The Fall of Singapore to the Japanese Army took place in the South-East Asian theatre of the Pacific War, with fighting in Singapore lasting through 8 to 15 February 1942. Nicknamed the “Gibraltar of the East,” Singapore was the foremost British military base and economic port in South-East Asia and was important to British interwar defence planning for the region. The British stronghold was captured by the Empire of Japan in what is considered one of the greatest defeats in the history of the British Army, and arguably Britain’s worst defeat in the Second World War. In the largest British surrender in history, sixty-two thousand Allied soldiers were taken prisoner, and more than half eventually died as prisoners of war.
Dan tells the story, explainer style, to mark this 80 year anniversary. This episode also features archive from Dan’s interview with the late Dr Bill Frankland (19 March 1912 - 2 April 2020), a veteran of World War II who lived through a Japanese prisoner of war camp and who also made important contributions to our understanding of allergies.
Up Next in Archive of Dan Snow's History Hit 🎧
-
🎧 The Search for Alfred the Great's Tomb
Alfred the Great (r. 871-899) is without a doubt one of the best-known and most admired kings of early medieval England. We know quite a lot about his life, not least because he had a biography written about himself while he was still alive. However, we know very little about what happened to his...
-
🎧 ENDURANCE22: Dan's Diary #02
Dan gives a quick update on the expedition's progress towards Antarctica from a rather wet and windy deck as the crew prepare for a storm to hit
-
🎧 Ecopreneur Eshita Kabra-Davies on G...
Did you know that the fashion industry emits more carbon than international flights and maritime shipping combined? Or that most of the clothes we donate to charity end up in landfill? Ecopreneur Eshita Kabra-Davies joins Jimmy on his farm to discuss green fashion and renting our clothes. Eshita ...
2 Comments