Confrontation The War with Indonesia 1962 - 1966

by Nicholas van der Bijl

Overview

For over four years in the ‘Swinging Sixties’ the armed forces of the UK were engaged in a little publicized but crucial jungle war against communist aggressive on the vast island of Borneo.

At any one time up to 50,000 troops (half of the Army’s strength today) were deployed along a 1,000 mile front. Their enemy was the communist led Indonesians whose leaders were determined to seize the states of Sarawak, Sabah and the oil rich Brunei, all of whom for their part wished to maintain their Commonwealth links. The catalyst for the war was the 1962 uprising in Brunei which was quickly crushed by the bold intervention of British army units.

The arrival of Major General Walter Walker, himself a controversial figure, gave the subsequent campaign a clear direction. Indonesian incursions were rigorously defended and ruthlessly pursued. Top Secret ‘Claret’ operations took the fight to the enemy with cross border operations initially using Special Forces and later with Chindit-style long range patrols. The outcome was a text book military victory thus avoiding a British ‘Vietnam’ debacle.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781783030187
Publisher:	Pen and Sword
Publication date:	06/02/2014
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	304
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Married with a daughter, Nick van der Bijl served 30 years in the Army, mainly in the Intelligence Corps, that included 3 Commando Brigade throughout the Falklands campaign, three years in Northern Ireland and elsewhere. His second career was as an NHS security manager; also a Justice of the Peace for fifteen years. He is a Trustee of the Military Intelligence Museum. He is retired. He has written a number of books about the Falklands War.

Table of Contents

List of Maps viii

List of Tables ix

Foreword x

Acknowledgements xi

Glossary xiii

1 The Arena 1

2 Indonesia 10

3 Historical Background 23

4 The Brunei Revolt 29

5 Jungle Warfare 42

6 Skirmishing 59

7 The Defence of Borneo 74

8 The Defence of Fifth Division and Sabah 90

9 Indonesian Escalation 104

10 Special Operations and Hot Pursuit 120

11 The Defence of Malaysia 131

12 Operation Claret 143

13 The Thin Red Line 158

14 The Battle of Plaman Mapu 174

15 The Battle of the Rivers 182

16 Turmoil in Indonesia 200

17 The British Offensive 208

18 The End of Confrontation 223

19 Conclusions 241

Appendix 1 Fundamentals of Guerilla Warfare 247

Appendix 2 Citation of Lance Corporal Rambahadur Limbu VC, 2/10th Gurkha Rifles 250

Bibliography 253

Index 257