The Day the Empire Lost Its Self-Respect
Fall of Singapore: The Empire's Psychological Shock
A tour of Singapore's battle sites reveals the piercing irony of Britain's first-ever experience with colonization
During a recent visit, I had the opportunity to tour some of the battle sites where the surrender of Singapore took place in 1942. I left convinced that its loss was not of great military significance, but the psychological shock it dealt to the British Empire was immense. It was an episode of piercing irony: for the first time in their history, the British felt what it was like to be colonized, after having spent 300 years doing just that to countless nations.
Above all, the Japanese deprived the British of their self-respect, which is exactly what all colonialists do. The British learned what it was like to be the black, yellow, or brown subjects of their own empire. They experienced the same trauma of having their self-belief and identity crushed overnight, of being unable to protect their loved ones, and of losing their status as 'men' to become 'victims'.
This story also shows the genius of Japan’s incredible transformation in just a few decades. For example, building planes is one of the most difficult feats known to man, yet the Mitsubishi Zero was superior to anything the British or even the Americans had. The Japanese had overtaken a country that was the first manufacturing superpower. This would be like China building a better stealth fighter jet than the US today—a technology America could not possibly believe it would lose its edge in. In stark contrast, the British were still using the arms and tactics of World War I.
The British also displayed an astonishing incompetence, especially for a people who had carved out an empire. The elites failed, both military and civilian. They were petty, swayed by personal grudges, and refused to accept the gravity of the situation. They were blinded by the belief that the Japanese were stunted and foolish. Their military misjudgements were legion: officers refused to believe the Japanese had tanks and wouldn’t cooperate with anti-tank gunners, and the leadership even refused to fortify the northern side of Singapore island for fear of being "defeatist." As a result, the Japanese penetrated swiftly. Though British experts had known for years that the jungle was not impassable, this crucial information was ignored by a complacent establishment.
To be fair, there were some mitigating factors. Churchill had to focus on the European theatre, and any spare planes or tanks went to the USSR to fight the Nazis. This explains why the famous naval base was empty. His predictable call for Singapore to be defended to the last man was ignored by the generals on the ground, a rather civilized decision compared to Hitler's generals.
The top British leader, General Arthur Percival, remains a mystery. His weak chin is easy to mock, and he became the main scapegoat. Yet he was an extraordinarily brave military leader in WWI and against the IRA. In Malaya, he seemed unable to grasp what was happening or control the quarrelsome men around him.
Finally, there was the issue of the imperial army's composition. It was not mainly white British; the dominant group was 40,000 soldiers from the British Indian army. These soldiers were treated shamefully in Singapore, with officers kept out of whites-only clubs. It’s no wonder thousands of them joined the Japanese.
The loss of Singapore reveals a sorry picture of Britain, and one is reminded of the comment that the British Empire was just one big bluff all along. In early 1942, they were out-bluffed by the brilliant General Yamashita, the Tiger of Malaysia. He was down to his last few rounds of artillery when the British caved in. A counterattack might have worked, but in the end, it turns out they had simply met their match.
