Britain and the Confrontation with Indonesia, 1960-66

The "Confrontation" is Britain's forgotten war. Yet as David Easter shows, it was a major commitment involving over 54,000 British servicemen and near-escalation into full-scale war with Indonesia. President Sukarno's "Confrontation" of Indonesia was an attempt to destroy Britain's plans for Malaysia by guerilla warfare, including air and sea landings, and Britain responded with a secret war by supporting rebel groups, propaganda, and clandestine cross-border raids. Sukarno was finally overthrown by a pro-Western military government which renounced the Confrontation and accepted Malaysia. Britain's policy, however seemingly successful, was vital in her post-imperial retreat from empire and in abandoning her global defense role.