Singapore Burning (Colin Smith)

Many books on the Malayan Campaign tend to use 'Singapore' in part of the title rather than 'Malayan' (compare the number of books listed under the search string 'fall of Singapore' to that under 'Malayan campaign' in Goodreads). The fact is the fighting in the Malayan Peninsula lasted 55 days and that in Singapore no more than a week. But it could be that Singapore was given the rather undeserving title of a fortress that made its fall all the more dramatic. Still, reading books on this campaign, one gets the distinct feeling that the word 'Singapore' is something of a misnomer. It is no different in this book of 560 pages, of which perhaps only the last 100 were on the fighting in Singapore itself.

Hair-splitting aside, this book is an invaluable one for anyone who wants to learn about the Malayan Campaign. That it is well-researched cannot be disputed, one only needs to look at the amount of references at the end of the book to know. What is more challenging is to organise this amount of information and facts and to write it in such a way that would keep the reader going. This, the author did admirably. While the beginning of the book is a little slow because it was more a description of the expatriates' life in Singapore, this part of the book is important for it sets the context and contrast that would come later. Once the reader gets through it, the action starts, and it would not stop until the end of the book.

Some events were given more detailed treatment than others and rightly so. The part on the sinking of the Prince of Wales and the Repulse was most heart-wrenching; the description of the aftermath of Parit Sulong made one seethe with hate. The all-too-few successes against the Japanese gave some reprieve and consolation to the fighting Commonwealth soldiers and also to this reader (pg 243); the inaction and lost opportunities left the reader holding his head in despair <I really want to include this one on pg 311: The fate that anticipated for these sitting ducks (Japanese soldiers) is not hard to imagine. Nothing happened.> The footnotes, thrown sparingly about the book played an equally important role, take for example the one on how 'missing' in North Africa often meant taken prisoner but in Malaya really meant 'missing' (pg 403). Not only does it paint the picture of the terrain for the reader, it even reminded me of how we got lost in our own small jungle during national service.

Like other books on this campaign, the author asked the important question - whose fault was it? Had one started reading this book keeping this question in view, he would be brought along the whole campaign changing his mind several times. The author did not state his views explicitly but gave a good summary of the possible factors on page 484. However, whether by accident or by design, these were all just before General Gordon Bennett put the 8th Australian Division into action defending Singapore. The calamity that followed and the description of the almost zombie-like deserters following that gave a hint as to what he thought. But then there was also this oblique reference that could easily escape one's notice: this Indian lady by the name of Lakshmi Swaminadhan was featured in Chapter 2, early in the book, and then the book ended with a mention of the INA. Could that be what the author attributes to the defeat of the British/Australian forces?

All in all, a very informative and entertaining book which I highly recommend. While some may complain about the amount of details, I think the casual reader does not have to remember all the regiments and battalions that were engaged in the theatre. Those who are want to know more will find their interest well-served.

(P.S. Lee Kwan Yew was Singapore's Prime Minister, not President as said on page 550.)

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These are some additional thoughts that I have as a Singaporean reading this book.

The Second World War is 70 years past, but it is not that long ago that only through one's imagination could we go back to see what it was like. For one thing, photography and even videography have preserved much real-life images for us. Then there are the many artifacts that are still around. Most of all, Singapore is but a small place, and the names of places have not changed all that much. Changi Camp is no more than 3 kilometres away from where I stay, Bukit Timah is still very much there, even Muar and Batu Pahat in Malaysia are familiar places where I visited as a child. I just didn't know that these were important landmarks in the campaign and it's aftermath. I think I cannot see these places in the same light again.

General Tomoyuki Yamashita, the commander of the forces in the campaign eventually surrendered to the Americans in the Philippines. That the Japanese army committed great atrocities to the Commonwealth soldiers and the civilians is beyond doubt. What is more tricky is determining to what extent the commanding officers are responsible for these atrocities. I do not intent to discuss this here, but perhaps this book which I intend to read may provide some answers. There is another officer in the Japanese army whom many Chinese consider to be more guilty - Masanobu Tsuji. He even wrote a book on this campaign which might be worth reading. According to a documentary I watched, wherever he went, a massacre would follow; he was never brought to justice in any tribunal.

Finally there is still the issue of who lost Singapore. Scholars will no doubt continue to try and assign blame for years to come. But the Commonwealth soldiers, as individuals, suffered in one way or another, many others died, all have no reason for themselves to be here. Would it be of value even if we eventually were able to pin the blame precisely on any one group of them? I have no such interest, I just wonder what would be more appropriate for me to say to the many who did not manage to go home, when I visit the Kranji Memorial - 'Thank you' or 'Sorry'?

(Find this book at Goodreads)

永遠の0 (山崎貴 Director, 百田尚樹 Author)

This is a review of the movie, not the original novel on which the movie was based.

The Zero Fighter was a very successful fighter used by the Japanese in the Second World War. In this moive a pair of siblings went in search of their maternal grandfather's story after their grandmother passed away. They knew that their grandfather was a pilot in the war and was killed in 1945, they didn't know that he was one of the finest and was eventually killed in a Kamikaze mission.

The movie did not portray the difficult task of tracking down surviving and living comrades, instead it focused on the inconsistent story that was given by the ones whom they were able to interview. Not a few referred to him as a coward, avoiding action if he could, trying all ways to live while they were supposed to be ever-prepared to die for their country and their emperor. Later, as a trainer in flight school, he would fail his students so that they never got a chance to get into action. But then there were those who said that they were alive because of him, who thought he was brave, and even refused to talk to the siblings because they dared to ask if their grandfather was a coward.

In their search for their truth about their grandfather, the audience is treated to reasonably good CGI portraying Zeros in action and recreated Japanese and American carriers, a quick introduction to the battles in the Pacific, and most of all, war as seen from the eyes from the Japanese soldiers. But for a movie that spans more than two generations, the audience is invited to reflect on the difference between the socio-political situation in Japan in these two periods.

First of all, was Kentaro's grandfather a coward as described by some of those who have served with him? For a naval pilot serving the Emperor, death should be 'as light as feather', and yet we have one who tried all ways to live, not because he feared death, but because he knew that his family would need him at the end of the war; after all, the war was lost. Yet it is precisely this determination to live in that climate that led others concede that he was brave later.

The newer generation of Japanese by contrast, appeared to be rather indifferent to the war, their own national education not withstanding. They found discussion about the war either too 'deep' or irrelevant, comparing the Kamikaze pilots to terrorists who flew their planes into the World Trade Center in New York. They prefer to spend their good life and money on chasing girls.

But perhaps the most captivating of the movie was the self-destruction of the protagonist (the grandfather), Myuzo Miyabe, who while determined to live could eventually not bring himself to do it anymore. As an escort for the Kamikaze planes, he witnessed over and again the futility of their mission by the end of the war. The planes were not even able to get close to their targets before they were roundly destroyed. It is one thing for the planes to go to waste, it is quite another for the young lives to be lost so pointlessly. But the paradox is that the more you witness the destruction, therefore learning of the futility of the whole idea, the more you can't live with yourself for being the one to escape death time and again. The pilots you were supposed to protect were not protected, in fact, they didn't stand a chance.

With the current rise of Nationalistic feelings in Japan, many would look at a movie with such a title another attempt at propaganda. I urge audience to suspend judgement until they have watched the movie. It surely hasn't glorified Japan's experience in the war or make themselves out to be the victim of the atomic bombs. It gave fairly equal treatment to Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor and defeat at the Battle of Midway. But most of all, it gave us a chance to know the few who did not buy into death being as light as feather, and how those who have lived viewed that time after 70 years.