The Fall of Malaya and Singapore

Jon Diamond

May 2015 · Pen and Sword

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“This photo essay produces a very effective picture of the defeat of British forces in Malaya and Singapore by the Japanese . . . Highly recommended.”—Firetrench
 
In just 10 weeks from 8 December 1941 to mid-February 1942, British and Imperial forces were utterly defeated by the numerically inferior Japanese under General Yamashita.
 
British 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 19 December as they sought out enemy shipping. Panic set in as military and civilians withdrew south to Singapore. Thought to be an impregnable fortress, its defenses against land attacks were 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 reinforcements arrived but only in time to be made POWs.
 
The whole catastrophe is brilliantly described in this highly illustrated book.
 
“The powerful story of a tragedy illustrated with many previously unpublished photographs, this is a highly enlightening text on the Forgotten War.”—The Bulletin of The Military Historical Society
 
“Contains an interesting set of well captioned archive photos showing a period that was among the darkest days for the British Commonwealth during WW2.”—Military Modelling

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Jon Diamond MD is a kidney specialist in the USA with a deep interest in the Second World War. He is a keen collector of photographs. His Stilwell and the Chindits, War in the South Pacific, Invasion of Sicily, Invasion of the Italian Mainland: Salerno to Gustav Line, 1943-1944, Onto Rome 1944; Anzio and Victory at Cassino and Beyond Rome to the Alps; Across the Arno and Gothic Line, 1944-1945 and Op Plunder The Rhine River Crossing are all published by Pen & Sword in the Images of War series. [83]