Confrontation: The War with Indonesia 1962-1966

by Nick Van Der Bijl

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 forces 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 were 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 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.

Genres: History, Military History, War

240 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 2007

Reviews

[Doubledf99.99]

Excellent book on war I knew nothing about. Book has plenty of good maps, photo's, and highly detailed in operations, units involved and the patrols they conducted.

[Khairul Hezry]

Jarang-jarang sekali kita membaca mengenai perang Konfrantasi di antara Indonesia dan Malaysia. Mungkin, seperti disebut di dalam buku ini, ia adalah sebuah konflik di mana wartawan tidak diberi akses sepenuhnya berbeza dengan usaha Malaysia membenteras pengganas Komunis mahupun usaha Amerika Syarikat menghapuskan pengaruh komunis di Vietnam. Buku ini mencuba sedikit sebanyak untuk mengubah situasi itu.

Fokus buku ini lebih kepada insiden-insiden tembak menembak di medan pertempuran, maka jika tidak berminat membaca bagaimana skuad itu terserempak dengan platoon ini dan berapa perajurit mati atau cedera ini bukanlah buku untuk anda. Saya sendiri merasa bosan membaca bab demi bab pertempuran kerana ingin juga membaca mengenai sejarah politik era ini. Apa yang difikirkan Tunku Abdul Rahman dan Suharto. Walaupun ada tetapi majoritinya mengenai peperangan di dalam hutan.

[Barry Sierer]

This book does a thorough job of covering the British (and Commonwealth) side of the Confrontation with Indonesia. It is focused almost entirely on combat operations but also notes the logistical and rotational deployments of British and Commonwealth forces.

The author notes some of the more significant battles and patrols. Most of these were platoon size engagements in the jungle which escalated in 1964 as Indonesians ramped up their own forces and the British carried out “Claret” missions, which were raids into Indonesian territory.

Ultimately the British prevailed through superior intelligence, tactics, and political endurance. Indonesian forces fought fiercely but were wedded to a failing a strategy promoted by a government that was chronically unstable.

Highly recommended for those interested in military tactics; particularly jungle warfare.

[Andrew Wardle]

I found this book unreadable. A pity, because it describes a little-known episode in post-WWII history, and a notable success for the West in a guerrilla warfare conflict with nationalist and communist insurgents, occurring almost simultaneously with the escalation of US military efforts in Vietnam.
The author had a long career, mainly in intelligence posts, in the British Army, and clearly is extremely knowledgeable about the "Confrontation" - the attempt by Indonesia to absorb the northern part of Borneo into their fledgling nation, opposed by the ex-colonial powers and the new state of Malaysia, which wished Brunei, Sarawak, and Sabah/North Borneo to become part of their federation. Even the part of his book I managed shows evidence of the reams of research which must have gone into it. Unfortunately, he is unable to present the material in a readable way. Information is just poured out in a rush, facts listed in no apparent order and in often semi-literate English. Every page names several politicians/activists and nationalist, communist, colonial and military organisations, all referred to by initials after a single brief introduction. The result is that the text descends into a salad of similar names and acronyms which becomes completely impenetrable. A good editor/proofreader might have helped, but because this is a Pen and Sword book, no such luxury was offered the author or his readers.
I reached the end of chapter 3 with head buzzing and a feeling of relief.......only to find that I had just done the easy part ! The first three chapters give a political/strategic overview of the antecedents of the crisis - the power vacuum left by the defeat of Japan in 1945, the various nationalist and separatist movements hoping for their version of independence, the new states of Malaya/Malaysia and Indonesia and their territorial ambitions, the dilemmas facing the ex-colonial rulers, and the concerns of the West that separatist movements would be controlled by Chinese or Soviet communism. Some of the names were also familiar. But from that point onwards, the book is an account of small-unit military actions, largely by the Gurkhas, deep in the jungles of Borneo and described solely by the winners. The lists of names and organisations just keep on coming, and now the action has gone from niche to very small historical print indeed. And the English doesn't get any better.
So, sorry SSgt van der Bijl, I was really interested in the subject of your book. But the actual book defeated me.

[HD]

Giving it 5 stars

The reasons are;

1. this book have everything ranging from comprehensive list of sources to historical background.
2. The author managed to present this book with minimum bias towards both side. Most of the books I've read before about this particular confrontation have a visible bias towards one of the parties involved).

The data gathered for the purpose of making this book is unmatched, I truly love how the seemingly unimportant event in Indonesia's history turned out to be multilayered.

[Terry Quirke]

A concise, mainly military, coverage of a little known small scale war fought on Borneo between the Commonwealth (manly British) and Indonesian forces in the early 60's. The book provides some of the political side of the issues and resolution but mainly focuses on the small unit engagements that the defined the war. Interesting read about a little know conflict.

[Adrienna]

Very informative

[Ming]

Easy to read account but perhaps too focused on the infantry war in Borneo and not enough on the political background in Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei (there is basic coverage on Indonesia though).