Singapore during World War 2 (WW2) By: Bryan Ong Lam Jing Siang Nigel Wong Owen Cho

Materials covered in this presentation Major world events before fall of Singapore Battles for Singapore Surrender of Singapore Brief description of these 4 significant places 1.The Battle Box 2.TheFort Factory 3.Changi Chapel & Museum 4.Kranji War Memorial Japanese Occupation

Major world events before fall of Singapore In 1937, Japan invaded China. To protest against Japan’s attack, countries like the USA cut off their oil supply to Japan. In September 1939, war broke out in Europe with the invasion of Poland by Germany. In September 1940, Japan signed a treaty of friendship with Germany and Italy. They called themselves the Axis Power. Countries that opposed the Axis powers were called Allies of WW2. The United States of America, the British Commonwealth, and the Soviet Union held leadership of the allied powers.

Major world events before fall of Singapore (cont’d) In 1941, more Indian, British and Australian troops arrived in Singapore to defend both Malaysia and Singapore from a possible Japanese attack. On 2 December 1941, the battleships HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Repulse arrived in Singapore. They were sunk on 10 December 1941 On 7 December 1942, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor in Hawaii to destroy the American Pacific fleet. At the same time, the Japanese began attacks on Malaya and other parts of Southeast Asia by air, sea and land.

The invasion of Malaya began shortly on 8 Dec 1941 after midnight. The Japanese troops landed in southern Thailand. The British under-estimated the Japanese who were trained in jungle warfare and used tanks and bicycles to move swiftly down Malaya. 8 Dec 1941 = Northern Landing 10 Dec 1941 Sinking of battleships = HMS Repulse and HMS Prince of Wales were sunk by the Japanese planes. Within 2 days, the British lost control of the sea Dec 1941 = Battle of Jitra 17 Dec 1941 = Penang & Ipoh captured 7 Jan 1942 = Battle at Slim River 31 Jan 1942 = Fall of Johor Battle of Malaya 8 Dec 1941 – 31 Jan 1942 Northern Landing Sinking of Battleships Jitra Penang & Ipoh Slim River Johor

Battle for Singapore Lieutenant General Tomoyuki Yamashita commanded the Japanese army, while Percival commanded the British commonwealth army Following the loss of Malaya, the Allied army unit withdrew into Singapore and deployed along the entire coastline of Singapore. They then blew a 70 foot gap in the Causeway to slow the Japanese advance. Yamashita set up headquarters at the Johor Sultan’s palace where he could get a bird’s eye view of northern Singapore. Lieutenant General Tomoyuki Yamashita Lieutenant General Arthur Percival

First Battles LG Arthur Percival insisted that the Japanese would invade Singapore from the Eastern shores, thus he allocated more troops to eastern Singapore. The northwestern coast line was broad and with relatively fewer forces, and the Allied army found themselves overstretched. The Japanese field intelligence revealed this weakness and combined with ease of crossing from Malaya, convinced LG Yamashita that they should invade through the northwest. On the night of 8 February 1942 at around 10.30pm, the Japanese landed on the coastline from Lim Chu Kang to Serimbum Beach. They penetrated the Australian defences and headed towards Tengah Airfield, their first objective.

First Battles Though the Australian Brigade fought valiantly, the lack of numbers, made worse by poor strategies and miscommunications, prevented the defenders from regrouping effectively once the Japanese broke through the thinly held coastlines. The Tengah Airfield was captured on the afternoon of 9 February. The Japanese had managed to repair the Causeway and moved their main forces, including tanks from Johor, down Lim Chu Kang Road. LG Yamashita was able to come ashore at Lim Chu Kang on 10 February 1942 and made Tengah his new headquarters.

Battle for Bukit Timah By the close of 10 February 1942, the British forces withdrew to Racecourse. The Japanese moved on to take the MacRitchie and Peirce reservoirs. They also advanced down Bukit Panjang junction towards Bukit Timah Village. By midnight of 10 February 1942, the Japanese had captured the village and moved towards Bukit Timah Hill which it captured on 11 February Bukit Timah was an important location as the main trunk road ran through it. It was also were the British supplies were stored.

Surrender of Singapore 11 February 1942, LG Yamashita first invited the British to surrender but LG Percival ignored it. Instead he withdrew his forces to a new 28 mile long perimeter line enclosing the southern central areas of Singapore. 15 February 1942 at 9.30am, LG Percival held a commander’s conference at Fort Canning Hill (Battle Box) and made the decision to surrender. At 11.30am, a British deputation set out towards Japanese line carrying a Union Jack and a white flag, inviting LG Yamashita to Fort Canning to discuss surrender terms. The Japanese demanded that Percival come to their headquarters at the Ford Factory at 4.30pm. Percival attempted to negotiate terms of surrender but capitulated and by 6.10pm signed the surrender document. Singapore fell after 7 days of fighting. 15 February 1942 marks the beginning of the Japanese Occupations that lasted for 3 year and 7 months.

Remembering 15 February The Day of Surrender Let us now take a visit to the Battle Box and Old Ford Factory to remember the day of surrender, 15 February Battlebox was the British Operations HQ, where the decision to surrender was made by LG Percival Battlebox Please visit the “Battle Box Tour” tab on our webpage

Remembering 15 February The Day of Surrender (cont’d) The Old Ford Factory was where LG Percival signed the surrender documents to General Yamashita Ford Factory Please visit the “Ford Factory Tour” tab on our webpage

Changi Chapel and Museum The Changi Chapel and Museum is located where the Changi Prison was used to house the prisoners of war. The Meseum was built to honour the many brave soldiers that sacrificed their lives Please visit the “Changi Chapel and Museum Tour” tab on our webpage

Kranji Memorial –In remembrance Dedicated to the Allied forces who died defending Singapore and Malaya against the invading Japanese forces during World War II, the Kranji War Memorial comprises the War Graves, the Memorial Walls, the State Cemetery, and the Military Graves. Please visit the “Kranji War Memorial” tour tab on our webpage

Japanese Occupation Singapore was rename “Syonan-to” which meant “the Light of the South” or “Radiant South”. Following the British surrender, the Japanese Military police, Kempeitai, were sent to restore order in Singapore. The cruelty of Kempeitai kept people in a constant state of fear. At the slight offence, punishment was swift and severe. The Japanese perceived the Chinese as a threat to their rule. This was because they met with strong resistance when they invaded China in Many Chinese in Malaya and Singapore supported the war effort by volunteering to fight the Japanese or raised funds through campaigns. War Flag of the Japanese Imperial Army

Japanese Propaganda Campaigns The Cathay building was taken over by the broadcasting, propaganda Department and the Japanese Military Information Bureau. Published Japanese controlled newspaper, The Syonan Sinbun. Every school, government building and Japanese company began with a morning assembly to sing the Japanese national anthem. Teachers and students had to learn Japanese in school. Radio stations were controlled by the Japanese and people could only listen to local broadcast. Cinemas only show Japanese movies and propaganda films.

Food Rationing Resources were scarce and food quality and availability decreased greatly. Sweet potatoes and yam became the staple food of most diets because they were considerably cheaper than rice and could also be grown in gardens. The Japanese issued banana money as their main currency. Rationing was introduced to control the sale of essential items like rice, salt and sugar. Each household was issued with “Peace Living Certificate” which entitled them to a number of ration cards.

End of Japanese Occupation Atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki on 6 and 9 August 1945 respectively. On 15 August, 1945 Japan announced its surrender. On 12 September 1945, General Seishiro Itagaki signed the surrender document in the Supreme Court at City Hall. Lord Louis Mounbatten, the Supreme Allied Commander for Southeast Asia, accepted the document. This ended the Japanese occupation of 3 years and 7 months. The British returned to Singapore and set up a provisional government called the British Military Administration (BMA) which took charge of governing Singapore until 1 April 1946.

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