Name: Japanese Invasion of Malaya - Pacific War #2 DOCUMENTARY
Uploaded: 2022-06-27T23:13:13.000Z
Duration: 20 min 6 s
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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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Japanese Invasion of Malaya - Pacific War #2 DOCUMENTARY

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