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  • We have been following the Malayan Campaign  since the start of the war, seeing the British  

  • Empire continually prove that it was hardly  prepared to defend its eastern possessions.  

  • After many lost battles and desperate rearguard  actions, last week the complete pull out from  

  • Johor was finally ordered, signifying the fall  of Malaya as the British defenders retreated into  

  • Singapore to protect their so-called eastern  fortress, called the Gibraltar of the East.  

  • The situation thus looked bleak for the empire  in which the sun never sets, with the Rising  

  • Sun looking like it could menacingly replace  their hegemony in the East. But before that, the  

  • British defenders were determined to offer as much  resistance as they could in Burma and Singapore,  

  • so the stage was set for one of the most  important battles of the Pacific War.

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  • Since we've last seen, the American defensive  lines in the Philippines had been completely  

  • pierced by the determined Japanese soldiersforcing the defenders to retreat to some new  

  • positions on a rearguard line that stretched  between the coastal towns of Orion and Bagac.  

  • By January 26, the Filipino forces under  Generals Wainwright and Parker had completed  

  • their withdrawal, dividing their new defensive  line into several sectors . In hot pursuit, the  

  • Japanese started to hammer the American defensive  positions straight away, with General Nara and  

  • his 65th Independent Mixed Brigade advancing on  the east and with General Kimura's forces moving  

  • towards the west . But General Homma had an ace  up his sleeve: a planned naval invasion to bypass  

  • the American defenses and thus capture the naval  base of Mariveles with the objective of cutting  

  • off the retreat of the defenders. Two battalions  from the 20th Regiment were thus appointed to  

  • land in small and isolated inlets and then fight  their way over sharp cliffs and points rising from  

  • the sea. Back on the evening of January 22, the  landing craft set out from the town of Morong,  

  • heading towards Caibobo Point south of BagacUnfortunately for the Japanese, the landings  

  • went awry, facing rough seas, poor weather and the  threat of American PT boats. This caused them to  

  • misidentify the landing zone, coming ashore  at Quinauan Point and Longoskawayan Point,  

  • which were further down the coast from where they  expected to land, something that left them very  

  • isolated but also very close to their target  . Thus, the Battle of the Points had begun

  • On the morning of January 23, American naval  lookouts saw some 300 Japanese soldiers moving  

  • inland from Longoskawayan Point. A combination  of sailors, marines and soldiers then rushed to  

  • dislodge the Japanese invaders, but thick jungle  impeded their advance. They eventually managed to  

  • push back the Japanese, yet they could not  defeat them. The Americans then exerted an  

  • intense artillery and mortar bombardment over  the Japanese positions, but this could only  

  • contain their advance for long enough, so General  MacArthur decided to send his trained reserves to  

  • save the situation . Meanwhile, at Quinauan Point,  600 Japanese soldiers managed to consolidate their  

  • position in the face of staunch opposition by  American airmen and Filipino constabulary forces.  

  • For several days, the situation would remain the  same, with both the defenders and the invaders  

  • trying to reinforce their positions as much  as they could. On the night of January 26,  

  • Kimura committed his reserve battalion and sent  it from Olongapo to reinforce the Japanese at  

  • Quinauan Point. But this battalion would also  be subjected to bad weather, landing instead  

  • north of Quinauan Point at Anyasan Point. In  response, Wainwright sent two battalions of  

  • Philippine Scouts and some M3 tanks to reinforce  the American defenders; while the remnants of the  

  • American air force carried out a successful  raid over the fields at Nielson and Nichols

  • While the Battle of the Points played outHomma decided to appoint Lieutenant-General  

  • Morioka Susumu to command the offensive against  Wainwright's western area, reinforcing him with  

  • two battalions and some support units. Using  night attacks all along the Orion-Bagac Line, the  

  • Japanese would also manage to make some limited  incursions during these days. But on January 28,  

  • after two days of heavy fighting and a successful  night assault, Nara would finally manage to breach  

  • the defensive line in two places at Sector  C . Despite these successes, the Japanese  

  • would fail to exploit their gains, so their  advance would become bogged down. The next day,  

  • reinforced by Philippine Scouts and tanks, the  American defenders would also manage to destroy  

  • the Japanese forces at Longoskawayan Pointthus removing the closest threat to Mariveles.  

  • Still, two more points were in Japanese hands, and  they would continue to menace MacArthur's plans  

  • until they were removed. We now turn to Borneowhere the Japanese forces were continuing to  

  • consolidate their gains on the island. Since  the fall of Kuching, the remnants of the Punjabi  

  • battalion that was sent to defend British Borneo  had retreated to the airfield of Singkawang II,  

  • joining a garrison of 750 Dutch soldiers. ThereColonel Lane placed his battalion under Dutch  

  • command for the defense of the airfield, while  the Japanese forces of the Kawaguchi Detachment  

  • prepared to execute a land-based attack from  the north and a coastal assault from the west

  • On January 24, this attack  finally came into fruition,  

  • as five Japanese companies crossed the border  and started their advance on Singkawang.  

  • The following day, they had reached a village  northeast of the airfield, where Colonel Lane  

  • decided to launch a swift counterattack on January  26. Yet this attack was repulsed, and by night,  

  • the Japanese had launched a strong assault  that had turned the flanks of the defenders.  

  • With the battle lost, the Allies started  the evacuation of the Singkawang II airfield  

  • on January 27, with a VCL light-tank andBraat Overvalgen covering their retreat at the  

  • crossroads between the towns of Ledo and Sanggauthus inflicting heavy casualties on the invaders.  

  • Although the Overvalgen managed to retreat to  Ledo only with pierced tyres, the tank had to  

  • be abandoned and was later captured by Japanese  soldiers. Yet despite their valiant efforts,  

  • they could not prevent two Punjabi platoons  from getting surrounded and annihilated.  

  • By the evening of January 27 though, most of the  defenders would reach Ledo and would establish  

  • new defensive positions there. Yet at the same  time, Japanese forces would land at Pemangkat,  

  • capturing several coastal towns to the  south and getting close to Bengkajang,  

  • thus threatening to surround the Allied forces at  Ledo. This forced the defenders to retreat further  

  • east to Sanggau and Sintang, then fightingseries of rearguard actions until January 31,  

  • when the Allied forces would finally decide  to pull back to the south coast of Borneo,  

  • where they would start to fight guerrilla warfare. And on the other side of the island,  

  • the Kume Detachment had crossed the Doendang  River by January 29, getting very close to  

  • the oilfields of Sanga Sanga. Back on January 24,  some 300 Dutch soldiers under Captain Monteiro had  

  • started the demolition of such oilfields, leaving  behind 80 men to delay the Japanese advance  

  • while Monteiro retreated towards the town of  Samarinda. These 80 men were then engaged by  

  • the Kume Detachment, getting completely pummeled  and retreating in disarray towards Loa Djanan.  

  • After the fall of Sanga Sanga, Monteiro decided  to raze Samarinda and move his headquarters to Loa  

  • Djanan by January 31, where he was planning  to execute a long-term delaying action of  

  • the Japanese advance along the Mahakam River  towards the Samarinda II airfield. But this week  

  • would also see the launch of a very important  operation within the Dutch East Indies campaign:  

  • the invasion of Ambon. Ambon Island had always  been the political, economical and military  

  • center of the Moluccas, so it was natural that  it held strategic importance for the Japanese.  

  • Two battalions of the 38th Division under  Major-General Ito Takeo were appointed to  

  • carry out the Ambon Operation, later reinforced  with an additional battalion prior to the start  

  • of the invasion. The Eastern Detachment  would be supported by an important fleet  

  • primarily consisting of 2 cruisers and 14  destroyers, led by Rear-Admiral Takagi Takeo

  • The Japanese planned to land on the east  coast of the southern peninsula of Ambon,  

  • where the Allied defenses were considered weakso that the invaders could catch and destroy the  

  • main force of the defenders and promptly seize  the strategic points of the island. Furthermore,  

  • Takagi also planned to land a regiment of  SNLF marines to capture the Laha airfield.  

  • Meanwhile, the Dutch counted with the Molukken  Brigade of Lieutenant-Colonel Joseph Kapitz,  

  • totaling some 2600 men; and on December 17, they  had been further reinforced by the Gull Force,  

  • consisting of around 1100 Australian soldiers  under Lieutenant-Colonel William Scott. They had  

  • started to suffer heavy bombardment by Japanese  aircraft since January 24, in preparation for the  

  • invasion to come. Three days later, the Eastern  Detachment departed Davao heading towards Ambon;  

  • and on January 30, the invasion convoy was  discovered by a Brewster Buffalo bomber, although  

  • no air attacks were conducted. By nightfall, the  convoy had entered the Hitu-lama anchorage, and  

  • on the early morning of January 31, the Eastern  Detachment began to land on the shores of Ambon.  

  • Following the landing, Ito ordered his men to  push ahead and advance towards the city of Ambon  

  • across the steep mountains. Thus, a Japanese  battalion quickly took the strong positions  

  • near Paso and Batugong and then advanced  towards Ambon and Halong by February 1,  

  • while the rest of the detachmentaided by air and artillery support,  

  • overran the Dutch forces on the coast and  advanced directly on Ambon in two columns

  • With most of his defenses designed to repel  attacks from the north and west, Kapitz could  

  • do nothing to help his desperately-retreating  forces. Furthermore, at noon on January 31,  

  • the Allied communications were cut, so Kapitz  could not communicate with the 400 Australian  

  • defenders at Laha, which were being attacked by  SNLF marines. On the early morning of February 1,  

  • the Japanese would finally consolidate on Paso  and Ito would manage to capture Ambon at last,  

  • forcing Kapitz and some 800 Dutch soldiers  to surrender at Halong . But the Australians  

  • kept fighting on, successfully repelling the  Japanese invaders at Laha and on the Nona plateau;  

  • yet we'll continue to cover their heroic defense  next week. Now, we finally return to Malaya,  

  • where the British forces were starting to  execute an orderly retreat towards Singapore,  

  • with the Australians withdrawing down the Trunk  Road and with the 9th Indian Division moving  

  • down the railway. The retreating Indian forces  from Muar were also withdrawing from Batu Pahat,  

  • with General Bennett sending the recently-arrived  53rd Brigade to help them. On the early morning of  

  • January 25, though, the Imperial Guards Division  launched their attack over Batu Pahat, while some  

  • of their men also began to press a retreating  Australian brigade at Ayer Hitam. Despite the  

  • strong barrage of the invaders, the defenders  held firm and repelled each of the enemy attacks,  

  • inflicting heavy casualties on them  and forcing the Japanese to retreat.  

  • Later that night, their valiant fighting  had given time for the main Australian  

  • force to withdraw south towards Simpang Rengam. And at the same time, after a hard-fought struggle  

  • at the Nithsdale Estate, elements of the 9th  Division had pulled out of Kluang towards Sayong  

  • Halat and Rengam by January 26, continuing their  retreat south through the railway the following  

  • day. But on that same day, the RAAF launchedstrong attack over Endau, which had been captured  

  • by the Japanese 18th Division back on January  21 and was receiving reinforcements by sea.  

  • The British planes failed to cause  severe damage on the two transport ships,  

  • and in turn they lost 15 planes . Later that  night, two British destroyers under Commander  

  • William Moran launched a naval raid over Endaubut they were engaged by a small fleet under  

  • Rear-Admiral Hashimato Shintaro, losing one  of the destroyers as a result. By January 28,  

  • the Australian battalion that was covering  the rearguard of Westforce had gotten to  

  • the Namazie Rubber Estate south of Simpang  Rengam. Yet this position was hardly ideal,  

  • as the extensive rubber plantations to the east of  the Trunk Road offered the Japanese the chance to  

  • outflank the positions of the defenders. And  this was exactly what the invaders would do.  

  • After launching an initial frontal assault against  the Australian defensive lines during the morning,  

  • the Japanese would then attempt by midday an  outflanking movement to cut the Trunk Road.  

  • And this was also what Lieutenant-Colonel  FrederickBlack JackGalleghan  

  • was expecting. Launching a strong and  decisive counterattack with armoured cars,  

  • the Australians inflicted heavy casualties on  the Japanese as its enemy retreated in disorder

  • Only the employment of toxic smoke bombs managed  to save the situation for the defeated invaders,  

  • causing enormous anguish on the Australian  soldiers that inhaled the gas. In the end though,  

  • the battle was a huge success for the defendersrestarting their withdrawal southwards only a  

  • couple hours later. The following day, they had  gotten to the north of the town of Ayer Bemban,  

  • where they were again engaged by the fast and  tenacious Japanese soldiers. In the meantime,  

  • Indian forces got to a roadblock close to  Sengarrang, while the 53rd Brigade advanced  

  • from Benut to occupy Rengit in an attempt to  help the Indians. Yet the 53rd would be defeated  

  • at Rengit and would have to retreat, forcing the  Indians to get evacuated by sea towards Singapore.  

  • With only the depleted 53rd and the 28th  Indian Brigade holding the west coast,  

  • Percival would have no other choice but to  deploy the still-resting 11th Indian Division,  

  • now under Major-General Berthold Key, at Skudai  on the Trunk Road. But to the east, by January 27,  

  • the Indian Division of General Barstow had  gotten south of Layang Layang, when they found  

  • out that the railway bridge had been accidentally  demolished , thus separating the 22nd Brigade from  

  • the 8th Brigade up ahead and leaving them without  communications. The following day, the misfortune  

  • of the 22nd Brigade increased, as they ran into  a Japanese blockade over the railway that took  

  • them by surprise and managed to kill Barstow. This left Brigadier George Painter in charge,  

  • and he now faced a difficult decision whether  or not to attempt an encircling movement around  

  • the enemy to continue his retreat. In the endhe chose this jungle exit; but after following  

  • a track through the jungle, the passage abruptly  ended, leaving the Indian battalion with no other  

  • choice but to continue through the jungle without  a compass. After four days of jungle trekking,  

  • they got north of Sedenak, but they were met  by another Japanese force of the 5th Division  

  • that finally forced them to surrender. Meanwhilethe Australians under Galleghan continued to offer  

  • ferocious resistance at Ayer Bemban against the  Imperial Guards Division, then retreating after  

  • a couple hours to the vicinity of Kulai. They  held this position across January 30 without  

  • giving any more ground and inflicting many losses  on the enemy. The precious time that they bought  

  • allowed the rest of the Australian forces  to safely retreat towards Singapore;  

  • and by January 31, the last British unit  crossed the Causeway bridge at Johor Bahru,  

  • finally abandoning the Malayan Peninsula. After  blowing up the Causeway behind them, the defenders  

  • began to establish positions across Singaporeconcluding the fall of Malaya at long last.  

  • This has been all for this week, and this  has been a very eventful week indeed.  

  • Next week we will continue talking about  various operations across the Pacific Ocean,  

  • so make sure you are subscribed and  have pressed the bell button to see it.  

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We have been following the Malayan Campaign  since the start of the war, seeing the British  

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