Malayan campaign
The Malayan campaign, referred to by Japanese sources as the Malay Operation (馬来作戦, Maree Sakusen), was a military campaign fought by Allied and Axis forces in Malaya, from 8 December 1941 – 15 February 1942 during the Second World War. It was dominated by land battles between British Commonwealth army units and the Imperial Japanese Army, with minor skirmishes at the beginning of the campaign between British Commonwealth and Royal Thai Police. The Japanese had air and naval supremacy from the opening days of the campaign. For the British, Indian, Australian, and Malayan forces defending the colony, the campaign was a total disaster.
| Malayan campaign | |||||||||
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| Part of the Pacific War of World War II | |||||||||
Troops of the Imperial Japanese Army crouch on a street in Johor Bahru in the final stages of the Malayan campaign | |||||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||||
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British Empire Dutch Empire Kuomintang of Malaya Communist Party of Malaya |
Japan Thailand (Operation Krohcol) Young Malays Union | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
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Archibald Wavell Robert Brooke-Popham Arthur Percival Lewis Heath David Murray-Lyon Archibald Paris † Arthur Barstow † Gordon Bennett Tom Phillips † Conway Pulford † Leong Yew Koh Lai Teck |
Hisaichi Terauchi Tomoyuki Yamashita Prayoon Rattanakit Takuro Matsui Takuma Nishimura Renya Mutaguchi Michio Sugawara Nobutake Kondō Jisaburō Ozawa Shintarō Hashimoto Ibrahim Yaacob | ||||||||
| Units involved | |||||||||
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Far East Command ABDA Command Malaya Command RAF Far East East Indies Fleet OCAJA MPAJA |
South Expeditionary Army
2nd Fleet Royal Thai Police Young Malays Union | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
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130,246 troops 253 aircraft 810 artillery pieces 208+ anti-tank and anti-aircraft guns 54 fortress guns 250+ AFVs 15,400+ motor vehicles |
125,408 troops 799 aircraft 440+ artillery pieces 265 tanks 3,000+ trucks | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
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130,246 (Including the casualties of the Battle of Singapore) 7,500–8,000 killed 11,000+ wounded ~120,000+ captured or missing |
14,768 (Including the casualties of the Battle of Singapore) 5,240 killed 9,528 wounded >30 tanks destroyed 108–331 aircraft damaged or destroyed | ||||||||
| History of Malaysia |
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| Malaysia portal |
The operation is notable for the Japanese use of bicycle infantry, which allowed troops to carry more equipment and swiftly move through thick jungle terrain. Royal Engineers, equipped with demolition charges, destroyed over a hundred bridges during the retreat, yet this did little to delay the Japanese. By the time the Japanese had captured Singapore, they had suffered 14,768 casualties; Allied losses totaled 130,246, including around 7,500 to 8,000 killed, 11,000+ wounded and 120,000+ missing or captured.