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The Worst Military Defeat In British History
85,000 men lost in the blink of an eye
In 1942, most well-to-do leaders in Britain believed that distant Singapore was an impregnable fortress. This was the word that was bandied about time and time again. Singapore was a fortress. It was a shining beacon of British power on the opposite side of the globe. Singapore was ringed with powerful guns, protected by state-of-the-art naval assets, and had a garrison of nearly 100,000 troops. The idea that the city could be forced to capitulate was outrageous.
The problem was that the people repeatedly claiming that Singapore was a fortress had not been there to see it with their own eyes. That included Prime Minister Winston Churchill, who stoutly believed that the island was uncrackable. The problem was that the defenses around Singapore had been hollowed out due to budgetary reasons for years. The men guarding the city were poorly trained and inexperienced. There were few permanent defenses around the city. Instead, Britain was relying on the surrounding Malayan jungles and deep waters to protect it. These tactics had worked in the past, and there was no reason to believe that they would fail now.
Not only was Singapore not in the shape that many believed, but the Japanese were much better equipped than anyone had imagined in 1942. Britain still…
