Review of "Britain’s Secret War: The Indonesian Confrontation 1962-1966," by Will Fowler

 Review of

Britain’s Secret War: The Indonesian Confrontation 1962-1966, by Will Fowler ISBN 184603048x

Four out of five stars

Short explanation of a small border war

 After World War II ended and the Japanese troops were all evacuated from their residences in areas they took from European powers, there was an overwhelming movement towards independence. Since the colonial powers had drawn the borders without regard to ethnicity and the leaders of the newly independent countries sought more land to rule, many small wars broke out between newly or soon to be independent countries.

 Indonesia was a Dutch colonial possession and Malaysia and Borneo were British. Although the Dutch tried to reassert their authority after the end of World War II, they had no success and Indonesia became an independent country in late 1949. Malaysia did no achieve independence until 1957 and in 1963 a federation consisting of Malaysia, Sarawak and Borneo was formed. This event triggered a military response from Indonesia.

 When armed forces from Indonesia threatened the federation, the British military responded to defend their former territories. It was a small and unusual war. Although both sides engaged in cross-border incursions, neither one ever spoke out in public. Both were content to engage in the battles over where the final border should be.

 This book is a brief description of this war, and the reporting style is that of a military commentator. The uniforms and weapons are described and there are maps of the more significant battles. In the history of border wars between newly independent states, this was one of the smallest. In the end, nothing really changed concerning the borders of the two new states. Yet, it was geopolitically significant, for it was a significant drain on the postwar British military resources and so is worthy of study.

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