Japanese forces were on the move throughout South-East Asia.

In the Philippines, they were advancing towards the Bataan peninsula. In Malaya, Lieutenant-General Tomoyuki Yamashita’s troops crossed the River Slim on 7 January 1942 and were advancing, with armoured support, towards Kuala Lumpur. On 10 January, Japanese forces staged a landing on the (oil-rich) island of Tarakan in Borneo; American general Douglas MacArthur inspected Bataan’s defences; and the British finally abandoned Kuala Lumpur. The Japanese moved into the city almost immediately.

During this period, General Archibald Wavell arrived in Singapore to take charge of British defences and, in Washington D.C., President Roosevelt proposed to Congress a target of 125,000 planes and 8 million tons of shipping to be built within the next two years.