The Malayan Emergency - The Crucial Years: 1949-53

davidbfpo · May 30, 2022

A new book from Pen & Sword, written by Mike Forsdike and the publisher's summary:

From 1948 through the 1950s British and Commonwealth forces fought a ruthless communist insurgency on the Malay peninsula. Thanks to sound generalship and the dedication and resilience of the officers and men, the security forces eventually broke the terrorists’ resolve.

1st Battalion The Suffolk Regiment was just one of many British units involved in this successful campaign, known as the Malayan Emergency. Their tour between 1949 and 1953 coincided with the most crucial years when the future of the country and, arguably, the South East Asia region lay in the balance.

As this book describes in words and superb contemporary images how the Battalion, the majority of whom were National Servicemen, operated under the most demanding jungle and climatic conditions, earning itself an enviable reputation. The Battalion’s experiences are well recorded here and typify those of tens of thousand servicemen whose efforts secured a unique victory.
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Link: The Malayan Emergency

Here is a review by Dr. Robert Lyman. This sentence passage with me:

None of the successful strategy of counter insurgency deployed over the 12-years of the Emergency would have mattered one jot without the PBI whose dogged perseverance and professionalism made it all happen.

Few of the men Forsdike describes were regular soldiers. Most were conscripted National Servicemen ‘doing their bit’ for the country during those early years of the Cold War before they returned home to pick up their interrupted lives.
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Link: Thank goodness for a well-oiled infantry battalion..

Charley Fortnum · May 31, 2022

It looks good—I'm considering a purchase—but the title is a little misleading: as your blurb (and not the cover) shows, it's primarily the history of one battalion, albeit an interesting and successful one, not a general history.

Twitter previews suggest generous photography.

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