| Original caption: “Elated Japanese troops on the waterfront of the city, after the surrender of the British Forces on Singapore Island, on the previous day.” In a photograph staged by Japanese military press photographers in Singapore Harbor for propaganda purposes, Japanese soldiers from the Tada Detachment are shown cheering at Empire Dock. They are shouting “Tennō Heika Banzai!” (“Long Live the Emperor!”), a traditional Imperial Japanese military exhortation. The island in the background is Fort Siloso on Pulau Blakang Mati. After the invasion of Manchuria in 1931, the construction of the Singapore Naval Base was accelerated, eventually costing approximately 60,000,000 pounds (equivalent to 3 1/2 1,000,000,000 pounds in 2025, or 4 1/2 1,000,000,000 dollars in United States dollars). It was formally named HMS Sultan on January 1, 1940, reflecting the 9 sultanates of the Malay Peninsula. The tank farm contained enough oil for the United Kingdom Royal Navy for 6 months’ operation. The shortcomings of the Malay Peninsula defense compounded the failures of the Singapore defense. United Kingdom Royal Army Lieutenant General Arthur E. Percival (December 26, 1887 – January 31, 1966) did not allow the Singapore garrison to effect defensive measures or training for a land invasion from the Malay Peninsula because he worried it would be bad for civilian morale. While the Allies had superior numbers of soldiers, the Japanese used heavy shelling to compensate. Percival didn’t believe the shelling preceded the landing. Critically, the Australians at the beach facing the peninsula were not reinforced. After the battle, recriminations went all around. On the night of February 13-14, 1942, 40 vessels departed from Singapore, carrying 3,000 evacuees – 1,200 civilians and 1,800 military personnel deemed necessary for the continuation of the war effort. 100 births were allocated for Australians, including dozens of nurses. Few Malays, Indians, or Chinese were allowed to board. The small craft were destined to run into a powerful Japanese force deployed for the invasion of Sumatra; many were sunk or captured with significant loss of life. Some were shipwrecked, and their passengers starved to death on uninhabited islands. These were the last vessels to escape Singapore. 21 nurses were shipwrecked, captured by the Japanese, raped, and then machine-gunned; only 1 survived. She testified in 1945, but the Australians refused to let her reveal that she and the others had been raped. Imperial Japanese Army Lieutenant General Tomoyuki Yamashita (November 8, 1885 – February 23, 1946) had kept the bulk of his victorious army outside the city to avoid trouble. He did not think he could control the looting and raping of his command, and he did not trust some of his subordinate officers. But at 1400 Hours on Monday, February 17, 1942, thousands of Japanese troops marched into the city for a victory parade. It was likely that since the only Japanese permitted into the city after the cease-fire on Sunday night, February 15, 1942, were members of the Kempeitai, the Japanese Military Police, with Hojo Kempei (“Auxiliary Police”) drawn from the Imperial Japanese Army’s 5th Infantry Division, this photo was taken during that time. The Commonwealth forces never imagined that the Japanese could defeat them. The colonial era had forever changed. Singapore would again be a British colony, but the end of Empire was shown to be possible with the Japanese victory. Photographed by photojournalists Sato, Anbo, and Yasuda of the Osaka Mainichi Shimbun Photo Department. Approved by the Ministry of War. Published on page 172 of Nihon no Senshi 7-kan (“Japanese War History Volume 7”). | |
| Image Filename | wwii1529.jpg |
| Image Size | 284.17 KB |
| Image Dimensions | 1280 x 834 |
| Photographer | |
| Photographer Title | Imperial Japanese Army |
| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | February 16, 1942 |
| Location | Empire Dock |
| City | Singapore |
| State or Province | Straits Settlements |
| Country | Singapore |
| Archive | Australian War Memorial |
| Record Number | 127905 |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
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