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Invasion of Malaya and Singapore

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseMalaya was known for its rich natural resources, and that very aspect was eyed by the Japanese militarists and industrialists. In 1939, Malaya was the resource of 40% of the world's rubber and 60% of the world's tin; that fact alone interested Japanese expansionists, but two additional reasons sealed the approval on the invasion planning that started in early 1941. The first was that most of this rubber and tin supply went to Japan's potential cross-ocean rival, the United States. Secondly, Japan needed oil. Every drop of oil consumed by Japan's military and industrial capacities had to be imported. The Japanese Navy alone needed 400 tons of oil an hour to maintain its war readiness. While Malaya only had a limited amount of oil production, the peninsula was a perfect staging point to launch and support further invasion for the oil rich islands of Borneo, Java, and Sumatra. In Jun 1941 Japan was refused supplies of iron and oil from United States, Britain, and Netherlands, therefore further reinforced Japanese thought that Southeast Asia must be taken. In addition to the natural resources, Malaya was also part of Japan's "Outline Plan for the Execution of the Empire's National Policy", a plan to expand the outer perimeters so wide that her enemies would not be able to attack by air against the home islands. This perimeter extends from the Kurile islands down to Wake, Guam, the East Indies, Borneo, Malaya, and up to Burma.

ww2dbaseIn general, the Japanese troops knew very little of jungle warfare. The Japanese Army did not embark on conducting research with jungle warfare until Dec 1940, and even then the effort was not fruitful, as the responsibility of the research was given to the Taiwan Army, and the island of Taiwan lacked any jungle for this purpose. Furthermore, Japanese intelligence only detected 30,000 to 50,000 British and Commonwealth troops in Malaya, when in fact there were about 88,600 men; this under-estimation could have easily caused serious harm in the Japanese invasion, but General Tomoyuki Yamashita would later admit that "our battle in Malaya was successful because we took the enemy lightly". Yamashita was given the overall responsibility of the invasion. On paper, he commanded a force 70,000-strong, organized into three divisions; in reality, the Japanese strength was less than that, as the 5th Division left behind a whole regiment in Shanghai, China as late as 26 Dec 1941, while the 18th Division left two headquarters regiments in Canton, China. Meanwhile, the Imperial Guard Division, elite academically, had no combat experience.

ww2dbaseThe defenses in Malaya and Singapore were equally unprepared for war. Coordination between the ground troops and the small Royal Air Force contingent in the region was poor, while the ground troops, particularly conscripts from India, lacked training and were not properly equipped. High ranking British officers, too, lacked training in jungle warfare. In fact, some of them were not even considering that they needed to know how to conduct a war in the Malayan jungles, as indicated by some of their frustrated complaints that there was no room for them to conduct training maneuvers because the jungle was in the way. While Singapore was boasted to be a fortress that could resist an amphibious invasion, defense against a convention invasion down the Malayan peninsula was inadequate. Finally, another hint of Singapore's unpreparedness was the lack of food rationing despite its mother country had been in war since 1939 and the Japanese invasion seemed inescapable by late 1941. The only major attempt that the British had committed in building the defense of Malaya and Singapore seemed to be a request for the United States to station capital ships of the US Pacific Fleet in Singapore, but that request was denied.

ww2dbaseThe Start of the Invasion

8 Dec 1941

ww2dbaseThe invasion fleet left the port of Samah on 4 Dec 1941. Although detected by British scout planes two days earlier, bad weather provided stealth for the invasion convoy. On 8 Dec, after some fighting at Kota Bharu, the Japanese troops took coast cities of Singora (Thailand), Patani (Thailand), and Kota Bharu (Malaya). British planes attempted to attack landing ships, but Japanese troops made beachhead at Kota Bharu within three hours despite the air distraction. At an airfield near Kota Bharu, Indian troops who received incorrect intelligence that the Japanese were far ahead than where they actually were killed their own commander Lt. Col. Hendricks and fled the airfield without destroying anything, providing the Japanese invaders a fully working airfield along with fuel and ammunition. General Yamashita, in Singora, negotiated with the Thai government, and won an agreement that allowed Japanese troops to move within Thai borders toward Malaya without local resistance. Meanwhile, Colonel Tsuji's men, disguised in civilian attire, secured key bridges beyond Malaya's borders before the British could destroy them on their retreat. No reinforcements from United States' Philippines appeared during the landings, as the US forces were busy fending off a nearly simultaneous invasion at Philippines and at Pearl Harbor. On the same day, 8 Dec, Japan sent her first air raid on the city of Singapore, resulting in 61 deaths. British command in Singapore still did not call for a general blackout of the city.

ww2dbaseBattle off Kuantan

10 Dec 1941

ww2dbaseWith the threat of Germany, the bulk of the British Royal Navy were recalled to defend the English Channel, Northern Atlantic, and the Mediterranean. When it came to the defense of British interests in the Pacific, the duty fell squarely on the shoulders of three capital ships (with a support cast of smaller ships, of course). The battle cruiser Repulse was commanded by Captain W. G. Tennant, an older design but sported six 15" guns. The second ship was the battleship Prince of Wales, a ship practically fresh out of the docks (she was commissioned in March 1941), sporting ten 14" modern guns and good anti-aircraft defenses, but her total tonnage was limited by the treaty. The Prince of Wales was commanded by Captain J. C. Leach of the Royal Navy. The last large ship was the Indomitable, a 23,000-ton aircraft carrier with a compliment of 45 fighters. This force was designated "Force G" and sent underway to rendezvous in Singapore.

ww2dbaseIndomitable soon ran into bad luck -- she ran aground on 3 Nov 1941 off Jamaica, and had to sail north to Norfolk, Virginia, United States for 12 days worth of repairs. With the Japanese striking earlier than expected (United States estimated that the earliest date Japan would gather enough force to attack United States and/or British holdings in the Pacific would be Mar 1942), she would not make it in time to fight alongside her squadron mates, but this mishap would save her to fight another day.

ww2dbaseNear Ceylon, the Repulse and the Prince of Wales met, and the force was renamed "Force Z", and sailed for Singapore. With Admiral Sir Thomas Philips flagged aboard the Prince of Wales, the fleet of two warships and four destroyers reached Singapore just as news of Japan's mostly successful attack all across Pacific reached the admiral. He decided to take his fleet up the eastern Malaya coast to stop any further landing operations against Malaya. He sailed half-way up the coast of Malaya when he had heard a radio report that a Japanese landing at the port of Kuantan was being staged, and turned the fleet around toward Kuantan during the night, planning on a dawn attack against the landing ships. At 2352, Japanese submarine I-58 spotted Force Z and launched a torpedo, but missed so widely that there were no British reports of being attacked. I-58 reported the finding to Rear Admiral Matsunaga Sadaichi's 22nd Air Flotilla, which launched 76 aircraft to search for Force Z. It was of interest to note that should these planes not be able to find Force Z, they had the orders to fly all the way to Singapore for a bombing run, without ample supplies of fuel for the return trip; the commander essentially told the pilots that should they not find the British fleet, they would not be allowed to return to base with honor. Luckily for the Japanese pilots and unfortunately for the British, Ensign Hoashi Masame of a reconnaissance aircraft spotted the British ships at 1045 on 10 Dec in the Gulf of Siam. Admiral Nobutake Kondo sent cruisers and torpedo planes to attack the ships, but the British warships escaped the first attack.

ww2dbaseAs Japanese aircraft of the 22nd Air Flotilla approached, they were surprised to see two capital ships without air cover. With the Indomitable out of action and the airfields at Kota Bharu already under Japanese control, there were no available air cover for the British ships (also interesting to note that when the attack occurred, Philips only requested for destroyers for assistance, not aircraft). Little after 1000 Japanese aircraft began the attack on the British ships. The Repulse, with inadequate anti-aircraft weaponry, was disabled quickly and sank at 1233, killing 500 men. The Prince of Wales suffered heavy damage and was abandoned at 1300. Over 300 men lost their lives, including Admiral Philips and Captain Leach, who stood at the bridge and went down with the ship. Later, the British found out that sending the ships to Kuantan was pointless, as the port was never a target that day. At the end of the battle, Japan had lost only 3 aircraft. After Pearl Harbor and Philippines only a couple of days before, Japan once again proved that airpower was the future of naval warfare, not big warships. Ironically, the largest battleship in history, Yamato, would be launched 11 days later, and become the flagship of the Combined Fleet.

ww2dbaseFall of Jitra

11 Dec 1941

ww2dbaseThe 11th Indian Division was in no shape to defend Jitra with no working communications systems and flooded trenches. The oncoming Japanese attack captured several artillery and anti-aircraft guns, however, the attack on the city of Jitra on the night of 11 Dec caused heavy losses among the Japanese troops. A shift in tactics allowed the Japanese column to drive a deep wedge into the center of the British line of defense, and then the addition of a reinforcement force broke through the line. During the British retreat, there was much confusion due to the lack of a good communications system, and it was fueled by unorthodox tactics employed by the Japanese, including snipers under disguise as local civilians. The Japanese forces would push to the vicinity of Penang within days.

ww2dbaseFall of Penang

17 Dec 1941

ww2dbasePenang was an island garrison, consisted of four anti-aircraft guns and 500 troops. The first attack on the island by the Japanese was as early as 11 Dec, in the form of air raids. During one of the raids, a bomb was dropped on a firestation, which resulted in no firefighting capability from the civilians. Some RAF resistance was present, but was largely unsuccesful. The city fell under a state of lawlessness within days, with uncontrollable looting while corpses were left rotting on the streets.

ww2dbaseOn 17 Dec, Japanese troops landed on the island of Penang with no resistance, as British forces had already evacuated the island on the previous day. Once again, the British failed to destroy resources that could be used by the invaders, including a fully functional radio station. The Japanese troops used the radio station to broadcast the cruel message "Hello, Singapore, this is Penang calling. How do you like our bombing?" and proceeded to massacre the Penang residents during a large-scale looting. General Tamashita called a stop to the atrocities, and executed three soldiers as punishment. Lt. Col. Kobayashi was also placed under arrest as punishment. However, the image of the Japanese as brutal conquerers would forever be carved in the minds of the natives.

ww2dbaseGeneral Archibald Wavell, British commander-in-chief in the area, had little confidence in Lieutenant General Arthur Percival, who was in tactical command of the defending troops. During the defensive campaign, Wavell interfered in Percival's decision making on several occasions, but he repeated failed to replace Percival, thus further weakening the British ability to fight.

ww2dbaseFall of Kuala Lumpur

11 Jan 1942

ww2dbaseJapanese troops, originally thought as inferior in jungle warfare, continued to surprise British troops as they moved quickly down the peninsula. Part of the Japanese secret was bicycles, providing Japanese soldiers great mobility in the rubber plantations. On 11 Jan, tanks reached the edge of Kuala Lumpur, and had taken the capital city with relatively little difficulty. In the city Yamashita found stores of food, fuel, and ammunition, solving his previously stressful situation of a long supply line from Siam/northern coasts of Malaya.

ww2dbaseWithin weeks, British troops slowly backed into Singapore as Japanese troops advanced. Gordon Bennett and his Australian 8th Division staged several ambushes against Japanese troops, while successful in causing casualties, they largely did not significantly slow the Japanese advance. Blown bridges, however, slowed the momentum, but the Japanese was still able to reach as far south as Gemas on 15 Jan and Johore by the end of the month. The fortress of Singapore was in sight, and the quantity of men killed, wounded, or captured thus far was the equivalent of two divisions of men for the British, while Yamashita had lost about five thousand (two thousand dead).

ww2dbaseBattle of Singapore

1-15 Feb 1942

ww2dbaseOn 1 Feb 1942, the Japanese reached Singapore island after overrunning British, Australian, and Indian troops. On 5 Feb, down to 18 tanks and lacked ammunition and food, the smaller force commanded of Yamashita attacked the island of Pulau Ubin on the east, creating a bluff that another Japanese force was attacking from the east. This deceived Percival, who moved his major ammunitions stores to the east when the actual Japanese attack came down from the northwest. On 8 Feb, the actual attack on Singapore started with landing of troops on Singapore's northwest coast. Australian troops fought off initial landing attempts while inflicting enormous casualties on the part of the Japanese. However, the Australian troops retreated unnecessarily amidst the confusion of battle, allowing Japanese troops to gain a strong foothold at the shore defense installations. Subsequent landings would be unopposed.

ww2dbaseFrom very early on, British commander Percival had his troops destroy docks and fuel dumps to prevent enemy capture. While it indeed took away Japan's ability to have readily available infrastructure and various resources, the early destruction of such facilities further destroyed defender morale. Such moves instilled the soldiers with the notion that the battle had already been lost.

ww2dbaseOn 10 Feb, the Japanese 5th and 18th Divisions routed the 22nd Australian Brigade, who retreated further into the city and turned on its citizens, pillaging the city of its food and liquor. By this time, Japanese tanks were also in Singapore in force, first routing Indian troops at the hills of Bukit Timah then denying a successful counterattack by British Brigadier Coates. While RAF fighter pilots bravely downed several Japanese bombers early in the assault, most of them were picked off one by one in dogfights by the superior Zero fighters. Singapore citizens continued to evacuate the city as they had done earlier, though at this stage many boats out of the city faced strafing by Japanese fighters. On 13 Feb, Japanese troops would seize or damage most city reservoirs, attempting to cause chaos by drying up the city. "While there's water," Lieutenant General Arthur Percival says, "We fight on."

ww2dbaseOn 14 Feb, Japanese troops closed into the city, and atrocities ensued. Lt. Western, a British medical officer, surrendered with a white flag but was bayoneted to death. Then, the Japanese troops entered the Alexandra Hospital, killing over 300 doctors, nurses, and patients, most by bayonets. When Yamashita heard about the incident, he had the Japanese soldiers responsible for the attack executed at the hospital.

ww2dbaseOther reports of atrocities including gruesome accounts where Japanese troops emasculated captured British soldiers and sewed their penises to their lips before hanging them in trees where Allied patrols would find them; signs on their necks read "he took a long time to die". Such displays were meant to, and were successful to a certain degree, to demoralize Allied soldiers.

ww2dbaseAt 1400 hours on Sunday, 15 Feb, Percival decided that he only had enough supplies for two more days of fighting, and surrendered. Yamashita asked Percival, who wore the baggy British tropical uniform shorts that date, "do you wish to surrender unconditionally?", and Percival answered "Yes we do", and that marked the fall of the "Impregnable Fortress" of Singapore to Japanese General Tomoyuki Yamashita. Yamashita's troops had only enough ammunitions to fight a few more days, but Percival did not have that intelligence. Singapore, the Gibraltar of the East, would remain under Japanese control until the end of the war. Until the last moment of battle, the British shore batteries of 15" and 19" guns pointed southward, waiting for the naval assault expected but never came.

ww2dbaseConclusion of the Campaign

ww2dbaseAt the conclusion of the Japanese campaign at Malaya, all Allied troops at the peninsula, numbered at over 138,000, were killed or captured. Many of the captured would endure a four-year long brutal captivity as forced labor in Indo-China. British Prime Minister Winston Churchill considered the British defeat at Singapore one of the most humiliating British defeats of all time. Many historians suggested similarly.

ww2dbaseEpilogue: Sook Ching Massacre

16 Feb-2 Mar 1942

ww2dbaseAfter Percival's surrender that concluded the military campaign, the Japanese Army became concerned about both moral and monetary support from Malayan and Singaporean Chinese to Chiang Kaishek's Nationalist government in China. In a process that the Japanese called Daikensho ("the Great Inspection") and the Chinese called Sook Ching ("the Purge", coined in 1946), Yamashita authorized his men to cooperate with the Kempeitai on a purge of Chinese groups that were likely to undermine Japanese occupation. Some of the groups targeted were known supporters of the China Relief Fund, Chinese men with tattoos (believed to be members of secret societies), communists, and politicians, among others. The purge soon expanded to cover almost all Chinese men, many of whom had nothing to do with any of the anti-Japanese groups. During the purge, Singaporean Chinese men were sent to remote sites such as Changi, Punggol, Blakang Mati, and Bedok and executed by drowning or by machine gunning; in Penang, indiscriminate killings took place, where entire villages of Chinese were imprisoned and executed. The purge was called off on 3 Mar 1942. Because of the lack of records, death tolls were not certain. Post-war Japanese authority recognized the figure of 5,000 killed, while Singaporean estimated upwards of 100,000. Most historians agreed that the number was likely somewhere between 25,000 and 50,000, based on evidence provided during post-war trials.

ww2dbaseThe massacre deprived the Japanese of any cooperation from Malayans and Singaporeans, Chinese or otherwise. Consequently, significant amount of troops became tied-down in Malaya and Singapore to maintain order.

ww2dbaseIn 1947, seven Japanese officers were tried and found guilty of war crimes for the Sook Ching Massacre. Commander of No. 2 Field Kempeitai Lieutenant Colonel Masayuki Oishi was executed on 26 Jun 1947; Lieutenant General Saburo Kawamura was also executed on the same date. The remaining five were given life sentences, including Lieutenant General Takuma Nishimura, who was later found guilty of the Parit Sulong Massacre by an Australian court and was executed as according to the Australian tribunal.

ww2dbaseSources: American Caesar, Britain at War, Nihon Kaigun, the Pacific Campaign, the Pacific War, Wikipedia, World War II Plus 55.

Last Major Update: Mar 2010

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