The Fall of Singapore (feb 8, 1942 – feb 15, 1942)

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The Battle of Singapore, also known as the Fall of Singapore, took place in the South-East Asian theatre of the Pacific War. From February 8th to 15th, 1942, the Japanese empire seized the British stronghold of Singapore, dubbed the "Gibraltar of the East." The city was a key British military post and economic port in South-East Asia, and it was critical to British interwar defence preparations for the region under the Singapore strategy. The conquest of Singapore resulted in the greatest British capitulation in history.

Prior to the battle, Japanese general Tomoyuki Yamashita had already advanced south with about 30,000 men down the Malayan Peninsula which the British deemed to be impassible, leading to a swift invasion as the defences covering the Peninsula were inadequate. British Lieutenant-General Arthur Percival, Commanded 85,000 British troops in Singapore. Although the majority of the men stationed there were under-strength and lacked experience, The British held a numerical and positional advantage.

The Japanese struck the island's weakest point. On February 8th, they breached the defences and created a beachhead. The Japanese resumed their bombardment of the city, forcing its population to flee to the remaining areas of the island held by the Commonwealth, which account for less than 1% of the island. They anticipated the city's water supply, which they were aiming for, to collapse within a few days. Given this, as well as the knowledge that the Japanese were running low on supplies, Yamashita sought unconditional surrender as a ploy the same day Percival disobeyed his orders and capitulated. Around 80,000 British, Indian, Australian, and local troops were taken prisoner of war, adding to the 50,000 seized in Malaya. Many perished as a result of neglect, maltreatment, or forced labour. Around 40,000 Indian soldiers, largely conscripts, joined the Indian National Army and fought with the Japanese in Burma. It was dubbed the "worst disaster" in British military history by Churchill. It significantly lowered trust in the British Army and gave the Japanese a crucial strategic position until the war's end. With the sinking of the Prince of Wales and the Repulse two months earlier, the fall of Singapore and other setbacks in 1942 severely harmed British reputation, contributing to the end of British colonial power in the area and abroad after the war. Three days after the British surrender, the Japanese launched the Sook Ching purge, murdering thousands of "undesirable" civilians. The battle resulted in approximately 85,000 British casualties compared to 5,092 Japanese casualties.

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