Japanese Invasion of Malaya
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The Japanese Invasion of Malaya, or Battle of Kota Bahru, began just after midnight on 8 December 1941 before the attack on Pearl Harbor.
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[edit] The plan
The Japanese plan for the invasion involved landing troops on the east coasts of Thailand and Malaya. The forces in Thailand were to push through to the west coast and invade Malaya from its northern province of Kedah, whilst their eastern forces from Vietnam would attack down the east coast and into the interior of Malaya from Kota Bharu.
The Japanese attack force for the invasion of Malaya, Lieutenant General Tomoyuki Yamashita's 25th Army, had sailed from Samah Harbour on Hainan Island on 4 December 1941. Additional ships carrying more troops joined the convoy from Saigon in southern Vietnam, French Indochina. The invasion force was spotted on both December 6 and 7 December by Lockheed Hudson aircraft and a PBY Catalina sea plane which was shot down while trying to shadow the fleet. Flying Officer Bedell, commanding the Catalina, and his crew became the first Allied casualties in the war with Japan.
[edit] Landings at Kota Bharu
Air Marshal Sir Robert Brooke-Popham, commanding officer of the Royal Air Force in the Far East hesitated to launch Operation Matador on 7 December. Matador was the British plan to destroy the invasion force before or during the landing. He decided to delay the operation, at least for the night. Shortly after midnight on December 7 / 8 December, Indian soldiers patrolling the beaches at Kota Bharu spotted three large shadows: the IJN transport ships Awajisan Maru, Ayatosan Maru, and Sakura Maru, dropping anchor approximately 3 km off the coast. The ships were carrying approximately 5,200 troops of the Takumi Detachment (Major-General Hiroshi Takumi, aboard Awajisan Maru). Most of these troops were veterans of the war in China.
The force consisted of the 56th Infantry Regiment (Colonel Yoshio Nasu, aboard Sakura Maru), one mountain artillery battery of the 18th Mountain Artillery Regiment (Lieutenant Colonel Katsutoshi Takasu), the 12th Engineer Regiment (Lieutenant Colonel Ichie Fujii), the 18th Division Signal Unit, one company of the 12th Transport Regiment, one company of the 18th Division Medical Unit and No. 2 Field Hospital of the 18th Division Medical Unit. They were escorted by a powerful escort fleet (Kota Bharu Invasion Force) under the command of Rear-Admiral Shintaro Hashimoto, consisting of light cruiser Sendai, destroyers Ayanami, Isonami, Shikinami, and Uranami, minesweepers No. 2 and No. 3, and Subchaser No. 9..
The invasion began with a bombardment at around 12:30 AM on 8 December. (The Japanese carrier planes flying towards Pearl Harbor were about 20 minutes away.) The loading of landing craft began almost as soon as the transports dropped anchor. Rough seas and strong winds hampered the operation and a number of smaller craft capsized. Several Japanese soldiers drowned. Despite these difficulties, by 12:45 AM the first wave of landing craft was heading for the beach in four lines. The defending force was the 8th Indian Infantry Brigade (Brigadier B. W. Key) of Indian 9th Infantry Division (Major General A. E. Barstow), supported by four 3.7 in (94 mm) howitzers of 21st Mountain Battery (Major J. B. Soper). The 3/17th Bn, Dogra Regiment had responsibility for the 10 miles (16 km) stretch of beach front which was the chosen landing site. The British fortified the beach with land mines, barbed wire, and pillboxes. They were supported by the 73rd Field Battery of the 5th Field Regiment, Royal Artillery, deployed adjacent to a nearby airfield.
The Dogras immediately opened intense fire on the invasion force with artillery and machine guns. Colonel Masanobu Tsuji wrote in his book about Malaya Campaign:
| “ | The enemy pillboxes, which were well prepared, reacted violently with such heavy force that our men lying on the beach, half in and half out of the water could not raise their heads. | ” |
Japanese casualties in the first and second waves were heavy. The Japanese managed to get off the beach only after the two pill box positions and supporting trenches were destroyed. Despite their heavy resistance the Indian troops were forced to retreat.
[edit] Counter attack
No. 1 Sqaudron, Royal Australian Air Force based at Kota Bharu airfield launched Hudson bombers to attack the Japanese transports sinking the Awajisan Maru, although in the seventeen sorties flown they lost two Hudsons shot down and three badly damaged. One crippled Hudson is reported to have crashed into a fully laden landing craft. All the transports were damaged in these attacks. Despite the strong defence, Takumi had three full infantry battalions ashore by mid morning of the 8th December. Counter attacks launched by Brigadier Key failed and the Japanese took Kota Bharu town on the 9th, after fierce fighting during the night, threatening the airfield, the 2/12th Frontier Force Regiment (2nd Sikhs), under Lieutenant-Colonel Arthur Cumming attempted to hold the airfield and put up a brilliant rear guard action. Cumming would later receive the Victoria Cross during the fighting at Kuantan. Key asked for and was given permission to withdraw from Kota Bharu.
The Japanese claim that the landings at Kota Bharu were some of the most violent of the whole Malayan Campaign. It is estimated that they suffered about over 300 killed and 500 wounded.
[edit] North west Malaya
After the successful Japanese Invasion of Thailand at Patani and Songkhla on the 8th December Yamashita's army crossed southern Thailand and started their attack into north west Malaya through the northern Kedah province.
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[edit] See also
[edit] Sources and links
[edit] References
- ^ Tsuji, Masanobu; Margaret E. Lake, tr. (1997). Japan's Greatest Victory, Britain's Worst Defeat. New York: Da Capo Press. ISBN 10-ISBN 1-873-37675-8.
