127 - Fortress Singapore Stands Alone! - WW2 - January 30, 1942
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 10 ก.พ. 2025
- The Japanese advance on Singapore has gotten close enough that the British have destroyed the causeway to Singapore Island. The Japanese are also making attacks in the Solomon Islands, Burma, the Philippines, and the Dutch East Indies- their threat to Australia is real. Erwin Rommel's surprise spoiler offensive in North Africa takes Benghazi, and on the eastern front the Soviets break a hole in the German lines in the north even as the temperature drops to the -50s.
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Written and Hosted by: Indy Neidell
Director: Astrid Deinhard
Producers: Astrid Deinhard and Spartacus Olsson
Executive Producers: Astrid Deinhard, Indy Neidell, Spartacus Olsson, Bodo Rittenauer
Creative Producer: Maria Kyhle
Post-Production Director: Wieke Kapteijns
Research by: Indy Neidell
Edited by: Iryna Dulka
Sound design: Marek Kamiński
Map animations: Eastory ( / eastory )
Colorizations by:
Mikołaj Uchman
Jaris Almazani (Artistic Man), ...
Norman Stewart - oldtimesincolo...
Sources:
JoJan, Berserker276 - from Wikimedia Commons
National Portrait Gallery
Termometer by Andi Nur Abdillah from the Noun Project
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Mil.ru
Soundtracks from the Epidemic Sound:
Rannar Sillard - Easy Target
Jo Wandrini - Dragon King
Rannar Sillard - Split Decision
Craft Case - Secret Cargo
Reynard Seidel - Rush of Blood
Flouw - A Far Cry
Fabien Tell - Weapon of Choice
Johan Hynynen - Dark Beginning
Gunnar Johnsen - Not Safe Yet
Fabien Tell - Last Point of Safe Return
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A TimeGhost chronological documentary produced by OnLion Entertainment GmbH.
The Japanese offensives - in just this first two months - have seen many atrocities committed against both captive soldiers and local civilians. We cover that, and the systems that commit such acts, in our War Against Humanity series. It comes out twice a month; here's the playlist: th-cam.com/play/PLsIk0qF0R1j4cwI-ZuDoBLxVEV3egWKoM.html
And on our instagram day by day coverage, we go more in depth into events that we don't have the time to really do justice to in the regular weekly episodes. You can check that out right here: instagram.com/ww2_day_by_day/
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First reply
Im from singapore btw
What is the situation of New Caledonia? Shouldn't it be under Vichy control? How do Americans manage to send troops there?
I should be doing more language drills (all day, every day...)
And yet here we are again
@@stoopidphersun7436 A fan of Brawl Stars I see :)
Mussolini: I forbid any major offensives in the African front
Rommel: New radio, who dis
Man, I haven't heard/seen that meme for like ten years! Good for you, telling outdated jokes! =)
Funny meme > new meme.
'but Rommel is too short on fuel' - I feel like we might hear this phase said about other axis leaders later in the war.
your transmission can't break if you can't even turn on the tank
@@HipFire1 you've won the internet.
The pros about not having fuel is that you can not retreat your panzer forces
Maybe not too much later
@@ottovalkamo1 Festung Panzer 🤔
As a Singaporean this is covered usually quite briefly in school lessons here.. thanks for the in depth insights
Fellow Singaporean here too, most of our knowledge on the Malayan Campaign is pretty condensed actually. Like for example, they do not cover anything on the Japanese spy Patrick Stanley Vaughan Heenan, a Captain in the British Indian Army who was executed just before the Fall of Singapore.
@@gunman47 ayy same here as a Malaysian
Japanese come up, British unprepared, thus PAP the best because they can take care of us. The whole point of lower sec hist was just to say that, but graded.
same here
@@gunman47 So far nobody explained how was possible that a small Japanese force managed to defeat such a big UK army. I guess UK army was more than 100 000 men strong when surrounded to 25-30000 men Japanese army.
This episode is a prime example of what makes WW2 so fascinating. Fighting in the jungles of South East Asia, the deserts of North Africa and the snows of the USSR. Fighting in the air, on land and above and below the surface of the seas. Incredible what this generation went through.
@@Rahulrao2576 No adoration here. You obviously missed my point.
@@Rahulrao2576 then maybe just say that in a normal way instead of writing a poem
@@Rahulrao2576 no we're just appreciating the events that happened we all know about the bad stuff especially on this channel goofball
In mirroring Churchill’s words that was said on the eve of the Battle of Britain in 1940 here in the context of my country of Singapore in 1942: “ *What General Percival called the Battle of Malaya is over. I expect that the Battle of Singapore is about to begin* .”
@-Umut Deniz- At the time of the Battle of Singapore, most areas were actually jungle, swamps or small villages / kampungs, unlike now where the entire island is almost fully urbanised and built up. Only the Town areas near the Singapore River on the south of the island were fairly urbanised with streets and roads. There are actually beaches as possible landing points on the north of the island, such as Sarimbun and Punggol Beaches, for example.
@-Umut Deniz- also Singapores north has a ton of huge crocodiles. (Still does, it's where Louis Vuitton get their crocodile skin from. They farm them in Singapore.)
@@porksterbob Oh yeah? They do? I thought using crocodile skin was illegal.
I like how in the beginning Indy jokes about Polish General name Juliusz Rómmel and German Erwin Rommel apparently being related.
Actually... they were related. Distant cousins from the same noble family.
Rómmel changed spelling of his name and some other relatives that fell more related to Poland then any other country followed him.
@@PobortzaPl Wasn't Rommel Swabian?
@@PobortzaPl where did you get this information? Erwin Rommel was born in southwest Germany, and had no noble name and title like "von Rommel". The Juliusz's name and Title was Freiherr von Rommel, he was born in the Baltic's. The name could be pure coincidence.
@@mrunseen3797 Rommel was from that part of the family that lived in Germany.
There's nothing strange in Central Europe for German(or Polish, or Czech, or Hungarian) families to have its branches all over the region.
Rómmel himself was claiming distant relation to Rodmell, either they grandfathers or grangrandfathers were brothers.
@@lukalisjak2106 Your point being?
Even if he had been born in late medieval times it still would only mean he was born in Swabia. Early to mid medieval it would mean a slightly different kind of German than someone from Westphalia.
I find it interesting that the Japanese were mocking MacArthur by saying he was going to be paraded around Tokyo as a prisoner but when he does finally arrive in Toyko it will be as the military dictator of the country. He will eventually parade around Japan but not quite as the Japanese in 1942 were thinking.
Oh the irony.
@@Zen-sx5io You took the words out of my mouth.
Be careful of what you wish for, you might get it
Clark Gable was worried the Germans would do that to him if they captured him (he took part in some bomber missions over Germany). He thought they might put him in a cage.
Talked too soon, jinxed themselves.
I have participated in the Bataan Memorial Death March twice. I met some of the survivors. To hear the stories is to hear about Hell. This was a decade ago. I think only 2 or 3 are left. Never forget
My Mom's uncle missed that death march by two weeks. He was severely wounded by an artillery shell and somehow was shipped out. Lost total hearing in one ear and couldnt hear much out the other.
This is interesting and not something I was aware of. Do you have a website link where I could find out more? And for one of your commenters re water boarding I would recommend they watch the Railway Man film about British POWs and finding Peace. Plus John Le Carre (recently deceased novelist) many TH-cam clips about the stupidity of torture.
@Layman Gallagher The Japanese should have written back and pointed out the atrocities committed by the United States against the Native Americans, if McCain and Abraham were going to play that game. The fact that the Japanese committed atrocities does not mean the US gets to use "enhanced interrogation techniques".
The reason Japan has a self-defense force, and Germany doesn't, obviously has nothing to do with atrocities, and everything to do with the fact that the main theater of the Cold War was predicted to be in Europe, not the Pacific. NATO needed Germany to have a fully-fledged military, and it did not require this of Japan.
@Layman Gallagher Sadly the US and Russian forces raped as well
You will hear more of the rapes the Russians did, But during the occupation Especially in Okinawa it was common to find US soldiers breaking into homes and committing rape
I remember one testimony from a US soldier
He was driving along when he spotted a group of soldiers bunched up on the side of the road upon closer inspection they were gangraping a local woman, He asked his officer to stop it and his officer said no
And if you don't believe me just look it up. To this day the Okinawans wants the US base there gone
Also Vietnam, If you wanna hear about war crimes well the US committed so many there
Agent orange
Napalm
Desecration of Religious sites
Rape
The killing of non-combatants
The Japanese in WW2 may of revelled in it
But the US ignored there own soldiers doing it
and before you go at me, All Armies commit some horrible shit be it by necessity for victory or simple revenge or joy
But I am sick of people from the US acting all high and mighty and saying that there the fucking golden boys when they are not
To this day the US army has one of the highest rates of crime , Crime rates around US bases are nearly always higher than the local area.
Exceptions are the one in the UK but when it comes to areas that are extremely "foreign" aka Okinawa the US soldiers seem to think there better than everyone else and that they can get away with shit
For example The 1995 Okinawa rape incident. three soldiers Kidnaped and raped a 12 year old girl
And the US instantly got them out of the country as soon as allegations were made
It took a shit ton of effort to EVEN get one man to justice
The fucking country that can apparently do NO EVIL tried to protect these men
If it was not for other countries intervening these men would of got off scot free
It took international pressure for the US to let these men face justice.
The same shit happened during the occupation and the US policy on it was just let it happen
Out of mind out of sight
Willingness to ignore crime makes you just as complicity ESPECIALLY if said country denounces there very ACTS there are allowing
I am British , My country committed some of the worst shit ever we learned from our mistakes it took a long time we also put it out of mind out of sight
But we did learn and its time the US gets of its high horse and look inwards.
By stooping to levels of the enemy are you any better?
@@mk_gamíng0609 Some of the problems of this happening is the nature of the recruits. Some army types admit that they mostly get thuggish volunteers. The kind who are often lawless and might be criminals in civilian life. It is the same in every army in the world. No country can claim innocence.
It's great how Indy corrected his pronunciation of Bataan since a few videos ago. That drive for authenticity is what makes this channel the best.
My Filipina American wife appreciates this too.
Back when he was covering the Great War, he had to correctly pronounce Przemysl.
Now, if he would only make a greater effort with some of the Russian names...
@@morskojvolk Is he pronouncing them with a bad accent or just pronouncing them wrong? If it's a bad accent, there isn't much you can do other than hiring him an accent coach. If he's pronouncing them wrong, contact the team directly.
@@ScottyShaw I was being somewhat facetious. The pronunciation errors are largely syllable stress and occasionally mispronouncing letter combinations that are often difficult for a non-russian speaker. Nothing important to the vast majority of viewers.
Mussolini: Halt! No more offensive actions!
Rommel: Screw you.
Americans listening to the American radio on Bataan: It's just our nightly dose of fake news.
In war having better propaganda is often a key to mobilizing the homefront for victory. For examples of poor propaganda: Vietnam, Iraq. You have to sell war, and to do it you can’t admit to your populace that you are not going to reinforce a segment of your troops, remember the enemy is listening as well.
@@TheLocalLt that's true, but it still stinks if you're one of the guys that's getting screwed. Just a sad situation.
My Great Uncle died a few miles into the Bataan death march. While my grandfather and his 2 brothers survived the war (army air corps/air force), my grandmother carried the grief for her departed brother to her own grave 60 years later. The intro to this video stopped me in my tracks for a few minutes. Amazing work as always guys. Somehow still improving year after year!
Thank you and thank you for sharing
I got here 17 seconds after release.. I'm more addicted to this series than I actually thought.
How long has this been going on if he’s only in 42?
@@Noone-jn3jp Over 3 years now. They started coverage Sep. 1, 2018.
Your not the only one.
@@howardbrandon11 thanks. I’m going to look for that one. This is amazing.
@@Noone-jn3jp here's the whole weekly episode playlist: th-cam.com/play/PLsIk0qF0R1j4Y2QxGw33vYu3t70CAPV7X.html
My Great grandfather was a volunteer medic during the campaign . He was able to survive by escaping on foot to his town of Malacca after the British surrendered. By the way huge fan of the series.
Thank you for your story and comment. We're glad you like the videos.
Japanese ships: "No one will see us here"
A Dutch submarine: *laughs in sonar*
In Malaysian History, I get the feeling that our school text books always seem to look down on Arthur Percival for his eventual surrender in Singapore. As a history junkie, I really want to know a different side of the story, to see how much truth there is to it. So looking forward to covering the episode on the surrender.
Well there is not much he could do about it...
he was outgunned, outnumbered and surrounded...
with most of his defences facing the sea
There was no help that could arrive in time from anywhere.
And if need be - he could have been just starved to death by Japanese air supperiority. Evacuation by sea... well - the battleships british sent to interecept japanese were sunk by planes before firing a shot...
He had no chance of winning. I would not be too hard on the general. He could have made a stand a made japanese bleed... but - they would not bleed to death.
@@Paerigos Well said, mate
@@Paerigos Wasn’t Yamashita bluffing to Percival since Yamashita was running out of supplies?
@@tigertank06 Well yes, but Yamashita could "live of the land" for a while, and had chance of some ressupply...
Percival had no hope of any help coming for months. And its not like he had stockpiles to last that long.
hell british loggistics already went to hell by Japanese just taking indochina... (because indochina was main source of food to supply India...)
@@tigertank06 That would be correct. Yamashita was actually on a time schedule. He needed to conquer Malaya & Singapore in a certain amount of time and by a certain date. The Japanese were expecting a cake-walk in Malaya, but they encountered unexpected heavy resistance from the defenders, which also caused delays. Think he accomplished his mission with about a week left in his time schedule - do not remember the exact schedule. IF am correct in memory of everything that have read for the fight for Singapore, the British actually OUTNUMBERED the Japanese before they surrendered but, the British were just as exhausted & short of everything that the Japanese were.
Man, Imagine being paradropped in when temperatures can reach -50 degrees. That'd be suicidal if you can't manage food and shelter in a day. I can't imagine those paratroopers are much capable of offensive operations.
Mussolini: "Rommel! Stop your advance, now!"
Rommel: "Shut it, fool." - continues advancing
🤣🤣🤣
Actually Rommel's reckless advance and trying to hold an over extended supply line will bite his rear very badly at Alamein at the end of 1942
@@merdiolu Pff the British will never lose Cyrenaica, you're delutional if you think Rommel can advance.
And Mussolini thought Hitler was a clown who copied him, but Rommel told him to talk to the hand!
Insert "Call the cops, I don't give a f--k" llama meme here.
Yeah, a lot of people dying an agonising death in the desert due to the whim of a General is so funny...oh...wait.
One of my uncles - Alec Shaw - was among those Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders to defend Singapore. Captured at its fall, he spent the rest of the war in brutal captivity, but upon being freed he rejoined his regiment, retiring as Sergeant Major in 1960. A supreme example of a man.
On the Scottish side of the family a relative of mine survived capture in Singapore - possibly he was in the Argylls. I never met him - I was told his experiences left him with a hatred of the Japanese.
Glad he survived and his health recovered.
Wow the malaya is burning, glad that i live in java, i'm sure dutch will defend this area firmly even though the native including my friends didn't like them, i hope the "fortress singapore" would hold out firmly though.
I hope my country of Singapore will hold out too, at least past Lunar New Year on February 15 1942 yeah? :)
@@gunman47 i believe singapore would held out just like sevastopol ;)
But Borneo has already been invaded. I wonder how the KNIL will fight the Japanese
I hope the Germans don't poison our beloved Tsar Boris in Bulga- he's dead? The bastards ;-;
@@briantarigan7685 Spolier alert: Singapore fell in 7 DAYS.
Can't wait for Stalingrad. Glad this series will last for another 3 years
Why, what's happening in Stalingrad?
How do you know this series will last another three years? Are you a psychic or a time traveler or something?
@@markanderson3870 Nothing. The Germans aren't anywhere near there, so Muhammad must be having a fit.
What are you? A omniscient?
check TIK's stalingrad stuff
Thank you Indy for being one of the few non-Filipinos to pronounce all the "A"s in "Bataan."
A year from now the Wehrmacht will be looking back on this time as the good old days. They will be singing the "Case Blues". Wait for it!
Why do you say that, they are about to win in the eastern front. Just a couple of good offensives and all good.
I have a bad feeling about this "Case Blue". I wonder what will happen
@@principalityofbelka6310 Something other than cold weather, I'd hope...
@@averyhandsomechilean88 Exactly. They’ve practically got Moscow in the bag, as the Reds are completely finished
Kriegsmarine will still be partying in the Atlantic and Caribbean.
Indy: "...to the Coral Sea..."
Me: I wonder if something special will happen there... Like a first time of something :foreshadowing goosebumps:
I'm glad I am taking the time to catch up on this project. I know a lot (I mean a LOT) about the second world war in Europe. Even so, I'm constantly learning some fact or other that I had no clue about before Time Ghost illuminates it. This is the best educational video series that I've ever come across on any platform, and obviously is sourced from hundreds of books.
Singapore is all alone, I’m sure it can defend itself... and I’m sure the men won’t be forced to build a bridge over the River Kwai
I'm sure my country of Singapore will do so, when there is nowhere else left to go but the sea. They will hold the line steadfast!
Why do I hear whistling?
I thought it was the River Kok.
@@photoisca7386 only if Colonel Clarkson decided to give in after a few minutes in the brig.
Colonel Bogey intensifies
You're doing a great job, love your videos
Thank you
Midway? I wonder if that atoll will be important in the coming months
Also the USS Enterprise? Why do i have a feeling that this ship will become a legend in this war?
Nah mate, the Japanese are going to sink it. I'm sure of it. You can't come back from being sunk in the Pacific.
"The Enterprise...no bloody A - B - C or D!"
@@yourstruly4817 Interestingly enough the fictional USS Enterprise from Star Trek was named after the famous carrier from the Second World War. Gene Roddenberry, the guy who created Star Trek, confirmed it in an interview in the 1970s. It was also referenced in the TV show Enterprise. In Captain Jonathan Archer's ready room there was a display of the historical lineage of his ship, feauring the USS Enterprise from the Second World War and the space shuttle of the same name.
@@lycaonpictus9662 It isn't really a surprise, the Enterprise was a legendary ship
@@lycaonpictus9662 I'm not surprised the USS Enterprise was named after it.
your whole series of videos should be part of history lessons in schools....they are fascinating and very well delivered....good job my man
Thank you for your kind words Joe!
8:20 I was somewhat surprised that no mention was made of that tall building in the background above the Johore-Singapore Causeway, which will have an impact on the upcoming Battle of Singapore. That tall building itself is the " *Istana Bukit Serene* ", the royal palace of the Sultan of Johore. With its unblocked views of Fortress Singapore from the other side of the Causeway, it is no wonder that the Tiger of Malaya, Tomoyuki Yamashita, will use it to plan for the Battle of Singapore. It looks like an easy target for the British to bombard with, but they will not do it simply because this was the pride and procession of the Sultan of Johore.
It is mentioned next week actually. In exactly the capacity you describe. Insane that the British didn't known it down.
@@Southsideindy Oh cool Indy, will be looking forward to that. Seems like I jumped the gun a little too early lol. I think even if the British had known this, I doubt this would still change things much though in my opinion. They would still not have bombarded the palace due to fear of offending the native Malay population and morale as well.
Oh by the way, I have shared the link for this week's episode on our r/Singapore reddit as well, so hopefully more of us Singaporeans might get introduced to the channel too :)
This is hands down the best show on TH-cam. Keep up the good work.
Thank you very much Michael
The comments from Churchill to General Hastings Ismay, his chief military advisor on 19 January 1942 summed up what his plan for the defence of Singapore should be:
“(i) Not only must the defence of Singapore Island be maintained by every means, but the whole island must be fought for until every single unit and every single strong point has been separately destroyed.
(ii) Finally, the city of Singapore must be converted into a citadel and defended to the death. No surrender can be contemplated, and the Commander, Staffs and principal officers are expected to perish at their posts.”
Churchill sounds a whole lot like Uncle Joe in that dispatch. Guess he's been taking notes on how the Soviets do things.
Occasionally, Churchill was as prone to giving maniacal orders as Hitler or Stalin.
at Trenton von Rall was ordered to fortify the place, so he scheduled work to begin the week after Christmas ...
@@Raskolnikov70 He's always been like that since before Germany invaded Soviet Union. He ordered The Calais garrison to fight to the death as part of operation Dynamo in 1940. He doesn't need to take notes from Soviet Union.
Churchill did specialise in jingoistic balderdash that got people killed to no purpose.
I'm so happy he says "Corregidor" correctly here; other documentaries forget that the word is a Spanish/Filipino word where the "G" is soft and not hard
I don't think it's them forgetting, but rather using a pronunciation that doesn't confuse the target audience.
The creativity of one or a few soldiers. That was a damn good poem and I doubt that I could ever be that creative while dealing with a life or death situation.
It means so much to me that you guys are so dedicated to this and continuing the legendary legacy of "The Great War"
Another simple but versatile tie. It takes some guts to try this on a pale shirt like this, but lo and behold, it actually works. Well done, Astrid. 3/5
My grandfather was on Singapore Island at this time. He was an RAF mechanic on Blenheim bombers. He was put to work on the defenses. When he got back to Seletar airfield, the Blenheims had left for Java, leaving all of the ground crew behind.
Sad that they left him behind.
Man if the fortress stands alone than why can't I, thats the moral of the story.
Well... the fortress fell rather quick so I would not use Singapore as a life guide
Yeah, this is something that for many is hard to understand:
That two of the nations most remembered for having massive amounts of resources and industrial capacity, the US and USSR, would struggle at any point to supply their forces appropriately.
What many fail to realize that it takes a great deal of effort to convert those resources and industrial capacity into war making equipment that's actually on the front.
Indy, y'all at Time Ghost History do an excellent job describing this phenomenon.
They need to do more logistics posts. I really want one on Chinese logistics as people don't understand how bad it was there.
Also, one on British imperial logistics and how they coordinated across the colonies would be great.
@@porksterbob Agreed. A series on the logistics of WWII would be great (indeed, Imperial logistics could be a series unto itself).
However, as things stand, they still do a far better job than most.
Thanks for the kind words guys we appreciate it!
Yep a lot of people have been asking for more logistics specials and we enjoy making them anyway. When the team next sits down to plan content we'll definitely see what we can do in this regard.
@@WorldWarTwo The logistics in Burma would be a fun one and also super relevant... But I don't think the production cycle would allow it to be done in time.
@@WorldWarTwo That's sure to be awesome!
But I also wanted to reiterate that in terms of a general overview of WWII that is the main weekly series run by Indy, y'all are already do a great job and doing any more than that would've likely led to losing out on the other details... unless you wanted to do hour long episodes every week... which I wouldn't say no to... but I shouldn't say yes (for y'all's sanity)...
Keep up the great work as always... or else Comrade Stalin send you to gulag! ;)
Best part of every Saturday are these wee- by-week vids. Thanks Time Ghost.
Thank you
At 5:38 Indy notes the destroyers, but shows a Cruiser of Battleship firing. I love this show, but editors make sure the image fits the narrative...
Wow I love your content, can't wait for the next episode!
Thanks
A long ago great-aunt of mine was a Caldoche, a Nouvelle Caledonian of French ancestry. My Grandfather was not the only man in his family who enlisted before the Pearl Harbor attack.
Following this series for the last few days. The clips are great.
Thank you
An interesting strategic question is whether the allies could have done better in their defence.
While loss of Hong Kong was surely inevitable, the loss of Singapore was not.
That the Japanese could not take Hawaii Fiji or Samoa was more a matter of logistics than competent defense. The distances are enormous.
That just leaves Phillipines and Indonesia. All I can imagine is massive pre-positiioning of supplies in Phillipines would have been wiser.
The problem is British defences both in Malaya and Singapore island were neglected too long. Even while Japanese were advancing down Malay peninsula during December and January there was plenty of time to organise and construct /build up defences on northern shores of Singapore. However both Singapore governor Thomas Shelton and Malayan Army commander General Arthur Percival did not do anything about it for "morale reasons"
Part of the issue was that British troops morale was terrible. Many of the units were of colonial troops and they were not very impressed by the behavior of the native British in the crisis leading up to the defense.
The Japanese could not have taken Hawaii without a decisive blow against the US Pacific Fleet. The Hawaiian Islands were well garrisoned and fortified, much closer to the US mainland than the Philippines and thus easier for the US to defend and more difficult for Japan to attack, and the strategic importance of Hawaii combined with the fact that it was actually part of the United States would have meant the US would have mounted a colossal effort to retain it, unlike the Philippines, which by this point had been written off as a loss. Japan could also strike the Philippines with land based bombers, while Hawaii was out of range of anything that wasn't on an aircraft carrier.
@Ann Onymous That would have been impossible given the political climate and lack of resources in the United States before Pearl Harbor. The United States Army was decimated by budget cuts before 1940 so they had nothing to send to the Philippines. The War Department made the brutal and unofficial decision that the Philippines were indefensible. Roosevelt's executive order on July 31, 1941 to defend the Philippines was too little and too late to provide the equipment and men to defend the Commonwealth. Congress voted down the funding in committees forcing Roosevelt to scrap up emergency funding from other departments which he was only able to do September to October 1941. On December 7, 1941, the majority of the US Army was still doing field maneuvers with broomsticks for rifles, fence posts for machine guns and mortars, sawed off telephone poles for artillery, and Model-T Fords with the word tank painted on side to preserve scarce World War 1 equipment from being damaged. The vast majority of military equipment in the US was being shipped out through lend-lease. The overwhelming majority of the men and equipment scrapped up by the US Army for the Philippines were still sitting in the barracks of the Presidio of San Francisco, warehouses in San Francisco, and parking lots in San Francisco when Pearl Harbor happened.
Congress was adamantly opposed to spending a single penny on the defense of the Philippines and on the financing of equipment and resources for the Philippine Army. There were actively aided in their opposition by the US State Department and Philippine High Commissioner Francis Sayre. To give an example, the Philippine Division was supposed to have a paper strength of 19,997 officers and enlisted men, the reality was that the Philippine Division only had 9,716 officers and enlisted men on November 30, 1941. The only reason this number was so high was because former Philippine Department Commander Major General Grunnert had recalled every US Army reservist and retiree under the age of 55 back into active duty.
“Bata-an”. He pronounced it right!
Most non-Tagalog speakers say “Bataaaaan” (kinda rhymes with man).
I think the correct pronunciation was pointed out to him.
Sure, but when quoting a rhyme that only works when said wrong, it sounds funny
To me the problem is that the Americans reciting the "Battling Bastards of Bataan" doggerel wouldn't pronounce Bataan that way It's a bit misleading.
Over 70 planes vs 22 and it was a crushing defeat, crazy.
Japan has really good planes with the best pilots on earth in 1942. They couldn't replace these when they were lost, but they have them now.
The quality and technology of planes is important.
Just wanted to say thank you for the content. It has been helping me get through the pandemic and reignited my love for history. I play this and other historical content in the background as I work.
Thank you Matthew. We really appreciate your comment.
In 1st February 1942, Leclerc, commanding the Free French forces in Tchad, sums up his plan to attack the Fezzan region (south-west of Libya) as follows : "Strong enough to stun the enemy and obtain useful intel, weak enough to allow a quick reconstitution of the fuel stock in case the initial operation (the conquest of Fezzan and the jonction with the British at Tripoli) will resume." He will pass the next 2 weeks preparing this new mission.
It will not really matter. The Fezzan is mostly desert. The Libya that mattered in military operations was the coastal area. Even Rommel's drive for Mechili was taking a risk by going some way from the coast.
@@stevekaczynski3793 It does matter because to link with the British in the north and enter Tunisia, the French forces in Tchad have to go through the Fezzan. So in order to do that they need to defeat and capture the several Italian garrisons in the area.
What you or anyone may think of its usefulness is no concern because what's matter is it happened anyway so those events merit we talk about them, especially in this channel.
@@oOkenzoOo Well, in theory both sides could outflank each other by going through the desert, in practice it was liable to turn into a death march. One part of the Libyan desert actually recorded the hottest temperatures known on earth back in 1962, according to one issue of the Guinness Book of World Records. Not a great place to fight.
0:18 That reminded me of the poems Indy read in the Great War
Hi Indy and team
Another awesome week..
I will never miss your video on saturday night..
Awaiting for next week episode..
Thanks..🙏👍
-52° ... I Can Only Imagine.
It's not so bad. Here in Minnesota we just break out our heavier scarves before going ice fishing.
Napoleon: the bad weather and cold in Russia
Hitler: the unexpected Russian winter
Soviets: YESSSSSS!!!
It’s so cold that if you have throw boiling water into the air, it will immediately turn to snow
It is a temperature my mom allways asked me to put hat and cloves on when going to play football with my friends when I was a kid
It must have been a frozen hell for both sides fighting in that weather, even if the Red Army was better clothed for it.
Mussolini: "Stop advancing"
Rommel: "haha panzer go brrrr"
Yeah, Nazis trying to conquer the world and murder millions of people is really funny....oh...wait....
If they really have the Enterprise, why don't they put Kirk in charge? He'd outfox the Japanese in a heartbeat.
Grow up
@@paulgenovy5977 What does that even mean? Being a dead serious person with no sense of humor?
@@paulgenovy5977 Oh fuck off
They'd rather cut their losses and counterattack later.
@@KaiserFranzJosefI Franz?! What are you doing here? Is Conrad here with you?
Glad you covered the fight for the Philippines Indy. My late great uncle was a Marine who fought at Corregidor and as a result of what happened to him there, left him very imbittered and I suspect traumatized by what he saw and did there.
Thank you for sharing that with us!
This week of the war is extremely interesting and I didn't have idea that so much has happened! Thank you for making some of the best historical content on the Internet (The Best World War II wise)!
I was really surprised to learn that the Soviets conducted airborne operations since their failure early on, even though it's only battalion sice
When you guys release a video it makes my day better !
Thank you for your kind words
Always a good job Indy and team
Thanks a lot Robert!
As a TH-camr, I love hearing those points in the video like the one at 1:42. I am happy it is not only me :D
Kudos! I learned about the USSR paratroops, I always thought they did little parachuting, but i was wrong.
There seems to have been more use of the Soviet parachute arm than I expected.
"He also blames the German failures in the USSR on the weather" - nooo, really, the weather was bad in the Russian winter? Who could have seen that one coming? This is like headbutting a brick wall and then blaming the resulting headache not on your decision to headbutt it but the bricks.
and no one ever asks the bricks or the soviets how it was for them
As one German general said that it gets cold in the winter in the USSR is elementary knowledge.
@@kleinweichkleinweich I'll do you one better. Why are the Soviets?
Although, to be fair, the rainy season came early and was one of the worst on record. This was abruptly followed by what was at the time *the* worst winter on record, in terms of snowfall and absolute cold.
That said, I mean come on now. It’s Russia.. in winter
It isn’t Germany’s fault that those “bricks” were harder than average bricks lol
Your knowledge, so fluently and passionately conveyed is, to say the least, admirable..
Thank you very much Tom, we try our best.
With Japan's entry into the war, the Axis seem to have a second wind appearing now - Soviet attacks are failing, Allies fortresses are weakening... there are a few more islands between Borneo and Australia, but how much of a shield can they be?
Still, to be slightly more optimistic, there are a lot of people in India, and if push comes to shove you can just take a page from the Soviet book.
Also, why am I getting the feeling that the Coral Sea is going to be the last pace Lexington ever goes? It's a weird feeling I really can't describe...
We'll just have to hope the tide turns in favor of the Allies.
@@Zen-sx5io It’s not looking good. Best learn German, Italian, and Japanese just to be safe
@@dr.lyleevans6915 I'm already am 2-4% proficient in Japanese, I have family in Germany and have Italian ancestry, maybe I can be hired as an Axis spy?
The Indian Army prevented the Japanese from going west beyond Burma and Assam
The Rommel / Rómmel call at the beginning was briliant!😁
I always enjoy your videos. Great work👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻.
What about a video on the food that the American soldiers are in WW2?
0:49 Washington gives a damn. Unfortunately Bataan doesn't need damns, it needs reinforcements. And so it is damned. Damn.
Just in time for my birthday, thanks for the present, Indy!
Happy birthday!
Fantastic work as per usual
Thank you!
Dugout Doug readies his special PT boat...
The Battle of Singapore was such a disaster, that Churchill was in white-faced shock over it.
He shouldn't have been. What other outcome did he expect from telling a surrounded and isolated garrison to stand fast against the Japanese?
@@Raskolnikov70 the British had more than enough troops and equipment to stop Japan had they been willing to treat the Japanese as a real threat.
The problem was that the british spread their troops out, negating their numerical advantage, and they tried to hold up the Japanese in equal engagements.
The Japanese armies in Malaya were five year combat veterans who had extensive experience in operating in a low infrastructure environment.
The Chinese had been telling anyone who would listen how to fight the Japanese when the troops you have are less experienced, less equipped, less trained, and less motivated, but the British hadn't listened.
@@porksterbob they also underestimated Japanese air power. Once they secured air supremacy on the peninsula, they controlled the seas too (bye bye Repulse and Prince of Wales).
The loss of water supplies made the siege untenable. The defenders had the numbers but were demoralized by that point and Percival wasn't the most inspirational leader at that moment.
as a singaporean we are still holding this entire tiny state as a fortress just look at our border too malaysia
\
As a Malaysian, I get annoyed whenever the politicians rattle sabers bout Singapore cause I really don't get the point at all.
@@LAIHOCKCHUNi have no idea also were just nuetral like swiss and sweden
@@atouhoufan607 Yeah I get what you mean.
Hope the guns point in the right direction these days :)
@@LAIHOCKCHUN it's all to score political points. Both countries knew that there is no strategic benefits if Singapore n Malaysia went to war with each other. None whatsoever. Whoever won will be cast as an international pariah and will suffer the same fate as Saddam Iraq.
So no worries of isolated war between Singapore n Malaysia.
That said, if it's part of a world war, then it's different.
Great piece always looks forward to it on Saturdays. It’s great for me because it comes right before bedtime. So it’s been the best bedtime story for me ever. 😆
We're glad you like it!
-52C ... that's ... wow... in that cold it's dangerous to touch anything.
Touching the metal parts of a rifle without gloves on will cause the skin of the fingers and hand to peel off in such temperatures.
Thanks for doing the small things well: pronunciation of Corregidor and other places and names. Yes maybe there's a missed or not quite there instances but your team tries to get it right down to the details. Much thanks for honoring other people and places and above all.. history.
Thanks a lot mice, usually we get comments complaining about pronunciation, so this was really uplifting to read.
Rommel the mad lad attacking against all odds
Greatest TH-cam channel on earth,
Thank you!
It's good that you focus on the conflicting aims between the Allies early on in the Pacific. It is interesting that Nimitz believed that he was entitled to go on the offensive instead of purely defensive actions under the Top Secret Germany First strategy. Perhaps news of it it hadn't filtered down to him yet.
Now we know where the origins of the Brisbane Lines were, with Admiral King.
Nice video as always.
Blaming the weather would've been comical, if not for the grim circumstances.
Thankyou, great presentation (as usual). It seems to me the lessons of Singapore and Bataan are that it doesn't pay to have your forces overun and captured. Always leave the way open for a fighting retreat and if that is not possible pullout early.
i’m australian. whenever i hear people not from australia say brisbane they say brisbain and i’m very glad you said it correctly Indy 😃
This guy really knows how to tell the story. Keep them coming Indie!
Thanks!
oh boy I can´t wait for spartacus to talk about the death march (and the subsequent civil war in the comments)
You should probably rephrase or someone’s going to read this the wrong way.
Spartacucs comes off as too left wing tho imo
@@simeoncolby1972 did so
@@B727X When you're talking about authoritarian governments committing atrocities it's kind of hard not to.
January 30, 1942.
Private Luigi Alfonsi of the 17th Infantry Division "Pavia" slowly begins the advance with the rest of his unit this week from their positions at El Agheila, far behind the spearheads of Rommel’s German panzers. He is completely shocked that Rommel has started the attack so early (it was not even a month ago that they were retreating for dear life from the British), but he would be lying if he said he wasn’t pleased to see progress. He hopes for safe progress on the renewed and very long march east.
Jeez, I waited through the whole episode for Indy to follow up on his intro about the Polish relative of Rommel
Look up Rómmel
@@WorldWarTwo I do know about Juliusz Rómmel, just thought you would mention him for some reason in the main part of the episode :)
My aunt Helen of Sydney married a USA sailor and became a war bride. They lived in Long Beach, CA and had 4 children.
My Father was in Singapore
Another great vid.
Thank you Nick, always glad to have you with us
keep going the good work, glhf !
The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders marched across the causeway with the Piper playing.
How did Isenhower wrote in the diary "The greatest contribution someone could make to win a war in Atlantic and Europe is to shoot admiral King"?
According to the New York Times, the actual quote was, “One thing that might help win this war is to get someone to shoot King. "
Well I did write from memory... but yeah the guy was quite obstinante (he disliked brittish quite a lot)
US in Jan, 1942 - One of my carriers has been damaged. That's 1/4 of my carrier strength!
US a few years later - I can't decide where to send my 100 aircraft carriers.
Thank you for using both Celsius and Fahrenheit!
Us Americans have no idea...
Speak for yourself. Most people I know can understand both just fine.
@@ScottyShaw ...agree
If only the Soviets had concentrated on one point instead of many attacks - they might have brought the Wehrmacht to a major defeat as they were to do the following year.
Here's something that might be interesting to fill a few extra seconds in a future episode: On 27th of February, the same day as the battle of Java Sea (which I'm pretty sure you will definitely put in that weeks episode), the first US Aircraft carrier is sunk. USS Langley, while converted to an aircraft tender, I still count it as an aircraft carrier, was the first ever US aircraft carrier to be made and also the first US Aircraft carrier to be sunk during the war. On 27th of February it is damaged by air attack and later scuttled.
Congratulations on your correct pronunciation of Bataan, a rare achievement for an American!
Thanks!
Here's an idea that other viewers like myself might enjoy: get your hands on Goebbels diaries (hard to find a physical copy) and read corresponding dates while watching World War Two in real time. Very interesting.
Thanks for the suggestion! We have actually used his diary for quotes before.
@@WorldWarTwo Nearly two months late but will you guys cover Goebbels thoughts on the German food crisis in any future episodes. He had a surprisingly good grasp on what the situation was in his diary
As always a very well done episode! :)
I have one question to ask. Whenever you show the eastern front it feels kind of weird to see how few German units are at some parts of the frontline. For example when you described that the Soviets are stopped on their way towards Velikie Luki, there is only the 218th up in the north of the Soviets. So I'm wondering how this is possible. Are the German units stretched that far or are their units just bigger (so the 218th has as many men as the four Soviet units opposing them?).
If the answer is the first case how come that the Germans are even able to stop the Soviets at all?
AFAIK Soviet formations in WWII from around Division level on upwards were about one level lower than their Western (German and Allied) counterparts. Whereas a Western division might have had around 10,000-12,000 men all up the equivalent Soviet formation would only have around one third of that, maybe 4-5,000 men at full strength. Compounding the issue was the fact that many Soviet formations were grossly understrength thanks to the Stalin-induced reflex of never admitting weakness or failure - "Are you okay comrade ?" "Sure, sure, we have more than enough to do the job Mister NKVD Man !".
Finally, until much later in the war Soviet formations tended to be either tank heavy or tank absent - an infantry "division" might have the same manpower as a German regiment but with only a fraction of its supporting artillery, logistics and armor support. Their tank divisions on the other hand would have almost no supporting infantry which is why they suffered so badly against the Finns. Eventually the Soviets learned all about combined arms, when this change on organization and tactics was joined by much more manpower, material (thanks Lend Lease !) and home grown production by the end of the war the Soviet armored were as good or better armed and organized than their German counterparts.
AFAIK it wasn't until well in to the Cold War that the Soviet Union standardized its formation names and sizes in line with Western models.
@@rags417 Chinese formations have the same issue relative to Japanese ones. Namely, a Chinese division is 3-4 times smaller than a Japanese one.
At this time there is really no continuous front line. The Germans are holding key points such as choke points, road junctions, farmhouses, etc. With temperatures as low as -30 to -50, most of the action will be taking place around strongpoints and shelters. You aren't going to be doing much outside for very long. Also, all the weapons will have issues with freezing, so rifles and machine guns won't fire, tanks take time to warm up to move, etc. I've spent an hour or so in a cold room set at -20, and have lived in areas where the temperature drops to -40, and I can tell you most of the time you are thinking about getting warm, not working or (in Russian in 1942) fighting.
@@nicholasconder4703 Also with some exceptions like Volkhov, there was no fixed trench line on the Eastern Front. Large parts of the front were rather thinly held, on both sides.
@@d.watamate8231 A division CAN cover a wide area but you wouldn't want to. Even if you had a Western division of say 13,000 men the fact is that only around a half would be front line combat units, the rest would be transport, logistics, artillery and support elements. Now imagine 6,000 people - a well filled small football stadium - strung out over a 10 km frontage. That's 600 people per kilometre or 60 troops for every football field or city block. Not a lot of opportunity to create a back up or an emergency reserve for dealing with breakthroughs !
It's interesting to hear about the use of Soviet paratroopers. Allied and German paratroopers usually get all the spotlight.