The 2nd Malaya Infantry Brigade was a regular infantry brigade formed in 1940 with its headquarters in

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

following the wartime expansion and reinforcement of

Malaya Command The Malaya Command was a formation of the British Army formed in the 1920s for the coordination of the defences of British Malaya, which comprised the Straits Settlements, the Federated Malay States and the Unfederated Malay States. It consi ...

. The Brigade participated in the

Malayan Campaign The Malayan campaign, referred to by Japanese sources as the , was a military campaign fought by Allies of World War II, Allied and Axis powers, Axis forces in British Malaya, Malaya, from 8 December 1941 – 15 February 1942 during the World War ...

and the

Battle of Singapore The fall of Singapore, also known as the Battle of Singapore, took place in the South–East Asian theatre of the Pacific War. The Empire of Japan captured the British stronghold of Singapore, with fighting lasting from 8 to 15 February 1942. S ...

against the

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

until the surrender of the garrison in February 1942.

History

Background

With the outbreak of the

Second World War 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 wo ...

in Europe in 1939, earlier plans for the expansion and reinforcement of British forces in the Far East were accelerated. Initial expansion was slow and patchy due to the reluctance of the War Office in London to transfer forces from Great Britain for fear of a German invasion of Britain. The

Fall of France The Battle of France (; 10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign (), the French Campaign (, ) and the Fall of France, during the Second World War was the German invasion of the Low Countries (Belgium, Luxembourg and the Net ...

in June 1940 saw the Japanese adopt a more aggressive stance, including the occupation of parts of the

Kowloon peninsula The Kowloon Peninsula is a peninsula that forms the southern part of the main landmass in the territory of Hong Kong, alongside Victoria Harbour and facing toward Hong Kong Island. The Kowloon Peninsula and the area of New Kowloon are collect ...

on the Chinese side of the border as well as the seizure of

Longzhou Longzhou County (; Zhuang: ) is a county of southwestern Guangxi, China, bordering Cao Bằng province, Vietnam. It is under the jurisdiction of the prefecture-level city of Chongzuo. Longzhou lies in a circular valley at the junction of the Xu ...

in southern

Guangxi Guangxi,; officially the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the China, People's Republic of China, located in South China and bordering Vietnam (Hà Giang Province, Hà Giang, Cao Bằn ...

next to the border of

French Indochina French Indochina (previously spelled as French Indo-China), officially known as the Indochinese Union and after 1941 as the Indochinese Federation, was a group of French dependent territories in Southeast Asia from 1887 to 1954. It was initial ...

brought the threat nearer and resulted in the withdrawal of British forces stationed in

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

and

Tianjin Tianjin is a direct-administered municipality in North China, northern China on the shore of the Bohai Sea. It is one of the National Central City, nine national central cities, with a total population of 13,866,009 inhabitants at the time of the ...

by August 1940 to Singapore to reinforce the Malaya Infantry Brigade garrisoned there. The reinforcements resulted in the Malaya Infantry Brigade being divided to form the

1st First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...

and 2nd Malaya Infantry Brigade on 8 September 1940. The brigade was assigned for the defence of the

Changi Changi ( ) is a planning area located in the geographical region of Tanah Merah in the East Region of Singapore. Sharing borders with Pasir Ris and Tampines to the west, Changi Bay to the southeast, the South China Sea to the east and the ...

area of Singapore, the south-east coast of the island and the

Pengerang Pengerang is a municipality in Kota Tinggi District, in the Malaysian state of Johor. It was established in 2017. It is home to the Pengerang Integrated Petroleum Complex (PIPC), the largest petrochemical complex in Malaysia, and one of the m ...

area in

Johor Johor, also spelled Johore,'' is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia in the south of the Malay Peninsula. It borders with Pahang, Malacca and Negeri Sembilan to the north. Johor has maritime borders with Singapore ...

Malayan Campaign

Through most of the Malayan Campaign, the brigade was assigned to passive defence roles in the southern part of Malaya and Singapore. Units of the brigade were, however, involved in the defence of

Mersing Mersing (Terengganu Malay: ''Merecing'' or ''Ngesing'') is a town, mukim and the capital of Mersing District, Johor, Malaysia. The town is located at the southern end of the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia. As of 2010, the town has an estimat ...

. The 2nd Battalion of the

17th Dogra Regiment The 17th Dogra Regiment was an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army. It was formed in 1922, after the Indian government decided to reform the army moving away from single battalion regiments to multi-battalion regiments. During the Sec ...

(2/17th Dogras) stationed in

Kota Tinggi Kota Tinggi is a town and capital of Kota Tinggi District, Johor, Malaysia. Kuala Sedili or Tanjung Sedili, a small fishing town located 37 km north-east of Kota Tinggi town, is the second largest fishing port in east coast of Peninsular ...

played a crucial support role to the Australian 22nd Brigade including the successful ambush against Japanese forces in

Jemaluang Jemaluang is a town and mukim in Mersing District, Johor, Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consist ...

. The 2nd Battalion of the

Gordon Highlanders The Gordon Highlanders was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that existed for 113 years, from 1881 until 1994, when it was amalgamated with The Queen's Own Highlanders (Seaforth and Camerons) to form The Highlanders (Seaforth, Go ...

was also temporarily assigned to reinforce the Australian 27th Brigade defending the main trunk road from

Ayer Hitam Ayer Hitam, nicknamed ''Bandar Seramik'' ('Ceramic Town'), is a town in Batu Pahat District, Johor, Malaysia. Located just at the junction of Federal Route 1 and Federal Route 50, it is known for its many outlets selling pottery and other craft ...

Johor Bahru Johor Bahru, abbreviated as JB, is the capital city of the Malaysian state of Johor. It is the core city of Johor Bahru District, Malaysia's second-largest district by population and the second-largest district economy. Covering an area of ...

Battle of Singapore

All organised Allied forces in Malaya had retreated to Singapore on 31 January 1942. The Brigade was deployed as part of the defence of the Southern Area of Singapore under the command of Maj Gen

Frank Keith Simmons Major General Frank Keith Simmons, (21 February 1888 – 22 September 1952) was a senior British Army officer during the Second World War. He was commander of the Singapore Fortress when it fell to the invading Imperial Japanese Army in Februa ...

together with the 1st Malaya Infantry Brigade, the

Straits Settlements Volunteer Force The Straits Settlements Volunteer Force (SSVF) was a military reserve force in the Straits Settlements, while they were under United Kingdom, British rule. While the majority of the personnel were from Singapore, some lived in other parts of the ...

and the

12th Indian Infantry Brigade The 12th Indian Infantry Brigade was an infantry brigade at the outbreak of the Indian Army during World War II. It was sent to Singapore in August 1939 and took part in the Malayan Campaign before going into captivity with the Fall of Sing ...

. The deployment of the brigade in the eastern perimeter of Southern Area meant that it saw somewhat limited action during the defence of Singapore but a number of units did get involve in anxious skirmishes near the

Paya Lebar Paya Lebar ( ) is a planning area located in the East Region of Singapore, bordered by Hougang to the west, Sengkang to the northwest, Tampines to the east, Bedok to the south and Pasir Ris to the north. As part of the Singapore Urban Redevelop ...

airstrip. Some units like the 2/17th Dogras which was stationed in

Pulau Tekong Pulau Tekong (Singapore English pronunciation: ), also known colloquially as Tekong or Tekong Island, is the second-largest of Singapore's outlying islands after Jurong Island. Tekong is located off Singapore's northeastern coast, east of P ...

were completely bypassed in the fighting until the general surrender of the garrison in Singapore on 15 February 1942.

September 1940

The following units were assigned to the brigade at its formation in September 1940. * 1st Battalion,

Manchester Regiment The Manchester Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1958. The regiment was created during the 1881 Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 63rd (West Suffolk) Regiment of Foot and the 96th R ...

(Machine Gun Battalion) * 2nd Battalion,

December 1940

* 1st Battalion,

(Machine Gun Battalion) * 2nd Battalion,

* 2nd Battalion,

15th Punjab Regiment The 15th Punjab Regiment was a infantry regiment of the British Indian Army from 1922 to 1947 and of the Pakistan Army from 1947 to 1956. Following its allotment to Pakistan after the partition of India in 1947, it was amalgamated in 1956 with ...

** Transferred to Sarawak Force ( SARFOR) in May 1941

December 1941

The following units were under the command of the Brigade during the outbreak of hostilities in Malaya on 8 December 1941. * 1st Battalion,

(Machine Gun Battalion) * 2nd Battalion,

* 2nd Battalion,

February 1942

The final order of battle of the Brigade prior to its surrender and dissolution. * 1st Battalion,

(Machine Gun Battalion) * 2nd Battalion,

** Briefly transferred to the Australian 27th Brigade on 25 January 1942 before reverting to the Brigade on 29 January 1942 * 2nd Battalion,

* 7th Coastal Regiment,

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

** Converted to an infantry unit during the last days of the Battle of Singapore

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:2 Malaya Infantry Brigade Brigades of the British Army in World War II Military history of Malaysia Military history of Singapore Military units and formations of the British Empire in World War II Military units and formations established in 1942 Military units and formations disestablished in 1942