[85] On the evening of 10 February, General Archibald Wavell, commander of ABDA, ordered the transfer of all remaining Commonwealth air force personnel to the Dutch East Indies. As part of the Singapore strategy, the base formed a key part of British interwar defence planning for the region. [115] Elsewhere, the 22nd Brigade continued to hold a position west of the Holland Road until late in the evening when it was pulled back to Holland Village. Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for PARAGON (VHS, 1985) *ESCAPE FROM DEATH ROW* VCR FILM RE SEALED RENTAL MOVIE at the best online prices at eBay! On 10 December both capital ships were lying on the sea bed off the east coast of Malaya with 840 dead and 2000 survivors seeking help from the beleaguered garrison. [71] The initial fighting cost the Australians many casualties, the 2/20th, losing 334 men killed and 214 wounded. 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. on Amazon.com. [68] The assault was received by the 2/18th Battalion and the 2/20th Battalion. Captain K. R. King and Sergeant J. E. Iliffe, who were with an Ordnance auit in Malaya, met the other day for the first time since the fall of Singapore. A smaller version was the Harbour Defence Motor Launch (HDML). 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. Against all odds, and crammed like sardines, they were underway. Her captain is unknown and she sailed with 4 crew and 25 passengers. Those remaining of the ships companies from Prince of Walesand Repulse after successive drafts had been sent to other ships, among them two officers, LEUT G. Brooks and LCDR A.H. Terry, with about 200 men. With the Russians fighting as they are and the Americans so stubborn at Luzon, the whole reputation of our country and our race is involved. The men were detailed to help the undermanned crew and the women assisted in the galley and saloon. The "Southern Area", including the main urban areas in the south-east, was commanded by Major-General Frank Simmons. [46] Also under Bennett's command was the 44th Indian Infantry Brigade. Anniversary Cruise: Sydney under Japanese Attack, Sydney Harbour in War and Peace: Bradleys Head Tour, Garden Island Northern Hill and Garden Tour, Night of the midget subs Sydney under attack, D-Day commando on Sword Beach by Commander Jim Speed DSC, RAN Part 1, D-Day commando on Sword Beach by Commander Jim Speed DSC, RAN Part 2, D-Day commando on Sword Beach by Commander Jim Speed DSC, RAN Part 3. [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. Blackburn and Hack give a total of 226 for British artillery pieces captured during the siege of Singapore itself, including fortress guns (172 without them), Two brigades from the 8th Australian Division had been dispatched to Singapore and then Malaya in February 1941, while its third brigade had been dispersed to garrison. Property of the Rajah of Sarawak, she was requisitioned by the Admiralty, lightly armed andgivenacoatofgreypaint.Sheretainedher civilian crew who were given naval reserve ranks, commanded by Captain Richard Borton. The once proud naval base, HMS Sultan,was evacuated at the end of January and set on fire with personnel relocated to a hutted camp at Seletar. Though his mind had been gradually prepared for its fall, the surrender of the fortress stunned him. Try again. About the author Ian Skidmore 24 books Ratings &Reviews Naval Historical Review, WWII operations, History - WW2 Japanese operations, Singapore, Ship losses, Australian Naval History Podcasts The number of Japanese killed and wounded is disputed. [124] For the most part, there was limited fighting around the perimeter, except around Pasir Panjang Ridge, 1mi (1.6km) from Singapore Harbour, where the 1st Malaya Brigadewhich consisted of a Malayan infantry battalion, two British infantry battalions and a force of Royal Engineersfought a stubborn defensive action during the Battle of Pasir Panjang. He admitted that towards the end it was all but impossible to return men to their units. Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.Learn more how customers reviews work on Amazon. Can you add one? Escape from Singapore, 1942;: The story of an incredible voyage through enemy waters As the wreck of Kung Wowas still afloat bombers returned and sank her. Financial constraints had hampered construction efforts during the intervening period and shifting strategic circumstances had largely undermined the key premises behind the strategy by the time war had broken out in the Pacific. 1 The official history records Wah Sui sailing with 120 wounded but Moreman and Reid (2002) say six nurses and 300 wounded; those onboard say there were between 350 and 450 passengers, many of whom may not have been wounded. Locals revealed his presence and he was captured by the Japanese and subsequently shot by firing squad. Many of those aboard the ships perished. The main weight of the Japanese force, about 13,000 men, from 16 assault battalions, with five in reserve, attacked the 22nd Australian Brigade. War finally came with Japanese forces attacking the northern beaches of Malaya on 8 December 1941 because of the dateline, one hour ahead of Pearl Harbor.Within days their attacks had extended to the Philippines and Hong Kong and through a pincer movement, down both sides of the Malay Peninsula. [157], The Japanese occupation of Singapore started after the British surrender. [19][20], At the start of the campaign, the Commonwealth forces had only 164 first-line aircraft in Malaya and Singapore and the only fighter type was the sub-standard Brewster 339E Buffalo. Please use a different way to share. [41] The newly arrived 18th Infantry Division (Major-General Merton Beckwith-Smith)[42][43]was at full strength but lacked experience and training. The Commonwealth having thought the terrain made them impractical, had no tanks and only a few armoured vehicles, which put them at a severe disadvantage. Singapore was no more, it would now be renamed Syonan-To or Light of the South. [67], Shortly before 20:30 on 8 February, the first wave of Japanese troops from the 5th Division and 18th Division began crossing the Johor Strait. The resistance put up by the company from the 2/19th pushed the follow-on waves of Japanese craft to land around the mouth of Murai River, which resulted in them creating a gap between the 2/19th and 2/18th battalions. The Indians reached Bennett around noon. A British lieutenantacting as an envoy with a white flagapproached Japanese forces but was killed with a bayonet. [81] On the morning of 9 February, dogfights took place over Sarimbun Beach and other western areas. RAF Kallang was the only operational airstrip left; the surviving squadrons and aircraft had withdrawn by January to reinforce the Dutch East Indies. On the morning of 12 February naval personnel were told they would be embarking in half-a-dozen small ships later that evening. [48], From 3 February, the Commonwealth forces were shelled by Japanese artillery, and air attacks on Singapore intensified over the next five days. With necessary repairs he found that the 1934 built fishing vessel Kofoku Maru (Happiness), with a copper sheathed teak hull and German diesel engine, was a very sound craft and he recruited eight Chinese to crew her. Much is known of this and the vain attempt by the Prince of Walesand Repulse to halt the Malayan invasion and, the subsequent incarceration of troops and civilians at Selarang and Changi. Singapore a bastion of the British Empire, an impregnable fortress, fortified to withstand attack and prevent siege. Prior to the main assault, the Australians were subjected to an intense artillery bombardment. Life on the Line tracks down Australian war veterans and records their stories. A least one ship put up a gallant fight against overwhelming odds, she was the converted ferry cum armed patrol boat, HMS Li Wo, under command of Temporary Lieutenant Thomas Wilkinson RNR. They were supported by seven obsolete aircraft, one elderly destroyer, two gunboats and eight motor torpedo boats (MTBs). Following Japanese atrocities in Hong Kong as many female nurses as possible were to be evacuated. [80], By the time of the invasion, only ten Hurricanes of 232 Squadron, based at RAF Kallang, remained to provide air cover for the Commonwealth forces on Singapore. [11], Japanese oil reserves were rapidly depleting due to its military operations in China and by industrial consumption. [m] Thompson wrote that the 22nd Australian Brigade was "so heavily outnumbered that defeat was inevitable" and Costello states that Percival's insistence on concentrating the 22nd Australian Brigade at the water's edge had been a serious mistake. The most positive escape concerns the ex-Japanese fishing vessel Kofoku Maruskippered by Australian master mariner turned mining engineer, William (Bill) Reynolds. [155] At Gemas, Bakri and Jemaluang, "they achieved the few outstanding tactical successes" of the campaign in Malaya and although the Australians made up 13 per cent of the British Empire's ground forces, they suffered 73 per cent of its battle deaths. While the presence of a Japanese Fleet, bound for Sumatra, was known to the Dutch it was nolongerpossibletopassthisinformationto Admiral Spooner. With only a few Navy men and a Merchant Marine among them, and no navigation gear, they make their way to what they hope is safety, where they are reabsorbed into the military machine. They carried 2 x 4-inch guns, 1 x 3.7-inch gun and 8machine guns, with a crew of 75 officers and men. ESCAPE FROM SINGAPORE - 1942 They were witnessing the beginning of the end of the British Empire with the whole city lying under a pall of smoke, lit up by the glow of fires, as the once rich and powerful garrison surrendered to the Japanese. 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. Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Escape from Singapore, 1942;: The story of an incredible voyage through enemy waters at Amazon.com. They displaced 85 tons, were 112feet in length, with a top speed of 20 knots. Scorpionmade her escape on 9 February and suffered air attacks but was able to continue until encountering the Japanese cruiser Yuraand two destroyers when she was sunk. That is why the surrender had to be at once. [69] The Australians numbered just 3,000 men and lacked any significant reserve. This was the greatest known defeat of British forces in the distant Far East. The Locust class river gunboats were relatively new steam turbine ships of 585 tons capable of 17 knots. Born into a lively Iraqi-Jewish family who rose from humble beginnings to create a thriving business, Rosie's days are filled with the love of her amusing and exasperating relatives and servants. She was similar in size to a Navy HDML but narrower in the beam. Date 8-15 February 1942 Location Singapore, Straits Settlements Commanders and senior officers should die with their troops. 226 Group RAF, they flew from an airfield code-named P1, near Palembang, Sumatra in the Dutch East Indies, while a flight was maintained in Singapore. Uploaded by [98] Throughout 10 February further fighting took place around along the Jurong Line, as orders were formulated to establish a secondary defensive line to the west of the Reformatory Road, with troops not then employed in the Jurong Line; misinterpretation of these orders resulted in Taylor, the commander of the 22nd Brigade, prematurely withdrawing his troops to the east, where they were joined by a 200-strong ad hoc battalion of Australian reinforcements, known as X Battalion. Naval Historical Society of Australia Inc. [21] The aircraft were, according to historian Peter Dennis, "not considered good enough for use in Europe" and major shortcomings included a slow rate of climb and the fuel system, which required the pilot to hand-pump fuel if flying above 6,000ft (1,800m). Gibson, Walter, The Boat Singapore Escape, Monsoon, Singapore, 2007. Because of the dangers no women were to be taken onboard. [136][j] At 09:30, Percival held a conference at Fort Canning with his senior commanders. All Rights Reserved. Japanese aircraft continuously bombed the civilian water supply which was expected to fail within days. Reynolds had other ideas and as a skilled sailor and engineer he borrowed a vessel. About 40,000, mostly conscripted, Indian soldiers joined the Indian National Army and fought with the Japanese in the Burma campaign. Singapore was the foremost British military base and economic port in SouthEast Asia and had been of great importance to British interwar defence strategy. Top subscription boxes right to your door, 1996-2023, Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates, Learn more how customers reviews work on Amazon. Controversially, the commander of Australian forces on the island, Major General Gordon Bennett, escaped the island with two staff officers on the night of the surrender. Japanese land-based aircraft found and sank the two capital ships on 10 December,[24] leaving the east coast of the Malayan Peninsula exposed and allowing the Japanese to continue their amphibious landings. [139][135] Post-war analysis has shown that a counter-attack might have succeeded. Full content visible, double tap to read brief content. [151][137] Elphick also claims that Australians made up the majority of stragglers. This reduced the number she could carry to about 25 plus five crew. , Language In the interwar years, Britain had established a naval base in Singapore after the Anglo-Japanese alliance had lapsed in 1923. According to Woodburn-Kirby the majority of deserters were from administrative units or were men who had only recently arrived in Malaya and were inadequately trained. [22] The Imperial Japanese Army Air Force was more numerous and better trained than the second-hand assortment of untrained pilots and inferior Commonwealth equipment remaining in Malaya, Borneo and Singapore. Attacks would be made against the American naval fleet at Pearl Harbor as well as landings in the Philippines and attacks on Guam, Wake Island and the Gilbert Islands. The 1942 battle ended with 140,000 troops and citizens in Singapore captured, wounded or killed Around 80,000 British, Indian and Australian troops based in Singapore became Prisoners of War. A month later they were washed ashore having returned to within a hundred miles of their departure point. Michael Pether (Pether 2018) has identified another twenty or so small craft which attempted the treacherous crossing. Three days after the British surrender, the Japanese began the Sook Ching purge, killing thousands of civilians. He proposed two options: an immediate counter-attack to regain the reservoirs and the military food depots around Bukit Timah, or surrender. With that in mind, thoughts of evacuation were therefore unnecessary. The Japanese authorities were suspicious of the Chinese because of the Second Sino-Japanese War, and murdered thousands of citizen "undesirables" (mostly ethnic Chinese) in the Sook Ching massacre. The airfields at Tengah, Seletar and Sembawang were in range of Japanese artillery at Johor Bahru. They fell upon X Battalion, which had camped in its assembly area while waiting to launch its counter-attack, and two-thirds of the battalion was killed or wounded. Twenty-two others escaped the island after rebuilding a native vessel but were captured and returned to Singapore as POWs. 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. 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