WITHDRAWAL FROM EMPIRE - A Military View by Jackson, General Sir William, GBE, KCB, MC

London 1986, Batsford, UK First edition , hard bound in dust jacket ,( dj price clipped), 6 1/2 x 9 1/2 , Fine/Fine condition, xvii, 285 pages, 19 maps, illus, notes, bibliog, index. ------------------------------------------------------- The evolution of Britain's military role as an imperial power and its adjustment to modern conditions is the theme of this masterly survey. A prologue outlines the early accumulation of imperial riches, the luxury of Victorian and Edwardian evangelism and liberal morality, imperial growth in the first two decades of this century, the rise of new rivals for world power, the factors leading to the idea of the Commonwealth, and the cost of victory of the Second World War.Thus the scene is set for the central drama of the book: first the attempts to maintain an imperial role, and the influence of events in India, the Middle East, and the Far East; the riding of the Communist tide-the Berlin blockade, the Malayan emergency and the Korean War; the battle for hearts and minds-Kenya, Cyprus and Egypt become critical; and crucial events not only in Ghana but also, of course, Suez........................................................................................ From the late fifties, withdrawal from Empire became the political and military consensus. The author analyses this gradual change of orientation, rearguard military involvement in Borneo and Aden, the 1967 Defence Review and the disengagement from `East of Suez'. Subsequently Britain's imperial role is a matter of `unfinished business', as the author analyses events in Rhodesia and South Africa, Hong Kong and Gibraltar. In an epilogue General Jackson compares Britain's present position with that at the beginning of the 18th century, pointing out crucial differences; there is reference inter alia to the Falklands Campaign as he assesses the virtues of a maritime versus a continental strategy, still a matter for lively debate.