By mid-July an armistice came into effect and the 21st Brigade subsequently undertook garrison duties along the coast. In December 1941 Imperial Japanese forces advanced rapidly in South East Asia following the attack on Pearl Harbor and the invasion of Malaya. As a result, in January 1942, the British government requested that the 7th Division be brought back from the Middle East to conduct operations in the Netherlands East Indies. From 30 January, the division, including the 21st Brigade, began disembarking from Suez. In February 1942, however, as the situation in the Pacific worsened, the Australian government decided that the division should be brought back to Australia rather than be committed to the fighting in Java, or in Burma.