The only person who seemed to realize that the defenses of Singapore and Malaya were bound together was the deeply religious and highly capable General Sir William Dobbie, who commanded Malaya’s defenses in the late 1930s. Without consulting the Army, the Royal Air Force set up a string of airfields in Northern Malaya to see if they were defensible against ground attack. The Army ignored repeated staff studies and tabletop war games that showed an enemy force could storm through Malaya’s jungles from north to south, and prepared its defenses against seaborne invasion near Singapore. Other than the deployment of coastal artillery, Malaya’s defenders agreed on nothing. Their ordnance was armor-piercing shell to penetrate warships’ hulls. However, they lacked high-explosive ammunition to use against an attacking ground force. Contrary to popular belief, these guns could fire inland as well as out to sea. In the end, the gunners won out and Singapore’s defenses included three massive 15-inch guns. The base in turn required defense against enemy attack, which led to a mighty debate between the Royal Navy, the Army, and the Royal Air Force over the merits of torpedo planes and heavy guns. That required a major naval base, which was constructed in the 1930s. British strategy planned for deployment of a large fleet to Singapore in case of crisis. By 1941, Malaya’s population was about 4.5 million, half of them Chinese, the rest Indian Tamils, ruled by 20,000 Britons through a complex web of treaties with local sultans, federated states, and crown colonies.Īs Japanese imperialism spread across Asia in the 1920s and 1930s, Singapore was also seen as the central bulwark of defense of Britain’s vast Pacific interests, which included Australia and New Zealand. Singapore City was a major port and trading center, filled with Malays, Chinese, Indians, Indonesians, and Europeans, all trying to get rich amid Malaya’s incredible heat and humidity. Malaya produced 60 percent of the world’s rubber and 58 percent of the world’s tin. Since its founding in 1821, Singapore had grown to become one of the shining jewels in Britain’s imperial crown. Singapore and Malaya were the centerpieces of European domination of Southeast Asia. The British Military’s Conflicting Defensive Strategies He was describing the sortie of convoys carrying Japanese forces from Hainan Island to invade Malaya and conquer Britain’s fortress at Singapore. So wrote Colonel Masanobu Tsuji, chief planner of Japan’s 25th Army, on the night of December 4, 1941. The men on the convoy looked towards the bows … as the Navy formed in two lines to right and left of the convoy.… This was surely the starting point which would determine the destiny of the nation for the next century. Samah harbor, shimmering with gold and silver waves, was as beautiful as a picture. “The moon like a tray was sinking in the western sea and the deep red sun showed its face to the east.
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