What if the British fought in the Vietnam war?

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This alternate history explores how British tactics from the Malayan Emergency might have changed the war’s outcome — with fewer troops, less firepower, and a focus on hearts and minds. Would it have made a difference?

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Further Reading:

Page, Tim and John Pimlott editors. Nam: The Vietnam Experience. New York: Barnes and Noble Limited. 1995.

Spector, R.H. "Vietnam War." Encyclopedia Britannica, April 27, 2025. .


Curtis, Mark. “Britain’s Secret Role in the Brutal US War in Vietnam.” DeclassifiedUK.org. November 16, 2022.

Soong, Kua Kia. “Who Were the Victims of Agent Orange in Malaya?” Malasiakini.com. February 1, 2021.

Hack, Karl. “The Emergency 1948–1960: Malayan communist party strategies.” Economic History of Malaysia.

Mitchell, David Fontaine. “The Malayan Emergency: How to fight a Counterinsurgency War.” WarfareHistoryNetwork.com. April 2012.

“Malayan Emergency.” NZHistory.govt.nz.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. "Malayan Emergency." Encyclopedia Britannica, March 13, 2025. .

“What Was National Service?” National Army Museum.

“Annual number of United States military personnel conscripted via the draft from 1964 to 1973.” Statista.com.

“Vietnam War Veterans.” US Department of Veteran Affairs.

Credit:
Simple History Creator: Daniel Turner (B.A. (Hons) in History, University College London)
Video Directors: Lav Velimirovic, Ognjen Jovic
Script Review: Peter Turner
Narrator: Chris Kane ()
Artists: Fiona Phan, Selma Belegic
Animators: Nancy Bhalla, Krishna, Guillermo G. Caasi. Jr, Ravina Bheda, Rommel Ponferrada
Editor: Artem Dobrohodov, James Dowse
Thumbnails: Fiona Phan
Senior Production Manager: Umar Ijaz
Simple History Channel Manager: James Dowse