Battle of Singapore

The Battle of Singapore was fought from 8 – 15 February 1942 between the Imperial Japanese army and the British navy and army.

Regarded as an impregnable fortress that could withstand a siege for years, it fell within 7 days to the Japanese. The fall of Singapore severely damaged British military prestige and also limited the capacity to operate in the Indian ocean.

It ultimately would contribute to the end of British colonial rule in the entire southeast Asia

This article will give details about the Battle of Singapore within the context of the IAS Exam

Battle of Singapore-Download PDF Here

Events before the Battle of Singapore

The Second World War had broken out with the German invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939 (the invasion having taken place a week before). In the meantime Nazi Germany, along with Fascist Italy, made an alliance with Imperial Japan.

Imperial Japan had its own designs on the Pacific Ocean. To keep its war industry fed, Japan needed new territories, it did not matter whether those territories were occupied by the European powers.

Of these, Singapore had a significant strategic interest. Nestled among the vital shipping-lanes of southeast Asia, Singapore was known as the Gibraltar of the East to the British and their control of it was vital towards their war-efforts.

The Japanese too wanted Singapore for its strategic value, but knew fully well that taking it would not be easy as the British, expecting amphibious landings, strengthened the coastline with large caliber guns and networks of strongholds. However, they left the northern part of Singapore, which led to Malaysia, dangerously exposed.

The British assumed that the Malayan jungles would be impenetrable to the Japanese army and as such did not direct resources in strengthening the northern causeways. This negligence would later prove to be a fatal mistake.

The British, numbering about 85,000, under the command of Arthur Percival, were about to face a Japanese force of 36,000 under the command of Tomoyuki Yamashita.

Candidates can find History Questions for UPSC Mains, visit the linked article.

Planning for the battle of Singapore

The Japanese were fully aware of the impregnable defences and knew it would jeopardize their entire Pacific campaign if Singapore did not fall in time. So they did what the British were completely unprepared for in the first place – invade from the north.

To ensure that the British and the Commonwealth forces in Singapore did not have any defensive naval capabilities, the Japanese bombed British installlations in Malaysia and Singapore in December 1941, otensiblely the same day the U.S base at Pearl Harbor was bombed.

The HMS Prince of Wales and the HMS Repulse, both regarded as the pride of the British fleet in the Pacific, were sunk by Japanese carrier-borne aircraft. Along with losing its prestige, the British lost their complete naval superiority and some of its air defence capabilities.

Now that their enemy was left vulnerable by air and sea, the Japanese decided to put in pressure from land.

The British however were unaware of Japanese intentions and as such expected an attack from the sea. They were confident that the jungles of Malaysia with its treacherous swamps and dense mangroves would prove a natural barrier for any invading army. The British instead put all their resources in fortifying the coastal approaches of Singapore. These preparations would be futile as a 30,000 strong Japanese army was bearing down on the commonwealth forces from the north.

To know more in detail about other causes of World War II, visit the linked article.Japanese Conquest of Singapore

On December 8, 1941 the Japanese 25th army made landfall in Malaya. They launched an amphibious assault on the northern coast of Malaya at Kota Bharu and started advancing down the eastern coast of Malaya. Japanese forces also landed at Pattani and Songkhla in Thailand, then moved south across the Thailand-Malayan border to attack the western portion of Malaya.

Although the British outnumbered the Japanese, some of the units lacked the training and equipment to sustain a prolonged fight. Lieutenant General Arthur Precival with at least 86,000 men at his command overestimated the size of the Japanese army especially when his forces were defeated at the battle of Jitra on 11-12 December 1941.

Percieval ordered his troops to retreat towards Singapore on January 31st 1942, allowing the Japanese free reign to conquer Thailand and Malaysia. They swarmed the region with stolen bicycles, through the jungle from Kota Bahru towards Singapore, which lay over 600 miles south.

To know more about the differences between Axis and Central Powers, visit the linked article

Once in Singapore, Percival ordered his men to spread themselves out over 70 miles. This was a costly mistake as the Japanese were able eliminate these defensive lines piece by piece.

The Japanese attacked the weakest part of the coastal defences and thus established a beachhead. Expecting an attack from the north, the British were completely unprepared for the amphibious landings. The Japanese advance continued and the Allies position was precarious as they began to run out of supplies as the Japanese aircraft were constantly bombing depots. The Japanese too had logistics problems of their own and were keen on avoiding costly house-to-house fighting.

The Japanese commander Tomoyuki Yamashita, demanded unconditional surrender from the British. In a bid to prevent a futile loss of life, Percival surrendered to the Japanese army

An estimated 100,000 people in Singapore were taken prisoner, some 9,000 of whom were said to go on to die building the Burma-Thailand railway. The estimated deaths of those under Japanese control in Singapore range from a Japanese estimate of 5,000 to that of the Chinese of 50,000.

Aftermath of the Fall of Singapore

The loss of Singapore dealt a severe blow to Britain’s prestige as an imperial power in the region. British Prime Minister Winston Churchill called it “Britain’s greatest military defeat”. This event and the sinking of battleships Repulse and Prince of Wales contributed to the end of British Imperialism in South-East Asia.

The Japanese occupation of Singapore would be terrible for the British and Commonwealth forces along with the local population. In order to subjugate the myriad ethnic groups of Singapore, the Japanese routinely massacred them, while imprisoning the troops under brutal conditions.

About 80,000 British, Indian, Australian and local troops became prisoners of war, joining the 50,000 taken in Malaya and many died of neglect, abuse or forced labour.

Among the Indian prisoners of war, Rash Behari Bose would lay the foundation of the Indian National Army (INA) ostensibly for the liberation of India from British hands but in reality as front-line fodder troops for the Japanese.

The INA would take part in the battle of Imphal and Kohima when the Japanese invaded India from the northeast. The defeat in these battles for the Japanese would put them on the defensive against both a resurgent British and the oncoming United States.

Eventually the Japanese would be defeated on every front an territory fro 1942 to 1945 until the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki forced the Japanese to surrender to the allies unconditionally in August 1945. Aurthur Percieval would be released from captivity and personally take part in the surrender ceremony of the Japanese Empire on board the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay on 2 September 1945.

He would then take part in the surrender of the Japanese in the Philippines where his old foe Tomoyuki Yamashita was the commander. Yamashita was surprised to see his old captive in the Philippines. Yamashita would be tried under the Far East War Crimes Tribunal for the atrocities committed by the forces under his command. Although Yamashita expressed sorrow at the events.

For his part Yamashita denied he had knowledge of the crimes committed by his men, and claimed that he would have harshly punished them if he had had that knowledge. Further, he argued that with an army as large as his, there was no way for him to control all actions by all his subordinates.

Despite his defence Yamashita would be sentenced to death and hanged on 23 February 1946.

Singapore was re-occupied in Operation Tiderace by British, Indian and Australian forces following the surrender of Japan in September. Since 1998, Singapore has observed Total Defence Day on 15 February each year, marking the anniversary of the surrender of Singapore

Candidates can refer to the following links for more information on other bank exams