Index page of the website

Japanese account of the battle for Muar and Bakri - November 1942

The following is the translated text of part of the website 'Operation Malay (History of the Great East Asia: From the Landing of Malay to the Fall of Singapore)(Planned by the Ministry of The Army, published by Asahi Shimbun, November 1942)'. The website is managed by Toshikazu Kitayama.

Some of the information below is included on my more detailed web page 'Bakri Battle 17 - 20 January 1942'.

(Notes: (a) The following account would have had to be approved by the IJA before publication, and the article itself may simply be based on text received from Army information services, so its reliability as a source is not guaranteed. (b) Some of the translations show 'I' or 'my', but this has been changed to 'our' as it is believed it refers to the Japanese units. )

The website begins with the following introduction:

Introduction: Army Press Director and Army Colonel Nakao Yahagi October 8, Showa 17th year [1942]

Since the Greater East Asia War was an unprecedented great war for Japan, various new measures were taken in terms of strategic tactics, but a novel attempt was also made in terms of reporting the reality of the war to the home front.

The "Greater East Asia ['Daitoa'] War History" tetralogy planned by the Army News Department is just one of them.

This is an opportunity to wipe out the bad forces of the United States, Britain, and Ran (Netherlands) in Daitoa and take the first stage of construction, Malay (Malaysia), Hishima (Philippines), East Indies (Indonesia). The four companies of the Alliance, Asahi, Japan, and Yomiuri shared the spectacular operations in the four operational areas of Burma (Myanmar), and regretfully mobilized the press of each company to record their good fights. However, regarding the background of the operation, etc., the fact that it provides detailed and reliable materials in the military and that the experience of the correspondents of each company is utilized for the actual feeling of the military personnel is local. I think that it pioneered a new department, unlike the traditional war memorials that we hate from beginning to end.

This is the reason why we can dare to recommend it with sufficient confidence as a standard book of "Greater East Asia War History".

The war we are fighting now is a fierce struggle between the Axis worldview and the American-British worldview, and the deep-seated desire of humankind to create a new history. Therefore, there can be no compromise or setback. It is literally eaten or eaten.

There is no other choice but to fight through. Therefore, this "History of the Great East Asia War" does not end there.

The publication of the history of the main war also tells the people after the gun that the spectacular results of the beginning of the war can only be obtained by the imperial army, which is well-trained, has a strong belief in victory, and is full of offensive gods. It is no wonder that we want you to know and at the same time cultivate the willpower to fight and win the "Hundred Years War".

Battle for Johore

The text below relates to the attack on Johore state and includes details of the battle at Muar and Bakri.

VII. Johore Province

1. Johor First Line

The Muda unit of the central corps first line unit which broke through the line of Gemas advanced to 12K east of Gemas on the evening of the 18th, and it was the 8th Division Australian soldiers that had been sent to defend Johore and responded to the Muda unit. The Kawamura pursuit corps led by the 'rapid iron cattle' [tank] corps, occupied the main point of the second resistance line of the enemy and Batu Anam at 10:30 a.m. on the 19th, and continued with a solid base in the Batu Anam southern high ground, while playing fierce battles with the enemy who continued to resist relentlessly, and gradually expanded the war result with one base.

However, on this day, at around 1 pm on the 19th, a new force of the Imperial Army suddenly appeared near the three-way junction west of the Segamat position on the third defense line to the south of Batu Anam, and surprised the Segamat defense force who was distracted only in the direction of Batu Anam.

This state-of-the-art unit was the Ando unit of the Central Corps.

In the middle area between the Central Pursuit Road and the West Coast Pursuit Road, a skillful siege pursuit battle was carried out with the intention of breaking through the center of the Gemas-Muar defense line from the vicinity of Tamping.

The re-organised enemy field army was becoming a mouse in a bag.

In this way, the side siege attack of the new force was successful, and the advance team of the central pursuit group occupied the rear end position at Segamat of the defense in depth position at 11:30 am on the 20th, and tried to resist from this position. It devastated about 15,000 Australian soldiers' of the 8th Division. [sic - the actual numbers were considerably fewer]

And the first team in the northern district of Johore, which shouldered the critical task of defending Singapore, was fragile and dispersed in the face of our clever operation and onslaught.

Furthermore, in pursuit of the enemy's runaway, on the morning of the 22nd, a thousand enemies with eight gun gates were annihilated at a point near 10 km northwest of Labis, and that key point finally fell.

The hallmark of the war since the breakthrough of Gemas has been that the operations of the Imperial Army have always been surprising to the enemy.

In other words, at the same time as attacking from the front without loosening even at the moment, we repeatedly sieged locally, stepped on the jungle area outside the road, and took a detour tactic to the side of the enemy. This battle result bears fruit brilliantly.

"The jungle, which I was relieved to think was a natural bastion, is of no use. The mysterious Japanese army emerges from Nutto Nyanguru. "What's wrong with this?" Was one of the "Seven Mysteries of Malaya" that surprised the prisoners of war on each front of Malaya.

Finally, the Central Advance Corps took a southward advance to the big decisive battle that was about to be deployed in the central area of Johor, and continued to advance at a rapid pace.

2. Phantom Boat Corps

The Malay west coast advance corps had already conquered the Malacca strait of the devil over several times by the mobile boat unit [zhouting jidòng bùduì], demonstrated sea detours, and dared to carry out a rear shut-off operation. It also demonstrated the large-scale mobility of the sea and landed in Dungaram/Dangalam (115K in the west north of Singapore) near the Batu Pahat mouth of the mouth on the 16th.

The battlefield on the 16th was still in the midst of deadly battles everywhere on the line between Gemas and Muar in the northwestern district of Johor, with the last standing enemy forces.

However, the boat task force suddenly landed near the defensive line connecting Gemas and Muar near Batu Pahat. The task force that succeeded in landing was southeast of Batu Pahat on the evening of the 18th, entered the key point of Tanjong Love [sic - probably Tanjung Low?]

Literally, the death of Goddess, this heroic right-wing siege operation was like throwing a sword and aikuchi into the middle of the central district of Johore, and the wedge-in posture to capture Johore was completely established here.

Reports that "Japanese troops suddenly landed in Batu Pahat" threw electric ripples on each front of Johore, continued to rout with Serangor and Negri Sembilan, and of course there were only a few defeated enemies that avalanche [sic - as translated] in northern Johore. In the camp zone connecting Gemas and Muar, the enemy defense team who planned a counterattack was raised and caused a great turmoil that could not be named.

The engineer unit that achieved this boat operation battle was the engineer unit spearheaded by Major Oda Sakuichi, the winning unit of the battle. The enemy was often assigned to maneuver the craft and transported the infantry unit.

Let's take a look at the progress of the 650-kilometer struggle shown in the Maritime Self-Defense Force operation battle by the Oda unit.

3. Great annihilation battle on the banks of the Muar River

1 Truck disturbance

The west coast rapid troop which rushed to Johore state reached the line of the Muar river on the evening of the 15th.

The Muar River line was a left-wing base in the Johore Defense First Division, which extended to the left from Gemas, and deployed powerful units such as a Division of the Australian Army Division and the Indian Army 45th Brigade.

On top of that, gunboats were placed in the Strait of Malacca at the mouth of the Muar estuary, and all against them were in place.

The Muar river is a large river which can sail the ship (it is) 3,400 meters in width, 20 meters in depth, and [can take a ship of] 10,000 tons class.

About 100 of the enemy who had scattered at the northern end of the town were defeated like the spider at about 11:00 a.m. on the 15th when the head of the first silver ring unit [xianqian yínlún bùduì] arrived at the town named Machi [Mati] near the Muar river. [Note: the Japanese word used for 'town' is also 'machi', the same characters are used for both words].

When Captain Iwakuro arrived at the unit headquarters, he was informed that three or four hundred Indian soldiers were resting in a village called Slon [Serom] in the forest about four kilometers away from the town. The commander himself led three companies to annihilate this enemy, and there was only a remaining unit in the town.

The enemy was ambushed by our raid and was defeated, leaving behind 50 abandoned corpses.

However, in the middle of this battle, a truck sprinted from the coast toward the town.

As soon as the town knew that it was already in the hands of the Japanese army, it moved forward and when they approached the 20 notre [?] position in front of the Iwabe advance commander who was sitting on the side of the road at the triangular point, the enemy of the truck. We were surprised that the Japanese army was the only one who thought were on our side, but we passed by all at once, struck by strafing from the top of the truck.

There was no response to the unexpected assault, but fortunately there were no casualties because it was a blind shooting.

However, from the direction in which the truck escaped, the advance unit headquarters, which was composed of the Ginwa unit, might come forward with the flag.

Captain Iwabe wondered if the noble flag, which was advancing without knowing the enemy's truck, would be overrun by the truck, but it was a momentary event that could not be helped.

While doing this, one truck was running again.

This truck was also surprised to see the Japanese army, and was also struck by strafing from about 20 meters.

Because we were ready to shoot this time, we fired with a machine gun and immediately annihilated it; there were six crew members in the truck.

However, this time, the truck ran again from the direction in which the enemy truck escaped.

When we looked closely, we realised a friendly army [?] was on board.

The following unit, who worshiped the military flag, brilliantly defeated the truck of the previous enemy, and on the contrary, noticed the commander and rushed to the captured truck.

Muar Area showing the Kesang river on the left and the Muar river on the right. On the top right it says 'The Muar War'. At the bottom right it says 'To Simpang Jeram'.

2 Death, Covert crossing

It is finally the crossing of the Muar river.

The bold Iwabe advance commander waited for the sunset and set up an operation in front of the enemy Dadu [?] River in the shade.

By the evening, each unit moved from the riverbank jungle to the river line and advanced.

On the opposite bank of the Muar River, which is filled with water, there are countless tiger-like enemy guards, and the binoculars show that they are hiding using terrain features.

The width was wide and the water was deep.

However, even in the honor of the advance team, Watagawa had to make a decision.

It took until 3:00 am to finally find two eight-seater small boats and one four-seater, and the crossing operation, which shines in the history of the Malay war, began.

The enemy on the other side of the river poured a squall of bullets. The commander immediately decided to change the crossing point.

He then took a [new] crossing point in the direction of the enemy. The new crossing point was [in] a tremendous jungle area. Enemy surveillance should be inadequate.

The unit was [in] a jungle area where even a single cat could not pass.

The suicide squad was commanded by Lieutenant Seno. Only the white bowl of the suicide squad and the white sword were swaying on the river in the dark.

The boat came out quietly. He swallowed his spit under the commander and held his breath in the jungle.

Success? Was it a success?

The first boat came back. The unexpected surprise crossing was a great success.

The unit continued to cross the river silently, led by the Raiding Regiments Ogaki unit.

In Tenyu [possibly Tanjung Selabi on the other side of the Muar river], the landing point was a gap between enemy surveillance guards. It was a double success following the surprise crossing.

Moreover and fortunately, the darkness of the night made it impossible for the enemy to shoot. The troops pushed through the unexplored jungle.

The troops that infiltrated the roadless jungle area succeeded in being wedged in the enemy camp.

In this way, the Ogaki leader, who had been ordered to "advance toward Sinban Zeram [probably Simpang Jeram]", jumped out on a splendid road running across the jungle area and the rubber forest at around 11 am. It was at that time, a truck ran from the front.

When ordered to stop immediately, a Malay inspector was on board and replied, "About 1,500 Australian and Indian soldiers are resting about 1,000 meters ahead of here."

The Malay police officer seemed relieved to see him as a Japanese soldier.

Therefore, when the captain of the XX unit went on a reconnaissance with the inspector as a guide, the place where the enemy soldiers were resting was Simpan Zelam [probably Simpang Jeram] who received a full-body order [?].

The police inspector said there were about 105 cars, four cannons, and ten tanks resting near the three-forked road in the village.

We never dreamed that the Japanese army was advancing to the tip of our eyes and nose so quickly, and the enemy was resting leisurely.

The unit immediately deployed to a three-sided siege attack posture.

The siege annihilation battle was unfolding while dyeing the jungle and rubber forest with blood, and for three hours on the onslaught, all the enemies of one soldier were given to the blood festival, and the triumphant song of the surprise attack siege was raised to the banks of the Muar river.

3 Hunting zone

The enemy of Muar defense claimed the middle area between the Muar and Kesang rivers (west of the Muar river) as a hunting zone, and pulled the Japanese troops attacking along the west coast road into this middle zone, as if hunting. He was eager to hit the bag like hunting a small bird or a rabbit.

For that reason, while building a position on the left bank of the Kesang River and deploying tank units to create the front end of the net, a solid position was also placed on the left bank of the Muar River to align the muzzle of the machine gun and artillery behind it. Their so-called "hunting zone" was completely prepared, including the formation of positions.

The troops, who did not know that the "hunting zone" was waiting for them, went forward on the road near the coast and reached the Kesang River on the 16th. However, the wholesaler did not wholesale as ordered by the enemy.

The 'Kamikei' [?] infiltration tactics of the advance unit that jumped into the hunting zone from the side were successful, and the Muar river was crossed with horses and crossings, and the jungle was crossed, and it appeared to the back of the hunting zone, in a blink of an eye, has annihilated the reinforcement mechanized forces during the break.

The enemy, who had solidified the left bank of the Kesang River, was completely surprised at the news that they were hit from behind.

Realizing that the nets stretched over the hunting area were of no use, on the afternoon of the 16th, they abandoned the front line defense position and began to retreat.

For this reason, the troops easily crossed the Kesang River, which is as large as the Tone River, broke through the hunting zone, and approached Muar.

Yamabe platoon

One of the reasons why the Japanese annihilation tactics in the hunting area were blisters was the result of the brave and brave Yamabe platoon's entry into Muar.

Ensign Yamabe, the platoon leader of the lead unit, who crossed the Muar River and jumped out of the jungle area onto the road, received the following order from his commander.

If you think about it later, it was rather a reckless act.

"Ensign Yamabe should command a platoon of his men to advance this road and attack Muar."

Ensign Yamabe, a red-faced lieutenant, led his platoon of men and dignifiedly headed for Muar on the road.

Even though it is a platoon, it already has XX troops.

When approaching the outskirts of Muar, Ensign Yamabe, who was at the forefront, saw there were around 300 enemies near the entrance to the city.

So he stopped his troops and pondered him as a grouper [sic - as translated].

However, at that moment, a bold attack order was given, "Attack the enemy in front!"

The indomitable demon platoon leader and his subordinates, such as Hayabusa, all turned into a fireball and attacked.

The 300 enemies who suddenly ate from an unexpected direction [sic - as translated] took a position of defense while being upset, and fired fiercely.

However, none of the heroes of the "Fireball Platoon" who went on the offensive hit.

In this way, the slaughter attack and surprise attack were successful, and finally rushed into a corner of the city.

The Yamabe platoon, which rushed into a corner of the city, discovered that there was an enemy regiment headquarters in the center of the city and immediately tried to attack, but at this time it had already shot all the bullets and the platoon had no remaining bullets.

Everything was absent, the platoon leader had to wait for the shade. He decided to attack at night with hand-to-hand combat.

Using the shade of the night, he was thinned to the regimental headquarters, and at around 10 o'clock at night, he slashed with the last hand of the non-bullet platoon, a bayonet assault, and finally occupied the regimental headquarters by playing a fierce hand-to-hand combat.

Moreover, strangely, no one was killed or injured in the Yamabe platoon. It was a complete miracle.

The demon god was also avoided by the attacking spirit of the heroic death.

Seventeen captured cars, four armored cars, and the enemy were disturbed by the bayonet that jumped out of the darkness, set fire to the city and routed it.

A shining impression was awarded to the Yamabe platoon of special merit.

4. Bakri Death Fighting Record

1. The Gotanda Tank Corps

The battle that unfolded on the banks of the Muar River was a tragic death battle, while seeing the success of many surprise attacks, and was a sudden break in the blood of the Muar line.

Indeed, Muar's annihilation battle was one of the three major annihilation battles that graced the Muar attack battle.

The enemy, who was afraid of the reinforcements of our followers [presumably, locals], concentrated air strikes and artillery on the crossing point of the Muar River, and it seemed that he would blow off the jungle area of the mangrove.

The Iwabe advance troops gathered the dispersed troops on the 17th in Simpang Jeram, and on the same night, took action toward Bakri (15 km southeast of Muar) on the Muar - Yong Peng Highway.

The pioneer corps advanced to the west of Bakri on the 18th.

Bakri's enemies had built a position of about 3,000 troops and several lines, laid wire fences around the road, buried land mines, laid a line of quick-firing guns, and solidified the highlands on both sides with mortar positions. It was a desperate defense team.

In addition, the area around the area is a rubber forest and a jungle area.

And here, a fierce battle unfolded over three days.

Along with Akatsuki 18th, the fire of the Bakri attack was cut!

The sound of each other's guns echoed in the blood-stained rubber forest, and the battle became more intense as the dawn dawned.

The battlefield was like a sea of fire. The scorching sun has risen.

The voices of heroes calling for the names of their comrades in between gunshots can be heard all over the rubber forest.

On the morning of the 18th, the 'rapid iron cow' unit ['no kaisoku tetsuushi butai', presumably the tanks] of the battle arrived at the front.

The captain was Shigeo Gotanda. He had just become a captain and had an unrivaled soul (from Kamoike, Kagoshima City, promoted to Major).

This commander of the Gotanda tank squadron, who was under the command of the Iwakuro advance infantry unit, smiled and offered, "Please let [the] Bakri break through [be] with our tank unit."

The Gotanda tank medium tank commander, who knew the struggle of his allies, bravely offered the opinion of the single breakthrough operation to the advance commander.

"There are quite a few enemies in Bakri. Moreover, the position is solid. You can't just use tanks. Attach an infantry unit."

"Infantry units are in the way with their feet tied up"

The eyebrows of the tank cap were engraved with the burning determination of the commander of the Gotanda tank squadron.

At this time, Lieutenant Colonel XX of the tank unit came from behind alone.

"Lt. Col. XX and Gotanda have expressed their opinions on a single breakthrough attack. How is your expert judgment?

"Gotanda, get an infantry soldier"

I learned from the captain of the Gotanda tank, however, [that] Captain Gotanda's determination is firm. He seems to be expecting something.

"I don't like it, I'll do it alone"

"All right. If so, I agree with the statement of opinion. All right. Let's go, I'll ask."

In this way, the Gotanda Tank Company made a rush toward Bakri.

The enemy's anti-tank gun suddenly opened the muzzle and let the concentrated bullets bathe like hail.

Each tank that received the death and the pillar of fire responded with the on-board gun and machine gun, spit out fire and stepped on the enemy's line, and went thin to the second line position.

The image of the angry iron lion god ['ikarikuruu tetsu shishi no kami'] was here.

However, the enemy's sword-shooting, which asks for the superiority of the anti-tank firepower, even the brave and unrivaled tank squadron had a broken arrow, and each tank was hit by a deadly bullet, and the leading tank XX platoon leader with the sword pulled out and the turret grabbed died in a fierce battle, and each of the following tanks struck fire.

Sadly, the Gotanda Tank Company was annihilated!

The demon god, who lined up pillows under the captain and scattered with the flowers of the guardian country, was finally shining in honor.

The death assault of the Gotanda Tank Company upset Bakri's enemies, but the enemy army, which had the advantage of the terrain, still did not flinch and concentrated on the crossfire.

The title of this diagram is 'Gotanda Tanks at Bakri' and underneath 'On the 18th of January'.

For this stubborn enemy, our infantry unit also fired for seven hours, the barrel burned like fire, the bullets scattered, and the death battle itself continued.

Knowing the unreasonable base in front of the enemy, the captain of the Iwabe pursuit unit commanded one of his subordinates to detour from the right, attacking the 453 highlands [presumably a locality reference] behind Bakri, to create a pinch tactic.

The Ogaki battalion, which was ordered to block the enemy's retreat by advancing to the eastern area of Bakri while waiting for a rally near 4 km east of Simpang Jeram, started to act at 4:30 pm on January 18 against the enemy bullets. We passed the jungle, a rubber forest in the rain, and reached the coastal road at 8 o'clock at sunset.

At 10 o'clock, Captain Yamaguchi's shining troops blocked the coastal road, and the main force of the unit continued to move forward under the command of the commander. The leading unit encountered a suddenly dominant enemy and immediately moved to attack.

As soon as the Shigematsu corps started attacking, the enemy furiously concentrated the firepower based on the existing position, the battle situation did not progress, and each position was secured and the night went through.

Such a battle continued for two days and nights.

On the 20th, the third day of the attack, the final total attack order was finally issued.

Frontal attack unit first, proceeding with the close cooperation of the infantry unit, the enemy of the stone began to retreat one step, two steps, three steps.

Title is 'Ogaki Unit at Bakri' and shows the flanking action around the two Australian Battalions. The two shaded areas are titled 'Jungle'.

However, the retreating enemy encountered our Ogaki detour battalion, which had been occupying the '453 highlands' behind the base.

The enemy was just a mouse in a bag and, in distress, tried to counterattack the deadly mad with a tank aimed at the highlands seven times with the force of biting a cat.

Two hours of fierce battle, Captain Yamaguchi and others were killed and injured, and he fought hard without giving in to the command on behalf of Lieutenant Tominaga.

Around noon, the dominant enemy attacked again with a tank, and the Ogaki unit threw a gasoline-filled cider bottle of the capture tank and repelled it.

During this time, Captain Shoji Ogaki was killed in action by receiving several rifle bullets on his head while spearheading, and Captain Shigematsu took command of the unit.

At 3:00 pm, the enemy was getting stronger, approaching the front or the back, and was exposed to the concentrated shooting of gas bullets and smoke bullets, and it was a terrible battle situation.

One of the captains of the squadron was killed in action, and Captain Shigematsu was also seriously injured. The camp was terrible, and the command of the unit was taken by Captain Seno, who had just left the military academy.

However, the young deputy commander resolutely repelled the enemy's counterattack, defended the highlands, and the enemy finally broke and was routed.

The Ogaki unit of the martial arts, like the Gotanda tank corps, was affected by the sentiment of the military commander, and displayed two loyal flowers in the history of the deadly battle Bakri blood war.

Bakri was completely occupied for 21 days. The battle results were about 50 cars, more than 10 tanks, about 10 cannons.

As a result of the mopping up, it was found that the enemy had installed a telephone with the receiver removed near the corner of the road or a large house so that the sound could be heard when a tank or vehicle passed by.

2 The charm of enemy aircraft

Both Yoshida and Yamasue secretly detoured through the jungle to block the retreat of enemies defeated in central Johore, while the West Coast advance forces spark the annihilation of Bukit Bakri. On the evening of the 20th, Yoshida's troops reached Parit Sulong and advanced further behind it, completely blocking the enemy's retreat.

After the fierce battle of Bakri, the advance troops advanced towards the Yong Peng Highway and approached Parit Sulong.

Parit Sulong was defended by 1,000 British soldiers and 1,000 Indian soldiers, for a total of 2,000 troops.

The attack was launched against this enemy in the twilight of the 21st.

In the frontal attack unit, the entire area of the enemy was damaged by rubber forests and jungles, and due to the unexpected behavior of the tank unit, if you attack with a unique new tactic, "fish bone type tactic", the enemy will hit your stomach. He was dismayed and finally crushed.

The tragicomedy of the battlefield was also here.

The enemy plane that attacked Parit Sulong on the early morning of the 22nd did not know that allies were struggling to move forward and backward, and the British army had already withdrawn, and it was early consensus that it was already occupied by the Japanese army, and it was over an hour. He bombed a field hospital and friendly troops on his side and withdrew calmly.

Compared to the airstrikes of this enemy plane, the friendly bombers who cooperated with the Parit Sulong attack rained accurate giant bullets to the enemy, which is only 500 meters away from the front of the ground attack unit. It was a Kana bombing.

[Enclosed box text]

Announcement of the Imperial Japanese Army (January 27th, 9:00 pm) The following are the comprehensive results of the Imperial Army troops in the direction of the West Coast of Malaya in the battle near Bakri and Parit Sulong on January 20th.

Engagement with and annihilation of the enemy's independent 45th Brigade.

[End enclosed box text]

5. Kluang's Flag

Map showing the movement of forces on the various days in January from 14 to 30.

The decisive battlefield moved to a series of base lines connecting Mersing to Kluang-Air Hitam-Yong Peng in the east and Batu Pahat to the west.

For the British troops who lost in a row, this line was the "death line" of Singapore's defense.

In particular, Yong Peng is the heart of Johore's trunk roads crossing north, south, east, and west.

The rapid Kawamura unit, which was separated from the main force of the Central Pursuit Corps from Labis, slaughtered Bekoku along the railroad track, passed Parit [Sulong?], and reached 2 km north of Kluang in the evening of the 24th.

If you look at it, the airfield was already burning with fire from the enemy.

On the evening of the 23rd, the main force of the Central Corps on the Malaya Main Highway proceeded to a point overlooking the city of Yong Peng, which is a key point, with Watanabe troops at the forefront. Without giving, the city of Yong Peng was occupied on the morning of the 24th, and the enemy team rushed to the vicinity of 4 km north of Air Hitam. It reached its peak as it became thinner to the Air Hitam line of defense.

The Kawamura Advance Corps, which went south along the Malaya Transit Railway, carried out a night attack at 11 pm on the 25th, rushed into the Kluang position, and destroyed about 500 enemies with a fierce flesh battle, and finally occupied. Air Hitam was occupied by a Buddhist [?] dawn attack, which is the specialty of the Imperial Army.

At 3 o'clock in the early hours of the 26th, the Ginwa unit approaching the enemy's close distance, under the command of the captain, abandoned the bicycle on the road side of the moonlight, rushed into the enemy's camp, and the dismayed enemy fired. When we started, we were jumping into the enemy's blind spot like a rabbit.

The subsequent assault cry, the enemy who was puzzled by this bold assault had already abandoned his position and rushed through [like] an avalanche.

The night dawned innocently.

If you look at it, the Japanese flag is fluttering in both the central east and west fortresses under the scorching sun.

By this time, the battle has gone further to the southern part of Johore! To Singapore! After the transition, the Malayan British Army, which was already floating, had no means of stopping the advance of this Imperial Army.

6, Itaya / Banjia Twenty-Three Warriors

The Satoshi Mishiba unit of the Central Corps, which slaughtered Kluang's strong team and moved to a rapid pursuit, had a part of Watanabe's unit, the company to which the Itaya platoon belonged, about 8:30 am on the 26th, 5 km south of Kluang. We approached the enemies of the Mengkibol Highlands.

The enemy in this position built a two-line position, and looked down on our Mishiba unit from the enemy's troops first line 400, second line 500, and highlands, and fired a fierce fire.

Actions at Kluang

Captain Mishiba attacked head-on with his main force.

At this time, the company commander Toshio Itaya (from Hiroshima Prefecture), who was ordered to reinforce the company's main force as the second line of the company, arrived at Mengkibol at 9:30 am, but the company commander was in a state of stalemate in the battle. It was decided to attack the side of the enemy's main force at its own discretion in order to facilitate the battle of the company's main force, and to detour from the west side of the railway line to the right and use the shield of the rubber forest. Then, we went secretly.

Soon after 11 o'clock, we hung a grenade about 3,000 meters south of Mengkibol.

It appeared on the left wing of the enemy's second line position where the wire fence was stretched. The platoon held its breath and proceeded.

At this time, we could hear the faint sound of the car engine from the other side of the rubber forest.

The enemy tactic seemed to be to increase the troops from the second line to the first line and destroy our front main unit at once.

The Itaya platoon leader judged the hostility: "If the enemy increases its troops to the front line, the battle of the main force will become more and more disadvantageous. If all of them became a suicide squad, they would have to charge on the side to prepare the enemy for their advantage and help the frontal attack of the main force?"

A decision was made. The captain's instruction was tragic: "Everyone gave me a life, and from now on, all of them will be killed and fulfill their mission with me." Minta [?] was silent.

In the silence, on each face, the firm determination that had already vowed to die with the captain was burning like fire.

The Itaya platoon leader immediately selected two messengers and "The Ita family will charge toward the enemy's second line position from now on. Everyone is ready to die. Don't expect to survive"

After ordering the main unit to report, with only 23 people, he rushed into the midst of 500 enemy camps with a battle cry.

At that time, the main front line captain heard a deep assault cry from the enemy.

Then, about 20 minutes later, mysteriously, there was a sign of upset of the enemy's front line, so we immediately defeated the enemy's front line with hand-to-hand combat and advanced to the second line. In the midst of the fierce, second-line position, the 23 heroes who died under the Itaya platoon leader are all scattered.

The Gunto of the Itaya platoon leader was stabbed by the enemy.

As soon as they jumped into the enemy's camp, the heroes were frustrated by the gun and hit the enemy with the butt of the gun. All of them were clearly broken from the floor tail plate [?].

The front-line enemies who were surprised by the assault of this suicide squad against the second-line position began to retreat for fear of blocking the retreat, and even the strongest team collapsed at once.

The two messengers who returned to the main corps also died in the middle of the war, and although only one was seriously injured, they reached the main corps and fulfilled the task of reporting.

7. Poor/Pathetic Royal Regiment

Australian soldiers and Indian soldiers have always been at the forefront of the imperial onslaught as a common practice of the British army.

However, where the Taiga [?] decides, where the madness is fierce, such a gentle defense is no longer allowed.

At last, the "Torako" Royal Regiment of the Singapore Island Fortress Defense Force was dispatched to defend Johore, and was placed in the so-called Johore line position of Kluang and Air Hitam.

This Royal Regiment was said to be an elite regiment boasting tradition and history in Britain, and was a specially customized regiment for Singapore defense.

However, this royal regiment, which bears its name, was not a big deal in the end.

There was no way to return the madness to death, and before the onslaught of the Imperial Army, it was destined to be wiped out.

Now, when we report the order of their defeat, first of all, we set out near Yong Peng on a mission to secure the retreat of 2,000 British troops routing from Batu Pahat who were defeated by the assault of our strong troops, and Kluang on the 26th. The collapse of Air Hitam's camp crushed them without a hitch, and they suddenly fell from a thousand actors to the legs of a horse.

Regimental commander Lieutenant Colonel Ellipinton and other regimental officers were killed in action, subordinates were split into quarters, and some companies, like a company, were killed in action [including] all officers under Captain Brighton.

"We will retreat to Singapore. Retreat each soldier in an appropriate way. ”

And finally "See you again in Singapore!"

We made an agreement as if the Japanese army said it, and it was scattered.

The part that failed to escape was eaten or not eaten, wandering in the jungle and wetlands, being bitten by mosquitoes, and having bloody faces and limbs with thorns, and became a prisoner of the Imperial Army.

The POWs of the Royal Regiment all said: "The Japanese army is strong, and even if it is known to die, it will charge. It's completely strange. The Air Force was completely defeated. No war can be done without the cooperation of the Air Force. Besides, it's this heat just below the equator. Do Japanese tanks not know this heat? It’s a war that we can’t stand at all."

On Mt. Bendrop [sic] to the east of Batu Pahat, a brigade of several lines and a brigade with 20 guns was waiting. The West Coast advance unit advanced with artillery while making a way to the jungle with a detour operation on the 23rd, slammed the rear position sideways, and completely occupied Batu Pahat at 3:00 pm on the 26th.

Prior to this, the boat task force that ambushed at the mouth of Batu Pahat on the 16th was a mercenary, but it was under the siege of the enemy in Tanjong Love [sic] (south east of Batu Pahat) for 10 days until the main force of the corps occupied Batu Pahat. While he faced a considerable number of enemies with tanks and fought repeatedly.

The boat task force, which played a major role in the decisive battle in the Chubu region as a sword on the flank of Johore, also fulfilled the mission of an ambush to block the path of the enemy who was routing from the direction of Batu Pahat.

While the main force of the corps was attacking Batu Pahat, a new and up-and-coming corps that demonstrated the strangeness of the transition detoured far from the wetland jungle from the vicinity of Three Gardens (12 km east of Batu Pahat), near Senggarang on the 25th. Succeeded in blocking the retreat from Batu Pahat, capturing and annihilating defeated enemies everywhere while threatening behind the enemy, and at 8:00 pm on the 26th, seized the key point Rengit of 50 km to the Straits of Johore. In response to the advance of the Malaya Hokkaido Corps, the enemy lined up to form a left-down half-moon-shaped compression team 50 km east and west of Johore Batu.

8. Handshake of east and west units

The meeting of eastern and western forces

The East Coast Detachment, which captured Endau, proceeded to a point north of Mersing on the 21st.

The enemy laid wire fences on both sides of the road in the vicinity, called roads, private houses, and buried land mines regardless of location.

The unit took a backward detour operation again as it did during the Endau capture.

It was an onslaught of wetlands and jungle areas. We didn't have anything to eat except nuts, palm cores, and wild potatoes.

Here, the scorching battle between humankind and nature began.

For four days, the wetlands that soaked to the chest, the jungle, the heat of fire, the squall, and the beast poisonous insects continued to fight, and on the 26th, Mersing was finally occupied, and the tear-soaked Japanese flag was erected.

In Mersing, up to three enemy planes were shot down with machine guns.

On the 26th, when all Malay fronts showed rapid progress in the battle against Johore Bahru, a new land force suddenly started landing at the key point Endau on the east coast with the assistance of the aviation force.

The enemy who knew this attacked off Endau with a large formation of the War Bomb Coalition twice from about 2:30 pm on the same day and tried to attack our fleet, but it was waiting in the sky. It was captured by my land eagle, which was the guardian of the formation, and ended up being a prey to it.

Thirty-nine aircraft crashed due to two enemy air raids.

The East Coast troops who captured Mersing and marched to Zemaran [location not known] in pursuit of political enemies broke through the enemy's existing pillbox position near Zemaran in a fierce battle with Buddha on the 27th.

Lieutenant Mitsuyuki Matsunoo (from Nagasaki Prefecture) was the flower of this breakthrough battle.

The lieutenant who jumped into the enemy's camp was fatally injured by receiving an enemy bullet in front of the first pillbox, but he did not yield and climbed up to the enemy's camp, attacked the pillbox, stabbed two British soldiers with a sword, and then stabbed another enemy bullet. He died in a fierce battle and opened up the motive for a successful breakthrough.

We think he had seized this position, but this time he was charged by the British.

This British unit had about 600 troops, but under the support of the dominant artillery, it screamed "Go ahead! Go ahead!" And screamed bravely.

Mutually confused and scattered the sparks of a horrific hand-to-hand combat.

However, it is not an enemy of the Imperial Army at last during hand-to-hand combat. Enemy corpses piled up on both sides of the road.

Two hours later, at 7:00 pm, the East Coast troops that occupied Zemaran at 5 pm on the 28th after a fierce battle finally shook hands with the East Coast troops of the Central Corps from Yong Peng at a point 6 km north of Zemaran.

The days of the advanced Malayan advance while fading the soil, dust, sweat, and the color of the military clothing!

Now, after the handshake of the Southeastern and Southwestern Corps, they just said, "Singapore is already near."

Page created 25 February 2021, last updated 25 February 2021. Copyright © 2021 Andrew Warland