page_title: Northamptonshire Battery, Royal Field Artillery
section_title: Singapore
hierarchical_section_title: Northamptonshire Battery, Royal Field Artillery / World War II / Singapore
caption_attribution_description: English: Allied Forces in the United Kingdom 1939-45 Gunners of the 1st Heavy Artillery Regiment (1st Polish Corps) manning a QF 4.5 inch Howitzer on a training exercise near St Andrews in Scotland.
context_page_description: The Northamptonshire Battery, Royal Field Artillery was a unit of Britain's Territorial Force from 1908 to 1919. It served in the Sinai and Palestine Campaign during World War I. In World War II the battery fought in the Malayan Campaign and was captured at the Fall of Singapore.
context_section_description: The Sobieski took the regiment to Halifax, Nova Scotia, where 135th Fd Rgt and 53rd Brigade transshipped to the USS Mount Vernon and CT5 sailed on via Port of Spain to Cape Town. News of the Japanese attacks on Pearl Harbor and Malaya was received, and the convoy's destination was changed from the Middle East to India, and then the Mount Vernon was detached and sent direct to Malaya.
  135th Field Regiment landed at Singapore on 13 January 1942 during a Japanese air raid. Its guns and equipment were in other ships of CT5, so it had to be re-equipped on arrival, with 336th Bty being issued with eight 4.5-inch howitzers towed by Chevrolet 4 x 4 1​¹⁄₂-ton trucks. Together with 53rd Brigade it was attached to 11th Indian Division. On 20 January, 336 Bty moved out to the Mount Austin Estate north of Johor Bahru  on the mainland. Then on 24 January it moved up to support 53rd Brigade on the coast road to Senggarang, A Troop with 6th Battalion Norfolk Regiment, moving up from Rengit, the rest of the battery at Brigade HQ at Benut. 6th Norfolks' column was ambushed, one of the 4.5-inch howitzers being lost, though Captain Halford-Thompson got the other into action. A Company of 6th Norfolks with another of A Troop's guns attempted to clear the road, but could only do so temporarily.
  11th Indian Division now organised a mixed column under Major Banham of 336 Bty ('Bancol') to open the road from Rengit to Senggarang. The two sections of B Troop were ordered to advance by leap-frog bounds so that they could provide continuous fire support for the scratch force of Norfolks and armoured cars of the Federated Malay States Volunteers. The armoured cars advanced under fire from both sides of the road until a road bock was encountered and the length of the road came under fire, the infantry being cut down, one howitzer lost and the other saved (together with many wounded) by Bombardier Thompson who turned the gun tractor round in the narrow road. Banham in an Indian Carrier did get through to Senggarang, where he reported the road impassable for wheeled vehicles. The commander of 15th Indian Brigade decided to retire to Benut through the mangrove swamps along the shoreline, so A Troop's remaining howitzer was put out of action by dropping the breech-block into the river. Banham, Halford-Thompson and the men of 336th Bty reached Benut late on 27 January. Meanwhile, Rengit was under heavy attack and was overrun during the night of 26/27 January; guns and vehicles were disabled and the survivors made their way to Benut. Lieutenant Lang of 336th Bty took a party to the mouth of the Benut River and helped boatloads of evacuees.
  53rd Brigade HQ at Benut was now effectively the front line, defended by 3rd Bn 16th Punjab Regiment and the two remaining howitzers of B Troop of 336th Bty under Captain Neal. The Brigade was given permission to withdraw during the night of 27/28 January to Pontian Kechil, which was held by 28th Indian Brigade and 344th Bty. The Benut river bridge and 336th Bty's ammunition dump were blown up and 336th Bty withdrew its two guns. On the night of 30/31 January all the troops in Johor withdrew across the causeway onto Singapore Island, Lt-Col Philip Toosey of 135th Fd Rgt withdrawing his guns by leap-frog bounds to ensure continuous fire support.
  At Singapore, 135th Fd Rgt was reunited with its own 25-pounder guns, just arrived with the rest of 18th Division. 336th Battery was the last to refit, due to the casualties it had suffered, and moved into positions near Nee Song on 4 February. Here they were engaged in counter-battery fire missions against Japanese gun positions on the mainland until 9/10 February when the Japanese landed on the western side of the island. 336th Battery was placed in direct support of 28th Indian Brigade, which was ordered to advance into the gap that had appeared between 11th Indian and 8th Australian Divisions. The regiment supported 28th Indian Brigade's attacks with intense fire, followed by harassing fire missions through the night. The following morning the Japanese were within three miles 
caption: Modernised 4.5-inch howitzer, 1940
exif: {}