following the Viscount shootdown was the prominent cluster of ZANLA bases around Chimoio in Mozambique . The Rhodesian military had struck these bases extensively in November 1977 during Operation Dingo , destroying much of the ZANLA presence there , but the insurgents had since built a complex called " New Chimoio " , slightly to the east ; the new camps were distributed across a far larger area than the originals . In a combined airborne @-@ ground assault called Operation Snoopy , the Rhodesian Air Force , Rhodesian Light Infantry and Special Air Service wiped out much of New Chimoio on 20 September 1978 . Mozambique sent armour to ZANLA 's aid in the form of nine Soviet @-@ made T @-@ 54 tanks and four Russian BTR @-@ 152 armoured personnel carriers , but the former were routed and one of the latter destroyed by the Rhodesian security forces . According to Rhodesian figures , there were " several hundred " guerrillas killed , while the security forces lost only two soldiers , one of whom was accidentally killed by a friendly air strike .   = = = Operation Gatling ; the " Green Leader " raid = = =   Rhodesia then attacked ZIPRA 's bases in Zambia , in what Group Captain Peter Petter @-@ Bowyer later described as " payback time " for Flight 825 . Operation Gatling , launched on 19 October 1978 , was another joint @-@ force operation between the Air Force and the Army , which contributed Special Air Service and Rhodesian Light Infantry paratroopers . Gatling 's primary target , just 16 kilometres ( 10 miles ) north @-@ east of central Lusaka , was the formerly white @-@ owned Westlands Farm , which had been transformed into ZIPRA
Ġ. ĠMany ĠRhodes ians Ġalso Ġres ented Ġthe Ġapparent Ġlack Ġof Ġsympathy Ġemanating Ġfrom Ġoverseas Ġgovernments Ġ, Ġespecially Ġconsidering Ġthe Ġcharacter Ġof Ġthe Ġattack Ġand Ġits Ġcivilian Ġtarget Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= ĠMemorial Ġservice Ġ, Ġ8 ĠSeptember Ġ1978 Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠAt Ġa Ġmemorial Ġservice Ġheld Ġon Ġ8 ĠSeptember Ġ1978 Ġfor ĠFlight Ġ8 25 Ġ' s Ġpassengers Ġand Ġcrew Ġat ĠSal isbury Ġ' s ĠAnglic an ĠCathedral Ġ, Ġabout Ġ2 Ġ@ , @ Ġ000 Ġpeople Ġcrowded Ġinside Ġ, Ġwith Ġanother Ġ500 Ġstanding Ġoutside Ġon Ġthe Ġsteps Ġand Ġpavement Ġ, Ġmany Ġlistening Ġto Ġthe Ġservice Ġinside Ġon Ġportable Ġradio Ġsets Ġ. ĠProm inent Ġamong Ġthose Ġpresent Ġin Ġthe Ġcathedral Ġwere Ġuniform ed ĠAir ĠRhodes ia Ġand ĠSouth ĠAfrican ĠAirways Ġpersonnel Ġ, Ġas Ġwell Ġas ĠRhodes ian ĠSpecial ĠAir ĠService Ġsoldiers Ġand Ġsenior Ġofficers Ġfrom Ġother Ġmilitary Ġunits Ġ. ĠSmith Ġand Ġseveral Ġgovernment Ġministers Ġalso Ġattended Ġ, Ġincluding ĠP ĠK Ġvan Ġder ĠB yl Ġ, Ġthe Ġco Ġ@ - @ ĠMinister Ġof ĠForeign ĠAffairs Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠDean ĠJohn Ġde ĠCosta Ġgave Ġa Ġsermon Ġdamning Ġwhat Ġhe Ġdescribed Ġas Ġa Ġ" Ġdeaf ening Ġsilence Ġ" Ġfrom Ġoverseas Ġ. Ġ" ĠNobody Ġwho Ġholds Ġsacred Ġthe Ġdignity Ġof Ġhuman Ġlife Ġcan Ġbe Ġanything Ġbut Ġsick ened Ġat Ġthe Ġevents Ġattending Ġthe ĠV isc ount Ġ, Ġ" Ġhe Ġsaid Ġ. Ġ" ĠBut Ġare Ġwe Ġdeaf ened Ġwith Ġthe Ġvoice Ġof Ġprotest Ġfrom Ġnations Ġwho Ġcall Ġthemselves Ġcivil ised Ġ? ĠWe Ġare Ġnot Ġ! ĠLike Ġmen Ġin Ġthe Ġstory Ġof Ġthe ĠGood ĠSamar itan Ġ, Ġthey Ġpass Ġby Ġon Ġthe Ġother Ġside Ġ... ĠThe Ġgh ast liness Ġof Ġthis Ġill Ġ@ - @ Ġf ated Ġflight Ġfrom ĠKar iba Ġwill Ġbe Ġburnt Ġupon Ġour Ġmemories Ġfor Ġyears Ġto Ġcome Ġ. ĠFor Ġothers Ġ, Ġfar Ġfrom Ġour Ġborders Ġ, Ġit Ġis Ġan Ġintellectual Ġmatter Ġ, Ġnot Ġone Ġwhich Ġaffects Ġthem Ġdeeply Ġ. ĠHere Ġis Ġthe Ġtragedy Ġ! Ġ" Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= ĠSmith ĠâĢĵ ĠN k omo Ġtalks Ġhalted Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠThe Ġtalks Ġbetween ĠSmith Ġand Ġthe ĠZ AP U Ġleader Ġthat Ġhad Ġbeen Ġprogressing Ġso Ġpromising ly Ġwere Ġimmediately Ġhalted Ġby ĠSal isbury Ġ. ĠSmith Ġhimself Ġcalled ĠN k omo Ġa Ġ" Ġmonster Ġ" Ġ. ĠC ill iers Ġcomments Ġthat Ġthe Ġending Ġof Ġthe ĠSmith ĠâĢĵ ĠN k omo Ġtalks Ġat Ġthis Ġtime Ġwas Ġ" Ġpotentially Ġthe Ġmost Ġserious Ġresult Ġof Ġthe ĠV isc ount Ġmassacre Ġ" Ġ, Ġas Ġthe Ġtalks Ġhad Ġbeen Ġprogressing Ġwell Ġbefore Ġthe Ġincident Ġ. ĠHe Ġsur m ises Ġthat Ġan Ġagreement Ġbetween Ġthe Ġtwo Ġ" Ġat Ġthis Ġcritical Ġstage Ġ" Ġmight Ġhave Ġhelped Ġthe Ġtransitional ĠRhodes ian Ġgovernment Ġto Ġsecure Ġinternational Ġrecognition Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠOn Ġ10 ĠSeptember Ġ, Ġthe ĠPrime ĠMinister Ġannounced Ġto Ġthe Ġnation Ġthat Ġcertain Ġareas Ġof Ġthe Ġcountry Ġwould Ġbe Ġplaced Ġunder Ġa Ġvariation Ġof Ġmartial Ġlaw Ġ, Ġwhich Ġhe Ġsaid Ġwould Ġbe Ġapplied Ġin Ġparticular Ġregions Ġas Ġand Ġwhen Ġneeded Ġ. ĠHe Ġdeclared ĠRhodes ia Ġ' s Ġintent Ġto Ġ" Ġliquid ate Ġthe Ġinternal Ġworkings Ġof Ġthose Ġorganisations Ġassociated Ġwith Ġterrorism Ġ" Ġ, Ġand Ġwarned Ġneighbouring Ġcountries Ġto Ġprepare Ġfor Ġ" Ġany Ġdefensive Ġstrikes Ġwe Ġmight Ġundertake Ġ" Ġagainst Ġguerrilla Ġbases Ġin Ġtheir Ġrespective Ġterritories Ġ. ĠHe Ġclaimed Ġthat Ġthe Ġwar Ġhad Ġescalated Ġbecause ĠBritain Ġand Ġthe ĠUnited ĠStates Ġwere Ġsupporting Ġthe ĠPatri otic ĠFront Ġ. ĠWilliam ĠIrvine Ġ, Ġthe Ġco Ġ@ - @ ĠMinister Ġof ĠTransport Ġ, Ġwarned Ġthe Ġgu err illas Ġthat ĠRhodes ia Ġ" Ġw Ġ[ Ġo uld Ġ] Ġnot Ġlet Ġthese Ġinnoc ents Ġgo Ġun aven ged Ġ" Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= ĠRhodes ia Ġstrikes Ġback Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= ĠOperation ĠSno opy Ġ; ĠRhodes ia Ġhits ĠNew ĠCh imo io Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠBecause ĠZ AP U Ġand ĠZIP RA Ġwere Ġbased Ġin ĠZamb ia Ġ, Ġmany ĠRhodes ians Ġclam oured Ġfor Ġa Ġmassive Ġretali atory Ġstrike Ġagainst Ġterrorist Ġtargets Ġin Ġthat Ġcountry Ġ, Ġbut Ġthe Ġfirst Ġexternal Ġtarget Ġhit Ġby Ġthe Ġsecurity Ġforces Ġfollowing Ġthe ĠV isc ount Ġshoot down Ġwas Ġthe Ġprominent Ġcluster Ġof ĠZ AN LA Ġbases Ġaround ĠCh imo io Ġin ĠMoz amb ique Ġ. ĠThe ĠRhodes ian Ġmilitary Ġhad Ġstruck Ġthese Ġbases Ġextensively Ġin ĠNovember Ġ1977 Ġduring ĠOperation ĠD ingo Ġ, Ġdestroying Ġmuch Ġof Ġthe ĠZ AN LA Ġpresence Ġthere Ġ, Ġbut Ġthe Ġinsurgents Ġhad Ġsince Ġbuilt Ġa Ġcomplex Ġcalled Ġ" ĠNew ĠCh imo io Ġ" Ġ, Ġslightly Ġto Ġthe Ġeast Ġ; Ġthe Ġnew Ġcamps Ġwere Ġdistributed Ġacross Ġa Ġfar Ġlarger Ġarea Ġthan Ġthe Ġoriginals Ġ. ĠIn Ġa Ġcombined Ġairborne Ġ@ - @ Ġground Ġassault Ġcalled ĠOperation ĠSno opy Ġ, Ġthe ĠRhodes ian ĠAir ĠForce Ġ, ĠRhodes ian ĠLight ĠInfantry Ġand ĠSpecial ĠAir ĠService Ġwiped Ġout Ġmuch Ġof ĠNew ĠCh imo io Ġon Ġ20 ĠSeptember Ġ1978 Ġ. ĠMoz amb ique Ġsent Ġarmour Ġto ĠZ AN LA Ġ' s Ġaid Ġin Ġthe Ġform Ġof Ġnine ĠSoviet Ġ@ - @ Ġmade ĠT Ġ@ - @ Ġ54 Ġtanks Ġand Ġfour ĠRussian ĠB TR Ġ@ - @ Ġ152 Ġarmoured Ġpersonnel Ġcarriers Ġ, Ġbut Ġthe Ġformer Ġwere Ġrouted Ġand Ġone Ġof Ġthe Ġlatter Ġdestroyed Ġby Ġthe ĠRhodes ian Ġsecurity Ġforces Ġ. ĠAccording Ġto ĠRhodes ian Ġfigures Ġ, Ġthere Ġwere Ġ" Ġseveral Ġhundred Ġ" Ġgu err illas Ġkilled Ġ, Ġwhile Ġthe Ġsecurity Ġforces Ġlost Ġonly Ġtwo Ġsoldiers Ġ, Ġone Ġof Ġwhom Ġwas Ġaccidentally Ġkilled Ġby Ġa Ġfriendly Ġair Ġstrike Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= ĠOperation ĠGat ling Ġ; Ġthe Ġ" ĠGreen ĠLeader Ġ" Ġraid Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠRhodes ia Ġthen Ġattacked ĠZIP RA Ġ' s Ġbases Ġin ĠZamb ia Ġ, Ġin Ġwhat ĠGroup ĠCaptain ĠPeter ĠPet ter Ġ@ - @ ĠBow yer Ġlater Ġdescribed Ġas Ġ" Ġpay back Ġtime Ġ" Ġfor ĠFlight Ġ8 25 Ġ. ĠOperation ĠGat ling Ġ, Ġlaunched Ġon Ġ19 ĠOctober Ġ1978 Ġ, Ġwas Ġanother Ġjoint Ġ@ - @ Ġforce Ġoperation Ġbetween Ġthe ĠAir ĠForce Ġand Ġthe ĠArmy Ġ, Ġwhich Ġcontributed ĠSpecial ĠAir ĠService Ġand ĠRhodes ian ĠLight ĠInfantry Ġpar atro opers Ġ. ĠGat ling Ġ' s Ġprimary Ġtarget Ġ, Ġjust Ġ16 Ġkilometres Ġ( Ġ10 Ġmiles Ġ) Ġnorth Ġ@ - @ Ġeast Ġof Ġcentral ĠL us aka Ġ, Ġwas Ġthe Ġformerly Ġwhite Ġ@ - @ Ġowned ĠWest lands ĠFarm Ġ, Ġwhich Ġhad Ġbeen Ġtransformed Ġinto ĠZIP RA