PRESENCE OF JAPANESE 8 DECEMBER 1941

The British made a mistake. They expected the Japanese to enter Singapore by the sea. They stationed big guns near the sea to shoot the enemies’ ships. The British also did not put up a very strong defence in the northern part of Singapore. They felt that the jungles of Johor were too thick for the Japanese to cut through. However, the Japanese did the exact opposite by entering and invading through the jungle. The outdated British warplanes are no match with the Japanese modern 'Zero' fighters. To prevent the Japanese from using the Singapore Naval Base, the British destroyed the area themselves. The British were crippled both by air and sea. They have no strong defence to fight against the Japanse. General Yamashita set up his headquarters at the Sultan's palace in Johor. The palace had tall tower which can give the Japanese a good view of nothern Singapore. To confuse the British, the Japanese deliberately bombed Changi and Pulau Ubin heavily. Their aim was to make the British shift their defence supplies like petrol and explosives stuffs to the northeast of Singapore so that the northwest would be weak in defence and the Japanese could invade from that direction easily. 

Sources: http://library.thinkquest.org/12405/15.htm   (Date accessed: 14-02-13)