page_title: History of George Town, Penang
section_title: World War II
hierarchical_section_title: History of George Town, Penang / World wars / World War II
caption_attribution_description: REOCCUPATION OF PENANG Allied Forces liberated Penang at the end of August. Jap surrender party signed off the war aboard HMS Nelson lying off Georgetown. Jap truck carrying Royal Marine occupying force passes through excited crowd in Penang. SPU/791 Sept '45 - INTERSERVICES PUBLIC RELATIONS DIRECTORATE (INDIA)
context_page_description: George Town, the capital city of the State of Penang, is the second largest city in Malaysia and the economic centre of the country's northern region. The history of George Town began with its establishment by Captain Francis Light of the British East India Company in 1786. Founded as a free port, George Town became the first British settlement in Southeast Asia and prospered in the 19th century as one of the vital British entrepôts within the region. It briefly became the capital of the Straits Settlements, a British crown colony which also consisted of Singapore and Malacca.
  During World War II, George Town was militarily occupied by the Japanese Empire between 1941 and 1945. At the war's end, it became the first city in British Malaya to be liberated, under Operation Jurist. Following the dissolution of the Straits Settlements in 1946, Penang was merged into the Federation of Malaya. Despite a secessionist movement that originated from the city, the merger with Malaya went ahead and the federation attained independence from the British Empire in 1957.
context_section_description: World War II, on the other hand, unleashed unprecedented social and political upheaval to George Town. From 9 until 18 December 1941, Japanese warplanes indiscriminately strafed and bombed the city, in the process eliminating the obsolete Royal Air Force and Royal Australian Air Force squadrons tasked with the defence of Penang. It was estimated that 600 civilians perished as a result of the Japanese bombardment, with an additional 1,100 wounded.
  Notwithstanding the fact that the British Army had earlier designated Penang Island as a fortress, Lieutenant-General Arthur Percival subsequently ordered a withdrawal from Penang. Not only did the British Army abandon the Batu Maung Fort without firing a single shot, they also surreptitiously evacuated the city's European residents, leaving ethnic Asians to the mercy of the impending Japanese occupation. To this day, it has been agreed that the withdrawal and the covert evacuation of Europeans contributed to the loss of the British sense of invincibility, and that "the moral collapse of British rule in Southeast Asia came not in Singapore, but in Penang".
  George Town fell to the Imperial Japanese Army on 19 December 1941, marking the start of a period of Japanese occupation. Penang Island was renamed Tojo-to, after the then Japanese Prime Minister, Hideki Tojo. The Japanese enacted differing policies with each ethnic community. Ethnic Chinese residents arguably suffered the most brutal treatment, as the Imperial Japanese Army massacred thousands of Chinese as part of the Sook Ching campaign to rid anti-Japanese elements in the society. Female residents were also coerced to work as comfort women by the Imperial Japanese Army, with a handful of brothels set up within the city.
  The city's residents also had to contend with economic hardship during the Japanese occupation, with hyperinflation caused by the oversupply of the Japanese-issued 'banana' dollars, and the acute shortage of food and raw materials, due to a combination of Japanese wartime rationing and an Allied blockade of Japanese shipping. Households were forced to grow secondary crops such as sweet potatoes, yam and tapioca for their own subsistence. Beginning in 1942, a standardised Japanese curricula was enforced in schools throughout the city, with Japanese as the official language. In fact, social lifestyles were also greatly affected, as it became compulsory to bow to Japanese soldiers on guard duty and to sing the Japanese national anthem, whilst whole streets and shops were renamed in Japanese.
  Meanwhile, the Port of Penang was utilised as a major Axis submarine base in Southeast Asia. Between 1942 and 1944, George Town became the port of call and a replenishment hub for the submarines of the Imperial Japanese Navy, the Kriegsmarine (of Nazi Germany) and the Regia Marina (of the Kingdom of Italy).
  Between 1944 and 1945, Royal Air Force and United States Army Air Force bombers from India repeatedly launched bombing raids on George Town, seeking to destroy naval and administrative facilities. Several colonial buildings were destroyed or damaged, such as the Government Offices, St. Xavier's Institution, Hutchings School (now the Penang State Museum) and the Penang Secretariat Building. The destruction of the latter also wiped out a large part of British and Japanese records concerning Penang Island, complicating post-war efforts to compile a comprehensive history of Penang. The Penang Strait was also mined to deny its use to Japanese shipping.
  Following the Japanese surrender on 15 August 1945, the Penang Shimbun, a Japanese daily, published the proclamation of surrender issued by the Emperor of Japan. Under Operation Jurist, a British Royal Navy fleet, led by HMS Nelson, accepted the surrender of the Japanese garrison in Penang on 2 September 1945. A British Royal Marines contingent landed at Swettenham Pier on the following day and subsequently dispersed to capture key locations, including the Eastern & Oriental Hotel, Penang Hill and the military facilities in Gelugor. By the end of 3 September, George Town becam
caption: British Royal Marines liberating George Town on 3 September 1945.
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