On Feb 15, 1942, Singapore fell to the Japanese.
On 10 December 1941, Japanese bombers sank two British warships, the Repulse and the Prince of Wales, off the coast of Malaya. This was a serious blow for Britain and its naval strength. Singapore’s defences were severely weakened. In all, 840 sailors were lost.
The British expected an attack on Singapore to come from... the sea. There were no permanent defences on the landward side, and Singapore’s big guns pointed towards the ocean and couldn’t be turned around.
However the Japanese advanced by land and the troops moved quickly down the Malay Peninsula, many on bicycles.
Allied troops, including the soldiers of the Australian 8th Division, tried valiantly to hold back the Japanese advance, but were forced down the Malay Peninsula and across to the island of Singapore.
On 8 February, the Japanese landed in the north-west of the island in collapsible boats. It is believed that 13,000 troops crossed into Singapore that night.
Twenty-four hours later a second Japanese landing force, the Imperial Guards division, crossed into Singapore at Kranji and via a repaired Causeway.
By the morning of 10 February there were Japanese troops on most of north-west Singapore.
Within six days they were on the outskirts of Singapore city, which was also now under constant air attack.
After gaining full control of Pasir Panjang Ridge on 14 February, Japanese troops moved into the Alexandra area.
Despite the fact that the Alexandra Military Hospital was marked by red crosses, Japanese troops charged into the hospital and killed a British officer who had gone out to meet them with a white flag.
The Japanese troops then entered an operating theatre and killed the patient on the operating table as well as the staff attending to him.
Another group of soldiers then entered the wards and bayoneted the patients indiscriminately. Later, the Japanese were said to have gathered about 200 patients and staff outside the hospital, tied them up with a rope and crammed them into three small rooms for the night. The next day they were tied together in threes and executed. It is estimated that around 280 staff and patients were killed over two days.
On 15 February Lieutenant General Arthur Percival, the British commander in Singapore, called for a ceasefire and made the difficult decision to surrender.
The battle of Singapore, the Gibraltar of the east, the impregnable fortress, lasted only one week from 8 Feb to 15 Feb 1942.
Japanese capabilities were arrogantly underestimated. Thousands of Allied troops, including many from Malaya and Singapore, were killed and injured in desperate defence.
The fall of Singapore was the British Army's greatest humiliation but the disaster was most acutely experienced by the population of Singapore. They paid a grievous price.
"Hindsight enables us to understand that there were serious errors of leadership as the Japanese 25th Army attacked down the Malayan peninsula.
So it is not surprising that one of the lessons that the late Lee Kuan Yew took from the fall of Singapore was that Singaporeans should never rely on any but themselves for their security. And that is why the Singapore Armed Forces are the best funded, best equipped, best trained and most professional forces in South-east Asia." - - Scott Wightman, British High Commissioner to Singapore.
On 10 December 1941, Japanese bombers sank two British warships, the Repulse and the Prince of Wales, off the coast of Malaya. This was a serious blow for Britain and its naval strength. Singapore’s defences were severely weakened. In all, 840 sailors were lost.
The British expected an attack on Singapore to come from... the sea. There were no permanent defences on the landward side, and Singapore’s big guns pointed towards the ocean and couldn’t be turned around.
However the Japanese advanced by land and the troops moved quickly down the Malay Peninsula, many on bicycles.
Allied troops, including the soldiers of the Australian 8th Division, tried valiantly to hold back the Japanese advance, but were forced down the Malay Peninsula and across to the island of Singapore.
On 8 February, the Japanese landed in the north-west of the island in collapsible boats. It is believed that 13,000 troops crossed into Singapore that night.
Twenty-four hours later a second Japanese landing force, the Imperial Guards division, crossed into Singapore at Kranji and via a repaired Causeway.
By the morning of 10 February there were Japanese troops on most of north-west Singapore.
Within six days they were on the outskirts of Singapore city, which was also now under constant air attack.
After gaining full control of Pasir Panjang Ridge on 14 February, Japanese troops moved into the Alexandra area.
Despite the fact that the Alexandra Military Hospital was marked by red crosses, Japanese troops charged into the hospital and killed a British officer who had gone out to meet them with a white flag.
The Japanese troops then entered an operating theatre and killed the patient on the operating table as well as the staff attending to him.
Another group of soldiers then entered the wards and bayoneted the patients indiscriminately. Later, the Japanese were said to have gathered about 200 patients and staff outside the hospital, tied them up with a rope and crammed them into three small rooms for the night. The next day they were tied together in threes and executed. It is estimated that around 280 staff and patients were killed over two days.
On 15 February Lieutenant General Arthur Percival, the British commander in Singapore, called for a ceasefire and made the difficult decision to surrender.
The battle of Singapore, the Gibraltar of the east, the impregnable fortress, lasted only one week from 8 Feb to 15 Feb 1942.
Japanese capabilities were arrogantly underestimated. Thousands of Allied troops, including many from Malaya and Singapore, were killed and injured in desperate defence.
The fall of Singapore was the British Army's greatest humiliation but the disaster was most acutely experienced by the population of Singapore. They paid a grievous price.
"Hindsight enables us to understand that there were serious errors of leadership as the Japanese 25th Army attacked down the Malayan peninsula.
So it is not surprising that one of the lessons that the late Lee Kuan Yew took from the fall of Singapore was that Singaporeans should never rely on any but themselves for their security. And that is why the Singapore Armed Forces are the best funded, best equipped, best trained and most professional forces in South-east Asia." - - Scott Wightman, British High Commissioner to Singapore.
No comments:
Post a Comment