Battle of Singapore
also: Siege of Singapore
Allied troop positions on Singapore, February 1942
| date | January 31 to February 15, 1942 |
|---|---|
| place | Singapore |
| Casus Belli | Control of Singapore, use of facilities there |
| output | Japanese victory |
| Territorial changes | Singapore |
| consequences | Japanese occupation of Singapore, takeover of the naval base |
| Parties to the conflict | |
|---|---|
| Commander | |
| Troop strength | |
| 85,000 soldiers | 36,000 soldiers |
| losses | |
|
5,000 dead |
1,715 dead and 3,378 wounded (see text) |
1941
Thailand - Malay Peninsula - Pearl Harbor - Hong Kong - Philippines - Guam - Wake - Force Z - Borneo
1942
Burma - Rabaul - Singapore - Sumatra - Timor - Australia - Java - Salamaua - Lae - Indian Ocean - Port Moresby - Coral Sea - Midway - North America - Buna-Gona - Kokoda-Track
The Battle of Singapore between Japanese and Allied units took place in World War II during the Pacific War from January 31 to February 15, 1942 .
The fall of Singapore marked the greatest defeat by a British officer- led force in history. Over 80,000 British, Indian and Australian soldiers were taken prisoners of war. During the previous Japanese Malaya campaign , 50,000 men were captured.
prehistory
When the 25th Japanese Army under the command of Tomoyuki Yamashita started the invasion of Malaya in December 1941 , they were opposed by the 3rd Corps of the Indian Army with the 27th Australian Brigade and some battalions of the British Army . Although the combat strength of the Japanese landing forces in northern Malaysia was only slightly greater, thanks to their air superiority, the number of tanks used and the tactics of the infantry and their combat experience, the advantages were clearly on the part of the Japanese army .
It was precisely the control of the air space that enabled the Japanese to sink the two capital ships HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Repulse , which had previously been the trump card of the Allies.
Japanese units advanced on the Malay Peninsula towards the so-called indomitable fortress ; the island of Singapore, a focal point of ABDACOM , the first joint allied command in World War II.
After the last Allied troops had left Malaya on January 31, pioneers blasted a hole 20 m in diameter in the road connecting Johor and Singapore. Many Japanese smuggled into the city then fled across the Strait of Johor in rubber dinghies .
Preparations
The Allied commander, Lieutenant General Arthur Percival , had 70,000-85,000 soldiers available. This represented approximately four divisions , which in 38 infantry - battalions were divided: 17 Indian , 13 British , six Australian , two Malay / Singaporean and three battalions with machine guns . Only the recently arrived British 18th Infantry Division under Major General Merton Beckwith-Smith competed in full strength. All other units were no longer available in full strength due to the previous battles. All of the units, both the newly arrived soldiers and those previously stationed in Singapore, had neither much combat experience nor good training.
The main invasion was expected in the northwest. For this western area Lieutenant General Percival gave Major General Gordon Bennett the command of two brigades of the Australian 8th Division . The area there was characterized by mangrove growth , swamps and jungle , which was occasionally broken through by rivers and streams. The inexperienced 22nd Brigade was assigned an enormous 16 km long section in the west and the 27th Brigade, which had already lost a battalion during the retreat through Malaya, was assigned a 3.5 km long section in the north for defense. The infantry positions were supported by the newly arrived 2nd and 4th Australian Machine Gun Regiments. The 44th Indian Infantry Brigade was also under the command of Bennett.
The III commanded by Lieutenant General Sir Lewis Heath Indian Corps with the 11th Indian Division, the 18th British Division and the 15th Indian Infantry Brigade were assigned to the northern sector for defense. The Singapore Fortress with the surrounding settlements in the southeast was under the command of Major General Frank Keith Simmons with officially 18 battalions. These included the 1st Malay Infantry Brigade, the 12th Indian Infantry Brigade and the Settlers' Volunteer Brigade.
Through the use of aerial scouts, scouts, smuggled agents into the city, and high-altitude viewpoints on the strait, such as the palace of the Sultan of Johore, General Yamashita and his command staff were well aware of the Allied positions. Since February 3, he had the Allies bombarded with artillery . Japanese air strikes also increased over the next five days, while the Royal Air Force held back with 10 Hawker Hurricane fighter jets. However, the Allies had no significant air or artillery support available. On the other hand, the air bombardments and artillery fire by the Japanese were so intense that they were compared to those of the First World War . In addition, the attacks in preparation for the main attack hindered communication between the Allied command posts and their troops so severely that the defense preparations of the island were severely restricted.
The famous large-caliber cannons of Singapore consisted of two batteries , one of which consisted of three and the other of two cannons of 38.1 cm caliber. They were only equipped with armor-piercing shells, which, although they could penetrate the armor of warships, were very ineffective against infantry. Although they were designed to defend against attacks from the sea, they could be rotated and the Japanese still come under fire.
On the Japanese side, General Yamashita had three divisions with over 30,000 infantrymen : the Imperial Guards under Lieutenant General Takuma Nishimura , the 5th Division under Lieutenant General Takuro Matsui and the 18th Division under Lieutenant General Renya Mutaguchi . The Imperial Guards also carried a brigade with light tanks .
The battle
The demolition of the road to Singapore had delayed the Japanese attack for more than a week, but the Allies had won no more than that.
The landings of the Japanese
On February 8, around 8:30 p.m., the first wave of Japanese attackers, consisting of 4,000 Japanese from 5th and 18th Divisions, crossed with landing craft and met Australian machine gunmen on landing.
The longer the fight lasted, the more the Japanese prevailed. The number of their fighters increased steadily and their artillery, aircraft and reconnaissance were the decisive factors for the approaching victory. In the northwest of the island they had found gaps in the Allied defense lines at the streams and rivers. Around midnight, the two Australian brigades lost radio contact and the 22nd brigade had to withdraw. At 1:00 a.m., more Japanese units landed in the northwest and the Australians had to mobilize their last reserves.
At dawn on February 9, parts of the 22nd Brigade were overrun and the Australian battalions lost more than 50% of their soldiers. The Japanese now moved the main combat area further south, where they met the 44th Brigade. During the day, the Allies had to withdraw further and further east. The Allied commanders decided to set up a second line of defense.
In the north, the 27th Brigade had not yet had any contact with the enemy. It was only when the Imperial Guards began to translate at 10:00 a.m. on February 9th that they opened fire with mortars and machine guns. In doing so, they inflicted heavy losses on the Japanese, especially when oil was drained into the water and set on fire. But a small number of the guards reached the coast and were able to establish a small bridgehead .
Problems in coordinating the resistance and the lack of opportunities to relieve the troops at the front weakened more and more the lines of defense of the Allies. After a catastrophic misunderstanding and ongoing setbacks, the 27th Brigade has now withdrawn from Kranji in the central north to the west. Control of the Kranji Jurong Hill was also lost.
The Japanese breakthrough
Through the gap now created at Kranji, the Japanese were able to bring tanks ashore and quickly advance south with them by simply bypassing the 18th division. However, the Japanese tank units failed to penetrate downtown Singapore.
When Yamashita realized that his troops were running out of supplies, he asked Percival to "give up the senseless and hopeless resistance". By then, the 22nd Brigade, which had to bear the brunt of the Japanese attacks, had shrunk to a few hundred men, but had not yet been wiped out. The Japanese had taken the Bukit Timah district and with it most of the Allied ammunition and fuel depots . They had also gained control over the drinking water supply .
The next day, the Allies were able to build a small defensive area in the southeast of the island and repel some Japanese attacks. Other units suffered heavy casualties in close combat, such as the 1st Malay Infantry Brigade in the battle of Pasir Panjang . The Japanese troops could thus be prevented from advancing further for two days.
After the Allies had to surrender more and more land on February 13, the older officers urged Percival to surrender , not least to avoid higher civilian losses. Percival refused, among other things because Winston Churchill ordered that Singapore be defended to the death: "Surrender is out of the question." It is not known how many victims this order made.
So the battle continued on the following day. Civilian casualties rose as one million people crowded into the Allied-held area and Japanese bombing and artillery attacks increased. City officials suspected that the drinking water supply would soon collapse.
The massacre in the Alexandra Hospital
At around 1:00 p.m. on February 14, Japanese soldiers arrived at the Alexandra Military Hospital . Although no one resisted, the Japanese shot or stabbed patients and medical personnel with their bayonets . The next day, they forced 200 male staff and some patients to walk 400 meters, although many could not walk. Some were carried and those who fell out of line were stabbed with the bayonet. The men were then held overnight and systematically stabbed with the bayonet the next morning.
The allied surrender
On the morning of February 15, the Japanese broke through the Allied defenses and food supplies and ammunition became scarce. After Percival had consulted with his staff, he contacted the Japanese and formally surrendered shortly after 5:15 p.m. at the Ford engine factory.
Singapore, now conquered by the Japanese, was renamed Shōnan-tō ( 昭南 島 ). For the next three and a half years, residents suffered dire hardship from the occupying forces, which culminated in the Sook Ching massacre .
The Allied soldiers were taken prisoner by Japan and were treated very badly there too. Many were in Singapore in the Changi POW camp in the east of the island. Thousands were spread all over Asia and had to work as slave labor on projects such as the railway line from Siam to Burma ( Death Railway ) or the Sandakan airfield in northern Borneo , where many of them perished.
See also
Individual evidence
- ↑ Australia-Japan Research Project : "... during the campaign in Malaya and on Singapore Island, British Empire casualties to 138,708 of whom approximately 130,000 became prisoners of war."
literature
- Alan Warren: Britain's Greatest Defeat: Singapore 1942 . London, Hambledon &, ISBN 1-85285-597-5
- Peter Thompson: The Battle for Singapore - The True Story of the Greatest Catastrophe of World War II , portrait, London 2005 ISBN 0-7499-5085-4 Paperback
Web links
- UnknownWW2InColor: 1942 The Taking of Singapore - Japanese Footage Only. youtube.com, March 31, 2013, accessed August 8, 2014 .