Singapore 1942 – End of Empire
© ATOM 2012 A STUDY GUIDE by robert lewis
http://www.metromagazine.com.au
ISBN: 978-1-74295-137-9 http://www.theeducationshop.com.au SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM 2012
OVERVIEW and simultaneously attacking the prime British colony of Malaya and Singapore ingapore is a cosmopolitan on 7 December 1941. Australia, Britain world city – an Asian Tiger and the US were now at war with S– playing a key role in inter- Japan who saw themselves as libera- A national trade and finance with a tors not occupiers, ridding Asia of its population of close to 5 million peo- colonial masters. ple. But seventy years ago its citizens suffered one of the most bitter and Nicknamed the ‘Gibraltar of the East’, brutal campaigns of World War Two. Singapore was the major British military The fall of Singapore on 15 February base in South East Asia. The spec- 1942 brought an empire to its knees, tacular surrender of its British and dramatically changing the destiny of Commonwealth defenders clearly illus- millions of people. It was a crushing trated the way Japan was to wage war defeat that unleashed national Asian in the Far East – with remorseless speed independence movements, and Asian, and efficiency. More than a colossal mili- B Australian and British aspirations tary defeat, it also buried any lingering would never be the same. notions of white racial superiority.
Singapore 1942 – End of Empire (Don About 80,000 British, Australian and Featherstone, 2011, 2 x 53 minutes) Indian troops became prisoners of war, is a two-part documentary exploring joining the 50,000 troops captured in the Japanese invasion of Malaya and the Malaya campaign. Thousands of Singapore, and its effects on Australia local civilians were imprisoned too. and the world. Singapore 1942 – End of Empire is not In 1941, Britain was fighting for its about winners and losers. It was shot C life against Germany in Europe and in key locations and includes first-hand Australian troops were under siege in accounts told from multi-national per- the Libyan port of Tobruk. Surrounded spectives by surviving soldiers, airmen by colonial powers and short of land and nurses from the front line. However, and raw materials, Japan embarked on fundamental to the storytelling are civil- a military campaign it believed would ian eyewitnesses – both Malaysian and expel the white race from East Asia – Singaporean. Singapore 1942 – End of liberate a billion people and extend the Empire reveals new and challenging in- light of Imperial Power to the south. sights into a battle that turned our world Without warning they dramatically upside down. entered World War Two, bombing the American naval base at Pearl Harbour CURRICULUM APPLICABILITY D
Singapore 1942 – End of Empire is a valuable resource for use in middle– upper history courses covering:
• World War Two – the Pacific War • Imperialisation and Colonisation • Decolonisation after World War Two.
BEFORE WATCHING THE FILM
Map activity
1 Use an atlas to identify Malaya and Singapore on this blank outline map. (Note that modern maps will show Malaya as Malaysia, so you only need to identify the main peninsula.) Mark them on the map. Item 1 See Item 1. A: Lt General Percival B: Yamashita in tent C: Lt Colonel Stewart with troops D: Argyll Troops 2 SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM 2012
Colonial powers activity 3 Why did Australia fear Japan?
2 Look at the map showing the areas 4 Why was Britain so important to of Asia and the Pacific controlled by Australia’s defences? colonial powers at the start of World A War Two (1939). 5 Which troops defended Singapore?
See Item 2 on page 4. 6 How did Europeans behave in Malaya and Singapore? How did this Write in the names of the countries cause tension and resentment? controlled by the colonial powers in the table. 7 What other racial tensions existed in Malaya and in Singapore between See Item 3 on page 4. Malays, Indians, Chinese and Europeans? EXPLORING IDEAS AND B ISSUES IN THE FILM 8 What attitude did most Europeans have towards the Japanese? Singapore 1942: End of Empire is a two-part documentary that explores 9 How did this influence the the Japanese invasion of Malaya and preparation of the defences of Singapore between December 1941 – Malaya and Singapore? February 1942. 10 What were the main strengths and Answer the questions below that are weaknesses of the three main leaders? designed to make sure you follow the story, and then the questions that ask • General Percival (UK) C you to consider some of the ‘big ideas’ • General Yamashita (Japan) that the film can help you explore. • General Bennett (Australia)
Episode 1 11 What was the Japanese invasion Singapore 1942: plan? Invasion 12 Why did some indigenous Japan’s lightening invasion of Malaya Malayans support the Japanese? threatens Singapore, ignites ethnic tensions and forces Australia to 13 Why did a large number of Indian reconsider its own defense. troops support them?
D In 1941, the Japanese Imperial 14 Who resisted the Japanese? Why? Army invades Malaya. The battle- hardened Japanese forces quickly 15 How was this phase of the war push Commonwealth troops – English, fought? Indians, Australians, Scots, Chinese and Malays – south towards the key 16 Why were the Japanese so suc- British trading port of Singapore. cessful in their invasion of Malaya? General Yamashita prepares to assault Identify as many reasons or contribut- the so-called ‘impregnable fortress’ ing factors as you can. igniting already simmering ethnic E and political tensions in the colony. 17 Use your answers above to create Australia, for the first time, finds itself brief annotations on the map of Malaya directly threatened. that show how the battle was fought, and its outcome. 1 Britain was a colonial power. What does that mean? See Item 4 on page 5.
2 Japan was an expansionist colonial power. Why did it invade Manchuria in 1931?
A: Argylls crossing the causeway into Singapore B: Argylls awaiting attack C: General F Yamashita D: Empire troops in jungle E: Argylls Despatch Rider F: Australian Soldier 3 SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM 2012
Item 2
France Britain Japan Netherlands Portugal USA Australia
Item 3 4 SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM 2012
Item 4
5 SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM 2012
Episode 2 fire on their former masters. Australians Singapore 1942: leave their posts while Malays and The End of Empire Chinese divide along political and ethnic lines. The British finally begin evacuat- With the Commonwealth forces in re- ing Singapore but priority is given to A treat, General Yamashita assembles his the safety of whites. A tipping point troops at Johor Baharu and prepares is reached – the fall of all the colonial to take control of Singapore Island. empires throughout the region is now inevitable. Australia is dragged kicking Japanese Imperial Army soldiers pour and screaming to the Asian table. onto Singapore Island under the skilful command of General Yamashita. They 18 Why were the Japanese success- quickly break through a flimsy line of ful in their invasion of Singapore? Use raw Australian troops, outmaneuver the table to summarise information General Percival and drive his combined about each of the elements listed. Commonwealth forces back to the B Singapore city. Indian soldiers, seeking See Item 5. independence, join the Japanese and
Why were the Japanese successful in their invasion of Singapore?
The nature of the fighting
C The quality of the troops
The enemy and their tactics
D The state of preparation of defences
The tactical problems facing the defenders
E The existence of enemy supporters within Singapore
The nature of the leadership of the British troops
Item 5
A: Australian Soldier prepares to fire B: Generals Percival and Bennett C: Indian soldiers F D: Tom McKie with Happy New Year greeting E: Lt Colonel Stewart F: Dalforce Soldiers 6 SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM 2012
Item 6
19 Use your answers to question 18 faster than they could be collected; to create brief annotations on this map that many buildings had collapsed of Malaya that show how the battle on occupants and that no labour was was fought, and its outcome. available to release them; that insuf- ficient medical aid was available for the See Item 6. casualties; that there was a very limited supply of food for the people. 20 The British had to decide if they So far as the Army was concerned the would surrender, or fight on. Here are water supply had ceased, there was A two documents that summarise many only three days’ supply of rations and of the key factors involved in the deci- there was no artillery ammunition avail- sion. Read them, discuss them, and able and the morale of the troops was then decide what you would have done extremely weak. – surrender or keep fighting – and why. Report by Major General. H. Gordon Bennett on the Malayan Campaign. DOCUMENT 1: AWM 54 553/5/16 pp.15-16. THE CONFERENCE OF 15 FEBRUARY DOCUMENT 2: [On the morning of 15 February there AN HISTORIAN’S ASSESSMENT B was a conference of the military lead- Percival never realised the close ers to decide what should be done.] margin between defeat and salvation The report on the civilian population … Yamashita and Tsuji considered was that the civil hospital had been that if the British had held on for three without water for over 24 hours; that more days the Japanese would have the city water supply had been ex- been forced to call off their attack. hausted; that the casualties caused by But even if Percival had appreci- enemy aerial bombing were occurring ated the weakness of the Japanese
A: Japanese troops land in Malaya B: Japanese soldier blows up pillbox C C: Japanese medic attends to wounded 7 SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM 2012
position, the price of further resist- Now look at the ‘After’ page carefully ance would have been appalling. Amid and answer these questions: ruins and carnage, a more ruthless, simple single-minded fire-eating See Item 8 on page 9. military commander might have sent A Singapore’s name down in glory in the a) Who are the two characters at the annals of British military history. For top left and top right of each page? many Commonwealth troops death b) Identify the different countries would have been kinder than the ter- shown. rible fate they later suffered in prison c) What are the colonial powers doing camps or on the notorious ‘death in each country? railway’ in Thailand, but for the people d) What is happening to the local in Singapore in February 1942 it was people? perhaps fortunate that she was not e) What are the Japanese doing? defended by such a commander. f) What is the message of this C.M. Turnbull, A History of Singapore, cartoon? B Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1977 g) Who is this cartoon designed for? p. 187. h) Do you think this would be effective propaganda? Explain your views. 21 What impact did the invasion have on: ‘Big picture’ questions
• The British, Australian and Indian 23 What does the film help us soldiers understand about each of the aspects • Malays listed in Item 9? • Chinese and Indians in Malaya and Singapore? See Item 9 on page 10. C 22 The film shows Japanese expan- 24 Most Australian World War Two- sion in the region. Why did some peo- related focus these days is on Kokoda. ple support the Japanese invasion? On Australians were also engaged in the the following page are two pages from war in Europe (mostly as air crew), and a Japanese propaganda book. One the Mediterranean and North Africa shows the situation in Asia and the (army, navy and air force), as well as in Pacific before the Japanese invasion, the Pacific (all three services). and the other after that invasion. Look at the statistical information in Look at the ‘Before’ page carefully and Item 10. How significant was Malaya– answer these questions: Singapore in the Australian experience D of World War Two? See Item 7 on page 9. See Item 10 on page 11. a) Who are the two characters at the top left and top right of each page? Why do you think it is not more widely b) Identify the different countries known and emphasised? shown. c) What are the colonial powers doing Film Study in each country? d) What is happening to the local A documentary film uses a variety of E people? elements and strategies to have an e) What are the Japanese doing? impact. f) What is the message of this cartoon? 25 Look at Item 11 and comment g) Who is this cartoon designed for? on each of the elements and how that element is used in the film.
See Item 11 on page 12.
A: Sheila Bruhn in Singapore streets B: Sheila Bruhn with shrapnel C: Major General Bennett D: Catherine Munnoch is sheltered by Chinese Armah E: Malay leaders arrested F by British MPs F: Japanese spy is shot 8 SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM 2012
Top: Item 7 Above: Item 8 9 SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM 2012
Aspect Your comments/ideas/conclusions
The behaviour of the Australian soldiers, and the ‘Spirit of Anzac’
Racial attitudes of the colonial power, and of the colonised people
The nature of warfare in World War Two
The development of nationalism during the war
Decolonisation after World War Two
The myths that might exist in popular knowledge about Singapore
The nature and importance of military leadership in the war
The nature and importance of political leadership in the war
The nature of Japanese colonial rule
The effect of the fall on British colonial rule in Asia
The effect of the war on Australia’s relations with Britain, the United States and Asian nations
Item 9 10 SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM 2012
DOCUMENT 3: AUSTRALIAN CASUALTIES IN MAJOR CAMPAIGNS
Campaign Deaths Taken prisoner
North Africa / Mediterranean
North Africa Jan–Feb 1941 256
Greece April 1941 320 2,030
Crete May 1941 274 3,102
Syria June–July 1941 416
Tobruk April–Dec 1941 832 941
El Alamein Oct–Nov 1942 620 130
Malaya-Singapore
Malaya-Singapore Jan–Feb 1942 1,789 15,395
New Britain Jan 1942 28 1,050
Ambon Jan 1942 15 1,075
Timor Feb 1942 84 1,137
Java March 1942 36 2,736
Pacific War
Papua July 1942 – Jan 1943 2,165
New Guinea April 1943 – April 1944 1,231
Bougainville Dec 1944 – Aug 1945 516
New Britain Dec 1944 – Aug 1945 74
Aitape-Wewak Dec 1944 – Aug 1945 587
Tarakan May–June 1945 225
Brunei region (Labuan) June–July 1945 114
Balikpapan July 1945 229
RAAF
RAAF deaths in the air war over Europe / Middle East 5,094
Air war in Pacific 1,205
RAN
RAN deaths in Europe/Mediterranean 903
In Pacific 881
Total deaths: army 24,571 navy 2,176 air Force 10,562
Died as POW of Germans / Italians: 265 of Japanese: 8,031
John Robertson, Australia At War 1939-1945, Heinemann, Melbourne, 1984 p. 224. Item 10 11 SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM 2012
Aspect Comments
Narration
Music
Structure of the film
Still and moving historical images
Contemporary (modern) images and locations
Historical reconstructions or re-enactments
Special visual effects
Editing
Sound
Cinematography / filming style
Use of real participants in the events
Use of expert commentators or authorities
Item 11 12 SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM 2012
Constructing a documentary
26 Now read the additional comments by the director, and add any new A information or insights to your notes.
Writer/director Don Featherstone:
I remember seeing the book Why Singapore Fell [by General Bennett] on my father’s bookshelf as a kid. It didn’t really interest me at the time but it always had a sense of mystery to it. What or where was Singapore? Was its fall like that of Humpty Dumpty? It seemed much more important. The whole notion of a ‘fall’ seemed bad and reeked of failure. Many years later B in making Singapore 1942 – End of Empire I learned that the person who wrote that book; General Gordon Bennett was part of the reason it fell, but only a part. The reasons are complex and the blame has been passed around ever since.
To get to the bottom of it we needed to talk to all the players, a ‘white colonial’, a Malay local, a Chinese local, a Eurasian local, an Australian soldier, a British soldier, a Japanese soldier, a Straits Settlements volun- teer and a range of historians. After exhaustive research our team located a wonderful array of interviewees who were witnesses to the times.
C To complement the interviews, we wanted to film edgy and stylish dramatisations but the style had to be connected to the essence of the campaign. The trigger was that this was very much a ‘filmed’ war. The Japanese wanted to make sure they recorded their momentous Southern advance for posterity so virtually every aspect of their campaign was filmed by embedded war cinematographers. The British wanted to record what they believed would be the successful defence of Singapore – their Jewel in the Crown – and covered all the crucial moments. But the most remarkable piece of battle actuality of the whole campaign, if not the Pacific war, was filmed by an Australian Department Of Information film crew. At Bakri, Australian anti-tank gunners ambushed and destroyed a Japanese tank column. The film crew arrived minutes after the battle D and captured terrifying images of eight burning Japanese tanks and their crews. The war archive is complemented by telling footage of the colonial life and underlying tensions in the colony.
So the style of archive footage triggered the style of our dramatisations. Our director of photography Jim Frater mimicked the role of an embedded war cinematographer – almost being part of the battles. Further inspired by the notion of a ‘filmed’, war we employed front projection of moving images over actual backgrounds as a transitional device from contempo- rary locations to the archive footage. The Japanese often attacked at night E and in a first for a World War Two war documentary we have incorporated ‘night vision’ as a stylistic device as a nod to a contemporary filmed war.
An important final element is the actual locations. We revisited all the key battlefields, towns and cities, as they are today, as a mark of respect and to use them as portals to the past.
It is a very complex story with many strands and levels and emotions run high.
A: Othman Wok is slapped B: Japanese soldier on bike C: Japanese soldiers on bike F D: POW Camp E: Australian Soldier with Taxi Dancer F: Tilly Shelton-Smith photographs 13 SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM 2012
Interviewees
LEFT TO RIGHT: Sir Max Hastings; Dr Peter Stanley; Paul Ham; Assoc. Prof. Brian Farrell
LEFT TO RIGHT: Assoc. Prof. Ernest Chew; Prof. Hiromi Tanaka; Professor Abu Talib Ahmad; Audrey McCormick
LEFT TO RIGHT: Arthur Kennedy; Lt Jack Varley; Charles Edwards; Finlay McLachlan
LEFT TO RIGHT: Jim Boyle; Alistair Urquhart; Lt Gordon Smith; Tom McKie
LEFT TO RIGHT: Sgt Teikichi Gohara; Yoshio Takeda; Ryozo Kawate; Sgt Minoru Honda
LEFT TO RIGHT: Yoshiaki Iwasaki; Sheila Bruhn; Roy Muthiah; Chye Kooi Loong 14 SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM 2012
OTHER RESOURCES Fall of Singapore, BBC: http://www.bbc.co.uk/ John Coates, An Atlas of Australia’s ww2peopleswar/categories/ Wars, Oxford University Press, c55167/ 2001. Invasion of Malaya and Singapore, A Max Hastings, All Hell Let Loose: World War 2 Data Base: The World At War 1939–1945, http://ww2db.com/battle_spec. HarperCollins, 2011. php?battle_id=47 Gavin Long, The Six Years’ War, AWM, Battle of Singapore, Wikipedia: 1973. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ John Robertson, Australia at War Battle_of_Singapore 1939–1945, Heinemann, 1981. Four Corners documentary: Peter Thomson, Pacific Fury, Random ‘No Prisoners’: House, 2008. http://www.abc.net.au/4corners/ ‘Fall of Singapore’, Australia’s War specials/noprisoners/ 1939–1945, Department of B Veterans’ Affairs: Principal Credits http://www.ww2australia.gov.au/ japadvance/singapore.html Writer and director: Remembering 1942, Australian War Don Featherstone Memorial: Executive producers: http://www.awm.gov.au/atwar/ Trevor Graham, Ned Lander remembering1942/singapore/ and Andrew Ogilvie transcript.asp Editor: Lawrie Silvestrin The Fall of Singapore, History Director of Photography: Jim Frater Learning Site: Narrator: Colin Friels http://www.historylearningsite. Production company: C co.uk/fall_of_singapore.htm Electric Pictures
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