An account of the early years of World War 2 in Malaya, which saw the Japanese army defeat the British troops. About half of the book is about Singapore, where the author, a Times war correspondent, was based. The other half describes what the author saw during his fieldwork in Malaya, where the fighting had already begun.
From the Introduction:
The account that follows is a short personal record of the campaign in Malaya. It makes no pretension to being a comprehensive account. The time is still to come for the official histories, with all the relevant documents, official and unofficial, carefully collated. But f I do not put something down on paper now, I shall never do so. Several months have elapsed since I left the island. Already the events that took place there are becoming dimmed in my memory.
I am not interested in apportioning blame or allotting responsibility. I am interested in what happened and in why it happened. It is precisely those people who are most ignorant of the facts of the Malayan campaign who are most virulent in their attacks and most sweeping in their allegations.
Contents:
The Singapore Legend
Dream and Reality
The Factual Background
Underestimating the Enemy
The War Begins
Early Perplexities
The First Big Blow
The Battle of Kedah
Visit to the Front
The Tactics of the Japanese
The War in the Air
Memories of North Malaya
The Fall of Kuala Lumpur
The Australians Go Into Action
Memories of South Malaya
The Siege Begins
The Men at the Top
The Chinese and the Defence of Singapore
The Last Days of Singapore
Afterthoughts
