The Japanese Occupation of Singapore was to become a major turning point in the history of several nations, including that of the Japanese, who rampaged down the Malay Peninsula with the singular intent of occupying Singapore to gain greater control over her war-time resource gathering efforts, the British, with Winston Churchill calling the Fall of Singapore on 15 February 1942 the "worst disaster" and "largest capitulation" in British history, and to the then colony of Singapore, where the path to eventual independence was greatly accelerated with crumbling public confidence in the ability of their British leaders in protecting them and their ways of life. The Malay Peninsula (Malay: Semenanjung Melayu) is a major peninsula located in Southeast Asia. ... The Right Honourable Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, KG, OM, CH, FRS (November 30, 1874 – January 24, 1965) was a British statesman, best known as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. ... February 15 is the 46th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... This article is about the year. ... Britain may be understood in a number of ways (See Britain). ...

Singapore, renamed Syonan-to (昭南島 Shōnan-tō, "Light of the South Island" in Japanese), was occupied by the Japanese from 1942 to 1945. The Japanese Occupation is generally regarded as the darkest period of Singaporean history. The Japanese had claimed that they were liberating Southeast Asia from colonialism, but in reality they were far harsher rulers than the British ever were. In addition to civilian casualties, numerous atrocities were committed by Japanese troops, particularly by the Kempeitai, the Japanese military's secret police. For instance, the Sook Ching Massacre of ethnic Chinese, including civilians who had donated to charities to aid the war effort in China, claimed between 25,000 and 50,000 lives in Malaya and Singapore. This article is about the year. ... 1945 was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... World map of colonialism circa 1945. ... Kempeitai (憲兵隊, Law Soldier Regiment) was the military police of the Imperial Japanese Army. ... A secret police (sometimes political police) force is a police organization that operates in secret to enforce state security. ... The Sook Ching Massacre (肅清大屠殺) was a semi-systematic extermination of perceived hostile elements among ethnic Chinese Malayans and Singaporeans by the Japanese military administration, after the British colony surrendered on 15 February 1942 during World War II. The term sook ching (肃清) is a Chinese word meaning a purge through cleansing... Han Chinese (Simplified: 汉; Traditional: 漢; Pinyin: hàn) is a term which refers to the majority ethnic group within China and the largest single human ethnic group in the world. ...

External links

• Fall of Malaya and Singapore A detailed history of the Battle of Singapore.