‘Security … is of the utmost importance and it is based … on a small patrol being able to conceal itself, move without leaving obvious tracks and remain completely silent. To be predictable and regular in habits is tantamount to asking the enemy to ‘shoot you up’. In this theatre regular habits … produce only dead soldiers.’ D.M. Horner, SAS, phantoms of the jungle.
![Gunners of the Australian 102nd Field Battery about to fire their L5 pack howitzer from a strongpoint in North Borneo. The gunners are providing fire support for a British Army Ghurkha unit. The Italian-made L5 pack howitzer was an effective weapon in the difficult terrain of North Borneo because it was light enough to be easily transported by helicopter. [AWM CUN/65/0853A/MC]](images/CUN_65_0853A_MC.jpg)
Gunners of the Australian 102nd Field Battery about to fire their L5 pack howitzer from a strongpoint in North Borneo. The gunners are providing fire support for a British Army Ghurkha unit. The Italian-made L5 pack howitzer was an effective weapon in the difficult terrain of North Borneo because it was light enough to be easily transported by helicopter. [AWM CUN/65/0853A/MC]
Australian infantry, gunners, and members of the Special Air Service Regiment (SAS) saw action in Borneo during the Malaysian-Indonesian Confrontation.
The 3rd Battalion, the Royal Australian Regiment (3 RAR) carried out a two-year-long tour of duty in Malaysia from July 1963 as part of the 28th Commonwealth Brigade. The battalion’s first experience of the Malaysian-Indonesian Confrontation occurred in October 1964 when some of its members cooperated with New Zealand infantry in rounding up a force of 50 Indonesian troops that had landed in southern Malaya.
In March 1965 3 RAR arrived in Borneo and relieved a Ghurkha unit at Bau in western Sarawak. The battalion remained in the area for four months, during which time it carried out patrolling and ambush operations on both sides of the border with Indonesia. Although the heaviest fighting of the battalion’s time in Borneo occurred in ambushes of Indonesian troops, the three Australian soldiers killed during this period were victims of mines laid by the Indonesians.
![Infantrymen from the 3rd Battalion, the Royal Australian Regiment (3 RAR) in Borneo in May 1965. They are on patrol near the border between the North Borneo state of Sarawak and the Indonesian-controlled area of Kalimantan. The Section Commander, Corporal Mial Bingarape, is taking a compass reading. Australian soldiers in Borneo found that the tactic of using small four-man patrols worked well in the rugged and densely wooded terrain. [AWM P00944.006]](images/gallery/P00944_006.jpg)
![Soldiers of the 3rd Battalion, the Royal Australian Regiment (3 RAR) boarding a British Belvedere helicopter in Sarawak, North Borneo. The men are about to be taken to a setting-off point for a patrol. The mobility and tactical flexibility provided by helicopters such as the distinctive tandem-engined Belvedere was an important feature of the Commonwealth campaign in Borneo. [AWM P01706.003]](images/gallery/P01706_003.jpg)
![Australian soldiers emerging from the jungle after a patrol in North Borneo in 1965. The men are members of the 3rd Battalion, the Royal Australian Regiment (3 RAR), the first Australian battalion to be directly involved in the Indonesian Confrontation. They are returning to a base at Stass, close to the border between Sarawak and Indonesian-controlled Kalimantan. [AWM P04762.006]](images/gallery/P04762_006.jpg)
The 4th Battalion, the Royal Australian Regiment (4 RAR) replaced 3 RAR in the 28th Commonwealth Brigade and served in Sarawak between April and August 1966. Operating from fortified bases around Bau, the battalion carried out patrols on both sides of the border, some of which led to clashes with Indonesian soldiers. In addition to military operations, the battalion conducted a ‘hearts and minds’ campaign designed to deter the locals from giving assistance to the Indonesians.
The Australian 102nd Field Battery served in Borneo between May and August 1965. Equipped with L5 pack howitzers, the battery supported 3 RAR, Ghurkha units, and British Guards and Parachute Regiments. Although the battery’s main task was to provide defensive fire for Commonwealth infantry outposts, it also assisted with support fire for secret ‘claret’ operations in Indonesian territory.
Australian SAS soldiers were deployed overseas for the first time during the Indonesian Confrontation. The 1st Squadron of the Australian SAS Regiment served in Borneo from February to August 1965. Three months of this period were spent on ‘claret’ operations against the Indonesians. The squadron also conducted more conventional reconnaissance patrols and ‘hearts and minds’ operations. The 2nd Australian SAS Squadron operated in Borneo between February and July 1966, performing a range of tasks including ‘claret’ operations. Three members of the Australian SAS were killed in action in Borneo.
Gunners in Borneo, a brief piece of footage showing an Australian artillery piece in action during confrontation. [AWM F03688]
Troops by chopper Borneo, brief piece of footage shows Australian infantry boarding the helicopter that flies them to the point at which they must begin their patrol. [AWM F03665]
Fighting Patrol, this film shows Australian soldiers training for the type of jungle warfare they expected to encounter in the jungles of Borneo during Confrontation. [AWM F03173]
2009 Australian involvement in South-East Asian Conflicts