Singapore WW2 HERO: Lieutenant Adnan bin Saidi

Lieutenant Adnan bin Saidi

Lieutenant Adnan was born in Kajang, Selangor. During World War II, he led the 1st Infantry Brigade in protecting the area at Pasir Panjang Ridge (now known as Kent Ridge) in the Bukit Chandu (Opium Hill) area on 12 - 14 February 1942.

On 13 February 1942, the Japanese troops attacked Pasir Panjang Ridge. They disguised themselves as Indian soldiers in the British army. They wanted to trick the Malay soldiers so that they could take control of the Pasir Panjang area. However, Lieutenant Adnan saw through their disguises and knew that they were Japanese soldiers. He gave orders to open fire at the disguised Japanese troops.

The Japanese troops, despite many being killed and injured, did not surrender and continued to attack the ridge. More Japanese soldiers soon arrived and joined in the attack. Although Lieutenant Adnan's Malay Regiment was heavily outnumbered, yet Lieutenant Adnan refused to surrendered and urged his soldiers to continue fighting until the end.

Lieutenant Adnan and his soldiers held off the Japanese for two days in spite of running out of food and ammunition. Many of the soldiers from the Malay Regiment were killed during the fierce battle. Lieutenant Adnan himself was shot. Despite his serious injuries, he refused to give up and continued fighting against the Japanese.

Eventually, the battle at Pasir Panjang was lost and Lieutenant Adnan was captured by the Japanese. The Japanese soldiers tied him to a tree and bayoneted him to death. Lieutenant Adnan was only 27 years old when he died. He left behind his wife and two young sons.
Due to his courageous actions at the Battle of Pasir Panjang, Lieutenant Adnan was considered as a War Hero by Malaysians and Singaporeans.

---

Watch the below videos that show the bravery of 
Lieutenant Adnan bin Saidi

Preparations to defend against the Japanese

Once the Japanese expanded throughout the region after Pearl Harbour (December 1941), many in Britain felt that Singapore would become an obvious target for the Japanese. However, the British military command in Singapore was confident that the power they could call on there would make any Japanese attack useless. British troops stationed in Singapore were also told that the Japanese troops were poor fighters; alright against soldiers in China who were poor fighters themselves, but of little use against the might of the British Army. They had underestimated the Japanese. One of the British officers even said:

"I do hope we are not getting too strong in Malaya because if so the Japanese may never attempt a landing."

         
The Japanese were actually smarter and better trained than the British soldiers. The Japanese captured Malaya by 31 January 1942 prepared to invade Singapore. The British withdrew to Singapore and blew up the causeway. The Japanese bombed Changi abd Palau Ubin, causing the British to move their defences to the northeast of Singapore. The British were tricked and the Japanese headed to the northern-western part of Singapore. Then, they repaired the causeway, preparing for invasion. 
source:http://term3-ih-ace.wikispaces.com/Preparations+to+defend+against+the+Japanese

what happened after the war

Banana Money,

           This money was used during the Japanese Occupation. By the time the war ended, the "banana money" had no value and became useless.

The Japanese wanted to curb anti-Japanese activities, as well as to punish the Chinese who had provided aid to the Chinese activists in the Sino-Japanese conflict.

On March 22, Chinese leaders from Malaya and Singapore were penalised and asked to pay a sum of 50 million Straits dollars as "tributary money."

As most had already had their property and assets destroyed during the war, it was a monumental task to raise the money. They finally took a loan of $21.5 million from Yokohama Specie Bank at 6% interest.

The incident curtailed the circulation and caused a shortage in Straits currency.

A large quantity of Japanese currency, also known as "banana money", was issued.

The exact amount is unknown even to the Japanese, as these currency did not bear any serial number; only block letters.       

     Food rationing

Ration cards were often the only way to get food. However, the quality of food was not always good. Rice had weevils and stones in them.

One of the most serious problems during the Occupation was food shortage.The people of Singapore were encouraged to grow their own vegetables. In addition, the Japanese also issued ration cards to control supplies of rice and other essential items. You could not get any provisions from shops if you did not have this ration card. Each adult was given a ration of 4.8kg of rice per month and each child 2.4kg. This amount was subsequently reduced to 3.6kg per month for adults. Even then, these ran out before long. Click here to read about the hungry years.  down below is a picture of the ration card The "Chop" of Life This means you get to live. This must have been the most treasured item during the Japanese Occupation. Without it, you might have to die.Troops of the Japanese Imperial Army would conduct spot-checks. The people had no way of knowing whether they would be given security clearance. If they were cleared, they would get this rectangular mark. If it had been a triangular mark, they would be taken away and killed. Some had the mark printed on their clothes. The printed area would then be cut and carried around wherever they went. Others had their arms or legs marked. Some people would go for months without bathing for fear that the marks would be washed away. From this...     ...to this The Japanese took over several newspapers. These appeared under different names. The Straits Times was renamed The Shonan Times and later, Syonan Shimbun. The Shonan Times was the official newspaper in Singapore during the Japanese Occupation. The paper ran on Tokyo times, normally two hours ahead of Singapore. Staff had to come to work in the dark, working through to sundown. The Shonan Times was run by Japanese officers from the Propaganda Department, who threatened to behead anyone who spelt the Emperor's name or title incorrectly.   source:http://ourstory.asia1.com.sg/war/ref/japocc.html

The fall of Singapore

Only the army could stop the Japanese advance on Singapore. The army in the area was led by Lieutenant General Arthur Percival. He had 90,000 men there – British, Indian and Australian troops. The Japanese advanced with 65,000 men lead by General Tomoyuki Yamashita. Many of the Japanese troops had fought in the Manchurian/Chinese campaign and were battle-hardened. Many of Percival’s 90,000 men had never seen combat.
On January 31st 1942, the British and Australian forces withdrew across the causeway that separated Singapore from Malaya. It was clear that this would be their final stand. Percival spread his men across a 70 mile line – the entire coastline of the island. This proved a mistake. Percival had overestimated the strength of the Japanese. His tactic spread his men out for too thinly for an attack.
On February 8th, 1942, the Japanese attacked across the Johor Strait. Many Allied soldiers were simply too far away to influence the outcome of the battle. On February 8th, 23,000 Japanese soldiers attacked Singapore. They advanced with speed and ferocity. At the Alexandra Military Hospital, Japanese soldiers murdered the patients they found there. Percival kept many men away from the Japanese attack fearing that more Japanese would attack along the 70 mile coastline. He has been blamed for failing to back up those troops caught up directly with the fighting but it is now generally accepted that this would not have changed the final outcome but it may only have prolonged the fighting.
The Japanese took 100,000 men prisoner in Singapore. Many had just arrived and had not fired a bullet in anger. 9,000 of these men died building the Burma-Thailand railway. The people of Singapore fared worse. Many were of Chinese origin and were slaughtered by the Japanese. After the war, Japan admitted that 5000 had been murdered, but the Chinese population in Singapore put the figure at nearer 50,000. With the evidence of what the Japanese could do to a captured civilian population (as seen at Nanking), 5000 is likely to be an underestimate.
The fall of Singapore was a humiliation for the British government. The Japanese had been portrayed as useless soldiers only capable of fighting the militarily inferior Chinese. This assessment clearly rested uncomfortably with how the British Army had done in the peninsula.
The commander of the Australian forces in Singapore later said:
|| "The whole operation seems incredible: 550 miles in 55 days – forced back by a small Japanese army of only two divisions, riding stolen bicycles and without artillery support."||

                   Here is the video about the fall of Singpore 

 source:http://term3-ih-ace.wikispaces.com/The+fall+of+Singapore

Surrender of Japan, 2 September 1945

  For nearly seven decades, the American public has accepted one version of the events that led to Japan’s surrender. By the middle of 1945, the war in Europe was over, and it was clear that the Japanese could hold no reasonable hope of victory. After years of grueling battle, fighting island to island across the Pacific, Japan’s Navy and Air Force were all but destroyed. The production of materiel was faltering, completely overmatched by American industry, and the Japanese people were starving. A full-scale invasion of Japan itself would mean hundreds of thousands of dead GIs, and, still, the Japanese leadership refused to surrender.  
   America unveiled a terrifying new weapon, dropping atomic bombs on Hirosh ima and Nagasaki( American airmen dropped Little Boy
 on the city of Hiroshima on 6 August 1945, followed by Fat Man over Nagasaki on 9 August.). In a matter of days, the Japanese submitted, bringing the fighting, finally, to a close.

 (^ the Japanese surrender) 
 On Aug. 6, the United States marks the anniversary of the Hiroshima bombing’s mixed legacy. The leader of our democracy purposefully executed civilians on a mass scale. Yet the bombing also ended the deadliest human conflicts.







source:http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/articles/2011/08/07/whistory.   (^ the Japanese surrender)hy_did_japan_surrender/?page=1  wiki:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atomic_bombings_of_Hiroshima_and_Nagasaki

How and when the British surrendered?

  The British "surrender team" (or "surrender party') in 1942 was made up of four British military officers; led by Lieutenant-General Arthur E. Percival, the rest were Brigadier K. S. Torrance, Brigadier T. K. Newbiggings, and Captain Cyril H. D. Wild. On 15 February, 1942, when the "battle for Singapore" reached its zenith, the British delegation was ordered to be at Ford Factory in Bukit Timah, to meet Lieutenant-General Tomoyuki Yamashita, head of the invading Japanese forces. He fiercely demanded the unconditional surrender of Singapore, and Percival signed the Singapore Surrender Document. 
  HistoryOn 15 February 1942, the fierce "battle for Singapore" reached its peak when Yamashita led his Japanese Imperial Army and captured Bukit Timah. He made the Ford Factory his headquarters. He had demanded specifically to see Percival.

The British delegation arrived at the Ford Factory building after 4:00 pm, led by Percival, together with Brigadier K. S. Torrance, Brigadier T. K. Newbigging carrying the Union Jack flag, and Captain Cyril Wild carrying the white surrender flag, and Lieutenant-Colonel Sugita. The meeting took place in the boardroom where Yamashita demanded from the British,an unconditional surrender of Singapore, to take effect from 8:30 pm that day. The British, with Cyril Wild as interpreter, was under heavy-pressure from Yamashita. The British broke down during negotiation. Percival on behalf of the British capitulated and signed the Singapore Surrender Document.

Winston Churchill who was convinced that Singapore was "an invincible fortress", called the fall of Singapore, "the worst disaster and largest capitulation in British history".

 The British delegation

Lieutenant General Arthur E. Percival, General Officer Commanding, Malaya Command.
Brigadier K. S. Torrance, BGS, General Staff.
Brigadier T. K. Newbigging, Chief Administrator General Staff.
Captain (later Major) Cyril Hew Dalrymple Wild (b. 10 April 1908, Earl's Court Square, London, England - d. 25 September 1946, Hong Kong), 43 Light Infantry, a Japanese-speaking staff officer, carried the white flag of surrender, and was the interpreter.  After the War, he headed the War Crimes Tribunal that presided over the atrocities committed by the Japanese forces. He died in a plane crash on 25 September 1946 in Hong Kong.

         http://infopedia.nl.sg/articles/SIP_525_2005-01-25.html  Author

Vernon Cornelius-Takahama, 2001 - References 
Bradley, J. (1991). Cyril Wild: The tall man who never slept (pp. 1, 6, 7, 28-36, 103, 147, 152). Fontwell: Woodfield.
(Call no.: RCLOS 940.547252092)

Elphick, P. (1995). Singapore: The pregnable fortress (pp. 4, 39, 301, 303, 367, 368). London: Coronet.
(Call no.: RSING 940.5425 ELP)

Montgomery, B. (1984). Shenton of Singapore: Governor and prisoner of war (pp. 137, 143). London: Leo Cooper: Secker & Warbug.
(Call no.: RCLOS 941.0840924 SHE.M)

Samuel, D. S. (1991). Singapores heritage: Through places of historical interest (pp.285, 294-295). Singapore: Elixir Consultancy Service.
(Call no.: RSING 959.57 SAM)

Turnbull, C. M. (1989). A history of Singapore: 1819-1988 (pp. 182-183). Singapore: Oxford University Press.
(Call no.: RSING 959.57 TUR)

Singapore: An illustrated history, 1941-1984 (pp. 14-38). (1984). Singapore: Information Division, Ministry of Culture.
(Call no.: RSING 959.5 

How the Japanese treated me(us)

The Japanese had no mercy, if you don't salute them they will beat you up. The Japanese liked to look for women, so they went to doorsteps of houses to check if there were ladies 'clogs' to see if they could find women. So me and my friends would hide in the canal and used tall lalangs to hide ourselves. We didn't dare to make any sound. After the Japanese left the area, my grandmother would inform my little brother to inform us. so he would throw a little stone at us but we still didn't dare to move.

  If you were seen holding an English newspaper, you will get beaten up by the Japanese as we are not allowed to carry newspapers. And if they knew that you were a Chinese teacher...you will be in DEEP TROUBLE, you should never tell them that you are one or they will bring you to the firing squad. There was no freedom, we had to obey the Japanese. Life was cruel, bitter and hard. :(                    
    source:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZK--vJFZy70&hl=en-GB&gl=SG

Operation clean up

The Sook Ching Massacre was the extreme act of exterminating the enemy used by the Japanese during World War II. This was carried out in Singapore on the Chinese after the surrender of the British to the Japanese on 15 February, 1942. The term, Sook Ching comes from a Chinese word meaning a purge through cleansing. This ruthless and massacre lasted from 18 February, 1942 to 4 March, 1942. It was carried out at various places including Punggol Beach and Changi Beach. The reason behind this massacre was because the Japanese were concerned about the local Chinese as many of them were either very loyal to Britain or China, both enemies of Japan. 

The most brutal massacre that occurred in the history of Singapore happened on 20 February 1942. 66 Chinese men were lined up along the Changi Beach and were then shot by the military police. The Punggol Beach massacre had cost a total 300 to 400 innocent men. Despite all this, it is unclear as to how many people have died from this extermination as there is a lack of records. However, official Japanese figures show that there are around 5 000 while the Singapore Chinese Community figures shows a shocking total of 100 000. Through postwar trial testimonies however, the suggested total is 25 000 to 50 000. 

In 1947, the British Colonial authorities in Singapore held a trial involving war crimes during the Japanese occupation. Through this, seven officers, Lieutenant General Takuma Nishimura, Lieutenant General Saburo Kawamura, Lieutenant Colonel Masayuki Oishi, Lieutenant Colonel Yoshitaka Yokata, Major Tomotatsu Jo, Major Satoru Onishi and Captain Haruji Hisamatsu were found guilty and were charged with carrying out the massacre. Kawamura and Oishi received the death penalty while the others received life sentences. However, during a subsequent trial Nishimura was convicted for his part in the Parit Sulong massacre by an Australian Military Court and hanged
 source:http://www2.hci.edu.sg/y09hci0003/content.html

Key Battles in Singapore and Malaya

  Malaya and Singapore were two important targets of the Japanese.
   Malaya was known for its rich natural resources, and that very aspect was eyed by the Japanese militarists and industrialists. In 1939, Malaya was the resource of 40% of the world's rubber and 60% of the world's tin; that fact alone interested Japanese expansionists, but two additional reasons sealed the approval on the invasion planning that started in early 1941. The first was that most of this rubber and tin supply went to Japan's potential cross-ocean rival, the United States. Secondly, Japan needed oil. Every drop of oil consumed by Japan's military and industrial capacities had to be imported. The Japanese Navy alone needed 400 tons of oil an hour to maintain its war readiness. While Malaya only had a limited amount of oil production, the peninsula was a perfect staging point to launch and support further invasion for the oil rich islands of Borneo, Java, and Sumatra. In Jun 1941 Japan was refused supplies of iron and oil from United States, Britain, and Netherlands, therefore further reinforced Japanese thought that Southeast Asia must be taken. In addition to the natural resources, Malaya was also part of Japan's "Outline Plan for the Execution of the Empire's National Policy", a plan to expand the outer perimeters so wide that her enemies would not be able to attack by air against the home islands. This perimeter extends from the Kurile islands down to Wake, Guam, the East Indies, Borneo, Malaya, and up to Burma. The Japanese wanted to attack Singapore as it was the center trading in South East Asia.
source:http://ww2db.com/battle_spec.php?battle_id=47

When the Japanese attacked

08 December 1941
   There was a scout plane, it flew above Singapore to determine which part of Singapore to bomb

 I was scared, me and my family went to our bomb shelter that we have dug and hide there for protection. We've prepared the bomb shelter ever since we heard that the Japanese attacked Malaya. So we quickly dug a bomb shelter in our home about 2 meters deep and we covered it under our bed. It was so scary, i kept on thinking of what would happen if we lost the war. We kept praying and hope that things will turn out okay. It was stuffy and hot in the bomb shelter. About 2 to 3 hours later. The Japanese started to bomb Singapore, it was loud and scary and frightening.

        sources found: