Routledge Library Editions: World War II in Asia – serie

Singapore fell to the Japanese on 15 September 1942, but in 1941 Europeans on the island felt still untouched by war, lulled into security by the belief that Singapore was impregnable from the sea. However, the Planning Chief of Imperial Army Headquarters in Tokyo had realised a successful invasion could come from the north, down the Malay peninsula... Requests from less naive members of the allied forces for more men, arms and equipment were not filled. Authorities were unwilling to reveal to the civilian population the true situation. And so through accident or miscalculation, Singapore was totally unable to repel the Japanese attack. This accessible book, illustrated with black and white photos charts the course of these events.

Singapore fell to the Japanese on 15 September 1942, but in 1941 Europeans on the island felt still untouched by war, lulled into security by the belief that Singapore was impregnable from the sea. However, the Planning Chief of Imperial Army Headquarters in Tokyo had realised a successful invasion could come from the north, down the Malay peninsula... Requests from less naive members of the allied forces for more men, arms and equipment were not filled. Authorities were unwilling to reveal to the civilian population the true situation. And so through accident or miscalculation, Singapore was totally unable to repel the Japanese attack. This accessible book, illustrated with black and white photos charts the course of these events.

Drawing on material that had only just been released when this book was originally published in 1981, this book provides a graphic account of the war which, to all intents and purposes, was fought on Australian soil against Australian people – a war which came to the very door of Australia itself. When the Japanese landed at Rabaul on 23 January 1942 it was the start of one of the fiercest campaigns of the war. On that day, with only a handful of badly trained troops, led by inexperienced officers, Australia faced its most serious threat yet. It was to be a campaign with all the ingredients of great drama – cowardice and extraordinary courage, untrained men becoming brave, skilful fighters, torture and unimaginable brutality. On the infamous Kokoda trail, men died in their hundreds, as the Japanese advanced on Port Moresby. And when the Japanese retreated, the advancing Australian troops learnt just how brutal the fighting had been.

Drawing on material that had only just been released when this book was originally published in 1981, this book provides a graphic account of the war which, to all intents and purposes, was fought on Australian soil against Australian people – a war which came to the very door of Australia itself. When the Japanese landed at Rabaul on 23 January 1942 it was the start of one of the fiercest campaigns of the war. On that day, with only a handful of badly trained troops, led by inexperienced officers, Australia faced its most serious threat yet. It was to be a campaign with all the ingredients of great drama – cowardice and extraordinary courage, untrained men becoming brave, skilful fighters, torture and unimaginable brutality. On the infamous Kokoda trail, men died in their hundreds, as the Japanese advanced on Port Moresby. And when the Japanese retreated, the advancing Australian troops learnt just how brutal the fighting had been.

On 19 February 1942 the Japanese air force bombed Darwin. Whilst this fact is well known, very few people know exactly what happened. Timothy Hall was the first writer to be given acess to all the official reports of the time and as a result he has been able to reveal exactly what happened on that dreadful day – a day which Sir Paul Hasluck (17th Governor-General of Australia) later described as ‘a day of national shame’. The sequence of events in Darwin that day certainly did not reflect the military honour that the War Cabinet wanted people to believe. On the contrary, for what really happened was a combination of chaos, panic and, in many cases, cowardice on an unprecented scale.

On Wednesday 18 February 1942 the Japanese air force bombed Darwin. Whilst this fact is well known, very few people know exactly what happened. Timothy Hall was the first writer to be given acess to all the official reports of the time and as a result he has been able to reveal exactly what happened on that dreadful day – a day which Sir Paul Hasluck (17th Governor-General of Australia) later described as ‘a day of national shame’. The sequence of events in Darwin that day certainly did not reflect the military honour that the War Cabinet wanted people to believe. On the contrary, for what really happened was a combination of chaos, panic and, in many cases, cowardice on an unprecented scale.