"Once an army loses its courage, the domino effect caused by it will be disastrous!" , in the history of war, victory or defeat is a common thing in the military, but surrender is always a war derogatory term .
because the surrender not only represents the army itself, but also affects the entire country. In particular, the surrender of after no resistance will often make the whole country take the blame, resulting in the country's deterrence, influence, and positive image will be "smeared".
In 1942, when the world was paying attention to the battle of in Singapore and , in just half a month, the British army of about 140,000 people, with most of the living force still remaining, actually "unbelievably" surrendered. The battle of
caused an uproar in the world. The Japanese army Yamashita Fengwen became "a mountain combat expert advocated by the Japanese media".
When he saw the report of the battle, Churchill was speechless for a long time in grief, This surrender, which the Prime Minister called Britain's most tragic catastrophe, not only caused the British century's glory to be swept into Malacca The strait has caused a series of chain reactions, and even caused the entire "Commonwealth family" to enter a tragic situation of disintegration.
going south and going north
For a long time, the Japanese military has always had a dispute about the strategy of going south and going north. For the navy, they are going south, because the "Southeast Asian countries" are rich in resources, especially oil and rubber resources are the Japanese Navy's coveted.
For the Army, they are more of a northward faction. They are also drooling over the vast land and rich resources of the Far East. However, the Nomenkan battle against the Soviet army completely shut up the northern faction.
In this way, the Japanese army, army and navy reached an agreement on the strategy of going south, which is why the Pearl Harbor incident inevitably broke out. And in the Japanese army's southward strategic action, the British army is the biggest opponent of the Japanese army. At this time, most of the entire Southeast Asia region is a British colony, and only one Philippines belongs to the Americans.
In fact, the Japanese army is also in the dark about fighting against the United Kingdom and the United States. After all, the "Never Fall" deterrent power of the United Kingdom for more than 200 years is indeed not small. In contrast, the Japanese army is only a second-rate power in the sequence of newly added powers. .
Battle of Malaya
On December 8, 1941, the Japanese army launched the Battle of Malaya, officially starting the action of the southward strategy. In just over a month, the British army and its affiliated federal army , which were far more numerous than the Japanese army, were defeated.
The 25th Army of the Japanese Army, including the Army, Navy and Air Force, has only 70,000 people, while the British Army has more than 100,000 people. However, the British army, who fought at home, was quickly defeated by the Japanese army. The violent fighting power of the Japanese army made the British completely terrified.
They simply don't have enough fighting will and courage to fight against the Japanese army armed with the spirit of Bushido . After the Japanese army obtained the air and sea control of Malaya, the main force of the British army even joined Singapore from Malaya. Johor Straits Bridge evacuated.
's criticized surrender
It is clear that they are trying to resist the Japanese army with Singapore's stronger military defense. The Singapore battlefield at this time, to be honest, although the British heavy weapon is lacking, the Japanese army is equally difficult.
Although the Japanese army has naval support, the Japanese army has just occupied Malaya. It takes time for them to integrate Malaya, and their logistical supply of weapons and ammunition is quite insufficient.
The most important thing is that the British army has been operating in Singapore for many years, the military defense line is solid, and the ammunition reserves are also sufficient. Because the Japanese army has a bad reputation, the Singaporean people's will to resist the Japanese army is very high.
More importantly, the number of British and Singaporean troops in Singapore at this time exceeded 100,000. It can be said that judging from the comparison of troops and the support of the people, the hope of the British army to win is still great.
However, in just half a month, the British army of 100,000 people was led by Supreme Commander Percival.Next, surrendering to the Japanese army and occupying Singapore, the Japanese army actually only paid a few thousand casualties. I have to say that the performance of the British Army really makes people shake their heads! The news of the surrender of 140,000 British troops came back to Europe, and the whole of Europe was in an uproar. Countless media and war scholars exclaimed: This is the most unbearable and shameful battle in the British World War II. Churchill, the prime minister at the time, used words like catastrophe to express his grief.
The combat effectiveness of the British army is not as good as that of the navy and air force. This is a fact recognized throughout Europe, and even the top British officials are psychologically prepared for the occupation of Singapore.
, but was beaten and surrendered by the once despised "Tongyang dwarf" in just half a month, which really makes the British gentlemen feel so embarrassed !
The reason for the surrender of the 140,000 British troops
Returning to the surrender of the British Army in the Battle of Singapore, why does the British mainstream hold this surrender time and time again? In fact, the British army did not say that they won this battle, but it should never have been so humiliating. Regarding the Battle of Singapore, some historians have given the following analysis.
First of all, the reason why the British army surrendered almost without resistance in the battle of Singapore was because they were afraid of being attacked by the Japanese army in the Malayan battlefield.
In the Malayan campaign, the Japanese army almost pressed the British army to fight. Their bushido style of fighting that was not afraid of death made the British army who "cherished life" completely terrified. In addition, the Japanese army had many cruel criminal records. The British army, from generals to soldiers, lost their will to fight.
Secondly, The British surrendered easily, and in their hearts they still believed that there was no need to make too many sacrifices for the colonies . This point was most vividly shown in the Burma campaign . In history, the British army made the decision to retreat to Burma with ease.
, however, issued a death order to the entire British army stationed in India, and must never give up India. Such strategic determination made the entire British army not have the will to fight Singapore to the death.
also, 's ugly performance in the Singapore campaign, tactical failure also can not be ignored . The British Army's senior generals were rigid in tactics, blindly defending the frontal line of defense, and failed to see through Fengwen Yamashita's tactic of attacking the east and the west. As a result, the Japanese army's attack from the flank was very smooth, and the British army's will to fight was suddenly disintegrated.
Again, the composition of the British troops stationed in Singapore is complex, they simply cannot resist the Japanese army with one heart, and they have different opinions on surrendering and resolving the resistance to the Japanese army.
In the British army stationed in Singapore at that time, there were very few "pure blood" British soldiers. Basically, only some officers were British. Among them, the British and Australian troops and the British and Indian troops accounted for the majority. These troops were determined to defend Singapore. not enough.
Finally, the combat effectiveness of the British army in Singapore is indeed not strong. In World War II, the British Army was indeed criticized by countless people, but the real main force of the British army is still ok. On the European battlefield,
can hold the German army hard, which itself shows that the main force of the British Army is not as bad as the legend, but the British army is the real main force of the pure British army in Europe, but the British army in Singapore is the federal army. Most of them, especially the combat effectiveness of the British and Indian troops are really a bit "sluggish".
The surrender of a large army like 100,000 people can indeed be said to be a catastrophe for the British army. It's not just the loss of a huge colony, an army, all at once.
More importantly, the blow to the morale of the entire British people and the army will be unprecedented. Just imagine, if the soldiers of the army all surrendered because of this tragic psychology of the war, the consequences would be extremely dire.
