WW2 INDIAN ARMY GENERAL SERVICE MEDAL SE ASIA 1945 46 INDIAN ARMY

Offered is a General Service medal 91918 – 62) with 1 clasp S.E. ASIA 1945 – 46, impressed named 31824 HAV/CLK. SURAJ SINGH, 3 BN., JAT R.

The clasp for S.E. Asia 1945 -46 was awarded for 2 operations being the Dutch East Indies (Java and Sumatra): 3 September 1945 to 30 November 1946 & French Indochina: 3 September 1945 to 28 January 1946. These were both similar operations in that the returning Colonial powers wished to reclaim and resume their colonies, however the locals were not keen on the idea and wished independence. The British & Indian troops were involved in fighting in both of these little known campaigns with Japanese soldiers being used to help restore and maintain order, well worth further research.

The British were charged with restoring order and civilian government in Java. The Battle of Surabaya was the heaviest single battle of the revolution and became a national symbol of Indonesian resistance.

The War in Vietnam, codenamed Operation Masterdom. For Britain's involvement in the First Vietnam War, the officially stated casualty list was 40 British and Indian soldiers killed and French and Japanese casualties a little higher. An estimated 2,700 Viet Minh were killed.