who helped british troops defend malaya and singapore
Battle of Singapore The battle resulted in the Japanese capture of Singapore and the largest surrender of British-led military personnel in history.[6] About 80,000 British, Indian and Australian troops became prisoners of war, joining 50,000 taken by the Japanese in the earlier Malayan Campaign. The British prime minister, Winston Churchill, called it the "worst disaster" in British military history.[7]
Singapore Singapore (/ˈsɪŋ(ɡ)əpɔːr/ ( listen)), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign city-state and island country in Southeast Asia. It lies one degree (137 kilometres or 85 miles) north of the equator, at the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, with Indonesia's Riau Islands to the south and Peninsular Malaysia to the north. Singapore's territory consists of one main island along with 62 other islets. Since independence, extensive land reclamation has increased its total size by 23% (130 square kilometres or 50 square miles).