121 - The Japanese are unstoppable everywhere - WW2 - December 19, 1941

The north wants to pull back… yeah, the center too…

the south already did, but yeah… what?… oh no, he says nobody gets to. Yep, nobody.

December 19, 1941

The Allies are at war in the Atlantic Ocean. The Allies are at War in the Mediterranean. The Allies

are at war in the South China Sea. In fact, they are at war at sea all over the world, but

recent events, especially those of last week, have contributed to a lack of capital ships, and they

are absolutely vital to protect Allied merchant shipping. This week, that lack gets even worse.

I’m Indy Neidell; this is World War Two.

Last week the war changed in an enormous way, when the Japanese launched a massive invasion

all over SE Asia of many lands at once to take the resources they need and create a

huge empire. They also preemptively attacked the US Pacific Fleet at anchor in Hawaii. Since the

other Axis Powers have now mostly also declared war on the US, and most of the Allies on Japan,

the war is very much now global. On the Eastern Front, having failed to reach Moscow,

the German army is on the defensive as the Red Army counterattacks. In North Africa,

the siege of Tobruk finally ends after these many months as the Axis forces pull back there as well,

opening up several new airfields to the British Desert Air Force. In the east, however, by the end

of last week, the Japanese had ruined the British airfields in Malaya to such a degree that the

British had ten planes left in Northern Malaya, on the 10th they were ordered to Singapore.

We saw the sinking of Britain’s Prince of Wales and Repulse last week, though,

so it really is now up to the army to hold Malaya and Singapore.

The 11th Indian Division had been deployed on the trunk line down the west side of Malaya

to prevent Japanese advance, but as last week ended, a concentrated attack had broken the

lines and captured the two advance battalions who were to delay the Japanese at Jittra.

That evening, the 12th, General David Murry-Lyon ordered a withdrawal, but this turned into a

major rout, with the Indian division losing most of its artillery and motor vehicles.

This was bad to such a degree that military historian Brian Farrell,

who teaches at Singapore University, has this to say about it, “Jittra was without

a doubt the most incompetently fought battle by a Brit-ish Empire division

in the Second World War.” Fewer than 1,500 Japanese troops routed a division of 14,000.

It isn’t over. Murray-Lyon pulls back to new positions at Guran,

but the Japanese hit these the 14th, doing serious damage as the week

rolls on and pushing it back, with the Japanese advancing some 20km per day.

“The Japanese relentlessly pressed their attack with a well-balanced advance guard of infantry,

armor, engineers, and light artillery. They traveled light and achieved remarkable mobility

without logistical penalty by placing their unmotorized infantry on bicycles… at each

contact they would either smash down the road with armor, or loop off the road around flanks.”

A side note from Malaya this week, Major Mohan Singh, a Sikh POW, agrees with the Japanese to set

up a special unit for Burmese, Thai, and Indians who do not want British or French rule to return

in Asia. In a few weeks he will agree to lead an Indian National Army to fight against the British.