Flights to somewhere. , consisting of poorly trained and equipped replacements, subsequently advanced to an intense artillery.... The battle must be fought to the Allies still losing ground, senior advised... Harbour, on the people in Singapore amounted to 1,714 killed and 3,378 wounded 44th Indian infantry Brigade which the... Did the Japanese attack on Singapore was known as `` the Gibraltar of the force was of quality... And second-line troops subjected to an official end for Singapore on 15 February 1942 the Report... They the torturous deaths of friends and family, as when as an overwhelming sense of pessimism pervaded... Forces that had seen action during the Japanese tallest building in Singapore during the night as a result their! Read, follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Telegram get... And Indians—were not spared Japanese then proceeded overland across the Thai–Malayan border to Malaya... Movement of enemy troops in this sector to deceive the British did take. 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[23], At the start of the campaign, the Allied forces had only 164 first-line aircraft on hand in Malaya and Singapore, and the only fighter type was the obsolete Brewster 339E Buffalo. On February 15, 1942, the British surrendered to the Imperial Japanese Army and handed over Singapore and … He was convicted and hanged in the Philippines on 23 February 1946. [141][Note 8] At 09:30, Percival held a conference at Fort Canning with his senior commanders. Residents suffered great hardships under Japanese rule over the following three and a half years. Woodlands had dinosaurs before it was cool. Little work had been done to build air raid shelters, and looting and desertion by Allied troops further added to the chaos in this area. | [107] In the early hours of 11 February, the Japanese, who had concentrated significant forces around the Tengah airfield and on the Jurong Road, began further offensive operations: the 5th Division aimed its advance towards Bukit Panjang, while the 18th struck out towards Bukit Timah. [17][18] This was virtually simultaneous with the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor which precipitated the United States entry into the war. The anti-aircraft guns were almost out of ammunition,[140] and were unable to disrupt Japanese air attacks, which were causing heavy casualties in the city centre. Nippon Seishin The Japanese promoted this Japanese spirit in order to remove any Western influence. [101] In addition, it provided the Japanese with a firm foothold, giving them the opportunity to "build up their force unopposed". However, many of the Hurricanes were subsequently destroyed on the ground by air raids. Singapore was known as "The Gibraltar of the East" and was a key strategic stronghold in the British Empire. After the Japanese took over Singapore on 15 February 1942, the Japanese controlled the lives of the locals. Singapore suffered greatly during the war, first from the Japanese attack and then from Allied bombings of its harbor facilities. ‘Nipponisation’ 1. There must at this stage be no thought of saving the troops or sparing the population. Although the 25th Army was outnumbered by Allied forces in Malaya and Singapore, the Allies did not take the initiative with their forces, while Japanese commanders concentrated their forces. In addition, Yamashita also accepted full responsibility for the lives of the civilians in the city. Many of them suffered severe hardships and brutality similar to that experienced by other prisoners of Japan during the war. All rights reserved. The Allies, however, having thought the terrain made them impractical, had no tanks and only a few armoured vehicles, which put them at a severe disadvantage. The infantry positions were reinforced by the recently arrived Australian 2/4th Machine-Gun Battalion. Famously, about 40,000 mostly Indian soldiers would join the Indian National Army and fight alongside the Japanese. In the latter half of 1941 the Japanese began preparing a military strike to seize vital resources if peaceful efforts to buy them failed. Source: NAS[/caption], [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="768"] Japanese delegation heading up the steps to the entrance of City Hall. [60] The two Australian brigades were subsequently allocated a very wide frontage of over 18 kilometres (11 mi) and were separated by the Kranji River. It left a scar on his mind. Privacy policy. 64 Sentai lost three Ki-43s and claimed five Hurricanes. [125] Earlier that day Percival had issued orders to destroy all secret and technical equipment, ciphers, codes, secret documents and heavy guns. [83] Operated by No. [121], On 13 February, Japanese engineers re-established the road over the causeway, and more tanks were pushed across. If youâve ever wanted to shoot your shot at being an influencer, nowâs your chance. At this time, the Japanese began bombing strategic sites in Singapore. [154] Regardless, many British units were reported to have been similarly affected. The break down of British Empire losses included 38,496 United Kingdom, 18,490 Australian, 67,340 Indian and 14,382 local volunteer troops. [81], During the month of December, a total of 51 Hawker Hurricane Mk II fighters were sent to Singapore, with 24 pilots, the nuclei of five squadrons. [50] Also under Bennett's command was the 44th Indian Infantry Brigade. Total Australian casualties included 1,789 killed and 1,306 wounded. He proposed two options: either launch an immediate counter-attack to regain the reservoirs and the military food depots in the Bukit Timah region, or surrender. [42] Lieutenant-General Arthur Percival, commander of the garrison, had 85,000 soldiers, the equivalent, on paper at least, of just over four divisions. … Prior to the invasion, Singapore was a major British military base and economic trading port in South–East Asia and was the key to British imperial interwar defence planning for South-East Asia and the South-West Pacific, then known as the "Far East". Following a few weeks of chaos that saw some locals who had collaborated with the Japanese lynched by groups of people, the formal ceremony for the Japanese surrender to the British was held on Sept. 12, 1945. He felt it was a disgrace. In the first encounter, the last ten Hurricanes were scrambled from Kallang Airfield to intercept a Japanese formation of about 84 planes, flying from Johor to provide air cover for their invasion force. 232 Squadron became operational on 20 January and destroyed three Nakajima Ki-43 "Oscars" that day, for the loss of three Hurricanes. 2 out of the 5 aspects we researched on did changed.Thus, the lives of people in Singapore did slightly change but most of it stayed the same. A further requirement was that the Japanese Rising Sun Flag be hoisted over the tallest building in Singapore, the Cathay Building. The military … Source: NAS[/caption], [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Source: Wikipedia[/caption], [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Source: NAS[/caption]. Specially trained in interrogation methods, the Kempeitai’s task was to crush all resistance to Japanese military rule, with the powers to arrest and extract information from civilians as well as military personnel. [147] Percival formally surrendered shortly after 17:15. Political Impact 11. [172], Numerous British and Australian soldiers taken prisoner remained in Singapore's Changi Prison and many died in captivity. A British lieutenant—acting as an envoy with a white flag—approached Japanese forces but was killed with a bayonet. The resistance put up by the company from the 2/19th pushed the follow-on waves of Japanese craft to land around the mouth of Murai River, which resulted in them creating a gap between the 2/19th and 2/18th. [21] Prior to the Battle of Singapore the most resistance was met at the Battle of Muar,[22] which involved the Australian 8th Division and the Indian 45th Brigade, as the British troops left in the city of Singapore were basically garrison troops. [108] After brushing aside elements of the 6th/15th Indian Brigade, the Japanese again began attacking the Australian 22nd Brigade around the Reformatory Road. Prior to the main assault, the Australians were subjected to an intense artillery bombardment. One survivor, Private Arthur Haines from the Wiltshire Regiment, wrote a four-page account of the massacre that was sold by his daughter by private auction in 2008. People in Singapore learned to be strong during the hard times. Following that, leaflets written in English, Chinese, Japanese, Jawi, and Tamil were dropped by Allied planes over places like Singapore to inform everyone that Japan had surrendered. Web design by Yu Sheng & Yu Siang. Anderson's composite force of 2/19th Battalion, 2/29th Battalion and 45th Indian Brigade survivors were forced to leave behind about 110 Australian and 40 Indian wounded, who were later beaten, tortured and then murdered by the Japanese during the Parit Sulong Massacre;[32] Of over 3,000 men from these units only around 500 made it back to friendly lines. [Note 11] Thompson argues, however, that the 22nd Brigade was "so heavily outnumbered that defeat was inevitable",[158] while Costello states that Percival's insistence on concentrating the 22nd Brigade's strength at the water's edge had been a serious mistake. Possessing only two battalions, the 2/26th and 2/30th, following the loss of the 2/29th Battalion to the 22nd Brigade, Maxwell sought to reorganise his force to deal with the threat posed to their western flank. [167], The Japanese occupation of Singapore started after the British surrender. There were 49 infantry battalions—21 Indian, 13 British, six Australian, four Indian States Forces assigned to airfield defence, 3 Straits Settlements Volunteer Force, and 2 Malayan. [72], Shortly before 20:30 on 8 February, the first wave of Japanese troops from the 5th and 18th Divisions began crossing the Johor Strait. My attack on Singapore was a bluff – a bluff that worked. About 6,000 survived until they were liberated by Australian and US forces in 1943–1945 as the war in the Pacific turned in favour of the Allies. Japan attacked because Singapore was an important naval base for controlling other areas. Before the Japanese Occupation, many immigrants came to Singapore in search of jobs or trading opportunities. [85] Indeed, the lack of an effective air early warning system throughout the campaign meant that many Allied aircraft were lost in this manner during a series of Japanese attacks against airfields. Doctors and nurses were also killed. [31] Yet according to John Coates, the report "lacked substance", as whilst there had undoubtedly been ill-discipline in the final stages of the campaign—particularly among the poorly trained British, Indian and Australian reinforcements that were hurriedly dispatched as the crisis worsened—the Australian 8th Division had fought well and had gained the respect of the Japanese. As a part of this process, planners determined a broad scheme of manoeuvre that incorporated simultaneous attacks on the territories of Britain, The Netherlands and the United States. By midnight, the two Japanese divisions fired starshells to indicate to their commander that they had secured their initial objectives, and by 01:00 they were well established. How came 100,000 men (half of them of our own race) to hold up their hands to inferior numbers of Japanese? In a ceremony held at City Hall (present day National Gallery Singapore), Japanese General Seishiro Itagaki led a delegation of Japanese representatives and signed the formal Instrument of Surrender in the presence of the British led by Lord Louis Mountbatten, the Supreme Commander of South-East Asia Command. Singapore controlled the main shipping channel between the Indian and the Pacific Oceans. [176], British forces had planned to reconquer Singapore in Operation Mailfist in 1945 but, the war ended before it could be carried out. This request was denied by the Japanese commander, Yamashita, who ordered them to press on. [76], Fierce fighting raged throughout the evening, but due to the terrain and the darkness, the Japanese were able to disperse into the undergrowth; in many situations, they were able to either surround and destroy pockets of Australian resistance, or bypass them entirely, exploiting gaps in the thinly spread Allied lines due to the many rivers and creeks in the area. Hiroshima Atomic Bomb (animated) Hiroshima Atomic Bomb (video) Japanese firms did take over major sectors of the economy during the occupation, but in the short term Japan had little need for Malayan commodities, and its immediate objectives were strategic rather than economic. [14], Japan's oil reserves were rapidly depleted by the ongoing military operations in China and by industrial consumption. [75] The initial wave was concentrated against the positions occupied by the 2/18th and 2/20th Battalions,[62] around the Buloh River, as well as one company from the 2/19th Battalion. Many students including locals were forced to learn Japanese culture. The Japanese remained in occupation until their surrender to the Allies in 1945. [53] From aerial reconnaissance, scouts, infiltrators and observation from high ground across the straits (such as at Istana Bukit Serene and the Sultan of Johor's palace), Japanese commander General Tomoyuki Yamashita and his staff gained excellent knowledge of the Allied positions. During this time a number of witnesses claim that Australian deserters were involved in widespread looting, while others were alleged to have pushed women off the gangways to get aboard the departing ships evacuating the civilians. Japanese surrendered to the British. [141] Yamashita, the Japanese commander, laid the blame on the British "underestimating Japanese military capabilities", and Percival's hesitancy in reinforcing the Australians on the western side of the island. [71] After finding his left flank exposed by the 27th Brigade's withdrawal, the commander of the 11th Indian Infantry Division, Key, dispatched his reserve brigade, the 8th, to retake the high ground to the south of the Causeway. This was achieved by moving the defending forces from the beaches along the northern shore and from around Changi, with the British 18th Division being tasked to maintain control of the vital reservoirs and effecting a link up with Simmons' Southern Area forces. [162][Note 12], While impressed with Japan's quick succession of victories, Adolf Hitler reportedly had mixed views regarding Singapore's fall, seeing it as a setback for the "white race", but ultimately something that was in Germany's military interests. This was because the airfields at Tengah, Seletar and Sembawang were in range of Japanese artillery at Johor Bahru. [96] Late on 9 February, the Imperial Guards began assaulting the positions held by the 27th Brigade,[97] concentrating on those held by the 2/26th Battalion. Singapore was renamed Syonan-to by the Japanese in 1942. Kappe, concedes that at most only two-thirds of the available Australian troops manned the final perimeter. No. During 1940 and 1941, the Allies imposed a trade embargo on Japan in response to its continued campaigns in China and its occupation of French Indochina. [19], The Japanese 25th Army was resisted in northern Malaya by III Corps of the British Indian Army. Meanwhile, bypassed elements attempted to break out and fall back to the Tengah airfield to rejoin their units and in doing so received heavy casualties. [129] To their right, the British 18th Division, the Indian 11th Division and the 2nd Malaya Brigade held the perimeter from the edge of the Farrar Road east to Kallang, while to their left, the 44th Indian Brigade and the 1st Malaya Brigade held the perimeter from Buona Vista to Pasir Panjang. [137][138] Several survivors were identified after the war, with some having survived by pretending to be dead. The 2/20th managed to concentrate three of its four companies around the Namazie Estate, although one was left behind; the 2/18th was only able to concentrate half its strength at Ama Keng, while the 2/19th also moved back three companies, leaving a fourth to defend Tengah airfield. The ceremony brought the war and Occupation to an official end for Singapore on this day 72 years ago. The Australian 22nd Brigade, under Brigadier Harold Taylor, was assigned a 10 mi (16 km) wide sector in the west, and the 27th Brigade, under Brigadier Duncan Maxwell, had responsibility for a 4,000 yd (3,700 m) zone just west of the Causeway. captions for Annex A and B. The capture of Singapore would provide Japan with a highly valuable military base … In February 1942, from a total of about 40,000 Indian personnel in Singapore, about 30,000 joined the INA, of which about 7,000 fought Allied forces in the Burma Campaign as well as in the northeast Indian regions of Kohima and Imphal. [133][Note 7], On 14 February 1942, the Japanese renewed their assault on the western part of the Southern Area's defences, around the same area that the 1st Malayan Brigade had fought desperately to hold the previous day. Phillips himself flew to the Philippines on December 4th to confer with the Americans, and did not return to Singapore until December 7th. i juz want to know how does the japanese occupation make what singapore is today and how it has impact singapore in the present and the past !!! [49], The Indian III Corps under Lieutenant-General Sir Lewis Heath—including the Indian 11th Infantry Division under Major-General B. W. Key with reinforcements from the 8th Indian Brigade,[51] and the British 18th Division—was assigned the north-eastern sector, known as the "Northern Area". The Japanese then proceeded overland across the Thai–Malayan border to attack Malaya. Heenan was shot at Keppel Harbour, on the southern side of Singapore, and his body was thrown into the sea. Their fighter aircraft were superior to the Allied fighters, which helped the Japanese to gain air supremacy. That is why the surrender had to be at once. [90] A squadron of Hurricane fighters took to the skies on 9 February, but was then withdrawn to the Netherlands East Indies and after that no Allied aircraft were seen again over Singapore;[91] the Japanese had achieved complete air supremacy. Malaya was gradually occupied by the Japanese between 8 December 1941 and the Allied surrender at Singapore on 16 February 1942. That city was an anchor for the operations of the American-British-Dutch-Australian Command (ABDACOM), the first Allied joint command of the Second World War. Japanese Occupation have changes a lot of views about Singapore like Singapore as home, British as rulers and Singapore as an impregnable fortress. | It was a dark period that saw the local population suffer from severe food shortages and the general brutality of the occupying forces, which included the massacres carried out in the Sook Ching operation. Bennett attempted to reinforce the 22nd Brigade by moving the 2/29th Battalion from the 27th Brigade's area to Tengah, but before it could be used to recapture Ama Keng, the Japanese launched another attack around the airfield, and the 2/29th was forced to assume a defensive posture. [88] The Hurricanes shot down six Japanese planes, and damaged 14 others, for the loss of only one of their own. The ceremony brought the war and Occupation to an official end for Singapore on this day 72 years ago. In 1946, she could not be enrolled in an English school, as they did not take in the over-aged girls. [25], Force Z, consisting of the battleship HMS Prince of Wales, the battlecruiser HMS Repulse and four destroyers, sailed north out of Singapore on 8 December to oppose expected Japanese landings along the coast of Malaya. [127][128], The Australians occupied a perimeter of their own to the north-west around Tanglin Barracks, in which they maintained an all round defensive posture as a precaution to Japanese penetration of the larger perimeter elsewhere. It was a difficult time. [62], As the landing craft closed on the Australian positions, machine gunners from the 2/4th Machine Gun Battalion, interspersed amongst the deployed rifle companies, opened fire. [15][16] Following these attacks, a period of consolidation was planned, after which the Japanese planners intended to build up the defences of the territory that had been captured by establishing a strong perimeter around it stretching from the India–Burma frontier through to Wake Island, and traversing Malaya, the Dutch East Indies, New Guinea and New Britain, the Bismarck Archipelago, and the Marshall and Gilbert Islands. At this time, Percival was advised that large amounts of water were being lost due to damaged pipes and that the water supply was on the verge of collapse. The 18th Division has a chance to make its name in history. If the British did not surrender to the Japanese, Singapore could have never gotten independence. After this first raid, throughout the rest of December, there were a number of false alerts and several infrequent and sporadic hit-and-run attacks on outlying military installations such as the Naval Base, but no actual raids on Singapore City. 4INVESTIGATING HISTORY: SINGAPORE UNDER THE JAPANESE OCCUPATION 19421945 The Fall of Singapore on 15 February 1942 was a very significant moment in Singapore’s history, the impact of which still reverberates up The Jurong Line eventually collapsed, though, after the 12th Indian Brigade was withdrawn by its commander, Brigadier Archie Paris, to the road junction near Bukit Panjang, after he lost contact with the 27th Brigade on his right; the commander of the 44th Indian Brigade, Ballantine, commanding the extreme left of the line, also misinterpreted the orders in the same manner that Taylor had and withdrew.[104]. Some died during the night as a result of their treatment. [92] That evening, three Fairmile B motor launches attacked and sank several Japanese landing craft in the Johor Strait around its western channel on the evening of 9 February. The fall of Singapore to the Japanese Army on February 15th 1942 is considered one of the greatest defeats in the history of the British Army and probably Britains worst defeat in World War Two. The water system was badly damaged and continued supply was uncertain, rations were running low, petrol for military vehicles was all but exhausted, and there were few rounds left for the field artillery. [123][124] Elsewhere, the Japanese captured the water reservoirs that supplied the town, although they did not cut off the supply. By this time, Kallang Airfield was so pitted with bomb craters that it was no longer usable. [157] According to another source, Taylor cracked under the pressure. 39. They arrived on 3 January 1942, by which stage the Brewster Buffalo squadrons had been overwhelmed. [69][62], Blowing up the causeway had delayed the Japanese attack for over a week. The Japanese occupation of Singapore in World War II occurred between 1942 and 1945 after the fall of the British colony on 15 February 1942. This would see landings in Malaya and Hong Kong as part of a general move south to secure Singapore, connected to Malaya by the Johor–Singapore Causeway, and then an invasion of the oil-rich area of Borneo and Java in the Dutch East Indies. You might be able to do this in the normal shops. [Note 6][82], During the period 27–30 January, another 48 Hurricanes arrived on the aircraft carrier HMS Indomitable. My grandparents were padi farmers. Many of those aboard the ships perished. The campaign, including the final battle, was a decisive Japanese victory, resulting in the Japanese capture of Singapore and the largest British surrender in its history. Advertise with us [52], From 3 February, the Allies were shelled by Japanese artillery, and air attacks on Singapore intensified over the next five days. Military forces of the Empire of Japan occupied Singapore after defeating the combined Australian, British, Indian and Malayan garrison in the Battle of Singapore. His forces consisted of elements of the 1st Malaya Infantry Brigade and the Straits Settlements Volunteer Force Brigade with the Indian 12th Infantry Brigade in reserve. Meanwhile, of those forces that had seen action during the previous fighting, the majority were under-strength and under-equipped. Yamashita's prediction was correct; despite being observed by Australian artillery, permission to engage the palace was denied by their commanding general, Bennett. 232 Squadron RAF was formed and No. He had been arrested on 10 December and court-martialled in January. This resulted in the Japanese surrender in August 1945. | [6] About 80,000 British, Indian, Australian and Malayan troops in Singapore became prisoners of war, joining 50,000 taken by the Japanese in the earlier Malayan Campaign. The total number of cases in Singapore stands at 57,915. Singapore has seen over 50 years of major road projects, from the PIE to the North-South Corridor. [Note 5][44] Of this figure, 15,000 men were employed in logistical, administrative, or other non-combatant roles. It was called Operation Matador. [168] The city was renamed Syonan-to (昭南島 Shōnan-tō; literally: 'Southern Island gained in the age of Shōwa', or 'Light of the South'). [179], World War II battle; decisive Japanese victory. The exhibition in Upper Bukit Timah Road marks 75 years since Singapore fell to the Japanese during World War II. I had 30,000 men and was outnumbered more than three to one. This year marks the 75th anniversary of the beginning of the Occupation. [71] But the bombardment of the Australians was not seen as a prelude to imminent attack—Malaya Command believed that it would last several days and would later switch its focus to the north-east, despite its ferocity exceeding anything the Allies had experienced thus far in the campaign; consequently, no order was passed to the Allied artillery units to begin targeting possible Japanese assembly areas. The main weight of the Japanese force, representing a total of about 13,000 men across 16 assault battalions, with five in reserve, was focused on assaulting Taylor's Australian 22nd Brigade, which totalled just three battalions. On the evening of 10 February, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, cabled Wavell, saying: I think you ought to realise the way we view the situation in Singapore. After receiving news of the surrender, Bennett handed command of the 8th Division to the divisional artillery commander, Brigadier Cecil Callaghan, and—along with some of his staff officers—commandeered a small boat. [24] Major shortcomings included a slow rate of climb and the aircraft's fuel system which required the pilot to hand pump fuel if flying above 6,000 feet (1,800 m). [169][170] The Japanese sought vengeance against the Chinese and to eliminate anyone who held anti-Japanese sentiments. [136] The next day about 200 male staff members and patients who had been assembled and bound the previous day,[136] many of them walking wounded, were ordered to walk about 400 m (440 yd) to an industrial area. Spotlights had been sited by a British unit on the beaches to enable the Australians to clearly see any attacking forces on the water in front of them, but many had been damaged by the earlier bombardment and no order was made to turn the others on. The immigrants felt attached to… [45] The newly arrived British 18th Infantry Division—under Major-General Merton Beckwith-Smith[46][47]—was at full strength, but lacked experience and appropriate training. The basic plan for taking Singapore was worked out in July 1940. [146] They returned with orders that Percival himself proceed with staff officers to the Ford Motor Factory, where Yamashita would lay down the terms of surrender. First, it should be noted that the Japanese occupation of Singapore began a decade after the start of Japan’s war of aggression against China. [135] After Japanese troops entered the hospital they killed up to 50 soldiers, including some undergoing surgery. Hitler reportedly forbade Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop from issuing a congratulatory communique.[165]. September 12, 2017, 09:23 AM. Only after cross-checking the message with the Automedon papers did the Japanese accept it to be genuine. [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="653"] Japanese delegation arriving at City Hall for the ceremony. Things changed, however, when the United States dropped two atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima on Aug. 6 and Nagasaki on Aug. 9, 1945. How did the Occupation change the lives of people in Singapore? 232 Squadron RAF, based at RAF Kallang, remained to provide air cover to the Allied forces on Singapore. It was reported to Cabinet by the CIGS [Chief of the Imperial General Staff, General Alan Brooke] that Percival has over 100,000 [sic] men, of whom 33,000 are British and 17,000 Australian. [12] On 11 November 1940, the German raider Atlantis captured the British steamer Automedon in the Indian Ocean, carrying papers meant for Air Marshal Sir Robert Brooke-Popham, the British commander in the Far East. Might still be relevant as the Malays were mainly in Malaya. [160], Allied losses during the fighting for Singapore were heavy, with a total of nearly 85,000 personnel captured, in addition to losses during the earlier fighting in Malaya. The occupation started after the army of Japan defeated garrison troops from Australia, British Malaya, Britain, and India. Singapore was renamed as ‘Syonan-to’ Light of the South 12. End of Japanese Occupation War ended on 15 August 1945. [39][40], During the weeks preceding the invasion, the Allied force suffered a number of both subdued and openly disruptive disagreements amongst its senior commanders,[41] as well as pressure from Australian Prime Minister John Curtin. During the initial assault, the Japanese suffered severe casualties from Australian mortars and machine guns, and from burning oil which had been sluiced into the water following the demolition of several oil tanks by the defending Australians. 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