page_title: 2/18th Battalion (Australia)
section_title: Fighting in Singapore
hierarchical_section_title: 2/18th Battalion (Australia) / History / Fighting in Singapore
caption_attribution_description: English: AWM caption: "1941-01. LT. IVAN (sic) JOHN MACKAY SON OF MAJ. GEN. I.G. MACKAY.".
context_page_description: The 2/18th Battalion was an Australian Army infantry unit that served during World War II. Formed in June 1940, the battalion was assigned to the 22nd Brigade, which formed part of the Australian 8th Division. After completing basic training, the 2/18th was sent to Singapore and Malaya to strengthen the defences of the British colonies in February 1941 against a possible Japanese attack. The 2/18th Battalion subsequently undertook garrison duties throughout the year at various locations in Malaya, where it conducted jungle training and constructed defences along the eastern coast.
  Following the outbreak of war in the Pacific in December 1941, the 2/18th saw action against Japanese forces in the Malayan campaign, during which they took part in a large-scale ambush of a Japanese force on the Malay Peninsula before joining the withdrawal to Singapore in early 1942. Assigned to defend part of the north-west coast of the island, the battalion participated in the unsuccessful defence of Singapore in early February 1942. Following the fall of Singapore the majority of the battalion's personnel were taken as prisoners of war.
context_section_description: After the withdrawal from Nithsdale, the battalion fell back along the Jemaluang–Kota Tinggi Road, before helping to cover the Allied withdrawal over the Johor–Singapore Causeway to Singapore Island. No engagements were fought during this phase, but the 2/18th patrolled constantly and provided rearguard detachments. During this time, the battalion was briefly commanded by Major William Fraser, when Varley temporarily took over Eastforce, which consisted of the 22nd Brigade and a number of Indian and Malay formations, filling in for Brigadier Harold Burfield Taylor, who was temporarily detached to organise a force to cover the withdrawal. Following its arrival on the island, Varley returned to the battalion, which received a small number of reinforcements—about 90 men—and was allocated to the defence of the Western Area along with the rest of the 8th Division. Forming part of the 22nd Brigade's defensive line in the north-west sector, stretching from the Causeway to the Sungei Berih, the battalion was responsible for defending a frontage of 3 miles (4.8 km). With a strength of 37 officers and 826 other ranks, the battalion occupied a position in the centre of the brigade that stretched from the 2/20th's position around Kranji to the 2/19th's around Sungei Sarimbun, north-east of the village of Ama Keng and Tengah Airfield.
  Consisting of "tidal mud flats and mangrove swamps intersected with streams and inlets", there had been no work done to prepare the area that the battalion was allocated to defend prior to its arrival due to political concerns about alarming the local population. The wide frontage stretched the 2/18th thin on the ground, with no depth and large gaps between positions that were separated in places by tidal waterways. Due to the thick vegetation along the shoreline, the battalion's positions had the added handicap of poor visibility of the water and limited fields of fire that, combined with their isolation, meant that they were unable to support each other. After occupying their positions on 1 February, the battalion worked to improve them as best they could, working under the cover of darkness so as to avoid Japanese artillery and air attacks.
  The Japanese attack on the north-west coast came on the night of 8/9 February, beginning with a heavy artillery and aerial bombardment of the 22nd Brigade's positions throughout the day, followed by a waterborne assault across the Johore Strait, which began around 10:30 pm. Confronted by 16 battalions from the Japanese 5th and 18th Divisions, which concentrated upon the 2/18th's and 2/20th's positions, the 2/18th's two forward companies—'A' and 'C'—strongly resisted two frontal assaults during the day. Heavy casualties were inflicted on the Japanese over the course of several hours, but the defenders were eventually forced back by heavy indirect fire and overwhelming numbers. Exploiting the holes in the battalion's perimeter to avoid resistance, by 1:30 am on 9 February the Japanese had penetrated towards battalion headquarters near the Lim Chau Kang road, threatening to roll up the battalion's rear. Varley then ordered the forward companies to make a fighting withdrawal and fall back on battalion headquarters. Heavy fighting followed, during which the Australians suffered grave losses as groups became lost in the darkness in the thick country, before the battalion was able to re-establish itself around Ama Keng.
  The 2/18th attempted to defend the Tengah Airfield, but by 1:00 pm in the afternoon of 9 February they had been reduced to only 330 men and were withdrawn back to the south-east of the airfield, occupying a position around Bulim along the Chu Kang Road, with the 2/29th Battalion on their left. Throughout the night of 9/10 February, minor clashes occurred as patrols were sent out to fend off Japanese probes. The battalion continued to hold the line until 6:00 am when, following receipt of orders to withdraw, it moved back to Keat Hong village to take up the role of brigade reserve. The carrier platoon covered the battalion's withdrawal, and amidst heavy ar
caption: Lieutenant Iven John Mackay, who led a section from the 2/18th's carrier platoon in a counterattack up Reformatory Road during the fighting in Singapore on 11 February 1942.
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