April 27th, 1942
Battle of Singapore - II
Operation Vimy Ridge, D-2 - The Japanese infantry continues to dig in and evacuate its guns to protect their positions on the island of Singapore with flanking fire.
Japanese artillery and aircraft are frantically bombing the British troops, who are preparing their next attack.
The Japanese hold very strong positions, but their units are a shadow of their former selves. The 9th Division (3,000 combat-capable men), which is supported on the right at the Straits of Johore, is positioned on the heights near the village of Choa Chu Kang. Its lines then extend eastward along the Sungei Tengah. The 18th Division (4,000 men, plus 2,000 men from corps units) borders the Sungei Tengah to the north, then the Sungei Kranji. To the east of its lines, as an outpost, the 5th Division (3,000 men) occupies the triangle formed by the Sungei Tengah to the northwest, the Sungei Peng Siang to the northeast and the Choa Chu Kang road to the south. This division is entrenched in the fortified village of Bulim, in the southwest corner of the triangle, as well as on Hills 156 to the south and 115 to the northwest, which overlook all the surrounding plantations and swamps. To the northeast of this area, the 27th Division and the remnants of the Imperial Guard (perhaps 6,000 men in all) hang around the outlet of the Pier.
On the British side, all men and officers are given the opportunity to send a 24-word postcard by the next night's plane. Most of them will take advantage of this opportunity, with texts of a very different tone than the letters sent before the beginning of the battle!
The 17th Indian Division (7,000 operational men) begins to advance towards the north-west, between the Choa Chu Kang road on the left and the village of Yew Tee on the right, on a front of 2,000 then 3,500 meters, in order to border the Sungei Peng Siang, east of the positions of the 5th Japanese Division. This advance is slow and cautious. The men have to leap from shell hole to fallen tree, eliminate snipers and camouflaged machine gun nests, sometimes bayoneting small groups of Japanese left behind. But, thanks to the jungle which protects them from the Japanese bombers, to the support of the artillery, to the armoured tanks that follow closely and the infantry reserves that clear any infiltration attempts, the objective is reached at the end of the day.
The 1st Malayan Division (8,000 operational men) moves further west, north of Jurong Road, preparing the main attack. The heaviest blow would come from here, and both sides know it. The Division's movements are constantly targeted by enemy artillery and aircraft, which hampers its progress and causes heavy losses in men, material and transport. Numerous columns of black smoke streak the sky over the southern part of the island - it is true that in addition to the damage caused by the Japanese bombs and shells, as well as the fires set by the British, who were thus able to get rid of the animal corpses and waste (from the kitchen or medical dispensaries) abandoned by the
Japanese.
The 2nd Malayan Division (7,000 operational men) occupies the southwestern part of the island.
It has to prevent the entry of Japanese boats in the Straits of Johore, to support by its fire any British attacks on the western flank and above all to engage the enemy batteries.
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Excerpt from a report from Malaya Command to the Allied Commands in the Far East and Pacific - "The Singapore Fortress Command and the Royal Engineers Malaya Command report that at least six percent of the bombs defused and one percent of the shells defused by the Singapore bombers are of British origin. The bombs are mainly RAF 250-pound HE, and the shells are an assortment of 18-pounders, 25-pounders and 3.7-inch HE. In addition, our troops have recovered in the last few days a large quantity of British equipment, generally irreparable, but which the enemy had used: 140 trucks, 50 caterpillars, five 18-pounder howitzers, three 3.7-inch mountain guns, five Valentine tanks and a Matilda II. Considering the considerable problems posed in all armies by the use of captured heavy equipment, the discovery of the 25-pounders and the tanks was a real surprise. The position of the tanks indicates that they were part of the forces that covered the retreat of the Japanese Imperial Guard from the naval base. They must have been at that time caught in British artillery concentrations and blown to pieces. We believe that the enemy's use of such a large number of captured ammunition and equipment is an indication that the Japanese are probably suffering from serious and growing supply problems."
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Excerpt from a report by the Burma Intelligence Service and RAF reconnaissance units to Malaya Area Command - "At least one Japanese division (probably the 33rd), previously engaged in Burma, is being redeployed to the Thai-Malaysian border. It is very possible that it will be sent further south, as seasonal movements of rail rolling stock and ocean and coastal naval traffic are unusually large, indicating that this is much more than a simple readjustment of forces. In addition, Japanese forces equivalent to an additional division, which arrived a few weeks ago in northern Malaya and scattered throughout Kedah and the Perak States are now marching south - literally marching, for all rolling stock, whether by rail or road, is reserved for the transportation of equipment and supplies. It appears to be the 56th Division."
