After the attack on Pearl Harbor, December 7 would always be remembered as the day of
infamy in which the Japanese started the Pacific War.
But at the same time, the Empire of Japan also began simultaneous offensives against
British, Dutch, and American possessions in Southeast Asia and the Pacific.
Today we are going to cover some of these attacks in mainland Southeast Asia, primarily
focusing on the invasion of Malaya and the British response against the Japanese aggression.
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With the rise of the Japanese threat after the end of World War One, the UK had decided
to establish a main naval base in Singapore during the 20s to defend their colonial possessions
in the Far East.
Singapore was selected due to its strategic importance and because it was the only British
territory to be excluded from the non-fortification clause of the Washington Naval Treaty, and
their intention was to have a strong fleet in here to deter Japan from any act of war.
But this was clearly not enough, as Japanese aggression in the region during the 30s kept
rising and threatening the British colonies.
The outbreak of the Second World War in Europe also limited the capability of the UK to defend
this region, leaving British Malaya, Burma, and Hong Kong alone in case of war with Japan.
Prime Minister Winston Churchill himself believed that the Japanese wouldn’t dare to attack
them as early as 1941, so he chose to reinforce the Mediterranean instead.
In case of attack, however, the British plan of defense consisted of delaying the Japanese
advance as long as possible while maintaining control over their fortress at Singapore for
the arrival of reinforcements to save them, even though they actually couldn’t afford
to send reinforcements to the Far East, so this plan was very unrealistic.
In Malaya, Commander-in-Chief Robert Brooke-Popham of the British Far East Command had been assigned
the defense of the region, although he knew that without reinforcements they wouldn’t
be able to withstand a Japanese attack.
Malayan ground forces were under the command of Lieutenant-General Arthur Percival, who
only counted with 31 inexperienced infantry battalions, untrained to fight in jungles
and rubber plantations, which were organized into three divisions and with the Malayan
garrisons totaled some 88600 men.
Airpower was also key for the defense of Malaya, but the British only counted with 14 squadrons
of mostly old aircraft, a small force to cover both strike and reconnaissance roles.
Naval forces were old and small as well, but they would be reinforced by Admiral Tom Phillips’
Force Z, consisting of the battleships Prince of Wales and Repulse along with four destroyers,
mainly intending to deter any act of Japanese aggression.
The British government also believed that Hong Kong couldn’t be defended because of
the strong Japanese presence all around it, but Major-General Christopher Maltby thought
that he could at least delay the Japanese advance long enough to be rescued by British
reinforcements, even though there were none available.
He then placed three infantry battalions at the Gin Drinkers Line, a defensive line that
stretched across the Kowloon Peninsula, intending to stop the Japanese advance in the mainland,
while three more battalions with a volunteer corps held Hong Kong Island itself.
On November 11th, 1940, the German raider Atlantis captured the British steamer Automedon
in the Indian Ocean.
The ship was carrying papers meant for Air Marshal Sir Robert Brooke-Popham.
The information was about the weakness of the Singapore base, and in December 1940 the
Germans handed this information over to the Japanese.
Alongside this the Japanese broke the British Army Codes in January 1941, learning details
of the weakened state of the "fortress of Singapore", allowing them to prepare for an
invasion.
As we’ve already seen, after the embargo enacted by the US, the UK, and the Dutch in
July of 1941, the Japanese had decided to simultaneously invade their possessions in
the East to get their hands on the rich resources they possessed.
It is interesting to note that, as China tied many of their forces, the Japanese could only
employ eleven divisions for these offensives, so speed was really of the essence before
the Allies could reinforce this region.
By late November, preparations for the attacks had already been carried out, and on December
2, the order to “Climb Mount Niitaka” had been sent, setting in motion the start
of the offensives.
For the invasion of Malaya, the Japanese planned to do several naval landings in southern Thailand
and northern Malaya , followed by an advance through the Malayan Peninsula along the western
coastal plain until the final assault against Singapore across the Strait of Johor.
The plan developed by Tsuji Masanobu was very bold, having to traverse 400 miles of jungle
road against a major force that had established formidable defenses in Singapore.
The 25th Army of Lieutenant-General Yamashita Tomoyuki , initially consisting of two divisions
, was appointed to execute this operation, covered by the 2nd Fleet of Admiral Kondō
Nobutake in its role of escorting convoys to Thailand and Malaya.
The landings at Thailand would be critical because the British couldn’t defend this
area, giving the Japanese an easy landing point to commence their advance.
Thailand’s dictator, Marshal Plaek Phibun, had promised the Japanese to allow them safe
passage for a possible invasion of Malaya, yet at the same time, he was negotiating with
the British and Americans for guarantees, which made the Japanese feel like they couldn’t
trust him.
The 15th Army of Lieutenant-General Iida Shōjirō, initially composed of two divisions , also
needed to transit through Thailand, as it had been prepared for an invasion of Burma.
If the Thais didn’t allow the Japanese safe passage by December 7, then this army would
invade from Indochina and head straight to the Burmese border.
To counter a possible invasion of Thailand, Brooke-Popham had planned for the 11th Indian
Division to establish positions at Singora and Patani before the Japanese could land,
although this action meant invading a neutral nation.
Since Operation Matador didn’t get automatic approval, the plan was essentially dead, but
it would have one major consequence: the 11th would be prevented from completing defensive
positions at Jitra.
And at Hong Kong, the 23rd Army of Lieutenant-General Sakai Takashi, consisting only of one division
, had the task of executing a three-pronged attack against the Gin Drinkers Line, while
Hong Kong Island itself was blockaded and bombarded into submission.
On December 4, troop transports from Hainan Island, escorted by Admiral Kondō’s fleet,
started to sail en route to their objectives.
Two days later, the Japanese were spotted by British reconnaissance, but Brooke-Popham
wasn’t authorized to take any actions yet, only putting his forces on full alert.
At 23:00 on December 7, the Japanese presented an ultimatum to the Thai government, demanding
safe passage and giving them two hours to respond.
As Phibun couldn’t be located until late morning, the Thais would be invaded some hours
later.
From Indochina, the Imperial Guards Division and the 55th Division invaded Phra Tabong
unopposed, then continuing northwest towards Aranyaprathet [-eht].
Meanwhile, a regiment of the 5th Division landed at Patani and the rest of the division
landed at Singora , quickly taking the upper hand against the fierce Thai defenders . From
Saigon, elements of the 15th Army would also execute some naval landings across Thailand,
but they would face staunch Thai resistance that would prevent them from making any progress.
At the same time, almost an hour before the attack on Pearl Harbor began, the 18th Division
landed at Kota Bharu with much effort, quickly running into beach defenses held by an Indian
battalion . In response, the defenders employed their artillery and their Hudsons to bombard
the Japanese positions, while the men in the pillboxes pinned down waves of enemy soldiers,
thus inflicting heavy casualties on the invaders.
After heavy combat, the Japanese finally penetrated the center of the Indian line by 03:45, threatening
the valuable airfield nearby.
Concurrently, 17 Japanese bombers attacked Singapore, only causing minor damage to their
airfields and killing 61 persons.
Yet this was a shock to the British command, who didn’t believe that their foe had access
to long-range aircraft . Japanese fighters and bombers also started to appear in Kota
Bharu and across the main airfields of northern Malaya, causing havoc on Brooke-Popham’s
RAF and proving their air superiority.
In the ensuing confusion, two counterattacks by different Indian battalions were repelled
at Kota Bharu, prompting the British to prematurely destroy their northern airfields to prevent
them from falling into enemy hands, while at night, the defenders, at last, retreated
from the beaches to guard Kota Bharu itself.
And further west, a small Indian force based at the town of Kroh had been earmarked to
execute a mini Operation Matador, codenamed Krohcol, with the objective of occupying the
easily defendable Ledge position on the Patani road.
While confusion reigned at the British headquarters, Operation Krohcol was launched at 15:00.
After crossing the frontier, however, the Indians were met by staunch Thai resistance
from the police based in the town of Betong.
These policemen, led by Major Prayoon Rattanakit, established important roadblocks that managed
to delay the Indian advance for two whole days, while at the same time fighting the
Japanese at Patani.
After several hours of fighting, Japan and Thailand signed an armistice by midday, with
Phibun finally allowing Japan to use his country as a base of operations, although the Thais
would not join the war effort for now.
Unopposed but traversing over bad roads, the Japanese at Patani would also start to advance
to the Ledge position that was some 60 miles away from them, starting a race with the Krohcol
detachment to get there first.
Meanwhile, at Hong Kong, the three columns of the 38th Division commenced their attack,
quickly overrunning British defenses in the New Territories and reaching the Gin Drinkers
Line by late afternoon.
The British colony was also subjected to a heavy air bombardment and a naval blockade
by Vice-Admiral Niimi Masaichi’s 2nd China Fleet, although two British destroyers managed
to escape the encirclement at 21:30 to join Force Z at Singapore.
But unbeknownst to them, Admiral Phillips had already sailed from Singapore after dusk,
intending to intercept the Japanese invasion fleet in the South China Sea.
He expected to arrive at Kota Bharu on December 10, and he relied on the surprise factor for
the success of his operation.
The following day started with renewed fighting at Kota Bharu.
As the Japanese pressed on the disorganized defenders, they began to infiltrate around
the British strongpoints, something so worrisome for the British command that on December 10,
the defenders were authorized to abandon Kota Bharu and retreat south of Machang.
At 13:45 on December 9, Force Z was also discovered by Japanese submarines while they traveled
north, so their destruction was now inevitable.
Four hours later, the British spotted Japanese aircraft tailing them, prompting Phillips
to turn west and return to Singapore.
While the British fled to the south, fate would intervene at midnight as Force Z received
erroneous reports that Kuantan was suffering naval landings.
Phillips then decided to investigate this critical location, changing his course to
the southwest.
When he arrived at 08:00, he found no sign of the enemy, so he decided to linger off
Kuantan for an extra 90 minutes.
This would prove fatal, as Japanese bombers and torpedo planes soon fell upon them.
Several attacks were made against the British battleships by midday, with one bomb hit on
Repulse and two torpedo hits on the Prince of Wales that caused considerable damage . A
new attack at 12:20 managed to hit the Repulse with four torpedoes, leaving it unable to
maneuver and exposed to five more hits that caused her to list and finally sink ten minutes
later.
The Prince of Wales continued to resist for the next half hour, but in the end, it began
to sink due to the amount of damage received.
513 men died aboard Repulse, while the Prince of Wales lost 327 sailors.
The rest of their crews were rescued by the destroyers of Force Z, which managed to retreat
to Singapore.
The sinking of the British battleships was a heavy blow to the British Navy, but it was
also a bad omen for the Malayan defenders and for the Chinese still resisting in the
north.
Meanwhile, in Hong Kong, the Japanese commenced their attack across the Gin Drinkers Line
on December 9.
At midday, Sakai’s men detected a weak spot on the British line at the Shing Mun Redoubt,
quickly setting out to exploit it.
By December 10, the position had fallen into Japanese hands and the remaining defenders
laid now exposed.
The following day, a failed naval invasion on Lamma Island, at last, forced Maltby to
order his forces to withdraw back to Hong Kong Island, with the last of them crossing
the Lyemun Strait on the morning of December 13.
For the remainder of the week, Hong Kong would suffer a sustained bombardment while the Japanese
planned their naval invasion.
If you want more detail about the struggles of this campaign, don’t forget to check
out our video on the Battle of Hong Kong, the link is in the top-right corner.
By December 10, the Krohcol detachment had also finally reached the town of Betong, being
now only 26 miles away from their objective.
They then started to traverse through the Pattani River towards the Ledge but were surprised
by a Japanese ambush that forced them to retreat when only a mile remained.
It turns out the regiment of the 5th Division won the race to the Ledge, arriving there
by midday on December 10.
As a result, the Indians suffered heavy casualties and were eventually repelled back to Kroh
by December 13.
The rest of the 5th Division had advanced southwards from Singora to the Malay border,
directly opposing Jitra and intending to take Alor Setar.
Major-General David Murray-Lyon of the 11th Indian Division, who had his forces in weak
defensive positions at the road junction of Jitra, was not aware that the main objective
of his defense, the Alor Setar airfield, had already been abandoned.
From the coast, the 6th Indian Brigade defended a sector 10 miles long, while the 15th Indian
Brigade held the road area and the 28th Indian Brigade was in reserve . The Indians had already
sent two detachments to delay the Japanese advance on December 9, but seeing the Japanese
rapidly advancing, Murray-Lyon placed two battalions north of Jitra to give the Indian
defenses more time to be better prepared.
This covering force came into contact with Japanese tanks on the morning of December
11, and was quickly overrun after suffering heavy casualties.
The loss of these battalions forced Murray-Lyon to bring forward his reserves, leaving Alor
Setar lightly defended . At night, the Japanese tanks reached the main British position north
of Jitra, with the rest of the 5th Division coming behind.
Heavy fighting ensued between the Japanese tanks and the demoralized Indian troops, ending
with the penetration of the British defenses around 06:00.
Several Indian forces were then overrun, prompting Murray-Lyon to repeatedly request permission
to withdraw.
At 19:30, General Percival finally approved his request, and so the Indians began to retreat
to a defensive position at Gurun.
Due to very poor communications and amidst great confusion, Murray-Lyon’s forces suffered
immense casualties but managed to break out of contact with the Japanese by December 13.
As a result, the 11th Indian Division had been shattered, the main British defenses
in northern Malaya had been overrun and the Japanese advance down the Malayan Peninsula
had begun.
Next time, we will cover the remaining Japanese offensives of this week, mainly directed against
the Philippines and the Pacific Islands.
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