Malayan Campaign – Media Backgrounder
To meet a possible threat from Japan, Australian personnel, in the form of three
RAAF squadrons had been based in Malaya and Singapore since 1940. They were
followed in 1941 by an additional RAAF Squadron and the Australian 8th Division
and supporting units. On 8 December 1941 the Japanese invaded the Malayan
peninsula, marking the beginning of the Malayan Campaign.
Battle of Gemas
The Battle of Gemas was the first major Australian battle of the Campaign. Lasting
two days from 14 - 15 January 1942, the battle was one of few successes for the
Allied forces. A company of Lieutenant Colonel Frederick Galleghan’s 2/30th
Battalion, mounted an ambush which cut down hundreds of Japanese soldiers riding
bicycles through a cutting and over a bridge on the Gemencheh Creek.
Their plan was to withdraw after the ambush and let the main battalion group at
Gemas fight the main battle. As the ambush party withdrew, they found themselves
encircled by fast-moving Japanese troops but most managed to get through. The battle
for Gemas raged that night and the next day. By the afternoon of 15 January, having
withstood continuing Japanese attacks, the Australians decided to withdraw before
further Japanese pressure could be brought to bear.
Battle of Muar River
One the major battles of the campaign was the Battle of Muar River, which the British
Commander in Malaya, Lieutenant-General Arthur
Percival, called ‘one of the epics of the Malayan campaign’. During heavy fighting in
the Muar River area, the Australians were cut off when Japanese forces occupied Parit
Sulong to the south. Unable to break through strong Japanese defences, the
Australians, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Charles Anderson of the
2/19th Battalion were compelled to destroy their guns and vehicles and make for
Allied lines. The survivors eventually reached Yong Peng but the wounded had to be
left behind. For his leadership during this battle Anderson was awarded the Victoria
Cross.
Parit Sulong massacre
The wounded at Parit Sulong – some 150 Australian and Indian troops, were
estimated to have been captured by the Japanese – were kicked, beaten with rifle butts
and menaced with bayonets before being crammed into a small shed and then moved
to another. They were given neither medical attention nor water.
At sunset the wounded prisoners were roped or wired together in groups and led
away. A survivor reported that they were then machine-gunned or doused in petrol
and incinerated. Only three men are known to have survived the massacre, including
Lieutenant Ben Hackney, who managed to free himself and crawl away to safety. The
massacre has been called ‘one of the worst atrocities’ of the campaign.
Of those who had escaped from Parit Sulong, only 130 men of the 2/29th Battalion,
271 of the 2/19th Battalion and 98 of the 65th Battery of the 2/15th Field Regiment
reached Yong Peng.
Fast Facts
Australians who served
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More than 20,000 Australians served in the Malayan Campaign and the Battle
for Singapore
Major Units
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8th Division AIF
No 1, 8, 21 and 453 Squadrons RAAF
Casualties
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More than 1800 Australians died during Malayan Campaign and the Battle for
Singapore
More than 1400 Australians were wounded
More than 15,000 Australians became Prisoners of War at the Fall of
Singapore
Specific Medals

Lieutenant Colonel Charles Anderson was awarded the first Victoria Cross to
an Australian during the war in the Pacific for his role in the Battle or Muar
River
Cemeteries
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More than 4400 Commonwealth and Allied soldiers are buried at Kranji War
Cemetery
More than 850 remain unidentified in unmarked graves.
More than 2500 Australian soldiers are buried at Kranji, or remembered on the
Singapore Memorial to the Missing
More information
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Australia’s War 1939 – 1945