'Our Secret War' provides an intriguing account of the clandestine Australian
operations carried out in Indonesian Borneo (Kalimantan) during the
Confrontation in the mid 1960s. While international peace talks were being
conducted in Bangkok, the Australian Government authorised a series of
incursions into Indonesian territory.
This is the story of the 4th Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment, raised
at Woodside, South Australia in 1964, and sent to Malaysia in 1965 as part of
Australia's contribution to the defence of the region. This military commitment
came at a critical time due to the deteriorating political climate in much of
South East Asia.
The author who had previously served in Malaya during the Emergency, and then
as an officer with 4RAR in Borneo, has permitted the readers of 'Our Secret
War', a rare insight into the harsh conditions faced by the Australian
infantrymen during training, and in the subsequent secret 'cloak and dagger'
CLARET Operations against the Indonesians during Confrontation in Malasia.
Contents:
Foreword
Glossary: Malay/Dyak Words, Army Abbreviations and Jargon
Prologue
1. The Battalion is Born
2. Raising the Battalion
3. The First Year
4. Life at Woodside
5. Training in Earnest and Departure for Terendak
6. Life in Terendak
7. Training in Terendak
8. The Are of Operations
9. Arrival of the Advance Parties
10. Operating in Borneo
11. Platoon Level Operations and the Individual Soldier
12. CLARET Operations
13. Operation CLEAR EYES and Operation THUNDERBALL
14. Operation DOUBLECROSS
15. Confrontation End - Return to Terendak
16. Garrison Life Again and Back to Australia
Appendix 1. Document Captured by C Coy 4RAR, 15 June 1966
Appendix 2. Gallantry Citations
Appendix 3. Nominal Roll of 4RAR Members Serving in Sarawak, April-September
1966
End Notes
Acknowledgements
Index
