SAS: Secret War in South-East Asia

by Peter Dickens

From 1963 to 1966 Britain successfully waged a secret war to keep the Federation of Malaysia free from domination by Soekarno's Indonesia and by Chinese Communists. At the forefront of this campaign was the SAS, Special Air Service, an elite branch of the military whose essence is secrecy and whose tools are bold initiative, surprise, and high skill.

Working in four-man patrols, the SAS teams first made friends with the head-hunting border tribes and even trained some of them as an irregular military force. As the conflict continued, SAS teams went beyond the borders into Indonesia, where they tracked clown enemy camps, fired on supply mutes, staged ambushes, and attacked the soldiers in their riverboats.

By talking to those who were there, Peter Dickens has recreated what it was really like to fight in the jungles of Malaysia. He also captures the bravery and relentless pursuit of excellence that make the SAS the elite and prestigious regiment it is.

Genres: Military Fiction

302 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published August 1, 1991

Reviews

[Martin Koenigsberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book as I had been looking for books on the Conflict generally - and books on conflict in the area as I was traveling regionally. Peter Dickens, a journalist and writer on WWII Special Forces Actions, takes on the "Konfrontasi" - Indonesia's quixotic attempt to create "Maphilindo" - a State made up of what is now Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines and of course under the "tutelage" of Indonesia's strong Man Sukarno. The campaign towards the Philippines was all diplomatic as they had the mighty US as their sponsor- but Malaysia- just leaving the British Empire for the new Commonwealth seemed a likely mark. Thus the British Army- and their special forces, the Special Air Service, got involved in another Colonial Insurgency war- but one where they were protecting a former Colony's independence, not trying to snuff it out. They were remarkably successful- even though they did it in an entirely different way from the contemporary American Vietnam experiences.

The British first patrolled aggressively- mapping and familiarising themselves with the border regions- parts of Sarawak and Brunei. Then they came up with a plan for spoiling attacks no deeper than 5000 meters on the Indonesian - "Claret Operations". Dickens skillfully tells the stories of the most interesting patrols, using a lot of interviews with retired operators- and their "ruperts'- the officers, some of whom will become more famous in later wars. With serious material to cover, one appreciates Dickens' lighter touches. We really get the feeling of constant long -range penetration Jungle Warfare- lots of Recon- and tiny bits of major violence when ambushes are tripped. I learned a lot about the History of the early 1960s in Asia- and differing approaches to COIN challenges in the period.

There are some adult themes and graphic injury passages in this book , so it's probably best for the Junior Reader over 13/14 years with a Historical interest. For the Gamer/Modeler/Military Enthusiast, this book and its few b/w photos are real finds. The Gamer gets a lot of scenarios- for both sides- as well as basic painting instructions. For the Modeler, a tonne of diorama and build ideas for this little known Cold War struggle. The Military Enthusiast is also a big winner- there are not that many books on the "Confrontation"/"Konfrontasi"- so any coverage is nice to find. I think more general interest readers will be intrigued by an approach to Jungle Warfare so different from the US Army's in the same period as Vietnam.

[Tom Nolan]

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