Japan invaded Southeast Asia, absolutely can not avoid a person, he is Yamashita Fengwen. In my previous articles, I briefly introduced his experience, and interested friends can look for it. Today, we focus on the story of Yamashita Bongwen vs. the Philippines.
After the 25th Army under Yamashita's command, the 5th Division, the 18th Division, and the Guards Division, after addressing British maritime power, Yamashita ordered the 5th Division to rush into Kuala Lumpur. The British troops stationed here were forced to retreat. On 31 January, all British troops retreated to Singapore, the southernmost tip of the Malay Peninsula. In this way, the 25th Army led by Yamashita Fengwen completely occupied Malaya in just 54 days. Yamashita's nickname of "Tiger of the Malays" is well deserved.
In the face of the arrogance of the Japanese army, the British army was helpless, and more than 100,000 troops were crushed in Singapore.
Yamashita Fengwen did not stop attacking. His goal was to wipe out the British forces in the Pacific and completely occupy Singapore.
After nearly a week of rest, Yamashita gave the order to attack Singapore on February 8, 1942. On this night, the Japanese 5th Division and the 18th Division began to cross the river at the same time, and fought fiercely with the British army on the riverbank.
The British knew that Singapore was their last place to stay. If Singapore loses defensively, they really have to exit the Pacific.
The Japanese army was imperative against Singapore. The three divisions and regiments cooperated closely, and the offensive was extremely fierce. On the night of 9 February, the Guards Division made a successful landing near the Kranki River on both sides of the Aqueduct Bridge. Thus, the Guards Division attacked from the north, the 5th Division from the west, and the 18th Division from the right flank of the 5th Division along the south bank, from three directions to the center of the island.
On 10 February, Yamashita's forces had advanced to the Bukitima Heights. The highlands are the highest in Singapore and, if captured, would be enough to kill the entire island. The British commander, General Parsibal, was determined to fight the Japanese to the end here.
The well-trained elite Japanese troops fought fiercely with the British army, which was really a match for the opponent.
The Battle of Thebesta Heights was fierce. The Japanese attack was like a full bow, and the generals and soldiers were tired. On the British side, in order to defend this high ground, they did not hesitate to fight with the Japanese army to the end. The two sides fought for a day and night, and the Japanese army failed to continue to advance. On the morning of the 11th, the Japanese observation plane dropped 29 "letters of persuasion" to the British side, but until the evening of the 14th, the British army still did not reply, and Yamashita Fengwen decided to continue the strong attack. Deputy Chief of Staff Hanjiro Iketani suggested a moratorium on the attack, saying that the officers of the 25th Army were tired and needed to rest. Unexpectedly, Yamashita Fengwen snapped, "The enemy is also very difficult!" He demanded that the soldiers launch an attack on the Butchithema Heights. The British and Japanese engaged in a white-knife battle on the butterma heights. At this time, the Guards Division spent a lot of effort, and finally forced itself into the highlands diagonally from the east side of the water source, and finally captured the Bukitima Heights. On 15 February, under the powerful offensive of the Japanese army, General Parsibar was forced to surrender unconditionally to the Japanese army in the absence of water and shells, and the whole territory of Singapore was occupied by the Japanese army.
In this battle, 10,000 Japanese and British were killed and wounded. Of the more than 138,700 British defenders, 100,000 were captured. In this way, the "Gibraltar of the East", which the British had painstakingly operated for twenty years, and singapore, the world-famous fourth largest military port, fell into the hands of the Japanese army.
The news of the great victory in the Battle of Singapore reached Japan and the whole country rejoiced. It was the largest land victory ever won by the Japanese. Prime Minister Hideki Tojo proudly announced that in order to celebrate the victory, every household in the country would distribute two bottles of beer, one bag of red beans, and three bottles of wine. Suddenly, the name "Yamashita Bongbun" spread throughout Japan with the news of the victory, and Yamashita Fumifumi was worshipped as a god-like figure in Japan. A few months later, in June 1942, the Japanese military transferred Yamashita to China as commander of the 1st Front in Manchuria and left Southeast Asia. It was not until September 1944 that he returned to Southeast Asia as commander of the 14th Philippine Front.