Chapter 124, Pursuit Battle in the South Indian Ocean (Part 1)
May 1, 1947, Government House, Singapore
Under the scorching equatorial sun that is always hot all year round, accompanied by the melody of "God Save the Queen" played by the band, the haggard-looking Governor of the Straits Settlements, Lord Mountbatten, personally lowered the flagpole in front of the Government House building. Union Jack flag.
When he folded the flag, the British admirals and colonial officials who were watching covered their faces with their hands and sobbed secretly.
——It has only been a year and a half since the British Empire returned to Singapore, and they have to say goodbye to this city again.
And the time limit for separation this time is probably forever...
I took one last, slightly nostalgic look at the magnificent Victorian-style buildings of the Government House in Singapore, as well as the wide streets lined with palm trees and flower beds outside the gate of the Government House, and the British Royal Navy Eastern Fleet in full military uniforms. The commander, Admiral Bruce Austin Fraser, sighed helplessly, turned around and got into the jeep assigned to him, and ordered the driver to drive straight to Zhangyi Naval Base.
At this moment, the urban area of Singapore has fallen into a state of noise and restlessness. Most of the shops, large and small, are closed, but the streets and alleys are overcrowded. There are refugees carrying large and small bags everywhere, as well as thieves trying to make a fortune out of the chaos. and robbers, triggering various fights and changing the market It became increasingly chaotic... Even on the streets of the city, you could hear the rumble of artillery fire in the distance from time to time, further exacerbating the atmosphere of panic in the city - that was under the command of Army General Ord Wingate. The field artillery unit was engaged in an artillery battle with the CPM guerrillas who had landed on Singapore Island.
All these scenes are so similar to the last time Singapore was captured by the Japanese army.
Moreover, to this day, Singapore, the cornerstone of the British Empire on the Eastern Sea, is indeed destined to be lost.
——In fact, even the British Empire itself has become a historical term that no longer exists...
Starting four months ago, after receiving all-round and strong support from the red camp, the MCP guerrillas with overseas Chinese and Chinese as the core broke out of the deep mountains and forests in the interior of the Malay Peninsula in just two weeks. In a short time, they easily swept away the thousands of British troops (mostly Indians) scattered on the Malay Peninsula, and planted the red flag on the north shore of the Strait of Johor, across the sea from Singapore Island.
In the following months, the British army and the MCP guerrillas engaged in fierce fighting along the Strait of Johor. Relying on the artillery bombardment of the Royal Navy ships, as well as the "friendly help" of the U.S. troops retreating from the Philippines and the Chinese government troops withdrawing from Taiwan, Governor Mountbatten barely stabilized the situation for a time and launched several beautiful counterattacks. The enemy was driven fifty kilometers away from the north shore of the strait. However, as the Philippine U.S. troops departed again and ammunition and supplies were rapidly consumed, the combat effectiveness of the Singaporean garrison weakened again.
On the other side, when the frontal battlefield fighting was in full swing, the situation in Singapore was also unstable, with various arson, looting, and assassination incidents emerging one after another - due to the millions of refugees, or in the eyes of the socialist camp, "reactionary" Since last year, "bad elements of the exploiting class" have been pouring into Singapore as a transit point from the Philippines, China, southern Vietnam, Indonesia and Thailand, which has greatly increased the pressure on public security in the city. Every day, you can see dressed-down, drunken deserters from various countries wandering the streets, ransacking homes, looting shops and warehouses, and even engaging in fierce exchanges of fire with the British military police who came to suppress them. Several shooting incidents occur every hour in urban Singapore.
The red camp's special agents also took the opportunity to sneak into the city in large numbers, fanning the flames everywhere, trying to make some big noise on the enemy's rear lines. The more than 10,000 Japanese prisoners of war who originally surrendered to General Juichi Terauchi, the commander of the Nanyang Army of the old Japanese Empire, also regretted it. They connected with each other in the prisoner-of-war camp and tried to cooperate with the MCP guerrillas outside the city. Unfortunately, But the news accidentally leaked... After the furious Governor Mountbatten heard the news, he simply issued a massacre order and took these Japanese prisoners of war who were in the wrong team to Zhangyi Naval Base to be shot collectively, and their bodies were thrown into the sea to feed the sharks. .
Next, under the strict orders of Governor Mountbatten, Singapore's police and military police were hunting down spies and rebels every day. Then, while taking advantage of the opportunity to legally confiscate homes and make a fortune, they randomly grabbed some citizens and hung them on the streets. paraded on the gallows... However, the city of Singapore The situation in Singapore is still very bad. The millions of war refugees from various countries who are constantly pouring in and leaving have snapped up all the food and daily necessities in the city. The US troops who use this place to transit the retreat are also plundering supplies in Singapore, making the lives of local citizens increasingly difficult. Riots over rice grabbing broke out frequently.
In late March, a coup broke out in Thailand, announcing the expulsion of the king, a peaceful withdrawal from the war, and the launch of armistice peace talks with the socialist camp. Next, a Japanese naval aviation force was invited to station in Johor and launched a bombing raid on urban Singapore. Although the scale of the bombing was small, with the total amount of bombs dropped being less than 300 tons from beginning to end, it further aggravated the atmosphere of panic in the city and accelerated the collapse of market order. Not only the foreign refugees who have temporarily settled in Singapore, but also the local citizens of Singapore have also joined the queue to grab tickets to escape by boat, forming a long queue at the pier.
In mid-April, the US military in the Philippines left with General MacArthur, the king of Thailand left with a group of monks, and Chairman Chiang Kai-shek from Taiwan also left Singapore with a group of his followers, leaving only the British. On the island of Singapore, they stood the last duty for their queen.
Seven days ago, the last moment finally came. A guerrilla force of about 6,000 people from the Malayan Communist Party and a Soviet special force of about 300 people took advantage of the cover of darkness to row a rubber boat across the Johor Strait - just like that year. Like the Japanese troops commanded by General Yamashita Tobumi, they did not choose to attack the strongly fortified open coastal positions on the east side of Singapore Island. Instead, they chose to go ashore in the swamps covered with tropical plants on the west side of the island.
Although this attack route is a little more difficult and dangerous, and you have to cross swamps and woods, and walk a long way to invade the city of Singapore, it is also very difficult for the British army to set up defenses, even if they have learned from the previous Japanese attack. They couldn't muster so many troops to fill every beachhead.
——At this time, in the hands of General Ord Wingate, who was in charge of the ground defense of Singapore Island, there were six divisions of troops on paper, but the actual total strength was only 13,000. People, each division is only as big as a regiment of the US Army. The area of Singapore Island is ten times that of Manhattan Island in New York. It is twenty-six miles from east to west and fourteen miles from south to north. Most residents live in Singapore City in the southeast of the island. Except for the city of Singapore and a few other villages and towns, most of the remaining areas on the island are rubber plantations and jungles. The coastline of the entire island is more than 70 miles long. With the small amount of troops in the hands of Army General Ode Wingate, it is impossible to guard every beach on the entire Singapore Island. In 1942, General Percival commanded 85,000 troops to guard Singapore, but he was still unable to stop the attack of 30,000 Japanese troops on the beach. Five years later, on the same battlefield, facing the same situation, General Wingate, with a mere 13,000 troops, was even more unable to hold off the enemy on the beachhead.
Therefore, on the beach where the MCP guerrillas landed, the British army only deployed a total of more than a hundred Indians with low morale...
As a result, the leading elite troops crossing the sea easily established a foothold on the desolate west coast of Singapore Island, and then launched a short-distance assault, successfully defeating more than a thousand British troops who counterattacked in chaos. Next, it only took them forty-eight hours to sweep half of the western half of Singapore Island - amidst the thunderous bugles and shouts, groups of CPM guerrilla warriors charging with bayonets were overwhelming, and they hurriedly responded to the battle. The British colonial troops were on the verge of Broken, each abandoned all their burdens, threw away their rifles and bullets, waded across the river, passed through the swamps full of tropical plants, passed through the bushes, came to the road, and ran away in a messy trot... They even stepped on the minefields laid by the British army themselves!
Advancing to Bukit Chima (meaning "Xishan"), the strategic commanding heights of the island, this wave of offensive was blocked by the British army - General Wingate repaired strong artillery forts and trenches here, and This serves as a fulcrum to support a core defense line surrounding the urban area of Singapore.
In the next few days, the two sides fought fiercely in the middle of Singapore Island. The CPM guerrillas were frustrated several times in attacking Bukit Timah. They tried to bypass the fortifications and broke through in a roundabout way. They once approached the racecourse on the edge of the city of Singapore, but were eventually driven back.
At first glance, based on the current situation, it seems that the Battle of Singapore can continue to be fought. After all, the combat effectiveness of the MCP guerrillas cannot be compared with the combat effectiveness of the elite divisions of the Japanese Nanyang Army. Moreover, as long as the Royal Navy's Eastern Fleet at Changyi Naval Port takes the initiative to block the Strait of Johor, it can easily cut off the logistical supply lines of the enemy troops landing on the island, and quickly put them into a dilemma of running out of ammunition and food.
However, everyone from Governor Mountbatten to Admiral Fraser to General Wingate, who is commanding the defense of Singapore, actually knows that Singapore is destined to be unable to defend itself and must retreat as soon as possible, otherwise if If we delay any longer, I'm afraid we won't even be able to evacuate!
——Because, the main force of the Japanese Navy's combined fleet is coming soon!
And Admiral Fraser, who only has one battlecruiser and two destroyers left in his hands, and not even a modified aircraft carrier, may not even be able to have a face-to-face encounter with the Japanese Navy's combined fleet. It was blown up and sunk far away by the enemy's naval aviation unit!
Therefore, after receiving accurate information that the main force of the Japanese Navy's Combined Fleet appeared in the Gulf of Thailand, the British troops in Singapore no longer had the courage to fight and immediately began to prepare to pack up and retreat - although from Guyana, where the British government-in-exile is based, Prime Minister Churchill sent a passionate order over the radio, declaring: "...the battle for Singapore must be fought to the bitter end. Each and every one of you must fight to defend the island until every unit and every stronghold is destroyed. The honor of the British Empire lies with the soldiers. One move! Finally, the city of Singapore must become the strongest fortress. Surrender and retreat are not allowed to be considered at all."
However, on the war-torn island of Singapore, no one is willing to listen to the stupid words of this fat man who is hiding tens of thousands of kilometers away.
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Due to frequent riots, constant gunshots, and occasional explosions on the streets of Singapore, and during which it encountered a bombing and strafing attack from an enemy plane, General Fraser's jeep had to stop and go. It took more than three hours to arrive at Zhangyi Naval Base and board the flagship Renown.
Compared with the chaotic situation outside, Zhangyi Naval Base has finally maintained the most basic order. All the sailors and port staff were racing against time, nervously carrying out supply operations before the voyage. On the pier, a huge crane swung back and forth, filling huge net bags with ammunition and food, and hoisted them onto the battlecruiser Renown again and again. on the deck, and then with the efforts of the sailors, they slowly sent heavy artillery shells one after another into the ammunition magazine under the heavy armor, and various vegetables, fruits and canned flour were pushed into the kitchen on small cars. The heavy oil stored in the underground oil depot is also continuously injected into the ship through the thick oil pipes through the pressure pump on the dock... All of this indicates that the warship is about to anchor and sail away.
Although it is not an exciting expedition, but just a disgraceful escape...but you still have to be fully prepared to deal with it.
"...Report to the general that the boiler has started to fire up and preheat. It will take about half an hour to complete the supply work."
Seeing the commander boarding the ship, the captain of the battlecruiser Renown hurried forward to report the preparations, "...it is expected to set sail in one hour."
"...Yeah." Admiral Fraser nodded, "...What about the other ships? Have everyone at the base packed their luggage and boarded the ship?"
"...In addition to the personnel on duty, the rest of the marines and logistics maintenance personnel in the base have already boarded the Queen Mary cruise ship. The destroyer Vixen is also ready, but the side of another destroyer Jutland The water seepage problem has never been solved well - when it entered the port after the patrol yesterday, it brushed against a passenger ship and almost sank if it had not been rescued in time..."
A naval staff officer next reported, "...Captain Scott requested that he be given twenty-four hours for repairs, otherwise he would not be able to go to sea..."
"...The fleet cannot wait that long anymore. Let them open the sea valve on the bottom of the ship and sink themselves! The key now is time!"
Admiral Fraser interrupted the staff officer with a wave of his hand, "... after the crew of the destroyer Jutland abandoned the ship, they all moved to the Queen Mary cruise ship. Don't say stupid things about no seats. As long as some extra luggage is thrown away, it will definitely be able to fit in. Nowadays, old sailors are more valuable than warships... Also, how are you preparing to destroy the remaining materials?"
"...Time bombs have been deployed in ammunition depots and material warehouses, and aviation fuel and heavy oil are being discharged into the sea at the oil depot..."
……
On the evening of May 1, 1947, the Eastern Fleet of the British Royal Navy blew its whistle for the last time and sailed away from the war-torn Singapore Port.
——Although it is known as the Eastern Fleet of the British Royal Navy, the only true combat ships in the entire fleet are the flagship battle cruiser Reputation and the last remaining destroyer HMS Vixen. The rest are There are a hodgepodge of supply ships, hospital ships, cruise ships, merchant ships, maintenance ships, minelayers, and even tugboats... Despite this, the scene of so many ships going to sea together is still as spectacular as a steel forest. The ship's sides and decks showed orange-red reflections under the sunset, showing a bit of solemnity and a hint of desolation...
Not long after this hodgepodge of escape fleets sailed out of the port, there were deafening violent explosions on the pier behind them - the flames of burning aviation fuel competed with the twilight, and the mushrooms of the ammunition depot exploded. Shape-shaped smoke pillars shot straight into the sky, and occasionally steel parts could be seen being blown up more than a hundred meters high, and then thrown far into the sea, splashing water columns and waves. Looking at the fire and smoke behind them, some passengers could not help but lie down by the portholes, beating their chests and bursting into tears. But as the commander of this fleet, Admiral Fraser still has a sinking face... because he knows very well that the journey of a narrow escape has just begun!
——According to the last report before the water reconnaissance plane was shot down, the main force of the Japanese Navy's combined fleet was more than a hundred nautical miles behind him!