大象传媒

The following story appears courtesy of and with thanks to Ronald Parker and Father
Major Maurice Albert Parker:

To make matters worse, fifth columnists had supplied the Japanese with the location of every pill-box, mortar pit, machine-gun nest, and fox-hole in the defensive array, and even led the Japanese to them. There is no doubt the Japanese knew the defensive setup and had planned every movement down to the finest detail, and when they landed on the northeastern beaches, behind the lines, they hit the defenders in the weakest spot.
The Attack: Wednesday, December 18 ...
The attack came in three waves. At 17:30 hrs swimmers were sent to cut through anti-invasion nets, and remove mines from the sea route. At 19:30 hrs a number of 'scouts' were sent to link up with fifth-columnists and to mark the way to vital defense positions for the main assault troops.
At 22:30 hrs, the night of December 18th, the Japanese main attack on the island came in the darkness. They attacked over the water in assault boats, landing craft and small boats, some towed by steam ferries. They used anything that could be bailed out fast enough to stay afloat. Some of them even swam, towing their equipment behind them. How many drowned is not known.

They attacked, not from the sea, but from the mainland. They attacked in thick fog and a heavy pall of smoke from burning fuel and rubber. They were not 5,000 night-blind, sea-sick, poorly-equipped Japanese caricatures of soldiers, as painted by British Intelligence. They were 7,500 strong, were carrying backpacks that weighed as much as 75 lbs., and there were 52,500 more troops behind them, just waiting to cross to the island.
As the Japanese Imperial Army was sloshing ashore in their rubber boots and knee-high leggings, looking very unsoldierly, screaming like demons from hell, a Rifleman, by the name of John Payne called Brigade Headquarters to report that the Japanese had, and were still coming ashore. When informed General Maltby's response was: "That's impossible. You must be dreaming." It wasn't a dream...it was a nightmare.

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