Operation Quartz was a proposed military coup that had been planned by the Rhodesian Security Forces for execution in the aftermath of the 1980 elections in Rhodesia.
Background
Rhodesian military planners were concerned that, should Robert Mugabe's Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) lose the elections to either the United African National Council or the Zimbabwe African People's Union, Mugabe would attempt to seize the government by force.
Planning
Operation Quartz
Following the go-ahead orders, the Rhodesian Air Force would launch multiple, simultaneous strikes against the assembly points.
Operation Hectic
Operation Hectic would be carried out by the Rhodesian Special Air Service (RSAS) and the Rhodesian Armoured Corps simultaneously with Operation Quartz and was designed to decapitate the ZANU leadership. According to the plan, the RSAS' "A" squadron would assassinate Robert Mugabe, "B" squadron would be tasked to kill Simon Muzenda, and "C" squadron would take-out the ZANU military commanders Rex Nhongo, Dumiso Dabengwa, and Lookout Musika, who were based at the University of Rhodesia. "C" squadron would be backed by T-55 tanks of the armored corps which would be used to bombard the Audio Visual Arts Building where Nhongo, Dabengwa, and Musika were located, prior to "C" squadron storming the building.