Malaya, 1941

The surrender of General Percival to the Japanese at Signapore on 15th February 1942 remains the greatest humiliation by the British army. It involved the loss of 130,000 soldiers and signalled the end of the British Empire. This book focuses on the reasons behind the shocking suddeness of the initial collapse, namely the incapacity of the army commander, Brooke-Popham, the dilatoriness of the Royal Navy under Admiral Phillips and the poor performance of the RAF. Indeed, Winston Churchill emerges with little credit and the author argues convincingly that the British defeat was attributable to defective command at the highest levels.