|
Battle Of Muar
The Battle of Muar was the last major battle of the Malayan Campaign during the Second World War. It took place from 14–22 January 1942 around Gemensah Bridge and on the Muar River. After the British defeat at Slim River, General Archibald Wavell, commander of ABDA, decided that Lieutenant General Lewis Heath's III Indian Corps should withdraw south into the State of Johore to rest and regroup, while the 8th Australian Division would attempt to stop the Japanese advance. Allied soldiers, under the command of Major General Gordon Bennett, inflicted severe losses on Japanese forces at the Gemensah Bridge ambush and in a second battle a few kilometres north of the town of Gemas. Members of the Australian 8th Division killed an estimated 600 personnel from the Japanese 5th division, in the ambush at the bridge itself, whilst Australian anti-tank guns destroyed several Japanese tanks in the battle north of Gemas. The battle saw the heaviest Japanese losses of any battle t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ordnance QF 2-pounder
The Ordnance QF 2-pounder (British ordnance terms#QF, QF denoting "quick firing"), or simply "2 pounder gun", was a British anti-tank gun and vehicle-mounted gun employed in the World War II, Second World War. It was the main anti-tank weapon of the artillery units in the Battle of France and, due to the need to rearm quickly after the Dunkirk evacuation, remained in service during the North African campaign. In its vehicle-mounted variant the 2-pounder was a common main gun on British tanks early in World War II, as well as being a typical main armament of Armored car (military), armoured cars, such as the Daimler armoured car, Daimler, throughout the war. As the armour protection of Axis powers, Axis tanks improved, the 2-pounder lost effectiveness and it was gradually replaced by the 57 mm Ordnance QF 6 pounder, QF 6-pounder starting in 1942. It equipped infantry battalion anti-tank platoons replacing their anti-tank rifles until in turn replaced by 6-pounders but remained ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
45th Indian Infantry Brigade
The 45th Indian Infantry Brigade was an Infantry formation of the Indian Army during World War II. The brigade was formed in June 1941, at Ahmednagar in India and assigned to the 17th Indian Infantry Division. It was transferred to Malaya Command in January 1942 where it was virtually destroyed in the Battle of Muar. What was left of the brigade was briefly under command of the Australian 8th Division in February 1942, during the Battle of Singapore and surrendered to the Japanese with the rest of the garrison on 15 February. Formation *4th Battalion, 9th Jat Regiment *5th Battalion, 18th Royal Garhwal Rifles *7th Battalion, 6th Rajputana Rifles The 6th Rajputana Rifles was an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army. Formed in 1921, it initially consisted of five active battalions and one training battalion. History Formation and class composition In 1921, the British Indian Army ... * 2/29th Australian Infantry Battalion * 2/19th Australian Infantry Battalion ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lewis Heath
Lieutenant General Sir Lewis Macclesfield Heath, (23 November 1885 – 10 January 1954) was an officer in the British Indian Army during the early to mid-twentieth century. Early life and family Heath was born 23 November 1885, the son of Col. Lewis Forbes Heath of the British Indian Army. He was educated at Wellington College and Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. He joined the British Indian Army in 1905. In 1915, Heath married Marjorie, daughter of Brigadier General A. B. H. Drew, and had three sons and two daughters. In 1941, he remarried Kathleen Longeron of Auckland and had another son. Military service Heath joined the Indian Army on 18 January 1905 and served with the King's African Rifles from 1909 to 1913. He was promoted to captain on 18 January 1914. He saw action in the First World War where he was injured losing an eye and suffering permanent damage to his left arm. He was subsequently awarded the Military Cross. Following the war he fought in th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lieutenant-general (United Kingdom)
Lieutenant general (Lt Gen), formerly more commonly lieutenant-general, is a senior rank in the British Army and the Royal Marines. It is the equivalent of a multinational three-star rank; some British lieutenant generals sometimes wear three-star insignia, in addition to their standard insignia, when on multinational operations. Lieutenant general is a superior rank to Major-general (United Kingdom), major general, but subordinate to a General (United Kingdom), (full) general. The rank has a NATO rank code of OF-8, equivalent to a Vice-Admiral (Royal Navy), vice-admiral in the Royal Navy and an air marshal in the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the air forces of many Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries. The rank insignia for both the Army and the Royal Marines is a crown over a crossed sabre and baton. During the reign of Elizabeth II, the St Edward's Crown, commonly known as the Queen's Crown, was depicted. Before 1953, and again since the accession of Charles III in 20 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
American-British-Dutch-Australian Command
The American-British-Dutch-Australian (ABDA) Command, or ABDACOM, was the short-lived supreme command for all Allied forces in South East Asia in early 1942, during the Pacific War in World War II. The command consisted of the forces of Australia, the Netherlands, United Kingdom and the United States. The main objective of the command, led by General Sir Archibald Wavell, was to maintain control of the "Malay Barrier" (or "East Indies Barrier"), a notional line running down the Malay Peninsula, through Singapore and the southernmost islands of the Dutch East Indies. ABDACOM was also known in British military circles as the "South West Pacific Command", although it should not be confused with the later South West Pacific Area command (see below). Although ABDACOM existed only for a few weeks and presided over one defeat after another, it provided some useful lessons for combined Allied commands later in the war. Formation Efforts to organise the ABDA Command began soon after w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Archibald Wavell
Field Marshal Archibald Percival Wavell, 1st Earl Wavell, (5 May 1883 – 24 May 1950) was a senior officer of the British Army. He served in the Second Boer War, the Bazar Valley Campaign and the First World War, during which he was wounded in the Second Battle of Ypres. In the Second World War, he served initially as Commander-in-Chief Middle East, in which role he led British forces to victory over the Italian Army in Eritrea- Abyssinia, western Egypt and eastern Libya during Operation Compass in December 1940, only to be defeated by Erwin Rommel's Panzer Army Africa in the Western Desert in April 1941. He served as Commander-in-Chief, India, from July 1941 until June 1943 (apart from a brief tour as Commander of American-British-Dutch-Australian Command) and then served as Viceroy of India until his retirement in February 1947. Early life Born the son of Archibald Graham Wavell (who later became a major-general in the British Army and military commander of Johanne ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Battle Of Slim River
The Battle of Slim River occurred during the Malayan campaign in January 1942 between the Imperial Japanese Army and the British Indian Army on the west coast of Malaya. Background Japanese forces had invaded north-west Malaya from southern Thailand on 11 December 1941 and eastern Malaya on 7 December at Kota Bharu. From Thailand they had driven relentlessly down the western coast of Malaya defeating all British attempts at stopping them. By Christmas Day the Japanese held all of north-west Malaya. One of the few moments where British troops managed to inflict any form of effective defense against Japanese tactics occurred near Kampar on the Dipang River. At the Battle of Kampar, in a four-day battle notable for the effectiveness of the British artillery, the Japanese suffered heavy casualties. By 2 January, though, the Indian 11th Infantry Division was out flanked by seaborne landings south of the Kampar position, out numbered and with Japanese forces attempting to cut the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Muar River
The Muar River () is a river which flows through the states of Negeri Sembilan and Johor in Malaysia. Its drainage basin encompasses the states aforementioned, as well as Pahang and Malacca. Measuring around 250 km (155 mi) in length, the Muar is the third longest river in Peninsular Malaysia after the rivers of Pahang River, Pahang and Perak River, Perak, slightly longer than the Kelantan River. It is one of the two major Negeri Sembilan, Negri rivers, the other being the Linggi River, Linggi, as well as the second most significantly important river in Johor after the Johor River. History The Muar River formed part of the ''Jalan Penarikan, Penarikan'', an ancient overland trade route, which was a short-cut from the west to the east coast of the Malay Peninsula. Course The source of the Muar River is located in Talang, Kuala Pilah District, Negeri Sembilan, deep in the Mount Telapak Buruk, Telapak Buruk–Berembun massif in the Titiwangsa Range. It was impounded b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gemensah Bridge
Gemas (Negeri Sembilan Malay: ''Gomeh'') is a small town and a mukim (township) in Tampin District, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia, near the Negeri Sembilan-Johor state border. It is 101 km southeast of Seremban, the state capital city, and 32 km north of Segamat, Johor. Gemas is at the railway junction between the Malaysian west and east coast rail lines. Demographics Malays make up the majority of the population at 83% followed by the Chinese 8%, Indians at 5% and others 4%. Gemencheh Bridge during Battle of Malaya During the Battle of Malaya in the Second World War, Gemencheh Bridge near Gemas was the site of a fierce battle between the Imperial Japanese Army and the 2/30th Battalion, 8th Division, Australian Imperial Force (AIF). Commanding Officer of the Battalion was Lieutenant Colonel Frederick "Black Jack" Galleghan. Gemencheh Bridge was a bridge over the Kelamah River (Sungai Kelamah in Malay) that connected Gemas with the larger neighbouring town of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the world's countries participated, with many nations mobilising all resources in pursuit of total war. Tanks in World War II, Tanks and Air warfare of World War II, aircraft played major roles, enabling the strategic bombing of cities and delivery of the Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, first and only nuclear weapons ever used in war. World War II is the List of wars by death toll, deadliest conflict in history, causing World War II casualties, the death of 70 to 85 million people, more than half of whom were civilians. Millions died in genocides, including the Holocaust, and by massacres, starvation, and disease. After the Allied victory, Allied-occupied Germany, Germany, Allied-occupied Austria, Austria, Occupation of Japan, Japan, a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prisoner Of War
A prisoner of war (POW) is a person held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war for a range of legitimate and illegitimate reasons. These may include isolating them from enemy combatants still in the field (releasing and Repatriation, repatriating them in an orderly manner after hostilities), demonstrating military victory, punishment, prosecution of war crimes, labour exploitation, recruiting or even conscripting them as combatants, extracting collecting military and political intelligence, and political or religious indoctrination. Ancient times For much of history, prisoners of war would often be slaughtered or enslaved. Early Roman gladiators could be prisoners of war, categorised according to their ethnic roots as Samnites, Thracians, and Gauls (''Galli''). Homer's ''Iliad'' describes Trojan and Greek soldiers offeri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
5th Division (Imperial Japanese Army)
The was an infantry division of the Imperial Japanese Army. Its call sign was the . The 5th Division was formed in Hiroshima in January 1871 as the , one of six regional commands created in the fledgling Imperial Japanese Army. Its personnel were drafted from Hiroshima, Yamaguchi and Shimane. Origin The Hiroshima Garrison had responsibility for the western region of Honshū ( Chugoku district), ranging from Hyōgo Prefecture to Yamaguchi Prefecture. The six regional commands were transformed into divisions under the army reorganization of 14 May 1888. Operational history The 5th Division entered the First Sino-Japanese War with the battle of Seonghwan on 28 July 1894. It also participated in the battle of Pyongyang on 15 September 1894, securing Japanese control over Korea. On 24 October 1894, the 5th Division made an unopposed crossing of the Yalu River into Chinese territory, encountering only token rearguard resistance and thus ending the Battle of Jiuliancheng on 24 O ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
