The Fall of Singapore

Japan opened its attack on the Malay peninsula through Indochina and Thailand (which signed an alliance with Japan in December) and by a series of landings along the coast. In trying to stop one of these landings the British battleship Prince of Wales and the battle cruiser Repulse were sunk by Japanese planes on December 10. The capture of Kuala Lumpur on January 10, 1942, gave the Japanese an air base within easy reach of the British colony of Singapore. Crack Japanese troops led by General Yamashita Tomoyuki made a remarkable advance through the dense jungles of the Malay peninsula and attacked Singapore. Singapore's main defenses faced the sea and the Japanese attacked the city from the land side, forcing it to surrender on February 15.