Most of the Americans I know are aware of the attack on Pearl Harbor; far far fewer are aware of the battle of Singapore. On December 8th 1941, which because of being on opposite sides of the international date line was the same day as the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7th, 1941, the Japanese invaded Malaya, the prelude to attacking Singapore. Two months later, February 8-15, the Battle of Singapore took place, resulting in the largest surrender of British led forces in their history.
Actually, it was only a few months later in the next year--not a year later--that the Battle of Singapore actually occurred..
ReplyDeleteThe Malayan campaign began on December 8, 1941; the Battle for Singapore was February 8-15, 1942.
ReplyDeleteMy bad; I was wrestling with the html code for the videos, and should have edited that better - thanks for catching it!