British strategic culture and historical influences

British Empire in the 1950's

In the aftermath of the Second World War the British Empire was began to disintegrate with a number of colonies engaging in conflicts aimed at driving the British out and gaining their independence. In response to these uprisings, the British used a variety of strategies with a varying amount of success. The outcome of these "small wars" in colonies such as Kenya, Aden, Cyprus, and Borneo depended upon how the British operated in that particular area and their individual response to the uprisings. In short, each conflict was unique, contained unique circumstances, and therefore required a unique response on the part of the British.

The British operated their colony in Kenya as a place to resettle British citizens in the lush farmland formerly owned by the native Kenyans. As a result, when the native Kikuyu tribe revolted, the British used the revolt as a means to further drive the natives off their land. The British commander, Sir George Erskine, instigated a three part plan to quell the revolt. The first part was to concentrate on the forested areas where the rebels operated by "driving rough roads into the forest to make it possible for soldiers to operate from within it…" (Carver 1981, p.37) Secondly the British commenced "Operation Anvil," which rounded up all African Natives within the city of Nairobi and purged the population of any rebel elements. Finally the rebel natives were resettled in special "reserves" which isolated and attempted to rid them of their rebel tendencies through a variety of punishments.

The colony of Aden was a strategic area that guarded the southern entrance to the Red Sea and the Suez Canal. During the 1950's a portion of its population began to demand independence and the British attempted to ease this nationalist tendency by instituting a council containing members of the local population. As they formed a "Federation" with those who cooperated with them, the British also engaged in military action against any who resisted; particularly the Qateibi tribe, otherwise known as the "Self-styled 'Red Wolves of Radfan'." (Walker 2011, 138) However, the continued military expenditures became too much for the British who ended their rule in 1967; granting full independence.

Cyprus was a different type of situation altogether. It became a British colony in 1923 and although the British wanted to maintain military bases in the region, by the late 1950's the U.K. was willing to grant some sort of independence to the island. However, the Greek Cypriot belief in Enosis, or "the union of Cyprus with Greece," was an issue that the Turkish Cypriots and the nation of Turkey rejected. (Goktepe 2003, 91) The main British goal during this time was to create an independent, unified nation of Cyprus with an elected council for each of the two ethnic groups. Independence was finally granted in 1960, however, the Greeks and Turks quickly began to fight among themselves.

Finally the British found themselves involved in another small war on the island of Borneo when they attempted to unify a number of smaller colonies into a larger, independent nation called Malaysia. However, Indonesia, which had recently gained it's own independence and was consolidating its own territory, rejected this idea and began to support and arm rebels who wanted closer ties to Indonesia. The British used military force to attack the Indonesian backed rebels which prompted Indonesia to attack Malaysia. Britain was determined to create and defend the nation of Malaysia and did so; even attacking Indonesia itself. After four years of war Indonesia had a change of government and the new one entered into peace talks, but it was Britain's resolve and use of military power which maintained a four-year war with Indonesia and guaranteed the independence of Malaysia.