This dissertation examines the role played by the Second World War in rise of African nationalism. It specifically examines the mobilization, recruitment, wartime, demobilization, and post-war experiences of African and Colored servicemen who participated in the war from Southern Rhodesia (Colonial Zimbabwe). It examines how their experiences revived African nationalism from the 1940s to the late 1970s. It argues that the war engendered political awareness, anti-colonial sentiments, attitudes, and eventually political activity that aided the rise of African nationalism and the attainment of its goals in Southern Rhodesia. The bulk of the material for this dissertation was obtained from archival sources, written family records and oral interviews.