Battle of Bau
Encyclopedia
The Battle of Bau was an engagement that occurred on 21 November 1965 in the border area of Sarawak
in Borneo between British
and Indonesia
n forces. It was part of the wider Indonesian–Malaysian confrontation
, that consisted of a series of small scale engagements involving Indonesia, Malaysia, the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand, and which took place over the course of 1962–66. The engagement involved an attack by an 16 man advance squad of British Army
Gurkha
s on a company-sized Indonesian position. The Gurkhas were then supported by the 104 men in the rest of the company which resulted in the last Indonesians withdrawing after having virtually been destroyed. The Gurkha company, having suffered relatively light casualties but coming under increasing pressure from another Indonesian company nearby, retired from the position. As a result of the action, one Gurkha—Lance Corporal Rambahadur Limbu
—received the Victoria Cross
.
in August 1965, the 2nd Battalion, 10th Princess Mary's Own Gurkha Rifles
(2/10 PMOGR) under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Peter Myers had been tasked with reducing a series of Indonesian camps along the Sungei Koemba river, about 5 miles (8 km) south of Bau
. On 21 November 1965, 'C' Company, under Captain Christopher 'Kit' Maunsell, had been sent out to locate and destroy ‘J’ Parachute Infantry Battalion that was attempting to establish a base near Serikin in the Bau district of Sarawak, Borneo. Leaving the majority of the company in a harbour, the company commander and a small patrol set out early in the morning, moving through the dense jungle to search for signs of Indonesian infiltration in the area.
A support position was established about 800 yards from the Indonesians, from where the attached forward observer would be able to call in artillery support if required. In addition one platoon
was positioned in a location from where they could provide support by fire on to the company-sized position in order to distract them during the initial assault. By noon the battle preparation had been completed and Maunsell led his two assault platoons in single file up the ridge towards the summit. An advance party, consisting of 16 men under the command of Lance Corporal Rambahadur Limbu, led the way, crawling silently up the steep ridge and clearing the way for the rest of the company. It took over an hour to cover the 50 yards before the forward machine gun pit was located. The plan was to kill the sentry manning the machine gun silently, however, when the party was 10 yards from the pit, the sentry spotted them and opened fire, wounding one of the Gurkhas.
Seeing the danger that they were in, Limbu rushed the machine gun and destroyed it with a grenade. Alerted, the rest of the Indonesian platoon began to fire on the forward pit, thus making it an untenable position from which to provide support for the company attack. In order to report this fact to his platoon commander, Limbu exposed himself to enemy fire before returning to his section to continue on with the assault. At the same time, Maunsell had decided to launch the main assault. The lead assault platoon, 8 Platoon, under Lieutenant
Ranjit Rai, a Queen's Gurkha Officer, suppressed one of the enemy machine guns before clearing a hut that was located inside the Indonesian position. The Indonesian resistance to the assault was increasing, so Maunsell gave the order for Rai's platoon to carry out an assault on one of the secondary pits. During this assault, one Gurkha was killed and another wounded. However, it proved successful, and Indonesian resistance began to falter.
On the left flank, the second assault platoon, 9 Platoon, began receiving fire from another Indonesian machine gun pit and its advance was halted. Under the cover of fire laid down by a two-man Bren light machine gun crew, Rambahadur Limbu charged the machine gun pit and again silenced it with a grenade. The three men pressed on, jumping over the destroyed gun. However, one of the Indonesians was still alive and fired a burst as the men passed, hitting the Bren crew, before being killed himself by a grenade. Limbu turned back and over the course of twenty minutes—during which he was almost constantly under fire—he proceeded to rescue them both. He carried the first man to shelter in the hut that had been cleared, before going back out to bring back the second. Both soldiers died of their wounds shortly afterward. Limbu returned to retrieve their Bren and provided covering fire to the final stages of the assault. Limbu killed four more Indonesians as they attempted to escape across the border.
After a fire fight that lasted over an hour, the Indonesians were cleared from the top of the hill. However the fire from the company-sized position on the lower spur began to increase and the Gurkhas found themselves under pressure to withdraw. Realising the danger if they remained in the location, Maunsell gave the order to retire and the company began to withdraw from the position. Under the cover of accurate howitzer and mortar fire directed by the Forward Observation Officer, Lieutenant Douglas Fox, C Company was successfully extracted. The column was met by the Medical Officer, Captain Jack Wynters RAMC, who treated the wounded and, while holding the intravenous drip of one, accompanied them on the march back to Serikin in the pitch dark.
.
Sarawak
Sarawak is one of two Malaysian states on the island of Borneo. Known as Bumi Kenyalang , Sarawak is situated on the north-west of the island. It is the largest state in Malaysia followed by Sabah, the second largest state located to the North- East.The administrative capital is Kuching, which...
in Borneo between British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
n forces. It was part of the wider Indonesian–Malaysian confrontation
Indonesia-Malaysia confrontation
Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation during 1962–1966 was Indonesia’s political and armed opposition to the creation of Malaysia. It is also known by its Indonesian/Malay name Konfrontasi...
, that consisted of a series of small scale engagements involving Indonesia, Malaysia, the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand, and which took place over the course of 1962–66. The engagement involved an attack by an 16 man advance squad of British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
Gurkha
Gurkha
Gurkha are people from Nepal who take their name from the Gorkha District. Gurkhas are best known for their history in the Indian Army's Gorkha regiments, the British Army's Brigade of Gurkhas and the Nepalese Army. Gurkha units are closely associated with the kukri, a forward-curving Nepalese knife...
s on a company-sized Indonesian position. The Gurkhas were then supported by the 104 men in the rest of the company which resulted in the last Indonesians withdrawing after having virtually been destroyed. The Gurkha company, having suffered relatively light casualties but coming under increasing pressure from another Indonesian company nearby, retired from the position. As a result of the action, one Gurkha—Lance Corporal Rambahadur Limbu
Rambahadur Limbu
Captain Rambahadur Limbu, VC, MVO is a Nepalese recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. Rambahadur Limbu belongs to the Begha Clan of Limbu Nationality of Nepal. He retired with the honorary...
—received the Victoria Cross
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories....
.
Prelude
After relieving the 3rd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment3rd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment
3rd Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment is a parachute infantry battalion of the Australian Army, based in Sydney. 3 RAR was initially formed in 1945 as the 67th Battalion and has seen active service in Japan, Korea, Malaya, South Vietnam, East Timor, the Solomon Islands, Afghanistan and Iraq...
in August 1965, the 2nd Battalion, 10th Princess Mary's Own Gurkha Rifles
10th Princess Mary's Own Gurkha Rifles
The 10th Princess Mary's Own Gurkha Rifles, , was originally an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army. The regiment was first formed in 1890, taking its lineage from a police unit and over the course of its existence it had a number of changes in designation and composition...
(2/10 PMOGR) under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Peter Myers had been tasked with reducing a series of Indonesian camps along the Sungei Koemba river, about 5 miles (8 km) south of Bau
Bau, Sarawak
Bau is a gold mining town in the Kuching Division of Sarawak, Malaysia. Smuggling with Kalimantan is also important to the local economy.-History:...
. On 21 November 1965, 'C' Company, under Captain Christopher 'Kit' Maunsell, had been sent out to locate and destroy ‘J’ Parachute Infantry Battalion that was attempting to establish a base near Serikin in the Bau district of Sarawak, Borneo. Leaving the majority of the company in a harbour, the company commander and a small patrol set out early in the morning, moving through the dense jungle to search for signs of Indonesian infiltration in the area.
Battle
Hearing movement in the dense jungle, the patrol carried out a close reconnaissance which revealed a platoon-sized Indonesian force entrenched on top of a sheer-sided hill, while another group—estimated to be about company strength—was also located about 500 yards away to the west on a lower spur. Moving back to the patrol base, Maunsell began giving orders for the company to carry out a deliberate attack on the Indonesian position. Because of the way in which the Indonesians had located their positions, it was necessary for the platoon-sized element on top of the hill to be dealt with first by an advanced party using the element of surprise if possible, so as not to alert the support position before the main assault could be undertaken.A support position was established about 800 yards from the Indonesians, from where the attached forward observer would be able to call in artillery support if required. In addition one platoon
Platoon
A platoon is a military unit typically composed of two to four sections or squads and containing 16 to 50 soldiers. Platoons are organized into a company, which typically consists of three, four or five platoons. A platoon is typically the smallest military unit led by a commissioned officer—the...
was positioned in a location from where they could provide support by fire on to the company-sized position in order to distract them during the initial assault. By noon the battle preparation had been completed and Maunsell led his two assault platoons in single file up the ridge towards the summit. An advance party, consisting of 16 men under the command of Lance Corporal Rambahadur Limbu, led the way, crawling silently up the steep ridge and clearing the way for the rest of the company. It took over an hour to cover the 50 yards before the forward machine gun pit was located. The plan was to kill the sentry manning the machine gun silently, however, when the party was 10 yards from the pit, the sentry spotted them and opened fire, wounding one of the Gurkhas.
Seeing the danger that they were in, Limbu rushed the machine gun and destroyed it with a grenade. Alerted, the rest of the Indonesian platoon began to fire on the forward pit, thus making it an untenable position from which to provide support for the company attack. In order to report this fact to his platoon commander, Limbu exposed himself to enemy fire before returning to his section to continue on with the assault. At the same time, Maunsell had decided to launch the main assault. The lead assault platoon, 8 Platoon, under Lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
Ranjit Rai, a Queen's Gurkha Officer, suppressed one of the enemy machine guns before clearing a hut that was located inside the Indonesian position. The Indonesian resistance to the assault was increasing, so Maunsell gave the order for Rai's platoon to carry out an assault on one of the secondary pits. During this assault, one Gurkha was killed and another wounded. However, it proved successful, and Indonesian resistance began to falter.
On the left flank, the second assault platoon, 9 Platoon, began receiving fire from another Indonesian machine gun pit and its advance was halted. Under the cover of fire laid down by a two-man Bren light machine gun crew, Rambahadur Limbu charged the machine gun pit and again silenced it with a grenade. The three men pressed on, jumping over the destroyed gun. However, one of the Indonesians was still alive and fired a burst as the men passed, hitting the Bren crew, before being killed himself by a grenade. Limbu turned back and over the course of twenty minutes—during which he was almost constantly under fire—he proceeded to rescue them both. He carried the first man to shelter in the hut that had been cleared, before going back out to bring back the second. Both soldiers died of their wounds shortly afterward. Limbu returned to retrieve their Bren and provided covering fire to the final stages of the assault. Limbu killed four more Indonesians as they attempted to escape across the border.
After a fire fight that lasted over an hour, the Indonesians were cleared from the top of the hill. However the fire from the company-sized position on the lower spur began to increase and the Gurkhas found themselves under pressure to withdraw. Realising the danger if they remained in the location, Maunsell gave the order to retire and the company began to withdraw from the position. Under the cover of accurate howitzer and mortar fire directed by the Forward Observation Officer, Lieutenant Douglas Fox, C Company was successfully extracted. The column was met by the Medical Officer, Captain Jack Wynters RAMC, who treated the wounded and, while holding the intravenous drip of one, accompanied them on the march back to Serikin in the pitch dark.
Aftermath
After the battle it was estimated that the Indonesians had suffered at least 24 men killed in the action, while the number of wounded remains unknown. Against this, the British lost three men killed and two wounded, one of them seriously. Two of the dead had been the two men that Rambahadur Limbu had attempted to rescue. Nevertheless for his bravery during the action, Limbu was awarded the Victoria Cross. For their leadership Maunsell, Rai and Fox were all awarded the Military CrossMilitary Cross
The Military Cross is the third-level military decoration awarded to officers and other ranks of the British Armed Forces; and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries....
.