042 - The Tiger of Malaya

General Tomoyuki Yamashira

Just as the Japanese Army had marched through the northern tip of the Philippines against MacArthur and the United States Army, so, too, did the 70,000-soldier force of General Tomoyuki Yamashira as he marched through the southern tip of British Malaya towards Singapore. Yamashira, a fierce leader, would soon become known as “the Tiger of Malaya”.

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Unlike the fighting retreat of War Plan Orange 3, the British troops were to engage the Japanese Army. However, the Japanese also relied on a flotilla of over 500 bombers to soften the British defense in the first month of fighting. The meager Royal Air Force had mostly retreated to Singapore as soon as the invasions began on December 8th.

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After the initial bombing runs, the Japanese Army used trench warfare and hand-to-hand combat to move quickly through the Malayan jungle.
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Although the 5-week timetable of advancement through Malaya was much slower than the 10-day invasion missions for most Japanese field commanders, the slow troop movement of the Malayan campaign was fully expected by Japanese leaders.

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The slow advance occurred for two reasons. Firstly, Yamashira’s troops were given no transportation support, so they were expected to use transportation they commandeered from the Malayans, namely their bicycles.

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Also, as British Forces retreated southward, demolition teams from the British Royal Engineers destroyed every bridge along the way. However, the Japanese “Bicycle Brigade” continued to surge forward, navigating around demolished bridges and roadways, advancing to Singapore by the end of January.

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