Japanese Tank Assault - Malaya 1942

A pair of Matilda mk2 infantry tanks might of helped, if they were available.

Why didn't the British barricade the roads at choke points? Cut enough trees down and it can delay the tanks enough to regroup to set up a decent defense.

Great video

@MarkFeltonProductions - please do more of these LONGER videos. They are extremely entertaining. I love how you break down how each action was fought along with the minute details. Please do more videos of battles/actions!

I'm a Malaysian, and I can tell you that smaller tanks are much more suited to Malaysians tropical environment. Bigger and heavier MBTs will be sitting ducks here.

You can't imagine my disappointment at you discussing the battle for Singapore and you dont follow up with "but thats a story for another time." 😢😭

Very interesting info. Thank you n thumbs up.

Shambolic defenses coupled with a horrendous underestimation of the enemy and this is what happens. Hopefully the lessons learned here will never be forgotten.

In 1984 my Australian unit visited this battlefield when we were off operational duty and our Lieutenant showed us all these locations. The officer that cut the demolition charge wires was under observation and fire yet the Bozo Brit commanders lacked the initiative to blow the bridge. All through this campaign the Allied staff commanding were found lacking and surrendered to a force less than half its size. Almost all Australia's 2nd line forces were lost landing in Singapore only weeks before it surrendered. Very little was left to defend Papua New Guinea.

..Myy God.. Horrific and Truly Tragic.. Sooo many..🙏💀🙏

Indians are everywhere 🇮🇳🕉️👍💪👊👊🚩🚩💪💪👍🙏🕉️🇮🇳🇮🇳🇮🇳🇮🇳

This shows the power of a tank in war

Japanese tank assault? Soo like, a couple John Deere tractors with the riders using bamboo shields and Arisaka rifles?

Whats with the allies and thinking areas are impassable? Guess 1940 and the Germans taught them nothing.

Japanese tank like tank from ww1

I would vote for Percival as the worse British General of WW2. Any other suggestions? ?

Wait, I thought the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?

It’s not the size that counts. It’s how you use it.

I bet the Brit bois wished they had a couple of 'Ronsons' tanks with them in the bush , eh?

This is a perfect example of the typical western mindset of underestimating of its East Asian counterpart. No tanks in Malaya? Ha!

"The Japanese tanks were small and undergunned."

Japan: Laughs in having the only tanks

Pretty stupid to have 0 tanks

How does one say, “All in all, a good day’s work” in Japanese?

thank gosh for the 155th then

You explain it so well I felt like I was watching it happen.

This video is a classic example of what man does best....kill.

If you are a tac then a hammer or a rock will do just fine driving you in.

Does anyone know the fate of Major Shimada?

Now imagine giving Shimada a HT6 tank (Japanese Tiger tank)..

Name of the song in the intro?

This is the very first and only video by Mr Felton where I had already read a book about the event! Shocked I tell you.
Regardless, another great video.

So the question I'm left with is why didnt the Brits have any tanks in the theater? Another quality video Mark, thanx!

This was pretty much the perfect scenario for a group of small, mobile light tanks designed for infantry support to succeed in.

One Imperial power fighting another in someone else's country for the resources and plunder. WW1 and WW2 were a clash of empires and corporate greed. The ordinary soldier got nothing but a tin medal if lucky.

I read a couple of great books on this, the stories of the fighting spirit of the Gurkhas and Punjabis is quite inspiring; however one should note, as was written at the time, that smaller tanks were perfect for these fighting conditions.

For example, in the Vietnam war, heavy tanks built for European theaters of war that were used by both sides, were exceptionally ill suited for jungle warfare.

Indeed during the island hopping campaign by the Americans, the Stuart light tank proved to be exceptionally useful.

Sun Tzu wrote extensively about how vital it was to utilize and match the right tools to the battlefield environment.

Though the Japanese may have been brutal and ruthless, I still tip my hat to the military boldness of that Major.

Excellent video.

Better small tanks than no tanks at all

The reason these limited axis attacks worked for them in a few situations across the globe is that few people expected such pointless and evil violence. Yes it creates shock. Part of the shock is that it is so insane and illogical. They had little chance of occupying those lands long term. No-one in their right mind what do what the axis kept doing.

Thanks Mark. Very interesting video, excellently presented.

Where did the Japanese tankers get their fuel for this series of battles ?

"The blanket" theory... England, America and Japan (specially) never understood it.
Light armored vehicles and tank -> fast easy movement and attack
Heavy armored tanks with heavier barrel guns -> slow to move , expensive and easy plane targets... but will defeat any lighter armor plating.
Only the german engineers understood this, but not their leaders...
It was the Soviets who, while making a huge mistake, found a compromise in size with the T-34

My grandfather was part of the 2/30th AIF battalion, and was a POW in Changi for 3 years and 8 months. Half of his battalion died, and underwent some of the most appalling treatment and conditions during WW2. He survived, albeit in a poor state of being, hence I am alive today.

Thank you Mark for sharing this story, along with all the others that have helped me to understand what the world went through before I was born

I think there was an instance in Muar where they took out 7 tanks. They should have been given more 2 pounders

Elder people never told the Japanese also brought tanks to Malaya, I guess only a few of tanks brought by them

Ouch! Thanks Mark. I forgot to say that I was born in Singapore in 1970. My Dad was in the RAF.
Rich.

It's a coincidence that I had just read about this passage of battle in Bill Yenne's book 'The Imperial Japanese Army: The Invincible Years 1941-42'. Your excellent video certainly helped with the visualisation of the battle. Good job!

I have diaries war the battlefield of kelantan in WWII...

Excellent video,well done.

If only we had a Matilda

Thank you - I always wanted to be reunited with the tank assault incident that was described in the instructions leaflet of my Fujimi Chi-Ha model, 40+ years ago !!!