Singapore in WWII - Battle of Singapore
Why were Australians in Singapore?
In World War II, the Imperial Japanese Army (or Army of the Greater Japanese Empire) invaded Malaya, which resulted in the Battle of Singapore. Th Battle of Singapore took place from the 31st of January, 1942 and ended on the 15th of February. On the Malaya command included the Australian 8th Division.
The Japanese sought to invade Singapore because of its valuable natural resources that could be employed in its war with the Allies.
During the 1930s, Britain built a large naval dock on the north coast of Singapore to use as a base. From there, they could use naval power to protect the Asia-Pacific and thus Singapore became central to their strategy in the region during World War II.
Australia was not directly threatened by the conflict in Singapore a long way away. But as a loyal member of the British Empire, Australia raised a volunteer force for overseas service wherever it was needed.
What were their experiences?
As Allied forces in Malaya retreated towards Singapore, the Australian 8th Division arrived with over 2000 reinforcements. This included the 2/4th Machine Gun Regiment.
The Allied commander was Lieutenant General Arthur Percival. He gave Major General Gordon Bennett's 8th Division the task of defending the north side of the island, in a terrain dominated by forest and mangrove swamps.
At 8.30pm on February the 8th, Australian machine gunners opened fire on ships carrying a first wave of 4000 Japanese troops heading towards Singapore.
On February 11th, aftering several days of battle, General Tomoyuki Yamashita called on Percival to "give up this meaniningless and desperate resistance". The Allies lost more ground on February the 13th, and Bennett and other senior officers advised Lieutenant General Percival to surrender, in the interests of not losing any more civilians.
By the morning of February the 15th, the Japanese had broken through the last line of defence in the north, and food and ammunition had begun to run out. After meeting his unit commanders, Percival help talks with the Japanese and formally surrendered the Allied forces to Yamashita, at about 5.15pm.
What were the outcomes?
The result of the Battle of Singapore was a decisive Japanese Victory and the Japanese occupation of Singapore. The defence of Singapore was considered to be poorly conceived. Only two aging battleships arrived in October, 1941 to defend Singapore. An aircraft carrier was supposed to be defending too, but it was unavailable, leaving the ships devoid of air cover and extremely vulnerable. Both ships were sunk on the 9th of December, 1941.
Despite clear indications that the Japanese would concentrate their attack on the island's north west, Percival sought to defend the entire coastline. This meant that soldiers had to spread out, leaving little depth and an inadequate reserve. At 8.30pm on the 15th of February, 1942 over 130,000 troops, of which 15,000 were Australians, were surrendered to the Japanese.
Bibliography
"Singapore." Wikipedia. 2007. 18 Nov. 2007 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singapore>.
"Battle of Singapore." Wikipedia. 2007. 18 Nov. 2007 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Singapore>.
"8th Division (Australia)." Wikipedia. 2007. 18 Nov. 2007 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/8th_Division_%28Australia%29>.
Lepoer, Barbara Leitch. "Singapore – World War II." Country Studies. 1989. U.S. Library of Congress. 18 Nov. 2007 <http://countrystudies.us/singapore/8.htm>.
"Singapore – World War II." Getforme. 2007. 18 Nov. 2007 <http://www.getforme.com/world%20war%20II.htm>.
"Battle for Singapore." Australian War Memorial. 2007. 18 Nov. 2007 <http://www.awm.gov.au/units/event_221.asp>.
Smith, Colin. Singapore Burning. Penguin Books, 2006. p.547.
Thompson, Peter. The Battle for Singapore. London, 2005.
Posted by Proabffmm on Friday, June 6, 2008.
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