Battle stations

Singapore’s war sites

It took just eight days for Singapore to be changed forever. Eight days of punishing fighting and gun battles for the Allies to surrender to the Japanese.

It was February 1942. Japanese troops infiltrated Singapore from Malaya, now Malaysia, in the north. It was not unexpected, but British commander, lieutenant- general Arthur Percival, ignored intelligence reports and rallied troops and resources to defend Singapore from a southern sea-based attack. Only small regiments of Australian and Indian forces protected Singapore’s north.

Fast-forward 75 years and Singapore’s an independent, thriving metropolis with a unique