Three other HDMLs for the Straits Settlement Volunteer Reserve (SSVR) were given names in lieu of numbers, Panglima, Penghambatand Penyengat. Singapore was the foremost British military base and economic port in SouthEast Asia and had been of great importance to British interwar defence strategy. Another vessel to escape from Singapore was SS Ban Ho Guanof about 1,700 tons with a crew of 10 and over 200 passengers including two officers and 100 other ranks from the AIF. Having decided to face the inevitable with a last bottle of bubbly, they were interrupted by some Dalforce officers2. This would see landings in Malaya and Hong Kong as part of a general move south to secure Singapore, connected to Malaya by the JohorSingapore Causeway and then an invasion of the oil-rich area of Borneo and Java in the Dutch East Indies. When the first Japanese came ashore on Singapore Island on 8 February the thinly spread Australians defending the northwestcoast failed to halt the attack and the Argylls were send to help stem the tide in the brief Battle of Singapore. During the battle for Singapore the battalion was engaged in heavy fighting for 20 hours before being overrun by the enemy. They get split up en route, but make it to Sumatra, where there are loads of other escapes and refugees. Civilian casualties mounted as a million people crowded into the 3mi (4.8km) area still held by the Commonwealth and bombing and artillery-fire increased. Every conceivable kind of boat, including yachts, was being pressed into service and my thoughts returned to those days of Dunkirk almost two years before. Lieutenant Richard Pool RN, a survivor from Repulse,had been allocated to ML 310 and writes of his experiences (Pool 1987): All day long columns of evacuees filed patiently along the approach road and on the wharf and gradually found spaces in the miscellany of craft which now thronged the dockside. Intelligence gained in late 1940early 1941 did not alter that plan but confirmed it in the minds of Japanese decision makers. To their right, the 18th Division, the 11th Indian Division and the 2nd Malaya Brigade held the perimeter from the edge of the Farrar Road east to Kallang, while to their left, the 44th Indian Brigade and the 1st Malaya Brigade held the perimeter from Buona Vista to Pasir Panjang. Six of the United Kingdom battalions (in the 54th and 55th Brigades of the British 18th Infantry Division) had only just landed in Malaya, and the other seven battalions were under-manned. As it starts, it's not really obvious whether it's a novel or narrative, since it's all told third person. Finally, on sighting a friendly vessel, they hoist an improvised distress signal, not realizing that the one they select is a warning of their intention to attack. The papers included information about the weakness of the Singapore base. [136][j] At 09:30, Percival held a conference at Fort Canning with his senior commanders. At noon on Sunday 15 February 1942 Lieutenant Colonel Patrick McKerron met with his sister and brother-in-law, Charles Vlieland, who was Secretary for Defence, Malaya, regarding the imminent surrender of the garrison. One survivor, Private Arthur Haines from the Wiltshire Regiment, wrote a four-page account of the massacre that was sold by his daughter by private auction in 2008. [138], In analysing the campaign, Clifford Kinvig, a senior lecturer at Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, blamed the commander of the 27th Infantry Brigade, Brigadier Duncan Maxwell, for his defeatist attitude and not properly defending the sector between the Causeway and the Kranji River. The war establishment, the paper strength, of an infantry division from 1941 to 1944, was 17,298 men. With the prevailing primitive instincts of escape and survival there were few heroes, with the exceptions of LEUT Thomas Wilkinson VC of HMS Li Wofor fearlessly engaging the enemy, and the courageous Captain Bill Reynolds4with his ironically named Kofoku Maru. Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required. [108][109][110] With the vital water supply of the reservoirs in the centre of the island threatened, the 27th Australian Brigade was later ordered to recapture Bukit Panjang as a preliminary move in retaking Bukit Timah. [100], In the early afternoon of 10 February, on learning of the collapse of the Jurong Line, Wavell ordered Percival to launch a counter-attack to retake it. Full content visible, double tap to read brief content. [66] The bombardment of the Australians was not seen as a prelude to attackMalaya Command believed that it would last several days and would later switch its focus to the north-east, despite its ferocity exceeding anything the Allies had experienced thus far in the campaign; no order was passed to the Commonwealth artillery units to bombard possible Japanese assembly areas. Your recently viewed items and featured recommendations. [99] On the evening of 10 February, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, cabled Wavell, I think you ought to realise the way we view the situation in Singapore. [89] Bennett decided to form a secondary defensive line, known as the "Kranji-Jurong Switch Line" facing west between the two rivers, with its centre around Bulim, east of Tengah Airfieldwhich subsequently came under Japanese controland just north of Jurong. [56] The two Australian brigades were subsequently allocated a very wide frontage of over 11mi (18km) and were separated by the Kranji River. The water system was badly damaged and supply was uncertain, rations were running low, petrol for military vehicles was all but exhausted, and there was little ammunition left for the field artillery and anti-aircraft guns, which were unable to disrupt the Japanese air attacks causing many casualties in the city centre. With copies of charts supplied by CMDR Robinson they picked their course past minefields but suddenly, late at night when navigating reefs, they went aground. [74] As the Japanese army advanced towards Singapore Island, the day and night raids increased in frequency and intensity, resulting in thousands of civilian casualties, up to the time of the British surrender. [142] Percival formally surrendered shortly after 17:15. [120] That day, military police executed Captain Patrick Heenan for espionage. As the wreck of Kung Wowas still afloat bombers returned and sank her. The survivors who reached Padang had suffered greatly. Please try again. Japanese forces quickly isolated, surrounded and forced the surrender of Indian units defending the coast. [154], A classified wartime report by Wavell released in 1992 blamed the Australians for the loss of Singapore. Robinson, Stephen, False Flags Disguised German Raiders of World War II, Exisle Publishing, Wollombi, NSW, 2016. [45] In the heart of the "Western Area" was RAF Tengah, Singapore's largest airfield at the time. Padang was an important town serving the southwest coast of Sumatra, and the adjacent port was known as Emmahaven. One evening, months later, when he was sitting in his bathroom enveloped in a towel, he stopped drying himself and gloomily surveyed the floor: 'I cannot get over Singapore', he said sadly. Singapore, 1942, is an exotic tropical city and the home of six-year-old Rosie Sharbanee. Danae offloaded them at Tjilatjap, a small port now crowded with ships, on the south coast of Java. Opposed to them were about 8,000 men comprising two battalions of British infantry, two battalions of Indian infantry, and recently arrived, two battalions of Canadian infantry. With the Japanese stranglehold over the Malay Peninsula there was no land exit, and after the last few RAF aircraft evacuated on 10 February the enemy controlled the skies. It comprised about 2,000 Chinese under (mainly retired) British reserve officers, and was only in existence for a matter of weeks. [91] Late on 9 February, the Imperial Guards began assaulting the positions held by the 27th Brigade, concentrating on those held by the 2/26th Battalion. "Bennett singled out Indian troops but did not confine his remarks to them. With that in mind, thoughts of evacuation were therefore unnecessary. A latter British War Ministry report described the behavior of troops as deplorable, having particular harsh words for a group of Australians, many of whom were deserters from Singapore (Weintraub 2016). Residents suffered great hardships under Japanese rule over the following three-and-a-half years. [155], The Japanese had advanced 650mi (1,050km) from Singora, Thailand, to the southern coast of Singapore at an average rate of 9mi (14km) a day. The Australian Army 8th Division in Malaya eventually reached about 15,000 men. [44] The rest of the force was of mixed quality, condition, training, equipment and morale. Bring your club to Amazon Book Clubs, start a new book club and invite your friends to join, or find a club thats right for you for free. The Japanese attacked the weakest part of the island defences and established a beachhead on 8 February. The main weight of the Japanese force, about 13,000 men, from 16 assault battalions, with five in reserve, attacked the 22nd Australian Brigade. The Malay battalions had not been in action, and the Straits Settlements Volunteers were only sketchily trained. [45], The III Indian Corps (Lieutenant-General Sir Lewis Heath) including the 11th Indian Infantry Division under Major-General Berthold Key with reinforcements from the 8th Indian Brigade,[47] and the 18th Infantry Divisionwas assigned the north-eastern sector, known as the "Northern Area". From The Daily Telegraph 14 November. [59] Also in support was a light tank brigade. Moreman, Dr. John & Reid, Dr. Richard, A Bitter Fate: Australians in Malaya & Singapore, Dec 1941 Feb 1942, Department of Veterans Affairs, Canberra, 2002. Learn more. [87], Believing that further landings would occur in the northeast, Percival did not reinforce the 22nd Brigade until the morning of 9 February, sending two half-strength battalions from the 12th Indian Infantry Brigade. The book starts by recounting the events leading up to the Japanese conquest of British Singapore. With the ships engines irreparable and taking on water the Captain ordered abandon ship. [158] Churchill called the fall of Singapore to the Japanese "the worst disaster and largest capitulation in British history". Silver, Lynette R., The Heroes of Rimau, Leo Cooper, London, 1990. 2 Michael Pethers mother (Kathleen) and her baby daughter were evacuated from Singapore on Christmas Eve 1941 and his grandmother escaped on 12 February 1942, all reaching the safety of home in New Zealand. This proved disastrous as by dreadful coincidence the Japanese invasion fleet heading for the Banka Strait converged with the approaching fleet of small ships departing Singapore. Over the course of an hour, intense fighting took place on the right flank of the 2/19th Battalion, until its positions were overrun, the Japanese then advanced inland concealed by the darkness and the vegetation. Print This Page. The Japanese were also almost at the end of their supplies and Yamashita wanted to avoid costly house-to-house fighting. Despite stubborn resistance and inflicting considerable casualties over 17 days of fighting, Hong Kong surrendered on Christmas Day 1941. There was a problem loading your book clubs. [127] The civilian authorities began to fear that the water supply would give out; Percival was advised that large amounts of water were being lost due to damaged pipes and that the water supply was on the verge of collapse. 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