Invasion of Japanese (7 December 1941)

Invasion of Japanese (7 December 1941)

The Japanese 25th Army invaded Malaya from Indochina, moving into northern Malaya and Thailand by amphibious assault on 8 December 1941. This was virtually simultaneous with the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour which was meant to deter the US from intervening in Southeast Asia. Japanese troops in Thailand coerced Thai government to let the Japanese use Thai military bases for the invasion of other nations in Southeast Asia and then proceeded overland across the Thai–Malayan border to attack Malaya. At this time, the Japanese began bombing of strategies sites, and air raids were conducted on Singapore from 29 December onwards, although anti-aircraft fire kept most of the Japanese bombers from totally devastating the island as long as ammunition was available.
The Japanese 25th Army was resisted in northern Malaya by III corps of the Indian Army. Although the 25th Army was outnumbered by Allied forces in Malaya and Singapore, Japanese commanders concentrated their forces. The Japanese were superior in cant support, armour, coordination, tactics and experience. Moreover, the British forces repeatedly allowed themselves to be outflanked, believing—despite repeated flanking attacks by the Japanese—that the Malayan jungle was impassable. The Imperial Japanese Army Force  was more numerous, and better trained than the second-hand assortment of untrained pilots and inferior allied equipment remaining in Malaya, Borneo and Singapore. Their superior fighters—especially the Mitsubishi AM62 Zero—helped the Japanese to gain air supremacy . The Allies had no tanks and few armoured vehicles, which put them at a severe disadvantage.
The battleship HMS Price of Whales, the battlecruiser HMS Repulse and four destroyers  (Force Z) reached Malaya before the Japanese began their air assaults. This force was thought to be a deterrent to the Japanese. Japanese aircraft, however, sank the capital ships, leaving the east coast of the Malayan peninsula exposed and allowing the Japanese to continue their amphibious landings. Japanese forces quickly isolated, surrounded, and forced the surrender of Indian units defending the coast. They advanced down the Malayan peninsula overwhelming the defences, despite numerical inferiority. The Japanese forces also used bicycle infantry and light tanks allowing swift movement through the jungle.