Fall of Singapore

After landing in Malaya in December 1941, Japanese forces advanced down the peninsula in less than two months. Singapore had been planned as a great naval base, with its heavy guns facing the sea, and the defenders expected the threat to come from that side. On the night of 8 February the Japanese crossed the Johor Strait in the northwest and gained a foothold. Within days they held the water reservoirs and were close to the city, which had a swollen civilian population. On 15 February General Percival surrendered, which Winston Churchill later called the worst disaster and largest capitulation in British history.

The belief that the guns could not turn to fire inland is a simplification: many could, but they were reportedly stocked mainly with armour-piercing shells, poorly suited to land targets. Historians debate how far the defeat was caused by poor command, weak air cover or an earlier loss of confidence on the peninsula. The Japanese commander, Yamashita, was in fact short of ammunition and his men were tired. His bluff to demand an immediate surrender may have helped. The loss badly damaged British prestige in Asia and is often seen as a turning point in the end of empire.