128 - Pearl Harbor Avenged! - WW2 - February 6, 1942

by Panzer
It's avenged!
Yeah!
Hooray!
Well done!
How many battleships?
… wait what?
None.
But a few planes so it's the same thing?
… I don't know about that…
February 6, 1942
We see it this week in Singapore, what we've seen throughout the war whenever it first
reaches a new city or country or part of the world- civilians misunderstanding the hard
facts of being at war.
"We're not involved".
Well, they're learning in Singapore that they're very much involved.
I'm Indy Neidell; this is World War Two.
Last week, the Americans won a small naval victory, but were retreating to new defense
lines in the Philippines, the British and Malayan forces were retreating to Singapore,
the Soviet advances were stalling, Benghazi fell to the Axis in North Africa, and the
Japanese began attacks in Burma, the Solomon Islands, and Amboina.
Japanese attacks continue this week.
On the 31st, they take Moulamein, Burma, threatening Rangoon.
On the 3rd, they bomb Port Moresby.
By the 4th, they've finished taking Amboina.
Martin Gilbert writes that 809 Australians surrender; 426 of them are bayoneted to death.
The next day 30 Australian and Dutch POWs are beheaded by sword or killed by bayonet at Rabaul.
By the 31st, the last Australian forces in Malaya have withdrawn to Singapore, where
they join British, Indian, Canadian, and Malayan troops there awaiting a Japanese attack.
Singapore is Britain's Gibraltar of the Far East, but its vulnerability has been, of course,
a huge issue for Archie Wavell and ABDA Command since it was established 6 weeks ago.
"Even in peacetime the task of coordinating the land, sea, and air forces of four nations
would have been formidable, but Wavell (well, and his staff)… had only days to weld together
a command literally under the fire of enemy attacks.
Their best endeavors were frustrated by national rivalries and the vast extent of the perimeter
they were being called on to defend, as much by the rising tempo of the Japanese offensive.
They were all handicapped by the ABDA directive requiring their units, where possible, to
operate as national entities, which left their forces widely scattered and without any previous
experience of operating together.
The combined forces lacked essential common codes at the very time when it was necessary