Last December, I had written stories on the fateful days that followed the landing of the Japanese military on the shores of Kota Baru on the east coast of Malaya, concentrating on the early Penang experience of the war. From there and also from their other landings in southern Thailand where they met only token resistance from the Thais, the Japanese smashed their way down the peninsula, over-ran the positions of the British armed forces everywhere and captured Singapore on the eve of Chinese New Year in February 1942.
In December 1961, The Straits Times newspaper in Singapore ran a five-part controversial serial called Eighty Days to Singapore to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the 1941 Japanese invasion. The serial was based on the report of General Arthur Percival (General Officer Commanding (Malaya)) and the memoirs of Japanese master tactician Colonel Tsuji Masanobu.
From the 31 December 1961 issue of The Straits Times, David Baratham wrote the final part of his serial which I reproduce here:
THE COLLAPSE
S'pore falls after week's fighting
THE DATE: Jan 27, 1942. Fearing that any further delay might result in the loss of all his forces in Malaya, general Percival authorised a withdrawal to Singapore, even though this meant his failure to achieve the object of protecting the Naval Base.
At 8.15 a.m., all the troops able to do so had got across the Causeway, and a 70 ft gap was blown in it.
General Percival considered that the "successful accomplishment of this operation was a matter of much satisfaction.
About 10 days earlier, reinforcements had begun to arrive in Singapore, including 7,000 Indian troops which Percival decided were so raw and untrained that he order them into reinforcement camps for further training!
On Jan 24, an Australian machinegun battalion and 2,000 troops arrived. Percival placed the machinegunners to defend the Naval Base.
He also had a poor opinion of the new Australian troops' fighting ability, because "they had not been in the army long enough to learn true discipline."
On Jan 29, the greater part of a British division arrived; these Percival decided were "fit, but oft."
At the end of the month, there remained as air defence only one squadron of Hurricane fighters. The rest had flown to the Indies.
Percival in his book recalls that the evacuation of European women and children caused adverse comments from the Eurasian and Asian population, but he was confronted with the difficult of "finding a country willing to take them."
Ships to India "were neither large not frequent." Eventually, 1,500 went to Australia and a number were sent to Ceylon.
TEMPORARY HOSPITALS
PERCIVAL'S reasons for the lack of defences in the north of Singapore included the fact that the object had always been to protect the Naval Base, and not the island.
The 15-in guns had been mounted so as to fire on the sea front, and not the land front.
Although, early in January, Wavell's orders were issued to prepare northern defences, there was an acute shortage of labour and materials. And during air raids, what labour there was "simply disappeared."
On Jan 27, the Japanese captured the Gunong Pilai reservoir in Johore. It was an abnormally dry season and the level was low.
Percival estimated that there remained a food supply for about three months in Singapore.
Temporary hospitals were set up in St Patrick's School, the Cathay Building, the Secretariat, the Municipal offices and the Cricket Club.
More reinforcements arrived on Feb 5 in a convoy in which the Empress of Asia was dive-bombed and sunk with nearly all the equipment and anti-tank gear on board.
By then, Japanese batteries were shelling Government House from Johore; later the Governor moved to the Singapore Club in Fullerton Building.
On Sunday, Feb 8, at 1.30 p.m., Japanese artillery shelled the 22nd Australian and 44th Indian Brigade fronts across the Causeway.
BYPASSED THE NAVAL BASE
BEFORE midnight, they had started crossing over. Their Guards Division, part of which had taken Pulau Ubin the day before, bypassed the Naval Base and made for the reservoirs north of Bukit Timah.
Their 18th and 5th Divisions landed to the east of the Causeway.
There is an enormous disparity between Percival's and Col Tsuji's figures showing how many Japanese took part in the first assault.
Percival claims that 15,000 landed that night, followed by 10,000 soon after dawn.
Tsuji claims roughly 4,000 men went aboard 399 boats at 12 midnight of Feb 8.
The bombardment had forced the defenders to keep down in their trenches and shelters, enabling the Japanese assault forces to get among them before they recovered.
Up in their shell-splintered headquarters in Johore Palace, the Japanese army chiefs had a bird's-eye view of the battle below.
Thousands of gallons of petrol flowed into the narrow straits, where it was set ablaze.
The oil tanks were shelled and destroyed by heavy artillery bombardment. Dense black smoke hid most of the island from the operation planners in the palace.
UNREMITTING INTENSITY
WHEN blue signal flares were sent up to announce that the landings had been successfully accomplished, Tsuji says, the moonlight shone dimly on the tears flowing down the cheeks of the Japanese army commander and his staff officers.
The advance was contested grimly and with unremitting intensity and counter-attacks in some places; it proceeded apace in others with defending troops abandoning their positions and making their way hastily into town.
Operating from Kallang airport, a few Hurricanes fought the Japanese Air Force until Feb 9 when those aircraft still flying made for the Indies.
There was no more aerial defence, and a Japanese observation balloon was able to give their artillery valuable range directions.
The Japanese had begun their advance on Bukit Timah. Some of the defending troops became confused and bewildered, and withdrew east of the River Jung until they were marched back to resume their posts.
BASE HOSPITAL ABLAZE
ON Wed Feb 11, huge supplies of food and petrol at Bukit Timah were lost to the enemy. Like many other buildings, the Indian Base Hospital was ablaze.
Percival had only 14 days' military supplies left. Through that Wednesday night, there was heavy fighting on all front. But promptly at 9 a.m. the next day, the Japanese arrived at the Chinese High School in Bukit Timah Road.
Percival's frontline was "stabilised" from MacRitchie reservoir via Adam Road to Farrer Road.
He tried to organise a counter-attack near racecourse Village but without much success.
So, less than three weeks after it had transmitted Mr George Yeh's optimistic Chinese New Year message, the Broadcasting Station went up in flames together with an unspecified quantity of Treasury notes.
The Japanese continued their relentless shellings and low-level air attacks into the heart of the town.
Orchard Road was blitzed. The Union Building and surroundings, including Change Alley, suffered direct hits.
In the suburbs and elsewhere Singapore Volunteer machine-gunners died in their hundreds during that Last Week.
On Thursday after severe fighting against the Malay Regiment, the Japanese captured Buona Vista. At night, troops withdrew to defend the Alexandra area, Keppel Harbour was under attack.
The Rear Admiral, Malaya, ordered all naval ships to proceed to Java. In the ships was room for 3,000 passengers.
This was positively the last chance to leave the island. Nevertheless, Percival's opinion was that "the situation was grave, but not hopeless."
However, 1,200 civilian and 1,800 military personnel took passage in the ships. At sea two days later, they were all attacked and many were sunk.
The Rear Admiral, Malaya, was shipwrecked and died on a desert island.
THE ENORMOUS CASUALTIES
IN Singapore on Saturday, Feb 14, the last petrol supplies had been partly demolished on Pulau Bukum. The town was under shell fire from Bukit Timah Road. Casualties were enormous.
But Wavell had instructed Percival to keep fighting "as long as there was a sufficiency of water for the troops."
Sir Shenton Thomas' immediate concern was for the lives of the entire civil population.
That Saturday morning the town was almost entirely shut except the emergency hospitals which overflowed with dead, dying and wounded.
Yet Percival's impression was that "the Asian population was apathetic."
There was no water at the General Hospital. There were reports that Japanese troops had entered another hospital and bayonetted wounded Indian soldiers.
The whole of their army that evening began streaming across the Causeway which they had already patched up.
PERCIVAL AT CHURCH
SOME of their leading troops were only a few hundred yards away from the Woodleigh pumping station.
On Sunday morning, General Percival went to church. It was exactly 10 weeks after that unforgettable Last Weekend of Dec 8 when the mighty fleet had been in, when all the great leaders and all the grand orators had begun to intone their magnificent magnificats to the impregnable fortress of Singapore. Then General Percival visited Sir Shenton at the Singapore Club. The only petrol readily available was what remained in the tanks of the vehicles. Civilian cars parked at Collyer Quay had been pushed into the harbour.
RESERVOIRS IN ENEMY HANDS
ONLY a few days' rations remained. The Pierce and MacRitchie reservoirs were in enemy hands. The director-general of Civil Defence could not guarantee water for more than 24 hours.
The dead were lying in the street; many had been unburied for days.
As the meeting at the Singapore Club continued, so did the Japanese advance into the heart of town. It was obviously no good remaining on the defensive.
General Percival's dilemma was whether to counter-attack or to capitulate.
HE DECIDED TO CAPITULATE.
Although this news came as a shattering surprise to the world, almost a month earlier all foreign correspondents had been told to quit Singapore and key personnel in several departments, including that of Broadcasting, had been posted to Java.
Framed on the wall of the Straits Times library in Times House, River Valley Road, Singapore, today is a copy of the last edition of the Sunday Times, dated Feb 15, 1942.
It is a single sheet, printed on one side only, and issued free.
It carries the latest official communique, issued at 5.30 p.m. on Saturday, Feb 14, reporting a strong enemy attack in the Paya Lebar area and also in the west.
Across the top, it says in bold print: "Singapore Must Stand; It SHALL Stand" - H.E. the Governor.
UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER
ON Monday, Feb 15, 1942, the unconditional surrender of Singapore was signed.
Colonel Tsuji estimates in his book that their advance from Johore had cost them 1,714 killed and 3,378 wounded. The entire campaign in Malaya, he says, cost them 3,507 killed and 6,150 wounded.
The Japanese captured roughly 100,000 war prisoners, about half of whom were British or Australian.
And on that Monday, General Yamashita, after sampling dried cuttlefish, chestnuts and a glass of wine - gifts from the Emperor himself - said to his staff: "You have done a good job. Thank you very much. From now on, you can drink sake whenever you like."
THE END
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