The War of the Running Dogs: Malaya 1948-1960 (W&N Military)

"Running dogs", in this context, was the Communist epithet for the British, or the police, or, more generally, anti-Communists. ("Dog" is an insult in China, and "capitalist running dog" became a favorite Maoist curse.) "The War of the Running Dogs" was the Communist insurgency in Malaya, which lasted from June 1948 to July 1960, first against the British protectorate and then, after August 1957, against the newly independent Federation of Malaya.The War of the Running Dogs is now little-known in the United States, in large part because here it was eclipsed first by the Korean War and then by Indochina. It should be better known. Among the Communist/nationalist insurrections of South-east Asia of the 1940's and `50s, the Malayan one arguably had the greatest strategic significance, given the geopolitical importance of Singapore. Second, unlike what happened in Indochina, in Malaya the Communist challenge to Western democracy was repelled. And third, in doing so, the British developed and employed principles of counter-insurgency that contrasted with how the French and Americans proceeded in Viet Nam.In THE WAR OF THE RUNNING DOGS, British journalist Noel Barber tells the story of the Malayan insurrection in a lively, moderately journalistic fashion. On a few occasions he underscores the contrasts between Malaya and Viet Nam, insinuating that the British were smarter than were the Americans (but without ever really discussing what the differences between the two situations might have been).The Communist insurgency was a guerilla war, waged by at most 5- to 8,000 "liberation" troops operating out of jungle camps. In the first few years, the guerillas employed savage terrorist tactics against native Malays and Chinese as well as British planters, miners, and police, as they tried to bully and intimidate civilians into supporting them and resisting the British and the Malay sultans. (As a result, the guerillas became known as "CTs" - i.e., Communist Terrorists.) And even though the campaign of the CTs lasted twelve years, the conflict never was officially called a "war" or "civil war". Instead, it was known among the British as the "Malayan Emergency". Had it been declared a war, losses incurred by commercial interests (primarily rubber plantations and mining operations) would not have been covered by Lloyd's of London insurance.Among the counter-insurgency measures or policies that Barber discusses were 1) the British determination that "on no account must the armed forces have control over the conduct of the war," inasmuch as this was "a war of political ideologies" and it was imperative that the normal workaday government be perceived as stable and functioning; 2) a resolution that it was "better to police villages than to destroy them"; and 3) a general policy that as many citizens as possible be given a direct and tangible economic stake in successfully repelling the Communists (a major example of this being the relocation of 600,000 ethnic Chinese squatters from land on the fringes of the jungle, where they were highly vulnerable to the CTs, to newly constructed villages on arable land to which they held leasehold interests and had access for the first time to schools and Western medicine). But the practice that to me was the most interesting was the determination to "tell the truth" in "propaganda" - something that proved to be instrumental not only in engendering and strengthening the loyalty of the non-combatant citizenry but also in encouraging defections among the CTs.THE WAR OF THE RUNNING DOGS constitutes my education on the Malayan Emergency. It is squarely within the genre of "popular history." I would be interested in reading something more analytical that compares the situation that the British faced in Malaya with what the French and the Americans faced in Viet Nam. If anyone has any recommendations, I would be grateful.

I served in the army in Malaya in 1957-58, and found this book to be an excellent "refresher course" when writing my own stories for my family; we have long-standing connections with Malaya, from before WWII until just after Merdeka, and I was able to fill in some gaps and correct some errors.I've deducted one star because of two problems: first, it is in serious need of an index, and second, there isn't much coverage of the later stages just before Merdeka (August 1957) - perhaps the CTs were effectively beaten by then, but we felt (perhaps mistakenly) that Malaya was still definitely a war zone. I suppose that when you are in the jungle and your rations are being parachuted in you get a distorted view of history!This book dates from 1971, so naturally does not have some of the information that later writers have been able to find as records are released. I recommend Margaret Shennan's biography of John Davis, "Our Man in Malaya" (2007), as an excellent addition to the field. But of course F. Spencer Chapman's classic, "The Jungle is Neutral", is required reading for anyone trying to understand what jungle warfare really feels like.

THIS IS ONE OF THE BEST BOOK THAT I READ ABOUT THE WARS AGAINST THE REDS IN POSTWAR SOUTHEAST ASIA.IN EARLY 1942 THE JAPANESE INVADED MALAYA,WHICH WAS NOT A FREE COUNTRY BECAUSE IT WAS UNDER THEBRITISH YOKE NO MATTER ALL THE BENEFITS THR BRITISH RULE BROUGHT TO MALAYA.THE BRITISH TO FIGHT THE JAPANESE ALLIED THEMSELVES WITH THE MALAYAN REDS MOSTLY OF CHINESE ORIGIN.THE MPAJA (MALASIAN PEOPLE ANTIJAPANESE ARMY) WAS COMANDED BY CHIN PENG.IT WAS A COSTLY MISTAKE , AFTER 1945 WHEN JAPAN SURRENDERED, THE BRITISH TOOK CONTROL , HOWEVER THEYCREATED AN ENEMY INFINITELY MUCH WORSE.THRER YEARS LATER THE REDS STARTED A BLOODY WAR THATLASTED TWELVE YEARS;FORTUNATELY FOR MALAYA AND THE FREE WORLD THEY WERE DEFEATED BY THECOMBINED EFFORT OF BOTH BRITAIN AND THE MALAYS OF THE 3 MAIN ETHNICS GROUPS (MALAY.HINDU AND CHINESE).THIS BOOK GIVES A VERY DETAILED EXPLANATION OF ALL THE ACTORS INVOLVED IN THIS CONFLICT.IN 1957 MALAYA OBTAINED INDEPENDENCE ON BRITISH TERMS NOT ON COMMUNIST TERMS.STILL THE BRITISH BEAR PART OF THE RESPONSABILITY FOR THIS BLOODY CONFLICT,BECAUSE OF THE MISGUIDED SUPPORT OF THEREDS OF THE MPAJA FROM 1942 TO 1945,SOME OF THE MPAJA LEADERS WENT TO LONDON TO PARTICIPATE IN THE VICTORY,OR SHOULD I SAY THE PHYRRIC VICTORY DAY.THE MAIN LESSON FROM THIS WAR IS THAT THE ENEMY OF MY ENEMY IS NOT ALWAYS MY FRIEND BUT IT COULD BE A MUCH WORSE ENEMY.

How Americans must have come to hate that British barb that 'We won in Malaya while you lost Vietnam'. On a superficial level, the boast is correct but there were a great many differences between the two wars and anyone reading this book, after one on Vietnam, will have an excellent understanding of what they were. (The lack of a conventional military threat inside Malaya is a major one.) This book is quite superb and I wasn't surprised to see that the author was both reporter and novelist. His love for Malaya comes clearly through both at the beginning and the end of the book. In between, there's great coverage of the political machinations and engrossing detail of what went on in and around the jungle. Notably, there's very little coverage of actions by the armies involved; the star is, quite rightly, Special Branch - well-led and very effective due to the efforts of the likes of the part-time acrobat/full-time heroine Irene Lee. Who would enjoy this? Soldiers, obviously - but police officers too. And anyone with a hankering to visit beautiful, peaceful, democratic, prosperous Malaysia. I'll go there in 2021 - and take one of Barber's novels along with me.P.S. I read this on Kindle. I only noted a dozen or so typos. You can order your Kindle version with confidence.

This is a well written intelligent overview of the Malayan Emergency. It sets out to produce an explanation for the approach taken by GB over several years from the initial communist attacks to the complete defeat of the insurgency taking the reader through, military and civil strategic initiatives both at the highest level and through operations on the ground. It is a remarkable story and all the more so for the contrast with the actions of the French and then the Americans in Indo China. There are links to the lessons learned the hard way by GB in Palestine - lessons the French ignored completely. Above all there was an acceptance that there would be independence at a near future date and a determination to work with Malaya's politicians, rulers and people to ensure a smooth transition without the clear and present threat of a communist takeover inspired by events in China and encouraged by the Chinese Communist leadership. For those wishing to read regimental histories, look elsewhere. Here Noel Barber illustrates his history with key characters from both sides of the conflict and from the perspective of the civilian population caught in a bloody "non war" now largely forgotten and at the time largely unreported on the world stage.

Spent many months in Malaysia quite frequently on work assignments in the 90's, and enjoyed reading of its history in pre-independence years. A fascinating insight, and although I knew a little of the "Emergency" I did not realize until reading this book how much more serious it had been and the countless lives lost. Have passed it to a neighbour whose wife is Malaysian.

I know precious little of Malaysia or of the Malayan war and this book was a highly readable introduction to the topic. The quality of the writing was not always fantastic, but it did not really matter because the story being told and the characters in it were so interesting. Round about the same time as this war took place, the French and Americans were staging all out jungle warfare with the Vietnamese. The Brits took a different approach in Malaya and instead of battling it out with an invisible enemy in the jungles, they recognized that they had to win the hearts and minds of the people who were the potential recruits for the communists. How they did this makes for some fascinating reading, and provides some interesting insights into how wars can be won with brains, as much as with guns. I think there is some learning here for quite a few other battle grounds around the world at the moment.

A great insight into the machinations of Malayan conflict , especially for the likes of me, who did not have knowledge of the colonial struggles which happened when I was a child.Much kudos to the participants who fought for freedom and justice. Boy, was life cheap then, when maximum slaughter was the name of the game. Well worth a read.