WI : General Yamashita died during the siege of Singapore?

As part of the invasion plan, the Japanese 25th Army set up its HQ at the Johore Sultan's Green Palace, the Istana Hijau. The building was on elevated ground and had a 5 storey observation tower, giving it a bird's eye view of Singapore. The Municiple Building was also similarly used.

A report reached Bennet's HQ that the Japanese were using the Palace and Municiple building as observation posts and permission was sought to blast them with artillery fire. Allied commanders (Percival or Bennet?) refused to bombard the palace in order to save ammo and to avoid angering the Sultan.

Had permission been granted, Gen Yamashiita could have been killed... and the invasion of Singapore taken a different course.


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Johor Municiple building.....


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The Palace - HQ of Jap 25th Army. Gen Yamashiita even told his troops he will personally observe them in battle from his HQ.
 
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Something similar occurred on Betio Island (Tarawa atoll) in the first hours of the battle. The Japanese commander left his CP in a well protected bunker, to organize a counter attack. A volley of US naval gunfire is credited with killing the general & several key staff. The two subordinate commanders facing the main landing were unaware of the death for sometime & the defense remained uncoordinated and relatively passive for most of the remainder of the day.

I suspect in this case Yamashitas death would be known relatively quickly, but there is a secondary effect from any command staff killed or wounded, and the disruption of HQ ops from comm equipment damaged & operating staff casualties. If the Japanese attack has not started then its likely to be delayed a day.

On 12 May 1940 Guderians CP was struck by French bombers. The building suffered minor damage as the closest bomb landed in the automobile drive/parking area adjacent. But, how would the attack @ Sedan the next day have gone had the salvo of aircraft bombs made casualties of Guderian & his command staff?

Two days later Rommels command tank took a French 25mm round, wrecking the interior. How would the subsequent battle of Phillipeville that day and the later breakout gone had that AT round taken Rommels leg off?
 
Keynes' Cruisers had Rommel killed during the battle of France; that had interesting knock-on effects in North Africa, which allowed the British to free up forces to go to Malaya and Burma...
 
Actually teh death of Percival may have had a more immediate impact. The man did not understand what was happening. It is probably unfair to blame him for not having high explosive shells but teh British certainly could have, should have?, done better.
 

CalBear

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As part of the invasion plan, the Japanese 25th Army set up its HQ at the Johore Sultan's Green Palace, the Istana Hijau. The building was on elevated ground and had a 5 storey observation tower, giving it a bird's eye view of Singapore. The Municiple Building was also similarly used.

A report reached Bennet's HQ that the Japs were using the Palace and Municiple building as observation posts and permission was sought to blast them with artillery fire. Allied commanders (Percival or Bennet?) refused to bombard the palace in order to save ammo and to avoid angering the Sultan.

Had permission been granted, Gen Yamashiita could have been killed... and the invasion of Singapore taken a different course.




Johor Municiple building.....




The Palace - HQ of Jap 25th Army. Gen Yamashiita even told his troops he will personally observe them in battle from his HQ.
Japs?

Really?
 
Actually teh death of Percival may have had a more immediate impact. The man did not understand what was happening. It is probably unfair to blame him for not having high explosive shells but the British certainly could have, should have?, done better.

Percival knew exactly what was going on - he had been involved in working out the minimum required to defend the Malay Peninsula and also knew that the forces he had were under trained, under equipped and far short of what was required.

I think the knowledge that he had been given insufficient forces to successfully defend the Peninsula had seriously demoralised him before the first shot - he knew he was going to be the man who lost Malaya and Singapore

His 3 Divisions each only had 2 Brigades and some of the Battalions were as green as grass (one of the Gurkha Battalions was literally recently formed with fresh 18 year olds) and the Artillery was very below par from what one might expect in a first class Commonwealth Division.

His air force was composed of a 1/3rd of the Aircraft he knew would be required (and he was correct) and the Airfields were poor and in the wrong places (to close to the sea) and the aircraft were the most obsolete in Squadron service throughout the Commonwealth military.

Its all very understandable when one considers that the British Commonwealth 'was' fighting the Germans, Italians and for an extra bonus also fighting the Vichy French.

On Top of this they were sending every spare Tank, gun and plane to Russia who had just had their heads kicked in.

So Malaya was 4th in line for personnel and 5th in line for equipment.

Japan sent their best.

The Japanese also knew every weakness the Commonwealth forces suffered as a very detailed report that was sent back to london on a freighter was captured by a German raider during 1941 - and the dirty rotters only went and shared said report with their Japanese friends

What also didn't help was Bennet and the other commanders where very defeatist and according to some accounts I have read over the years it is they who convinced Percival to surrender when he did rather than continue to fight for an extra day or 2 while still having units with supplies and cohesion.

As for the OP - shelling the Green palace etc is shutting the gate after the horse had bolted, met another horse, made the sexy time with it and produced offspring.

It is too late by this point.

There is some things that could have been attempted such as actually trying op Matador rather than flip flopping between The counter attack, defending the position or retreating to another position and dithering so long that the Brigade earmarked for the attack was actually attacked (still sitting in their transports) by the very forces that Op Matador was supposed to have attacked and that Brigade was effectively destroyed on the first day having had very little effect on the outcome of the campaign.

Then there was the landings at Kota Bharu which saw another Brigade decimated while attempting to destroy the landing force (they did however cause heavy losses in the assaulting IJA Regiments Infantry Battalions)
 
In the case of Singapore it probably wouldn't have mattered. Even afterward, Yamashita didn't really do anything after the Malayan Campaign except starve in the Philippines. Maybe another general would have taken his place, with various potential consequences elsewhere.

Also, the "Yamashita Standard" in American legal culture wouldn't be remembered as such.
 
Japs, Brits, Yanks, Poles, Swedes, Russkis. Why the question marks?
Unlike the other abbreviated nationalities the use of 'Japs' and 'Nips' is rather heavily associated with 'Yellow Peril' panics and WW2 propaganda, both of which default to some rather unpleasant and deeply racist stereotypes. Thus, use of either can easily be read as the poster having racist intent... Which can bring the mods down on you like a ton of bricks...
 
So why isn't Brit, Yank, Pole, etc.?

Those names can easily be associated with nationality, which is not such a harshly protected identity as race is, when it comes to shorthand speak.

Speaking as someone of Polish descent, 'Pole' is the proper term for someone from Poland. 'Polack' is a derogatory slur.

Also, there were occasions when the Americans would call themselves 'Yanks'. Just listen to the propaganda song Over There when you get the chance.
 
Thread drift - what is the derivation of "Yank"?

From Wikipedia

"The term Yankee can have many different meanings within the United States that are contextually and geographically dependent. Traditionally, Yankee was most often used to refer to a New Englander descended from the original settlers of the region, thus often suggesting Puritanism and thrifty values. By the mid-20th century, some speakers applied the word to any American born north of the Mason-Dixie Line though usually with a specific focus still on New England. New England Yankee might be used to differentiate. However, within New England itself, the term still refers more specifically to old-stock New Englanders of English descent",
 

CalBear

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Japs, Brits, Yanks, Poles, Swedes, Russkis. Why the question marks?
"Jap" is, without doubt, an ethnic slur. It is also a really good way to get punch in the mouth if said to more than a few Japanese, including some that I've know personally. "Russki" is as well, although I have never personally witnessed someone get their ass kicked for using it. The others are, AFAIK, acceptable to the various nationalities involved.

The correct terms are Japanese and Russian. If the terms are used by a character in a timeline they are acceptable because that historic usage is well known. Possibly the worst part of using "Jap" in most contexts discussing WW II is that there are entirely acceptable short hands that don't even use more letters to type, namely IJA and IJN (Imperial Japanese Army or Navy) that can be utilized in many circumstances.

I must admit that I find it exceptionally surprising that someone who has been a member here for well over ten years has not absorbed the Board's policies or has not, at some point, encountered any of the discussions/explanations/Mod actions related to terms like "Jap".
 
"Jap" is, without doubt, an ethnic slur. It is also a really good way to get punch in the mouth if said to more than a few Japanese, including some that I've know personally. "Russki" is as well, although I have never personally witnessed someone get their ass kicked for using it. The others are, AFAIK, acceptable to the various nationalities involved.

The correct terms are Japanese and Russian. If the terms are used by a character in a timeline they are acceptable because that historic usage is well known. Possibly the worst part of using "Jap" in most contexts discussing WW II is that there are entirely acceptable short hands that don't even use more letters to type, namely IJA and IJN (Imperial Japanese Army or Navy) that can be utilized in many circumstances.

I must admit that I find it exceptionally surprising that someone who has been a member here for well over ten years has not absorbed the Board's policies or has not, at some point, encountered any of the discussions/explanations/Mod actions related to terms like "Jap".
And yet that is the case. 10 years - time flies!
 

Driftless

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If Yamashita's demise delays Singapore's capitulation by a day or three; does that have any knock-on effects for Burma?
 
"Jap" is, without doubt, an ethnic slur. It is also a really good way to get punch in the mouth if said to more than a few Japanese, including some that I've know personally. "Russki" is as well, although I have never personally witnessed someone get their ass kicked for using it. The others are, AFAIK, acceptable to the various nationalities involved.

The correct terms are Japanese and Russian.

"Russkiy" (Русский) is the direct transliteration of "Russian" (the adjective) in the original language.

The noun term for "Russians," as in the people, on the other hand, is "Русские" (Russkiye), and THE Russian People are referred to as "Русский народ" (Russkiy narod), where "People"/"narod" is taken to mean the Nation as a whole, as opposed to "людей" (lyudey) which is just 'people' in general.
 
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