Did Singapore Have to Fall?: Churchill and the Impregnable Fortress

by Kevin Blackburn, Karl Hack

Overview

This book provides a sophisticated summary of up-to-date knowledge on the Fall of Singapore, including the critical tensions between Churchill and local commanders. A focus on the role of Churchill, and on his understanding of the guns and Singapore's fortifications, makes the Fortress central to understanding why and how Singapore fell as it did. The book includes a range of quotations that give the flavour of the time and the essence of the debates. No other book allows the reader to get a clear overview of the base, the plans, the campaign, the guns and the remaining heritage, all in one place.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780415308038
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	11/20/2003
Pages:	324
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 9.19(h) x (d)

About the Author

Karl Hack teaches history at the National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. He specialises in Southeast Asian history, imperialism and counterinsurgency.
Kevin Blackburn teaches history at the National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. He is an Australian historian who specialises in Australian history and in war and memory.

Table of Contents

PrefaceKeyMapsPhotographsChronology1. Introduction 2. Singapore in 1941 3. The Fatal Decisions 4. The Campaign 5. The Guns of Singapore 6. After the BattleAppendix A: British Forces in December 1941Appendix B: Japanese Forces in December 1941Appendix C: Organisation of Malaya CommandAppendix D: British Aircraft in the Far EastAppendix E: War Diaries for Selected Coastal GunsAppendix F: Gun StatisticsAppendix G: The Guns of Faber and Changi Fire CommandBibliographyNotesIndex

Editorial Reviews

'... a major and original contribution to what the author's call the "never-ending post-mortem" destined to continue not simply for want of an authoritative inquiry conducted at the time but more especially with ever-changing perspectives'.

A. J. Stockwell (Royal Holloway, University of London), The Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History

From the Publisher