The Japanese literally pedaled their way to victory in
the Battle of Singapore
(Bicycle-mounted Japanese troops in the Philippines c. 1941-1942, via
Creative Commons)
The military has always
recognized the necessity of speed and mobility in waging effective warfare. This
need was fulfilled from antiquity until around the First World War by
cavalrymen on horseback. When the World Wars arrived, horses were quickly
exchanged for more mechanical means of mobile warfare. Tanks, armored personnel
carriers and powerful aircraft replaced the role of the horseman. In the brief,
frenzied transition period of the outdated horse cavalry into the mechanized
military of today, many machines were put to the test. Just as aircraft designs
progressed from tri-planes, to bi-planes and finally jets, the military ground
forces also developed many iterations of machines to improve upon the mobility of
the horse. One of the least remembered replacements of the horse was the
bicycle, and few countries used the bicycle better in war than the Japanese.
Japan was not the only country that experimented with the military possibilities of the bicycle. Quite the opposite, the peddle-powered bike was a universal tool deployed by most world powers. The bicycle did not require feed or fuel for it to function and its maintenance was fairly simplistic, making it an affordable and dependable machine in the right circumstances. During WWI, it was used for sending messages and allowing scouts and snipers to move quickly around the battle-lines.
When World War Two arrived,
bicycles were still in use for messaging and scouting, but faster and
better-armored vehicles had usurped the bike’s place with the active
infantry—that is, until the Japanese used bicycles to conquer the pacific.
(Japanese Bicycle infantry in southern Asia [Public Domain], via
WW2incolor.com)
To set the scene, around the
start of WWII, Japan controlled Korea, Manchuria and much of the Chinese
coastland. They had further imperial ambitions in southern Asia and the
numerous islands of the Pacific. The Japanese military was fueled by foreign
oil, which made the United State’s embargo of oil all the more damaging to
Japan. For its embargo to end, the United States demanded that Japan release
almost all of its conquests in the Pacific and mainland Asia. Understandably,
Japan refused. Instead, in December 1941, Japan launched a surprise attack on
the U.S. Naval base in Pearl Harbor as a screen to cover the Japanese
acquisition of oil fields in Southeast Asia, especially Indonesia.
The bicycle fit perfectly
with Japan’s situation. They needed to conserve fuel—the bike was foot-powered.
They were on ships ping-ponging their way through the islands of the
Pacific—the bicycle was lightweight and easy to transport across water. Japan even
commandeered bikes from the populations they occupied, especially as they invaded
the Malay Peninsula on their way to Singapore.
The Battle of Singapore best
displayed the advantages of Japan’s bicycle infantry. In February of 1942, the
Japanese military, under the command of General Tomoyuki Yamashita, established
a foothold on the Malay Peninsula. What happened next surprised the British,
Australian and Indian troops defending the region—Yamashita’s men attacked by
land, through thick jungle, swamps, fields and plantations.
Yamashita’s land route proved
unexpectedly successful. The Japanese found a map of British defenses around
the town of Jitra. With the map, Yamashita was able to take Jitra with less
than 50 casualties and seize the weapons, ammunition, rations and vehicles
within the town. The Japanese also were able to take British airfields and sink
two of Britain’s most powerful ships in the region (the Repulse and the Prince of
Wales). This limited Britain’s military defense to only its infantry, for
its air and naval power was crippled and all of the defenses around Singapore
faced toward the ocean instead of the jungle.
Thousands and Thousands of
Japanese infantrymen grabbed the nearest bicycle and peddled onward toward
Singapore. Using their bikes, the Japanese could weave their way through the
jungle when they needed to, but they also had access to pristine British-made roadways.
The Japanese bicycle infantry quickly pursued the withdrawing British defenders,
the bikes allowing them to maneuver behind British lines and attack from unexpected
directions.
(Japanese bicycle troops in Malaya, via National Archives)
The bicycles, strangely
enough, also acted as an instrument of terror. Bicycle infantry showing up in
the most unsuspected of places behind enemy lines was enough cause for terror,
but the bikes could cause even more fear. Keeping in mind that the Japanese
were peddling their bicycles all day long, on and off road, it is understandable
that flat tires were a common problem—actually, those flat tires turned out to
be a boon. As Japanese forces pedaled toward an enemy position, the metal rims
of busted bicycle tires grinding against stone and asphalt sounded eerily like an
approaching tank. Sometimes, by the time the Japanese bicyclists arrived on
their broken bikes, the British defenders would have already retreated, spooked
by the sound.
General Yamashita rode the
wave of surprise and fear all the way to Singapore. When they arrived, the
Japanese forces sieged the city even though they had much fewer men than the
British defenders, and by February 15th, the city of Singapore was
surrendered to Japan.
Bicycles won the Battle of
Singapore. They allowed the Japanese to efficiently navigate the Malay
Peninsula and attack British positions from the undefended jungles and swamps. Using
bicycle tactics like this, the Japanese were able to build a far-flung empire
stretching down the Chinese coastline and around southern Asia toward India
before the USA, and other Allied Powers, dismantled the Japanese Empire and won
the Pacific war in WWII.
Sources
No comments:
Post a Comment