Breaking the Jitra Line

Lieutenant-General Arthur Percival, British General Officer Commanding Malaya, tried to slow down the Japanese advance by ordering bridges to be blown up along the Trunk Road. The Japanese devised a method to overcome this British strategy. Infantry would cross to …

1941-12-10

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Lieutenant-General Arthur Percival, British General Officer Commanding Malaya, tried to slow down the Japanese advance by ordering bridges to be blown up along the Trunk Road. The Japanese devised a method to overcome this British strategy. Infantry would cross to the far bank to cover repair work by the Japanese sappers. Then artillery would be brought up to the obstacle to provide still more cover. The sappers gained a reputation for brave and speedy work under violent shellfire, and once the bridge had been made good Japanese tanks would make a dash across to the far side and impetuously charge the British defenders, hopefully capturing the next bridge before it could be blown. Having no tanks in Malaya, and precious few anti-tank guns, the British were hard-pressed to deal with such relentless armored assault. The Saeki Detachment were driving towards Jitra and attempting to cross the Sungai Bata using such tactics. The Okabe Regiment were deployed to the Japanese left in a bid to outflank the defense. Fighting patrols of 11th Regiment probed the jungles and swamps to the Japanese right. Defending Jitra were elements of the British 11th Division under Major-General Murray-Lyon: the 1st Leicesters, 2/2nd Gurkhas, and 2/9th Jats in the centre and on the right, and on the left 2nd East Surreys, and 1/8th and 2/16th Punjabs. Once the tanks had crossed the river British resolve melted away and the Jitra Line, which had taken six months to construct and was meant to hold on for three months, was broken in just 15 hours. One reason for the defeat was that the barbed wire defenses were deliberately incomplete, Percival fearing spies might map British positions more easily if wire was present. The Japanese captured vast quantities of weapons, munitions, and supplies which they jokingly termed 'Churchill supplies'. The British retired in disorder towards Gurun, 30 miles along the Trunk Road to the south.

Jitra, Malaysia

The Malayan campaign was a military campaign fought by Allied and Axis forces in Malaya, from 8 December 1941 – 31 January 1942 during the Second World War. It was dominated by land battles between British Commonwealth army units, and the Imperial Japanese Army with minor skirmishes at the beginning of the campaign between British Commonwealth and Royal Thai Armed Forces. The Japanese had air and naval supremacy from the opening days of the campaign. For the British, Indian, Australian and Malayan forces defending the colony, the campaign was a total disaster.

Wikipedia: Malayan campaign

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