History in Time

8th Feb:
Japanese artillery and aircraft begin shelling western Singapore heavily at 10am. The artillery then concentrates on the northwest shoreline until 7pm. Communications are completely cut between forward and rear command headquarters. At 8pm, the first Japanese assault boat heads for the Singapore coast. From 8.30pm fierce fighting signals the start of the invasion. 9th Feb: At 7am, 10 Hurricane fighters challenge 84 Japanese aircraft. After three missions the Hurricanes are ordered to Sumatra. It is the final appearance of British aircraft in the Malaya Campaign. Tengah Airfield is taken by late afternoon despite fierce opposition. The 18th Division takes over Chua Chu Kang Village.

10th Feb:
The Kranji assault led by the Imperial Guards nearly fails. Boats are lost or stranded at low tide; troops are mired in muddy swamps and burned by oil from the damaged fuel tanks at the Naval Base. By dawn however, the Japanese have completed the landing. In a mistaken withdrawal the Australians leave Woodlands, the key to northern defences. By mid-afternoon, the Kranji-Jurong line has fallen. Churchill cables Wavell: "There must be...no thought of saving the troops or sparing the population ... The honour of the British Empire and of the British Army is at stake..."

14th Feb 1942:
Water supply in Singapore failure threatens most areas in town, including the hospitals, have no water. The Japanese massacre staff and patients in Alexandra Hospital. At 2 pm, Japanese troops rush into Alexandra Hospital. They bayonet young Lt. Weston who stands at the porch with a large white flag. Doctors and patients alike are bayoneted. In the night, patients are bayoneted in groups. Only three men escape. The Japanese control the three military airfields and the three main reservoirs. Malay Regiment makes a heroic 48 hr stand. Only when the last man falls does the entire defence line fall. Wavell cables Churchill to say that the situation is hopeless. Churchill gives the permission to surrender.

15th Feb 1942:
At 9.30am Percival tells his staff it is either counter-attack or surrender. All are against attacking. At 5.15pm, Percival surrenders to the Japanese. At 8.30pm there is silence in the city. 80,000 British Empire and Commonwealth troops under General Percival surrendered to the Japanese at Singapore in the final humiliation of the greatest military defeat in British history.

To those who fought for Singapore and to the malay regiment who never give up...we salute you. thank you

I shall stand on my two feet even after a defeat.
I dedicated my life for my love one
They may come hard on us
But I will stand my ground

To Lead To Excel To Overcome