The miracle performed by those intrepid engineers was going to have a major impact on the battle Montgomery had planned to fight. He still had all of the British 18th Division concentrated in and around the village of Bulim, just east of the Tengah airfield. There he had set up a line of good defensive positions. Brigadier Blackhouse had 54th Brigade on his right, and Brigadier Massy-Beresford had the 55th Brigade on his left.
Both were dug in, and with good fields of fire across the open ground of Tengah airfield. Behind them Monty had positioned his tactical reserve, the newly arrived 6th New Zealand Brigade under Brigadier Clifton, with four good battalions, including the 28th Maori. The 53rd British Brigade had arrived first, thrown into the battle north of the causeway, and their numbers were reduced by casualties from that action. So he placed those troops astride the road north through Mandai to Kranji and the causeway.
It was to these forces that Bennett came, looking for some way to get a blocking force in position on the main road. There he found Brigadier Duke, and asked him to move a battalion to the village of Mandai as quickly as possible.
“But our orders are to stand here on reserve,” said Duke. “And I have the feeling this new General Montgomery won’t like his dispositions fooled with.”
“Well let me put it to you this way,” said Bennett. “You can either sit here and wait for a column of Japanese tanks to come barreling down that road, or you can get some men up into the village in good positions where they might stop them. That should be clear enough.”
Duke relented, and sent an order to the 2nd Cambridgeshire Battalion, which was still at about 80% of nominal strength. He was only a couple miles south of Mandai, so the men started off, marching up the road, with Bennett right behind them. When they got to the village, they found a company of Indian 2-pounders already there, for Bennett’s other messenger had been a man on his own HQ staff, and completely reliable.
It was at this point that they heard the distinctive rumble of field artillery to the south and west. Bennett looked over his shoulder, wondering what was going on. It sounded like the British 18th division was finally being engaged, and now he began to wonder what would happen if the Japanese got through.
If they overrun the airfield, then they can push right along King’s Road to Bukit Panjang. That’s five miles behind me, and my boys are all up there in the causeway sector. There won’t be any way for them to get south. They’d be cut off, pawns on the front row, and with a knight leaping right into the center of the board behind them.
That had been Monty’s plan. If the island had been a chess board, he was a strong rook, developed after a deft castling move, and that main road was an open file right back to Singapore—checkmate…. That rook had to stand, and by god, this file had to be closed and well guarded. Otherwise this whole bloody plan could come unraveled in a matter of hours.
* * *
The guns that had turned Bennett’s head were indeed the three regiments of field artillery with the 18th Division. They were more like battalions, for there was simply not enough transport available to send their whole allotment of guns. All the rest were out in convoy WS-15, still en route. 155th Regiment had 21 guns, the 88th Regiment had 18, the 118th had 14 guns and there were 13 more in the 148th Regiment. All together, he had 66 guns, mostly 25-pounders, enough to tear up some turf when fired together, and that was what they were doing now.
Montgomery’s screening units in the Recon Battalion, engineers rigging minefields, and another company from Dalforce had been slowly falling back towards the airfield. The enemy was massing in front of them, and Monty decided to try and break them up a bit with his artillery. At this point, he still had no idea what was happening at the causeway. Bennett might have motored over to find him, but he was too set on minding the defense of that open file.
Reports Monty had received were mostly from those screening units to the west, where he learned the Japanese had landed their main force right where he expected them. Thus far, his outlying units had fallen back in good order, for it took the enemy some time to get sorted out, ferry their artillery across the strait, and work their battalions through the mangroves and rubber plantations to approach Tengah airfield. That was where Montgomery thought to fight his decisive battle here, but reports of enemy forces taking the shore battery at Pasil Laba to his southwest made him nervous.
“I can’t very well fight my battle here if the enemy is going to creep down along that coastline,” he said to General Smith of the 18th Division. “I believe this warrants some investigation.”
“How about that Gurkha unit?” Smith suggested. “They’re down at that end of the line. A damn fine looking bunch, that battalion.”
“Indeed,” said Monty. “I had them at Tobruk, and I put them to very good use there. I should like to keep them in hand, but under the circumstances, your suggestion makes sense. See to it, will you?”
So the Gurkhas were off, and Colonel Rana Gandar briefed his Company Subedars and Halvidars that this was to be a search and destroy mission. Many of these men had served overseas in their own day, and in every terrain imaginable. So they had no difficulty managing the heat and mangroves, and soon the lead teams of scouts and snipers were moving forward.
They were going to find the 3rd Battalion, 56th Regiment of Lieutenant General Renya Mutaguchi’s 18th Division. He was a veteran of the Siberian Intervention, and had fought for years in China before his division had been handpicked to join the 25th Army. Earlier that day, it had landed to take out that shore battery, finding it already destroyed by the crews when they got there. In spite, they herded the entire gun crew into the enclosed concrete housing, and then set the bunker on fire, laughing with one another at the screams of the tortured men. Then they were off, intending a wide envelopment to the south of the airfield.
But they were about to have a very bad day.
Chapter 12
3/56 Battalion came out of a thicket of mangroves when the lead Sergeant suddenly stumbled and fell. A private ran up to help him, thinking he had stumbled on a hidden tree root in the undergrowth, but then he, too, keeled over and fell. The third man in the column knew enough to realize they were under attack, and he shouted, turning to look back down the line, when a bullet came whizzing in to cut him down as well.
Gurkha Sniper Rana Sunil was well concealed in his camouflaged gillie suit, peering through the powerful optical sight on his L1115A3 Long Range Rifle. He reached up to his collar, pinching a button there three times. A quarter mile away, his Company Sergeant, Halvidar Druna Rai, got the message on his helmet microphone—contact! He, in turn, passed the message back to Battalion CO, and soon the other two companies were stealthily moving to the south, around the reported point of contact.
The Japanese reaction to the sniper was not to go to ground. They immediately organized a full platoon with fixed bayonets, and then set up two light machineguns, with another squad of riflemen scanning the trees. The platoon was going to make an attack in the presumed direction of the enemy, intending and hoping to draw their fire. They would head directly for Sniper Sunil’s hidden squad, a blocking force, yet with more equivalent firepower than ten machineguns.
The Japanese made a brave charge, until the tree line opened up on them with that withering assault rifle fire. Colonel Yoshio Nasu would soon realized that he must be up against a strong enemy bunker. He blew his whistle, intending to order up a section of demolition engineers, when the low tree sewn ridge to his right erupted with fire. The crump of mortar rounds was heard, and their whistling fall soon began to explode all around his battalion CP.
The Gurkhas were attacking, and before it was over, 3/56 battalion would lose half its squads, driven relentlessly back on the supporting 2/56 Battalion to the north. The Gurkhas had found the enemy’s southernmost flank, and they were slowly rolling it up.
Farther north, the line of screening forces finally gave way, and began to rush to the rear across the Tengah airfield while Monty’s 25-pounders provided that covering
fire. Here the bulk of the Japanese 18th division thought it was about to seize its first objective, the leading battalions hotly pursuing the retreating engineers and scout teams, and some pushing out onto the airfield itself. It was a single wide central strip, with two other strips making an X right in the middle. The administration buildings and hangers were to the east, all occupied by outliers of Montgomery’s main line. Those positions concentrated in and around the village of Bulim, and on a line to the south and north, right astride King’s Road.
Monty’s plan was to receive the enemy attack as it came over that airfield, a perfect killing field as he called it. He had every Vickers the division possessed in small dugouts, backed by his infantry, with the New Zealanders right behind. In effect, he had built a stone wall with the best two brigades of the British Division, and he intended to hold it, break the enemy charge across that airfield, and then send in his 6th New Zealand Brigade for his counterattack.
By the time the Japanese reached the airfield they had already been fighting for nearly 36 consecutive hours. In spite of that, both Brigades of the division sent battalions across, each vying with the other to be the first to storm the enemy position. On they came, the lead companies running right into those Vickers MGs and taking fearful losses. To the north, the first units of Lieutenant General Takuro Matsui’s 5th Division were arriving on the scene, having cleared the entire northwest corner of the island around Sarimbun. They had engineers setting up a small bridge over a deep tributary to the Kranji river, but their main force was concentrated to attack that airfield.
Now Monty would face not one, but two enemy divisions, the real strength of the Japanese forces ashore. Only a portion of each division was forward to make the attack. In fact, Yamashita had retained one full regiment from his 5th Division as a reserve, and it was still in Johore Bahru near the Sultan’s Palace. Yet between both units, there would still be at least 12,000 men to make this assault.
The initial casualties were so sharp that the regimental commanders were wise enough to stop the mad rush, get hold of their men and consolidate. The sun was already low, and the new plan would be to make this attack that night, with darkness providing cover for the movement over that airfield.
Both these units were “Square” divisions. They therefore had a unique structure, being composed of two brigades, which each had two regiments of three battalions. By comparison, they were facing a triangular British division, composed of three brigades containing three battalions each. The New Zealanders would make this force “Square,” standing in for Monty’s fourth Brigade element. That said, he would have only 54th and 55th brigades on the line to receive the attack. The 53rd had already sent one battalion north to Mandai, and then a second, the 5th Battalion, Royal Norfolk, had been sent to defend the Kranji River line and stop the work of those Japanese engineers.
As darkness fell, Montgomery finally learned what had happened up north. The Japanese had managed to get enough Type 95 light tanks over the makeshift causeway brige, that they had stormed the village of Kranji, and were already pushing south down the main road to Mandai. They had cleared the southern end of the causeway, still improving their bridge, and now controlled the area known as Woodlands. In these actions, Taylor’s Brigade had taken the worst of the harm. Maxwell’s was still holding firm to the right, but this was largely because General Nishimura was concentrating his attack down that main road.
Realizing that he now would no longer have the services of 53rd British Brigade to oppose the attack that was surely coming soon, Monty remained stalwart. He would receive the enemy as planned, and counterattack as planned. His intention here was to hurt them so badly that they would not have sufficient strength and ammunition to carry on. To do so, he was prepared to sacrifice the entire British Division, for behind him he still had the Malay Brigade, and fortress troops, though they were not as reliable as his regulars. His strategy was well informed, for Brigadier Kinlan had sent over two staff officers to brief him before he set off to his new post. They had told him where the Japanese would land, in what strength, and what their initial objective would be. Being forewarned, he was also forearmed. This was his battle, and he was determined the night would remain his as well.
* * *
When Yamashita learned what the disgruntled Nishimura had done he was initially very angry, resolving to go and find the man at once and berate him for disobeying his orders. Yet as reports came in, he realized that he now had this strong force to the north, controlling the causeway, Woodlands, and Kranji. Yet this force had been meant to make that crossing only after he had the enemy well engaged, and possibly retreating further south. In effect, his reserve had been prematurely committed by the steamy Nishimura, and this was going to weigh heavily on his mind.
I was wise to hold back the 11th Regiment of my 5th Division, he thought. And Nishimura still has one regiment uncommitted. That may be enough. I must break the enemy in the center, and the Imperial Guards are now in a good position to provide a strong flanking attack. But can Nishimura break through?
“What you have achieved is laudable,” he said to the Guard’s commander, “yet you clearly disobeyed my orders. Do so again, and I will relieve you of command.”
The two men locked eyes, a contest of wills, but Nishimura knew he could not blatantly oppose his commanding officer again, and slowly nodded, saying nothing.
“Now that you have the causeway, get all your remaining tanks across. Form them into one strong group and be ready to attack tonight down the main road. The British do not like to fight after dark. Lead with Kita’s light tanks, and Colonel Komoto should follow with the medium tanks. Your objective is here—Bukit Panjang. Once we have it, fire off a red flare signal. That will mean the main route for the British to withdraw is in our hands. At that moment, I will seek to send the whole of my strength against them, and annihilate them.”
“They will turn and run, just as they have for the last two months,” said Nishimura. “And once we force them to surrender, then I will personally see that they suffer for their cowardice.”
“First things first,” said Yamashita. “Our men are tired. It is difficult to get what little supplies we have left over the strait. Your division is isolated from the others, and our artillery is running low. My plan is to make a strong attack, and if the enemy does not rout as you say, then I will send them an ultimatum, demanding their surrender. The 11th of February is drawing nigh. We have very little time, and very little ammunition. So collect your last three reserve battalions, and get them into position to cross at the causeway and follow your tanks. Because of the favorable position your men have given us, I have decided to commit Colonel Watanabe’s 11th Regiment to support your attack.”
At this, Nishimura stood taller, taking a deep breath, his jaw set. This was the way it should have been all along, he thought. The Imperial Guards will lead, the others follow. He had disobeyed orders to force Yamashita to see this, and his men had fought well. Now, with these last two regiments to support them, their attack must certainly bring him the glory in battle that he so coveted. He would lead the assault, trapping the main enemy force by so doing.
“This is wise,” he said. “We will not fail.”
So just after sunset, Watanabe’s 11th Regiment started marching through the streets of the squalid neighborhoods of Johore Bahru, intending to be in position on the other side of the straits by dawn. They were Yamashita’s last reserve, and Nishimura’s attack must not fail.
Am I a fool to entrust such an important mission to that man, he thought. He will certainly cluck and strut if he wins through, but I cannot consider such things now. I must break the enemy tomorrow to have any chance of forcing their surrender by the 11th. Yet when I send them my ultimatum, it will be a complete bluff. I will not really have the strength and ammunition to prosecute the battle here very much longer. So we win or lose tomorrow. After that, it is all theater.
* * *
When the attack came on the Mandai
road, Taylor’s 2/19th Battalion had only ten of 36 rifle squads left. The shattered companies fell back down the road, stumbling in the near pitch black darkness, and there was a tense moment when the men of the Cambridgeshire Battalion almost gunned them down. They reached the village, reporting a strong column of Japanese tanks and infantry was right behind them.
The Indian 80th AT Regiment had brought up eighteen 2-pounders, and they had worked the light guns into houses and behind low stone walls, and any other covering terrain they could find. The rifle squads of the Cambridgeshire Battalion, and those 18 guns, were now all that stood to guard that vital road. Major General Gordon Bennett was right behind them, the four squads of his HQ section, a few light AA guns and one 75mm howitzer now standing as tactical reserve.
The Japanese tanks rattled up, as it was impossible to achieve surprise on that road, and soon the firefight was joined. The Type 95 light tank had a 37mm main gun, and two 7.2mm machineguns. The medium tanks behind them had a bigger 57mm gun, and they were coming in good numbers in spite of losses sustained in the storming of Kranji against that dogged Australian battalion. The 2-pounder was, by comparison, a 40mm gun, largely obsolete by this time in the war—but so were those Japanese tanks.
“Steady boys,” said Lt. Colonel Gordon Thorne. Hold your fire now until they come up. The closer they get, the more holes we can drill into them.”
In that he was completely correct, a maxim that would hold true for any similar confrontation between AT positions and armor. The QF 2-pounder could penetrate only 17mm of armor at 1500 yards, 27mm at a thousand yards, 37mm at 500 and a very respectable 49mm inside 100 yards. That was where the British opened their fire, what would be considered near point blank range. They easily ‘brewed up’ the lead light tanks, for even the heavier Type 97s behind them had no more than 26mm of turret armor, and 33mm frontal armor. But tanks fire back, and three 2-pounders were also hit in that wild duel, with hot tracer A.P. rounds zipping back and forth, and the hard clink of hits and exploding ordnance breaking the hush of the dark night.
Knight's Move (Kirov Series Book 21) Page 11