Malayan Emergency

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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,...

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