History of the Second Battalion of the Singapore Infantry Regiment by lWO Daniel Wee L579 History of the NCO Paper USASMA Faculty Advisor: CWO Kenneth Hodge Group Room LIO 3 March 2006 Outline I. Introduction II. Body A. Birth of the Second Battalion, Singapore Infantry Regiment (2 SIR) B. Internal Security C. Combat Operations during Confrontation 1. Operation Oak Tree 2. Operation Easy Chair 3. Operations in Sabah D. Sad sojourn at Farrer Park E. Reorganising after the departure ofMalaysian Forces F. Converting into National Service Battalion III. Conclusion WEE 1 HISTORY OF THE SECOND BATTALION, SINGAPORE INFANTRY REGIMENT I. Introduction The purpose of this research paper is to give an accurate and in-depth account of the history of the Second Battalion which by large the history of the Singapore Armed Forces. This paper will provide detail events and operations of the unit. When the Japanese invaded Singapore on 7th February 1942, she fell in a mere eight days. As a consequence of our over reliance on the British and allied forces to defend us, Singapore fell to the rein of the Japanese for three dark years. On 6th August 1945, two atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki and thus ended Japan's attempt at imperialism. On 1i h September 1945 Singapore was once again free. It then became clear that Singapore needed to build her own defence force. So in 1957 the First Battalion, Singapore Infantry Regiment (l SIR) was formed. The history of the Second Battalion, Singapore Infantry Regiment (2 SIR) is inextricably linked to the formation of the First Battalion. As early as February 1951, that the Legislative Council of Singapore passed a unanimous decision that the formation of the nucleus of the Singapore Regiment should be "considered immediately" (Proposed formation of 2 SIR, 1957, 42). The raising of the First Battalion, Singapore Infantry Regiment (l SIR) took place in March 1957 and the establishment of 2 SIR was to be immediately mooted that very same year. However raising another battalion was a very costly affair for the young Singapore government that had other financial concerns such as the development of the local economy and citizens' welfare improvement. Therefore the forming of the Second battalion did not to take place physical until five years later. WEE 2 II. Body A. Birth of the Second Battalion, Singapore Infantry Regiment (2 SIR) The year 1962 marked another milestone in the continued growth of the Singapore Infantry Regiment. It was in this year that the Regiment witnessed the raising of another battalion, 2 SIR. On 21 February 1962, the Singapore Government officially announced plans to recruit for the second battalion as part of the overall expansion of Singapore and Malayan military forces as a consequence of the impending creation of the new state of Malaysia and the imminent departure of British military forces. Men for the new 2 SIR were recruited from all over the new Malaysian state. (Yee 2) The officer appointed to assumed command as the first Commanding Officer (CO) of 2 SIR was LTC Tom Bell Maxwell Lamb. Hailing from Scotland, LTC Lamb was a British veteran of the Second World War. Aside from LTC Lamb being seconded from the British military, some Officers and Non-Commissioned Officers (NCO) were transferred from 1 SIR and the Federation Army to staff various appointments as well (Chin 44). The British Government agreed to assist the Singapore Government in the raising, equipping, and accommodating of 2 SIR up to a maximum of $10 million (Chin 43).The battalion was housed and trained at Temasek Camp which was built at the cost of $1.1 million. The battalion was inaugurated on 19 August 1963 by Yang di-Pertuan Negara, Yusofbin Ishak, the first president of Singapore (Yee 2). B. Internal Security On 16th September 1963, Singapore joined the Federation of Malaysia. The euphoria of independence however met with the resistance from Indonesia in accepting the new Malaysian WEE 3 state. Indonesia thus launched "Confrontation" against Malaysia in the form of sabotage and infiltration. It was in this context that the Singapore Infantry Regiment and more specifically 2 SIR was called to transform itself from a "metropolitan force" maintaining internal security in the city state to a military force engaging in jungle warfare (Koh and Lo 12). The weapons that the battalion used at that time were weapon left behind by the British forces, the Lee Enfield mark 4 and 5, and the British Self Loaded Rifles (SLR). Racial riots broke out in July and September 1964, in the midst of Confrontation. The two battalions assisted the local police in bringing civil disturbances in the city under control by imposing and maintaining curfews. The battalion's roles were especially critical when the riots escalated into violence and destruction of property. 2 SIR was deployed in the Geylang and Joo Chi at areas, which were the most seriously, affected areas given the close proximity of the Chinese and Malay communities. 2 SIR being a multi-ethnic force was heavily involved in maintaining order between the volatile mixtures of riotous elements from both communities. On 21 July 1964 the curfews were gradually eased after four days and finally lifted on 2 August 1964 (Teo 14). However, within a month, clashes broke out again on 2 September 1964. As 1 SIR was away for a tour of duty in Perak, 2 SIR was once again called upon to restore law and order together with 8 RMR (Royal Malay Regiment) in the recurring explosive area, Geylang. C. Combat Operations during Confrontation In November 1964, LTC Latiff Bin Hussein, a Malaysia officer, took control command of 2 SIR from its first CO, LTC Lamb. With the change of command, 2 SIR remained in Singapore to continue its protection of key instillations as well as to act as stand-of force in the event of local disturbances (Teo 15). WEE4 1. Operation Oak Tree From November 1964 to August 1965, 2 SIR successfully executed a series of combat operations in lohore but not without the Regiment's first loss. It was in there that she first received her baptism of fire (fee 10). On 24 February 1965, the unit was activated for "Operation Oak Tree" when a light RAF Reconnaissance aircraft spotted an abandoned boat at the coast around the 1ason Bay/Mersing area with footprints leading into the jungle. "Charlie" Company, 2 SIR, was thus tasked to investigate the sightings (fee 10). According to newspapers, one platoon was ambushed by Indonesian forces, leaving 9 men dead and another five wounded (Straits Times STIR0016912). This led to the activation of the entire battalion to seek out and destroy the enemy elements that executed the ambush. Survivors of the "ambush" took up to six days to trickled back to the company headquarters located near the beach. On 2 March 1965, the rest of 2 SIR was activated to hunt down the infiltrators. Search parties despatched to recover the bodies of those killed in action found them the following day. The bodies of the slain soldiers were sent back to Singapore for a military burial (fee 11). On 4 March 1965, LTA Daljeet Singh together with his mortar platoon made first contact with the enemy. In this first encounter, an enemy soldier was killed. This marked 2 SIR's first combat success. On 6 March, LTA Daljeet's platoon killed another four enemy soldiers in another subsequent encounter. From 11 to 13 March, LT A Daljeet's platoon scored three more kills near the charcoal kiln at the foot of Bukit Belungkor. LTA Daljeet's Platoon Sergeant further killed another three enemy soldiers in yet another contact with the enemy. This brought the total number of kills of the platoon to eleven. Another platoon led 2L T WEE 5 Syed Osman was sent to reinforce LTA Daljeet's platoon. In a chance encounter, 2LT Osman and his men managed to kill all remaining seven Indonesian infiltrators operating in the Belungkor area in a brief engagement. After clearing the Kampong Bahru area of enemy elements, the battalion was displaced to Asahi Rubber Estate after reports of enemy sighting. On 23 March 1965, 2LT Osman's platoon discovered the campsite of the enemy and a fierce fire fight took place. In the wake of the battle, five enemy soldiers were killed while the remaining eight managed to escape but without their weapons. In a subsequent night ambush, 2LT Osman's platoon killed another two enemy soldiers and 2LT limmy Yap later captured the remaining six infiltrators (fee 12). 2. Operation Easy Chair 2 SIR was reactivated for "Operation Easy Chair" in lohore again on 1 June 1965 , only a month after returning to Singapore. For this operation, the battalion was sent to the Ponti an area on the west coast of lohore. CPT Mahinder Singh led his platoon to capture five soldiers while capturing the remaining two. On 11 June 1965, the operation ended, marking 2 SIR's operations in lohore (fee 14). 3. Operations in Sabah On August 1965, Singapore was separated from the Federation of Malaysia. Despite the separation 2 SIR was still sent to the Sabah border for to protect against the Indonesian infiltration as part of 4 MIB (Malayan Infantry Brigade). This was a highly symbolic gesture as leaders of both sides still concurred on the indivisibility of the defence of both states. There was however no spectacular battles in the likes of those in lohore. In February 1966 the operations ended and the unit returned to Singapore (fee 15). WEE6 D. Sad sojourn at Farrer Park Given the new context that Singapore found itself following its separation from Malaysia, there was a radical rethinking of the concept of common defence between the two countries.