By INS Contributors

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia--The fall of Malaya came as a shock to the then British Empire when it's prized colony of Malaya was seized with great force by the Japanese in 1942, breaking the hold of European colonial powers in the area which first began in 1511.

Marking the 80th anniversary of this key historical event, the Military History Society of Malaysia (MHS), in its inaugural forum, put forth observations, both as a reminder of military ineptitude and the lessons today’s military planners need to draw from it.

Among the panellists were Dr. Roy Anthony Rogers of University Malaya, author Andrew Barber, Ahmad Tajuddin Bin Mohd Said of the Malaysian Institute of Defense and Security (MIDAS) and MHS founder Abdul Razak Baginda, with the panel being moderated by Datuk Dr. Zakaria Ahmad of HELP University.

Among those present were representatives of several embassies as well as the Malaysia Military History Tourism Association and the Scale Modellers Malaysia.

Obsolete equipment plagued British efforts

The Malayan campaign lasted just over two months, from Dec. 8, 1941 with the Japanese 25th Army forcing itself onto the beaches of Kota Baru before rolling down Peninsula Malaya into Singapore which fell on Feb. 15, 1942.

In his take on the campaign, Roy Anthony said the British had to make do with obsolete equipment, which the Japanese brought their most capable war machines with this being exemplified by the aircraft of both sides.

The British relied on the Brewster F2A Buffalo while the Japanese operated the state of the art Mitsubishi A6M Zero, allowing the latter to first gain air superiority over Malaya and its surrounding seas and then using this to demolish the former's naval might and ground forces.

“This also allowed the Japanese to strike at Force Z, chiefly comprising the Repulse and Prince of Wales, sinking both and ensuring control of the seas off Malaya. In addition to air power, the Japanese brought tanks using them with skill in the thick jungles of Malaya, and made use of bicycles to traverse the difficult terrain,” he said.

Force Z was a British naval squadron during the Second World War, consisting of the battleship HMS Prince of Wales, the battlecruiser HMS Repulse and four accompanying destroyers, assembled in 1941, to reinforce the British colonial garrisons in the Far East.

“The British were armed with obsolete equipment compared to the Japanese and combined with better Japanese military acumen saw the British rolled up along the Peninsula before being boxed in and defeated in Singapore,” he added.

The Japanese also displayed effective use of armoured vehicles, with their invasion force having over 200 tanks, of the Type 95 Ha-Go, Type 97 Chi-Ha, Type 89 I-Go and Type 97 Te-Ke while the British had some armoured cars and Mk VIB light tanks, which were armed with only machine guns.



Underestimating the enemy

Barber said the British had made the dual mistake of misunderstanding their own position in Malaya while also underestimated the capabilities and competence of the Japanese, a deadly combination which would result in high casualties, poor defensive actions and ultimately a crushing defeat at the hands of the Japanese.

Compounding this, Barber said the British had also misread the lessons of the German Blitzkrieg in France, when the country was rapidly overrun in 1940, with the British instead failing to make a decisive stand and resisting with sufficient force, a pattern which would repeat itself all along the Malayan Peninsula.

“Quoting Sun Tzu; If you understand both yourself and the enemy, you will win a hundred battles without jeopardy.

“Unfortunately British tactics and war planning suffered from a lack of imagination, with no contingency prepared for Indo-China being used as a launchpad for an invasion following the rapid fall of France in 1940, which saw that country's colonial possessions coming under the Axis-friendly Vichy regime,” he said.

Misplaced priorities

Ahmad Tajuddin noted that the British were re-occupied in Europe and North Africa, showing little interest or initiative in preparing its defenses in Malaya, save for its so-called “Fortress Singapore” besides displaying a lacklustre attitude against Japanese equipment and fighting skill.

“Britain misread the signs of war even in 1941. There was little interest and it was seen as a joke. There was no serious attention being given towards preparations in the run up to the invasion.

“British propaganda at the time was don't worry about the Japanese, they are not good with war fighting. But as we know now, never underestimate your enemy,” he cautioned.



Yesterday's lessons for planners of tomorrows wars

Abdul Razak noted that even after 80 years, the Malayan Campaign and the Fall of Singapore are still being studied in earnest, with books, documentaries and other media being produced to cover the subject.

“You can look at the events from a variety of perspectives. It gives us a window into war planning, to understand modern developments. We even see some of the same elements playing out today. You may have the best generals and they may be held back by a lack of political will.

“We can also look at the Malayan Campaign, a successful invasion against the what ‘if plans’ like Operation Matador; a plan of the British Malaya Command to move forces into position in Thailand to counter a Japanese invasion, Operation Sealion; a plan by Germany to launch an amphibious invasion against Britain and War Plan Orange; the American plan for an invasion of the Japanese home islands which was dropped in favour of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki,” he said.

The forum included a display by Scale Modellers Malaysia, a collective of model making enthusiasts who brought a variety of notable vehicles from the war, including the Repulse and Prince of Wales, besides several aircraft and dioramas of battle scenes.