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This alternate history explores how British tactics from the Malayan Emergency might have changed the war’s outcome — with fewer troops, less firepower, and a focus on hearts and minds. Would it have made a difference?
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Further Reading:
Page, Tim and John Pimlott editors. Nam: The Vietnam Experience. New York: Barnes and Noble Limited. 1995.
Spector, R.H. "Vietnam War." Encyclopedia Britannica, April 27, 2025. https://www.britannica.com/event/Vietnam-War.
Curtis, Mark. “Britain’s Secret Role in the Brutal US War in Vietnam.” DeclassifiedUK.org. November 16, 2022. https://www.declassifieduk.org/britains-secret-role-in-the-brutal-us-war-in-vietnam/
Soong, Kua Kia. “Who Were the Victims of Agent Orange in Malaya?” Malasiakini.com. February 1, 2021. https://www.malaysiakini.com/columns/561192
Hack, Karl. “The Emergency 1948–1960: Malayan communist party strategies.” Economic History of Malaysia. https://www.ehm.my/publications/articles/the-emergency-1948%E2%80%931960-malayan-communist-party-strategies
Mitchell, David Fontaine. “The Malayan Emergency: How to fight a Counterinsurgency War.” WarfareHistoryNetwork.com. April 2012. https://warfarehistorynetwork.com/article/the-malayan-emergency-how-to-fight-a-counterinsurgency-war/
“Malayan Emergency.” NZHistory.govt.nz. https://nzhistory.govt.nz/war/the-malayan-emergency
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. "Malayan Emergency." Encyclopedia Britannica, March 13, 2025. https://www.britannica.com/event/Malayan-Emergency.
“What Was National Service?” National Army Museum. https://www.nam.ac.uk/explore/what-was-national-service
“Annual number of United States military personnel conscripted via the draft from 1964 to 1973.” Statista.com. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1336037/vietnam-war-us-military-draft/
“Vietnam War Veterans.” US Department of Veteran Affairs. https://www.data.va.gov/stories/s/Vietnam-Veterans-Memorial-Day-2021/q3fu-7ckx/
Credit:
Simple History Creator: Daniel Turner (B.A. (Hons) in History, University College London)
Video Directors: Lav Velimirovic, Ognjen Jovic
Script Review: Peter Turner
Narrator: Chris Kane (https://vocalforge.com)
Artists: Fiona Phan, Selma Belegic
Animators: Nancy Bhalla, Krishna, Guillermo G. Caasi. Jr, Ravina Bheda, Rommel Ponferrada
Editor: Artem Dobrohodov, James Dowse
Thumbnails: Fiona Phan
Senior Production Manager: Umar Ijaz
Simple History Channel Manager: James Dowse