Fall Of Singapore World War 2
Today I will be talking to you about the impact of the fall of Singapore on World War 2 and how I believe; Australia’s faith in the ability of the British to defend Singapore was flawed, prompting a change in our foreign relations.
February 15th 1942; the day Singapore fell to the Japanese; the largest surrender of a British-led force and as described by British prime minister at the time, Sir Winston Churchill “the worst disaster and largest capitulation in British history,"
Until December 1941, the Second World War was mainly fought by European powers and soldiers from their respective empires. However, the entrance of Japan into the war changed the situation significantly. Singapore was a British colony and a key naval base at the time. …show more content…
There are many reasons why Singapore fell to the Japanese in 1942. Firstly, occupying Malaya gave the Japanese access to Singapore.
Secondly, the Japanese were well prepared for attack. On February 8th 1942, 5000 Japanese troops landed on the Singapore Island, both out-manning and out-gunning the British. Thirdly, the Japanese left pro-propaganda leaflets on the island encouraging surrender.
The Japanese planned to occupy Malaya and gain its resources, hence the invasion of Malaya in December 1941 which provided a means of entry into Singapore.
To make matters worse, the island’s main defensive weapons were destroyed and there was poor communication between the military and civilian authorities.
The British believed that they could withstand any attack and underestimated the enemy.
They also believed that the Japanese were incapable of fighting their way down to Singapore through the rugged terrain of the Malaya Peninsula.
The Allies therefore focused their defences on the coasts as they assumed that any threat to Singapore would come from the sea.
This left the Northern shore facing the Malayan peninsula vulnerable and on February 8th 1942, this is where the Japanese landed.
The ‘Singapore Strategy’ was based on British assurances that should Japan ever attack South-East Asia, the main British fleet would be sent to Singapore to tackle the Japanese navy and protect Australia.
Malaya and Singapore were defended by about 85,000 allied troops.
The British had a flawed, inadequate military strategy. Many of the troops were shocked at the apparent lack of defences on the island.
As Singapore was under threat in January and February 1942, Sir General Wavell commented to General Percival that he could not understand why defence work in Johore Province, immediately to the north of Singapore, had not been undertaken.
Nor could he identify any major defence work done on the northern side of the island. The only plan to defend Singapore seemed to be the destruction of the causeway that linked Singapore to the Malayan mainland.
This however, proved to be of little value in defending Singapore itself.
The fall of Singapore led to the capture of more Australian Prisoners of War than any other campaign in history. More than 100 000 troops became prisoners of war, including about 15 000 Australians. 9000 of these men died building the Burma-Thailand Railway as prisoners.
By the end of the war some 8000 Australian prisoners of the Japanese had died in captivity.
The British surrendered to the Japanese on 15th February 1942 and the fighting ceased across the Malayan front at 2200 hours local time and the news soon spread all across Australia. Newspapers released reports on the fall of Singapore the next day informing the Australian public of the current situation.
This approach was the opposite 4 days later when the Japanese bombed Darwin.
As Singapore fell, World War 2 was brought closer to Australia. The inadequate defence of Singapore proved to the Australian government that Britain no longer provided Australia with the defence they needed and realised that being a dominion of Britain did not automatically bring about protection.
After Malaya and Singapore became occupied by the Japanese, the Australian prime minister announced plans to turn to America for
assistance.
“Without any inhibitions of any kind, I make it quite clear that Australia looks to America, free of any pangs as to our traditional links or kinship with the United Kingdom.” quoted Australian Prime Minister John Curtin.
This would be effective as the Americans planned to use Australia as a base from which they could launch a counterattack against the Japanese in the Pacific and during the early months of 1942, a cooperative relationship between the American and Australian governments developed.
In conclusion, the fall of Singapore in 1942 impacted Australia significantly through the overwhelming number of Australian prisoners of war and its international relations with Britain and the America during the Second World War.
February 15th 1942; the day Singapore fell to the Japanese; the largest surrender of a British-led force and as described by British prime minister at the time, Sir Winston Churchill “the worst disaster and largest capitulation in British history,"
Until December 1941, the Second World War was mainly fought by European powers and soldiers from their respective empires. However, the entrance of Japan into the war changed the situation significantly. Singapore was a British colony and a key naval base at the time. …show more content…
There are many reasons why Singapore fell to the Japanese in 1942. Firstly, occupying Malaya gave the Japanese access to Singapore.
Secondly, the Japanese were well prepared for attack. On February 8th 1942, 5000 Japanese troops landed on the Singapore Island, both out-manning and out-gunning the British. Thirdly, the Japanese left pro-propaganda leaflets on the island encouraging surrender.
The Japanese planned to occupy Malaya and gain its resources, hence the invasion of Malaya in December 1941 which provided a means of entry into Singapore.
To make matters worse, the island’s main defensive weapons were destroyed and there was poor communication between the military and civilian authorities.
The British believed that they could withstand any attack and underestimated the enemy.
They also believed that the Japanese were incapable of fighting their way down to Singapore through the rugged terrain of the Malaya Peninsula.
The Allies therefore focused their defences on the coasts as they assumed that any threat to Singapore would come from the sea.
This left the Northern shore facing the Malayan peninsula vulnerable and on February 8th 1942, this is where the Japanese landed.
The ‘Singapore Strategy’ was based on British assurances that should Japan ever attack South-East Asia, the main British fleet would be sent to Singapore to tackle the Japanese navy and protect Australia.
Malaya and Singapore were defended by about 85,000 allied troops.
The British had a flawed, inadequate military strategy. Many of the troops were shocked at the apparent lack of defences on the island.
As Singapore was under threat in January and February 1942, Sir General Wavell commented to General Percival that he could not understand why defence work in Johore Province, immediately to the north of Singapore, had not been undertaken.
Nor could he identify any major defence work done on the northern side of the island. The only plan to defend Singapore seemed to be the destruction of the causeway that linked Singapore to the Malayan mainland.
This however, proved to be of little value in defending Singapore itself.
The fall of Singapore led to the capture of more Australian Prisoners of War than any other campaign in history. More than 100 000 troops became prisoners of war, including about 15 000 Australians. 9000 of these men died building the Burma-Thailand Railway as prisoners.
By the end of the war some 8000 Australian prisoners of the Japanese had died in captivity.
The British surrendered to the Japanese on 15th February 1942 and the fighting ceased across the Malayan front at 2200 hours local time and the news soon spread all across Australia. Newspapers released reports on the fall of Singapore the next day informing the Australian public of the current situation.
This approach was the opposite 4 days later when the Japanese bombed Darwin.
As Singapore fell, World War 2 was brought closer to Australia. The inadequate defence of Singapore proved to the Australian government that Britain no longer provided Australia with the defence they needed and realised that being a dominion of Britain did not automatically bring about protection.
After Malaya and Singapore became occupied by the Japanese, the Australian prime minister announced plans to turn to America for
assistance.
“Without any inhibitions of any kind, I make it quite clear that Australia looks to America, free of any pangs as to our traditional links or kinship with the United Kingdom.” quoted Australian Prime Minister John Curtin.
This would be effective as the Americans planned to use Australia as a base from which they could launch a counterattack against the Japanese in the Pacific and during the early months of 1942, a cooperative relationship between the American and Australian governments developed.
In conclusion, the fall of Singapore in 1942 impacted Australia significantly through the overwhelming number of Australian prisoners of war and its international relations with Britain and the America during the Second World War.