ACHILLES’ HEEL ?

Te Awamutu Courier, Volume 64, Issue 4536, 13 February 1942, Page 5

ACHILLES’ HEEL ?

JAPANESE HOPES SINGAPORE DEFENCE An officer waved his hand. The shattering explosion which followed closely on his signal ripped great gaps in the causeway connecting Singapore Island and the Johore mainland. The siege had begun. What are Singapore’s problems of defence? (asks Peter V. Russo in the Sydney Sun of February 2). Something is known of Singapore’s strength, he writes, but little of the years of preparation spent by Japan in formulating her plans of attack. And Japan believes that food supply and storage will present a major problem of defence. Time and again Japanese publications have asserted that in a siege of Singapore the British in Singapore would face internal trouble every bit as ominous as the hostile invading force. Particular attention was paid by Japanese agents to the large Indian population of Singapore. An Indian in Tokio, employed by the Japanese—he called himself simply the “Friend of Mankind” —occupied most of his time writing pamphlets for his compatriots in Malay. FOOD AND WATER In anticipation of a possible siege, the base is provided with a victualling yard which includes extensive airconditioned cold storage chambers, where supplies for at least half a year are stored. The water supply is secured by well-protected mains, which are supplemented by two reservoirs within the boundaries of the base for use should the mains be broken—as now, of course, they will be. But the Japanese know that, although huge stocks of rice were laid in, the grain does not keep well in the damp climate. The rice was imported by ship from Indo-China, Burma and Java. Pork had to be brought in from Sumatra and Java, and truits from the same places. Only heavily-protected convoys can continue to transport the food products needed by Singapore, and for the present getting convoys through must be hazardous or worse. The picture of Singapore under siege, as presented by Japan, is not a pleasant one for us to contemplate, but it cannot be brushed off with the airy optimism of the past. The Japanese have too often been right for us to continue relying on impregnability fables. Singapore may hold out in its present state for a considerable time. But if reinforced immediately it could be made the propulsion base which would not only hurl back the invader, but remain the focal point of a really impregnable Pacific defence. This, probably, is also known to the Japanese. CITY AND ISLAND Singapore is both a city and an island. The city lies on the southern portion of an island roughly 20 miles long and 15 miles wide. The island is a pin-point on the map, a tiny speck that clings to the long pointed bottom end of the Malayan peninsula, some 80 miles north of the equator. For all practical purposes, the entire island is one great fortress. At Changi, guarding the entrance to the Straits of Johore, is a Royal Artillery station. The numerous little islands that fan out from Singapore bristle with guns. Right at the entrance to the little bay that forms Singapore Harbour is the island of Blakan Mati, another selfcontained fortress in itself. These are the land defences that guard Singapore from approach by sea. The naval base, however, is the most important single defence objective in Singapore, and all other defence units are there to protect it. The base is a closely-guarded, selfcontained unit. Most Singapore residents have never seen it. Visitors have had to be satisfied with hearing rumours about it, or catching hazy distant glimpses of tall radjo towers and huge cranes, capable of handling the biggest jobs on British capital ships. Thus, a frontal attack on Singapore would provide tremendous hazards for the invader, which evidently determined Japan in its present plan of attack from the rear. When even British vessels have been sunk in the maze of minefields protecting the harbour, it can be realised how perilous these waters would be for the undirected ships of the enemy. RINGED WITH PILL-BOXES In addition to the heavy guns, a string of concrete pill-boxes rings the island. They were in construction long before the outbreak of the war in Europe, and by now should be well camouflaged with grass on top and the natural jungle growth around them. These pill-boxes skirt the whole island, and are to be seen even along the wharves in Singapore Harbour. Supporting these are barbed wire barricades, and in the hills a system of trenches, useful but highly uncomfortable because of Singapore heat, rain and equatorial life. In Japanese discussions concerning an attack on Singapore, there have been two schools of strategy. One has favoured direct assault—quick and costly. The other would take longer and the toll of manpower and military equipment would be less —air and naval blockade. But in Japan’s estimation she has powerful allies in the conditions which must arise in Singapore when the fortress is subjected to heavy attack. Japan must necessarily have a healthy respect for Singapore’s formidable defences, which is why Japanese agents have taken such pains to undermine the morale of the native population.