Evening star., 1942-01-31
Singapore Defense
System Revised in
Last Eight Weeks
Setup Originally Was
Planned to Withstand
Attacks by Sea
By the Associated Press.

By the Associated Press
The hour of test Of one Of the
mightiest strongholds in the world
struck today with the start Of the
battle OF Singapore, marsh little
tree-covered island at the southern
tip OF Malaga where some $400,-
000, 900 has gone to create a SOUTH
east Asian Gibraltar.
Manning its hidden guns and
massed at its beachheads is a grim
defense force Of undisclosed size
English infantry, Scottish High
landers, Australians, Sikhs, Gurk-
has, Malayan militia and Moslem
riflemen, toughened in the eight
week delaying fight in the jungles
Of Malaga.
Surging into the assault are the
campaign n-hardened little warriors
of the rising sun who won Malaga
and thus opened land route for
virtually unimpeded reinforcement
and air support from nearby bases
The chief advantages for the de-
tenders are their consolidated posi-
tion, the mighty armament Of the
island, and the mile-wide water
barrier of the Strait of Johore,
mined and swept by the guns of
camouf1aged artillery batteries and
concrete machinegun pill boxes.
Potential Dangers to Island.
The greatest potential dangers to
the defense are Japan's superiority
in manpower and probably in air
strength, the weakness Of the de-
fense system to landward attack
from the north, and the problem
OF food supply on an island never
able to provide enough for its nor
NAL population of over 100000
For eight weeks the British have
had some opportunity to revise the
defense system, laid out originally
with the idea of standing of attack
by sea. Guns have been moved, new
lines Of pillboxes placed, and zone
OF action cleared mile deep along
the whole northern coast where
once the $50, 1000 900 naval base and
dockyards were deemed secure.
Presumably, too, hidden hangers
have been built and little air bases
prepared In the rubber plantation
country as auxiliaries to the prin-
cipal air fields. already the targets
Of repeated air raids.
The big r. A. F.. base on the east
bank Of the Seletar River directly
across the strait from Japanese
seized lower Johore is especially
vulnerable to attack. Farther from
the Japanese guns is the civil air.
port of the city of Singapore, on a
southeastern bay of the island.
Plane Reinforcements.
On guard and on attack from |
these and the hidden bases are
newly-arrived British Hurricane
fighters bolstering the previous
strength of Blenheims. Australian
Wirraways. and American-made |
Hudson bombers and Brewster Buf-
falos.
Inland, fast patrols and mobile
artillery units have been organized
to meet parachutist landings If the
Japanese find themselves unable to |
cross the Strait of Johore and try
aerial invasion Of the 27-mile- long,
14-mile- wide island
In the hilly central section of the
island huge stores of munitions and
fuel have been reported laid in deep
underground.
Water from vast catchment area
in the low hills flows into two large, |
closely guarded reservoirs presumed |
ample for the needs OF the islands |
residents, the refugees from Malaga |
and the defense forces.
Problem of Food Supply.
Food supply constitutes a problem
apart. Even in normal times, Singa-
pore has had to import most OF its
food.
Attacked from the north, however,
the islands lanes of supply have
not been cut. 1t is across the narrow
Strait of Malacca from Dutch Su-
matra and only 500 miles by sea
from Batavia, capital of the Neither
lands Indies and on the island of
Java where the Allied Southwest
Pacific Command has headquarters
With this road Of supply and rein
forcement open. the island strong
hold. ceded to the British in 1919
by the Sultan of Johore, becomes
the forward bastion of the United
Nations stubborn stand across the
chain OF islands to the south.