Singapore

The Japanese attack on the British colony of Singapore was linked to a series of other dramatic events in late 1941. It all started with the Japanese attack on the American naval base Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, December 7. On the same day, the Japanese also attacked the islands of Wake and Guam and Hong Kong, Thailand and Malaysia. The Reason for the Japanese aggression was embargoes that severely threatened the resources needed to supply the Japanese army and thus Japan’s ambitions to dominate the Far East and its natural resources.

From Malaysia, Japanese forces advanced rapidly south towards the British colony of Singapore. A British stronghold that Churchill called the ’Gibraltar of the East’ and considered impregnable. But already in December 1941, Japanese aircraft had bombed the city to cripple its infrastructure and military fortifications. British defenses were mainly concentrated to meet an attack from the sea and not from Malaysia in the north. The British defenses, numbering about 85 000 men, were largely made up of colonial forces and were led by Lieutenant General Arthur Ernest Percival. Percival led the defense of Singapore from a bunker (Battle Box) at Fort Canning. The Japanese forces were led by General Tomoyuki Yamashita and consisted of about 35 000 men.

The Japanese attack on Singapore began on February 8, 1942 with a massive artillery strike at Sarimbun Beach in northern Singapore against the Australian defenders. The aim was to knock out the defense and then carry out a landing from the Malaysian side over to Singapore. For about a week there was fierce fighting and the British defenders had to pull back and also began to run out of supplies in the form of ammunition, but especially water and food. As well as fighting on the ground, there was also fighting in the air and in the waters around Singapore. The Japanese also committed war crimes against the civilian population, including the massacre of a hospital in the city.

By February 15, the situation had become so difficult for the British that it was no longer possible to continue fighting and surrender was the only option. General Yamashita received his British counterpart Percival to sign the surrender. The British forces disarmed themselves and then surrendered to the Japanese forces, facing an uncertain future as prisoners of war. British casualties amounted about 5000 dead and about 80 000 captured. Japanese losses amounted about 1700 dead. This was followed by a Japanese occupation of Singapore that lasted until mid-September 1945. For the British, the loss of Singapore was the biggest military defeat they had so far experienced.