The Japanese attack on Malaya started on December 8th 1941 and ended with the surrender of British forces at Singapore. Malaya was
a major prize for the Japanese as it produced 38% of the world’s rubber and 58% of the world’s tin. The capture of Singapore would provide Japan with a highly valuable military base in the region and
it would also greatly undermine British authority in the region. The Japanese commander for the attack on Malaya was General Yamashita.
On December 7, 1941 the Japanese arrived in the city of Kota Bahru in British Malaya (present day Malaysia). They arrived just a few hours before the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Within two months, the Japanese had conquered present day Peninsular Malaysia. On February 8, 1942 they crossed the causeway and entered into the British colony of Singapore. Singapore was ill prepared for this rapid invasion as all of their guns and cannons had been permanently mounted pointing out towards the ocean. The Japanese merely crossed the bridge between the two countries and began in what would be one of the British empire's worst defeats. By February 20 the Japanese had seized Bukit Timah. This was an important achievement as not only was Bukit Timah the highest point on the island (162 meters) in order to provide good views, but from Bukit Timah there were roads that led straight to the center of the city.
The Japanese built man-made caves in the jungle hills of Bukit Timah to store supplies and ammunition. These caves are still standing today. The bars were installed recently to protect the bats that live in the caves from being disturbed by tourists. Another significant battle was the Battle for Bukit Batok, one of Singapore's bloodiest battles. Now the top of Bukit Batok hill is simply a cell phone tower, but this wasn't always the case.
The conditions in the prisons were horrendous. One of the most famous incidents in the Selarang Barracks is the Selarang Square incident. 17,000 POWs were forced to vacate their buildings and remain outdoors for 5 days with NO shelter, water, or sanitation because they had refused to sign a form stating, "I PROMISE NOT TO ESCAPE."
The Japanese renamed Singapore Syonanto, or Light of the South, and ruled it harshly. The Kempeitai (Japanese military police) massacred over 50,000 Chinese males! Thousands more civilians faced starvation, torture, and execution.
A picture when they killed a civilian
An image on how they were being tortured
An image where the civilians were buried alive.
cite: http://www.angelfire.com/ca2/shammons/invasion.html
-end of part 2-
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