Transfer to Middle East Winston Churchill, who has succeeded Chamberlain on 10 May 1940, had grown concerned in 1940 about the expansion of British
supply services in Egypt under
Middle East Command compared to the number of fighting men, and pushed for the dispatch of additional fighting formations. This had been a source of friction with
General Archibald Wavell and his replacement, General
Claude Auchinleck, who wanted rear-area personnel and replacements for fighting formations rather than new divisions. Churchill was adamant that additional complete British fighting formations be dispatched, not replacements or logistical troops, "to give the Dominions no cause to feel that the bulk of the fighting was done by their troops". On 1 September 1941, Churchill contacted neutral
U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt and requested shipping for two infantry divisions from Britain to the
Middle East. Roosevelt responded that shipping could be provided for only one division, sailing from
Halifax, Nova Scotia. The 18th Infantry Division left Liverpool aboard the heavily escorted convoy CT.5 on 28 October, bound for
Nova Scotia. Three days later, an American-escorted convoy left Halifax with six cargo ships provided to the British as part of the
Lend-Lease programme. The convoys met in mid-ocean on 2 November, and exchanged escort groups; the British ships and Lend-Lease cargo ships headed for the United Kingdom, and the (now American-escorted) convoy CT.5 continued to Nova Scotia. The division arrived in Halifax on 7 November, and transferred to the waiting American ships of convoy WS.12X over the next few days. The British ships returned home, and convoy WS.12X departed Halifax on 10 November for the Middle East.
Diversion to Far East During the night of 7/8 December 1941, one hour before its attack on Pearl Harbor, the Empire of Japan began the
invasion of Malaya. Four hours after the attack on Pearl Harbor, the
Battle of Hong Kong began. Although the immediate British response was to order a number of units to be diverted to the Far East, none based in the Middle East were withdrawn for the moment. Since the convoy containing the 18th Infantry Division had only reached the
Cape of Good Hope when Japan entered the war, it was diverted to the Far East on 9 December. Instead of reinforcing
Operation Crusader as planned, the division was sent to India. Lionel Wigmore, the
Australian historian of the Malayan campaign, wrote that the diversion indicated that "... the security of Singapore and maintenance of
Indian Ocean communications were second in importance only to the security of the United Kingdom ..." Most of the division arrived in
Bombay on 27 December. The 53rd Infantry Brigade stopped for a week at
Mombasa,
Kenya and was diverted on 23 December to Malaya. The brigade, travelling on the
USS Mount Vernon with the 135th Field Regiment,
Royal Artillery and the 287th Field Company,
Royal Engineers, arrived at Singapore on 13 January 1942 without its artillery or transport. Although the rest of the division was under
War Office control, the 53rd Brigade was temporarily detached and assigned to
Malaya Command. Their equipment, scheduled to arrive on a later convoy, was made up from local sources. It was hoped that the brigade could be put into the line immediately (relieving the
22nd Australian Brigade) but its men were considered unfit for immediate action after eleven weeks at sea. By the time the brigade arrived, the Japanese had forced Allied forces to retreat south. On 11 January,
Kuala Lumpur, the capital of British Malaya, fell; Japanese forces reached
Johor, the southernmost state of Malaya, soon afterwards.
53rd Brigade: Malaya On 17 January, despite reservations about the state of the brigade's fitness, a
brigade group based on the 53rd Brigade (under the command of Brigadier
Cecil Duke) had arrived in the
Ayer Hitam area of Johor and elements were attached to the
11th Indian Infantry Division in
III Indian Corps to reinforce the defences from
Batu Pahat to
Yong Peng. 6RNR was deployed around to the west to defend a tactically important
defile and causeway between
Bukit Pelandok (south of the pass) and
Bukit Belah (to the north). 2CR relieved the garrison at Batu Pahat, around southwest of Ayer Hitam. Both battalions were also assigned to patrolling the roads against Japanese infiltration. Japanese patrols were soon encountered by 2CR southwest of Batu Pahat, and 6RNR (near Bukit Pelandok) was attacked from the air. 5RNR was allocated to Westforce (an
ad hoc multi-national force assembled under the command of Australian Major-General
Gordon Bennett) to relieve the
2/19th Australian Battalion at
Jemaluang. Several Australian officers were to remain behind and aid 5RNR in taking over their positions and one said: The battalion had not completed its move, when on 19 January the troops were ordered to Ayer Hitam. The defile had become a crucial position in the British attempt to delay the Japanese advance and prevent them from cutting off the
45th Indian Infantry Brigade. 6RNR was to be reinforced by the depleted 3rd Battalion,
16th Punjab Regiment (3/16PR) and the untried 2nd Battalion,
Loyal Regiment (North Lancashire) (2LR) from the
9th Indian Division as the 45th Indian Infantry Brigade retired through the 53rd Infantry Brigade positions to an area west of Yong Peng and Westforce withdrew to Labis. At 13:30 on 19 January, elements of the Japanese I Battalion, 5th Guards Infantry Regiment,
Imperial Guards Division surprised a 6RNR company in Bukit Pelandok and occupied the lower slopes of Bukit Belah, commanding the
Bakri road. Another 6RNR company managed to hold on at the northern slope of Bukit Belah and later took over the peak, unknown to battalion headquarters. At 05:00 on 20 January, 3/16PR was to counter-attack and recapture Bukit Belah and the northern ridge by dawn on 20 January and then 6RNR was to attack the Japanese in Bukit Pelandok covered by fire from Bukit Belah. The Punjabi attack began at 04:00, but they were mistaken for a Japanese unit by 6RNR company on the summit of Bukit Belah, who opened fire. The Indians managed to reach the peak, but before it could be consolidated, a Japanese attack forced the British and Indian troops off the ridge with many losses, including the Punjabis' commander. The attack on Bukit Pelandok was repulsed and the British and Indian troops were moved to between the defile and causeway with the left flank covered by 2LR. The delayed brigade counter-attack was ordered for dawn on 21 January, spearheaded by 2LR, but 6RNR and 3/16PR were incapable of attacking so soon and 2LR had only just arrived; the attack was postponed again, but with orders to begin as soon as possible. At 20:00, Lieutenant-General
Arthur Percival, GOC Malaya Command, decided that the Japanese capture of the Pelandok defile seriously endangered Westforce's
line of communications. He ordered Bennett to continue to withdraw south of Labis to a line from Paloh to the Sungei Gerchang bridge on the road to Labis, and to detach a brigade as soon as possible to dig in at the Yong Peng road junction. As the
27th Australian Brigade covered Yong Peng, Percival put all troops on the
Muar–Yong Peng road back under the command of Westforce at 12:30. The counter-attack by the 53rd Brigade never occurred; at 10:30 on 21 January, Major-General
Billy Key (GOC 11th Indian Division) visited the brigade and learned that half his orders had not been transmitted, that the brigade had not planned an attack, and that 2LR had been sent to dig in at the east end of the causeway. An attack could be arranged for 14:00, but more confusion occurred, and the start time was moved to 15:30. The Japanese positions gave a view of the ground east of the ridge, making surprise impossible to achieve, and more time was needed to arrange artillery support and concentrate 2LR. The attack was postponed again to 18:00 and then to the morning of 22 January. The artillery took so long to register that there was another postponement to 09:00, but 2LR, who had assembled under cover of night, were spotted by Japanese reconnaissance aircraft and bombed and strafed. With no prospect of surprise, and doubtful that the attack could succeed, Duke cancelled the operation and redeployed the three battalions to guard the causeway and the ground from there to the defile. At 06:30 on 22 January, 5RNR and a battalion from Batu Pahat reopened the Batu Pahat–Ayer Hitam road at Milestone 72 and a supply convoy got through to the brigade. Later, the Japanese again blocked the road. Key ordered 5RNR to reopen the road along with an attack by the
15th Indian Infantry Brigade on 23 January, but this attack failed and 5RNR was recalled. At a conference at Yong Peng, also on 23 January, Percival announced a new plan to defend a line from Jemalaung Kluang to Ayer Hitam and Batu Pahat, the 53rd Brigade reverting to the command of the 11th Division. The brigade was to retire on 23 January through the positions of the 27th Australian Brigade at Yong Peng to Ayer Hitam, when the transfer of command would occur. 5RNR was driven by bus to
Pontian Kechil, ready to travel with an ammunition convoy to Batu Pahat, next morning. The brigade began to retire from Bukit Pelandok at noon, but the Japanese attacked with tank support and the causeway bridges were blown too soon for all the British to cross. In the chaos the brigade managed to disengage, but with many casualties. With the other battalions assigned to specific duties, the 53rd Brigade was reduced to the 6RNR and 3/16PR and moved south to
Benut via
Skudai. The brigade was engaged in a series of isolated fights with the Japanese along the road from Benut to
Senggarang as they tried to move north to reinforce Batu Pahat. Only isolated elements were able to reach Senggarang, to which the 15th Indian Infantry Brigade, including 2CR and 5RNR, had retired. During the evening, the 15th Indian Brigade was ordered to break out, across country as the roads had been blocked by strong Japanese positions, and retreat south. During the night of 29/30 January, the 53rd Brigade was ordered to withdraw to Singapore Island; the brigade had suffered about 500 casualties. ==Singapore==