The Fall of Singapore, I mean. I hope it was marked at the scene of the defeat. That campaign has always fascinated me...the British managed to do absolutely everything wrong, and the Japanese everything right. By numbers, the British should have stomped the Japanese bloody. But everything failed. One Indian outfit wouldn't even go on patrol at night because the Japanese were letting off squibs in the jungle. Squibs! Their officer pointed out that nobody had ever died of a squib. I blame a lot of factors, ranging from the training of the troops on hand to leadership decisions that made sure the Singapore defenders lacked HE shells for their big guns, to the complacency and lack of war-mindedness of the leadership. Wavell had no "grip" on Percival, Shenton Thomas had no conception of the urgency of the situation, Percival had blinders about entrenchments and training, and was not a "hands-on" general. Had Montgomery been in command, there would have been a higher level of training, clear orders, tight grip, and prepared defenses. Gordon Bennett was a big talker, but his Australians were not the best that country had to offer. His escape from Singapore was ill-timed. The defenders had to fight with Brewster Buffaloes, no tanks, and Vickers Vildebeestes that chugged along at 95 mph. Ridiculous. The real problem was that Malaya was the last stop on the line for supplies in 1940 and 1941, and there was simply nothing left to give the colony. By the time the desert-trained 18th Infantry Division arrived from India along with 40 or so Hurricanes, it was too late. Anyway, the Hurricanes were inferior to both the Japanese Zero and its Army knockoff, the Oscar. Very tragic campaign.
Gordon Bennett was a big talker, but his Australians were not the best that country had to offer. Very tragic campaign. The 8th was trained for action against Germany in North Africa however most were sent to fight in the jungles after the Japanese threat became evident. In Singapore, the 8th Division were assigned the task of defending the prime invasion points on the north side of the island, in a terrain dominated by mangrove swamps and forest. The 22nd Brigade was assigned a daunting 10 mile (16 kilometre) wide sector in the west of the island, and the 27th Brigade a 4,000 yard (3,650 metre) zone in the north west, near the causeway. The 8th Division suffered 73% of Allied deaths in battle, even though they comprised only 14% of the Allied forces.
And then what percentage after the battle made it home after years of barbarous captivity... Remembering 1942 National Archives of Australia - Margaret George Award - Christina Twomey
Yeah, terrible captivity. The one thing that is bad about my birthday is that it falls on the day of one of Britain's worst military disasters...
The 8th was trained for action against Germany in North Africa however most were sent to fight in the jungles after the Japanese threat became evident. In Singapore, the 8th Division were assigned the task of defending the prime invasion points on the north side of the island, in a terrain dominated by mangrove swamps and forest. The 22nd Brigade was assigned a daunting 10 mile (16 kilometre) wide sector in the west of the island, and the 27th Brigade a 4,000 yard (3,650 metre) zone in the north west, near the causeway. The 8th Division suffered 73% of Allied deaths in battle, even though they comprised only 14% of the Allied forces. That division defines bad luck and tragedy. I still think Gordon Bennett should not have left Singapore, either.
