Diamond Jon. The Fall of Malaya and Singapore

Pen & Sword Books, 2015. — 208 p. — (Images of War). — ISBN: 978-1-473845-58-0.IN JUST TEN WEEKS from 8 December 1941 to mid-February 1942, British and Imperial forces were utterly defeated by the numerically inferior Japanese under General Yamashita. Many British and Imperial units fought hard on the Malayan mainland but the Japanese showed greater mobility, cunning and tactical superiority. Morale was badly affected by the loss of HMS Prince of Wales and Repulse to Japanese aircraft on 10 December off the East Coast. Panic set in as military and civilians retreated south to Singapore. Thought to be an impregnable fortress, the Island's defences against land attacks proved to be shockingly deficient. General Percival's leadership was at best uninspired and at worst incompetent.Once the Allied troops withdrew to Singapore it was only a matter of time before surrender became inevitable. To make matters worse, valuable reinforcements arrived only to become POWs of the victorious Japanese for the duration of the War - many were to perish under appalling conditions.The scale of this disaster, the most humiliating and catastrophic defeat suffered by the Allies in the Second World War, is superbly demonstrated by the informed text and many well captioned images contained in this fascinating Images of War series book.