History | Things Not To Be Forgotten
With the help of Raffles, Singapore economy went from strength to strength
throughout the 19th and early 20th century. But this
didn’t last long. The start of World War II was the beginning of the suffering
for the citizens of Singapore.
The British built a naval base in the north of Singapore. On top of that, they
built underground bunkers in secret places all over the island. These bunkers
were used as stores and also acted as air raid shelter. Their plan of defending
Singapore was to prevent an attack from the sea. Big guns were placed in
Singapore to fire at big ships. These guns could also fire enemies on the land
but they were not equipped with the proper ammunition for these type of targets.
The British, who had prepared for an invasion from the seas in the south, were
taken by surprise by the Japanese who they travelled within the jungles of
Thailand and Malaysia by bicycle. They did not realized that the Japanese would
travel from the jungles as the jungles were difficult territory for the enemies
to move in. The Japanese were well-trained in jungle warfare so it was a easy
task for them.
While the Japanese were invading Malaya, they dropped bombs on Singapore. The
British fighter planes were outnumbered by the Japanese "Zero" fighters and
their planes were migrated to Sumatra. By the 31st of January 1942,
the Japanese were already at Johor Bahru. The only thing that
kept them separated from Singapore was the destroyed Causeway.
The Japanese Commander, General Yamashita, set up his headquarters at the Sultan
of Johor's palace. In order to mislead the British, the Japanese made intense
bombings at Changi and attacked Pulau Ubin on the 7th of February
1942. The British thought that Japanese might be invading Singapore from the
northeast, so they moved their stocks of defence supplies like petrol and
explosives from the northwest to the northeast.
The Japanese easily crossed the Strait since the narrowest point of the Johor
Strait was at the northwest of Singapore. The British did not stationed a lot
of troops there and the Japanese took advantage of the situation by sending
divisions of soldiers across from Johor to Singapore with boats and rafts. The
tanks were also made to float across the Johor Strait. Having
such a large area to defend, the Allied Forces could not stop
the Japanese from invading.
The Japanese repaired the Causeway so that their soldiers and ammunition could be
moved to Singapore. The British Commander, General A.E Percival, planed for
the British soldiers to withdraw to protect the town centre if the situation
was serious. Due to misinterpretation, a number of British soldiers on the
western part of the island withdrew before the Japanese moved into the area. In
the end, the Japanese gained control over Bukit Timah.
On the 11th of February, the Japanese reached Bukit Timah, a place
where the British stocked up food, ammunition, and vehicle and machine parts.
The north-eastern slope of the hill faced a reservoir which
was the water supply for the
British. Intense fighting took place here. Fighting with weapons that were
used for hunting birds and animals, the Chinese Volunteers fought bravely, along
with the Allied Forces. Many casualties were accounted and the Japanese killed
the Chinese found in the nearby village in seek of revenge for their dead
The Japanese reached Pasir Panjang Ridge (known as the Kent Ridge Park in the
present day) on the 13th of February. It was near to the Alexandra
area where the British stored most of their ammunition and the location of the
military hospital. The soldiers from the Malay Regiment, led by Lieutenant (Lt.)
Adnan bin Saidi killed many of the Japanese soldiers. The following day, the
Japanese disguised themselves as Indian soldiers in the British army. Lt. Adnan
discovered that some of the soldiers were not marching in the usual threes, and
so he asked his soldiers to shoot at the imposters, killing several of them and
some fled down the hill. The Japanese soon surrounded the hill and the Malays
were outnumbered. Lt A