Malayan Emergency

The Malayan Emergency, also known as the Anti–British National Liberation War, (1948–1960) was a guerrilla war fought in Malaya between communist pro-independence fighters of the Malayan National Liberation Army (MNLA) and the military forces of the Federation of Malaya and the Commonwealth (British Empire). The MNLA fought to win Malayan independence from the British Empire and to establish a communist state, while the Malayan Federation and Commonwealth forces fought to protect British economic and colonial interests and combat communism. The term "Emergency" was used by the British to characterise the conflict in order to avoid referring to it as a war, because London-based insurers would not pay out in instances of civil wars. The war began on 17 June 1948. British forces had killed a number of left-wing activists in Malaya, and following several retaliatory attacks on plantations the British declared a state of emergency. The leader of the Malayan Communist Party (MCP), Chin Peng, along with his allies, fled into the jungle and formed the MNLA to wage a war for national liberation against British colonial rule. Many MNLA fighters were veterans of the Malayan Peoples' Anti-Japanese Army (MPAJA), a communist guerrilla army previously trained, armed and funded by the British to fight against Japan during World War II. The communists gained support from many civilians, mainly those from the Chinese community. The communists' belief in class consciousness, ethnic equality, and gender equality inspired many women and indigenous people to join both the MNLA and its undercover supply network, the Min Yuen. Additionally, hundreds of former Japanese soldiers joined the MNLA. After establishing a series of jungle bases, the MNLA began raiding British colonial police and military installations. The British attempted to starve the MNLA using scorched earth policies, including food rationing, killing livestock, and aerial spraying of the...