Gemencheh Bridge

The 8th Australian Division's commander, Major-General Gordon Bennett, was given command of all forces in the west of Malaya (Westforce). Bennett brought 8th Australian Division with him to relieve the broken 11th Indian Division, and believed that ambushes would be …

1942-01-14

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The 8th Australian Division's commander, Major-General Gordon Bennett, was given command of all forces in the west of Malaya (Westforce). Bennett brought 8th Australian Division with him to relieve the broken 11th Indian Division, and believed that ambushes would be the best way forward in trying to halt the Japanese advance. An ambush was accordingly laid by Captain D. J. Duffy's 'B' Company on the Trunk Road near Gemas where the road crossed a wooden bridge over the Sungei Gemencheh river.As many as a thousand Japanese soldiers of the 9th Infantry Brigade's Mukaide Detachment crossed the bridge on bicycles before Duffy triggered the demolition charges on the bridge and ordered his men to open fire at close range. The ambush was devastating but without artillery support, the forward 'B' company was forced to withdraw and had to fight their way back to friendly lines. In the resulting two day battle, the Japanese lost over 1,000 men and most of their tanks compared with minimal losses to the Australians. The ambush was a tactical success but unfortunately the Japanese advance down the Malay Peninsula was only temporarily slowed.

Gemas, 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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British

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