The surrender of Singapore on 15 February 1942, with the capture of over 120,000 men, was the greatest and most humiliating defeat in British history and the high-point of Japanese expansion in South-East Asia. It graphically exposed the military weakness of the British Empire and its inability to defend its Far Eastern colonies. The defeat left Australia exposed to Japanese invasion, its protection in future dependent on American arms. Based on original records, "Singapore, 1942" shows what went wrong and how an outnumbered and poorly equipped Japanese invasion force swept to victory against a mixed army of British, Australian and Indian soldiers, changing Britain's imperial destiny and the course of World War II.

2002-09-03 The Truth Why Singapore Fell in 1942

In more ways than one, this is a very good account of the Japanese invasion of Malaya from 1941 onwards, culminating in the surrender of Singapore by British forces in February 1942. Told mainly from the viewpoint of the Australian forces engaged, it explains why this so-called impenetrable fortress fell to a Japanese Army outnumbered by the British Army. The military engagments are explained in full right up to the final battles around Bukit Timah on February 15, 1942. The loss of Singapore changed the Far East forever during the war and the post war years when British influence continued to decline. The effects are still felt today. This book tries to re-address the balance as it explains the reasons for the British defeat, since the GOC Lt-General Percival was unfairly blamed for the catastrophe. Overall, an interesting read. Has a good appendix too, with much interesting information for students of one of the most disastrous campaigns of World War 2.