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Hey before I begin I just want to thank all of you who have joined the patreon, you guys are awesome. Please let me know what other figures, events or other things you want to hear about in the future and I will try to make it happen.   If you are a long time listener to the Pacific War week by week podcast over at KNG or viewer of my youtube channel you have probably heard me talk about Tomoyuki Yamashita, the Tiger of Malaya quite often. It goes without saying when it comes to Japanese generals of WW2 he stands out. Not just to me, from the offset of the war he made a large impression on westerners, he achieved incredible feats early on in the war. Now if you look up books about him, you will pretty much only find information in regards to his infamous war crimes trial. Hell it was so infamous the legal doctrine of hierarchical accountability for war crimes, whereby a commanding officer is legally responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by his subordinates, was created. This is known as the command responsibility or “the Yamashita standard”. His court case was very controversial, he remains a controversial figure, certainly to the people of territories he campaigned in, but I think what can be said of him the most is he was special amongst the Japanese generals. Anyways lets get the show on the road as they say.   So who was Yamashita? When he was 59 years old commanding forces in the Philippines against General Douglas MacArthur, he weighed 220 ls and stood 5 feet 9 inches. His girth pressed out against his green army uniform. He had an egg shaped head, balding, wide spaced eyes and a flat nose. He wore a short mustache, sort of like Hitlers, until it grayed then he shaved it off. He was not a very attractive man, Filipinos referred to him as “old potato face” while Americans called him “a florid, pig faced man”.   Tomobumi Yamashita was born in 1885, he was the second son of Dr. Sakichi Yamashita and Yuu Yamashita in Osugi village, on Shikoku island. Like most males of his day he was indoctrinated into military preparatory school from a young age. Yamashita had no chosen the army as a career, in his words ‘my father suggested the idea, because I was big and healthy, and my mother did not seriously object because she believed, bless her soul, that I would never pass the highly competitive entrance examination. If I had only been cleverer or had worked harder, I would have been a doctor like my brother”Yamashita would graduate from the 18th class of the IJA academy in november of 1905, ranked 16th out of 920 cadets.    In 1908 he was promoted to the rank of Lt and during WW1 he fought against Imperial German and Austro-Hungarian forces in the famous siege of Qingdao, which if you are interested I did an episode over on my Youtube channel about this battle. Its a very overlooked battle, but many histories firsts occurred at it like the first carrier attack. In 1916 he was promoted to captain and attended the 28th class of the Army War college to graduate sixth in his class that year. He also married Hisako Nagayama in 1916, she was the daughter of the retired General Nagayama.    It seems Yamashita's brush against the Germans in 1914 had a huge influence on him, because he became fascinated with Germany and would serve as assistant military attache at Bern and Berlin from 1919-1922. He spent his time in Germany alongside Captain Hideki Tojo, both men would run into each other countless times and become bitter rivals. Both men toured the western front, visiting Hamburg and witnessed first hand the crippling inflation and food prices that came from Germany's defeat. Yamashita said to Tojo then “If Japan ever has to fight any nation, she must never surrender and get herself in a state like this.” He returned to Japan in 1922, was promoted to major and served a few different posts in the Imperial Headquarters and Staff College. Yamashita became a leading member of the Kodoha faction, while Tojo became a leading member of the rival Toseiha faction. In 1927 Yamashita was sent again to Europe, this time to Vienna as a military attache. Just prior to departing he had invested in a business selling thermometers starting by one of his wife's relatives, the business failed horribly and Yamashita was tossed into debt, bailiffs literally came to seize his house. As told to us by his biographer “For a regular officer to have contracted such a debt, however innocently, was a disgrace. He felt he should resign his commission.” Yamashita's brother refused to allow him to quit, instructing him to leave for Vienna, while he resolved his debts. His days in Vienna were the best of his life, professed Yamashita. He studied economics at Vienna university and made friends with a Japanese widow, who introduced him to a German woman named Kitty and they had an affair. This would spring forward his reputation as an eccentric officer. Yamashita was obsessed over hygiene,and refused to eat fruit unless it was thoroughly washed. He avoided ice water, hated dancing and never learnt how to drive a car. One of his most notable quirks was his habit of falling asleep often during meetings where he legendarily would snore. Like I may have said in previous podcast and youtube episodes, this guy was quite a character, often described as a big bear.    Now this is not a full biography on Yamashita so I cant devolve to far into things, such as his first fall from grace. During the February 26th coup incident of 1936, Yamashita was a leading member of the Kodoha faction and helped mediate a peaceful end to the standoff, however in truth he was backing the coup. He simply managed to not get caught red handed at the time doing too much for the mutineers, regardless he lost favor with the outraged Emperor and many young captains whom he loved like sons killed themselves in disgrace. If you want to know more about the February coup of 1936, check out my series on Emperor Hirohito or General Ishawara, they both talk about it in depth and touch upon Yamashita's role a bit.    The coup led to the dissolvement of the Kodoha faction and the dominance of the Toseiha, led by Tojo. Yamashita tried to resign from the IJA, but his superiors dissuade him. He was relegated to a post in Korea, which honestly was a punishment. Yamashita would say “When I was posted to Korea, I felt I had been given a tactful promotion but that in fact my career was over. Even when I was given my first fighting company in North China, I still felt I had no future in the Army, so I was always on the front line, where the bullets flew the thickest. I sought only a place to die.”  He had some time to reflect upon his conduct while in Korea, he began to study Zen Buddhism. He was promoted to Lt General in November of 1937 and when the China war broke out he was one of those speaking out that the incident needed to end swiftly and that peaceful relations must be made with the UK and US. He received a unimportant post in the Kwantung army and in 1938 was assigned command of the IJA 4th division. He led the forces during in northern china against insurgents until he returned to Tokyo in July of 1940. His fellow officers lauded him as Japan's finest general. Meanwhile Tojo had ascended to war minister and one of his first moves was to send a delegation to Germany. Tojo considered Yamashita a ruthless and forceful commander and feared he would become a powerful rival against him one day. Yamashita would go on the record to say then “I have nothing against Tojo, but he apparently has something against me.” You see, Yamashita had no political ambitions, unlike Tojo who was by nature a political monster. “My life, is that of a soldier; I do not seek any other life unless our Emperor calls me.” In late 1940, Tojo asked Yamashita to lead a team of 40 experts on a 6 month train tour of Germany and Italy, a move that kept him out of Tokyo, because Tojo was trying to solidify his political ambitions. This is going to become a looming theme between the two men.   He was presented to Adolf Hitler in January of 1941, passing along messages from Tojo and publicly praising the Fuhrer, though privately he was very unimpressed by the man  “He may be a great orator on a platform, with his gestures and flamboyant way of speaking. But standing behind his desk listening he seems much more like a clerk.” Hitler pressed upon him to push Japan to declare war on Britain and the US. At the time of course Japan was facing China and had two major conflicts with the USSR, thus this was absolutely not in her interest. “My country is still fighting in China, and we must finish that war as soon as possible. We are also afraid that Russia may attack us in Manchuria. This is no time for us to declare war on other countries.” Yamashita hoped to inspect Germany's military techniques and technology to help Japan. Hitler promised open exchanges of information stating “All our secrets are open to you,”, but this would prove to be a lie. “There were several pieces of equipment the Germans did not want us to see. Whenever I tried to persuade the German General Staff to show us things like radar—about which we had a rudimentary knowledge—the conversation always turned to something else.”   Yamashita met with field Marshal Hermann Goring who gave him an overview of the war in europe. Goring would complain about Yamashita falling asleep during lectures and meetings and he believed the man was drunk often. Yamashita met Benito Mussolini in June of 1941 receiving a similar rundown to what he got in Germany. Yamashita visited Kitty in Vienna for a quick fling, but overall the trip deeply impacted Yamashita's resolve that Japan should stay out of the Europeans war and that Germany made a grievous error invading the USSR in June of 1941. This is what he said the members of the commission “You know the results of our inspection as well as I do. I must ask you not to express opinion in favor of expanding the alliance between Japan, Germany and Italy. Never suggest in your report that Japan should declare war on Great Britain and the United States. We must not and cannot rely upon the power of other nations. Japan needs more time, particularly as there may be aggression against us from Russia. We must have time to rebuild our defense system and adjust the whole Japanese war machine. I cannot repeat this to you often enough.” His report was similar, and it really pissed off Tojo who was trying to develop plans for a war against America. Yamashita would then get exiled to Manchuria in July of 1941, but Tojo's resentment towards him could only go so far, because Yamashita was one of their best generals and in his planned war against Britain and America, he would need such a man.   Yamashita's time in Europe reshaped his views on how to conduct war. He saw first hand blitzkrieg warfare, it seems it fascinated him. He consistently urged the implementation of new proposals calling for the streamlining of air arms; to mechanize the Army; to integrate control of the armed forces in a defense ministry coordinated by a chairman of Joint Chiefs of staff; to create a paratroop corps and to employ effective propaganda. Basically he saw what was working for the Germans against the allies and wanted Japan to replicate it. Tojo did not like many of the proposal, hated the fact they were coming from Yamashita, so he obviously was not keen on making them happen. Luckily for Yamashita he would be given a chance to implement some of his ideas in a big way.   On November 6th of 1941, Lt General Yamashita was appointed commander of the 25th Japanese army. His orders were to seize the Malay Peninsula and then the British naval base at Singapore. The Malaya Peninsula snakes 700 miles south of Thailand, a rugged sliver of land that constricts at its narrowest point to about 60 miles wide. It hold mountains that split the peninsula in half, some going as high as 7000 feet. During this time Malaya produced around 40% of the worlds rubber, 60% of its tin, two resources vital for war. At its very southern tip lies Singapore, a diamond shaped island connected to the mainland by a 1115 stone causeway. Singapore's largest asset was its naval base guarding the passage from the Pacific and Indian oceans. Together Malay and Singapore represented the key to controlling what Japan called the Southern Resource Area.   Singapore was known as the gibraltar of the east for good reason. It was a massively fortified naval base. The base had been developed between 1923-1938 and cost 60 million pounds, around 2 billion pounds today. It was 21 square miles, had the largest dry dock in the world, the 3rd largest floating dock and enough fuel tanks to support the entire royal navy for 6 months. She was defended by 15 inch naval guns stationed at the Johre battery, Changi and Buona vista battery. And despite the infamous myth some of you may have heard, these guns were fully capable of turning in all directions including the mainland. For those unaware a myth perpetuated after the fall of Singapore that her large 15 inch guns could not turn to the mainland and that this spelt her doom, no it was not that, it was the fact they mostly had armor piercing shells which are using to hit ships and not land targets. Basically if you fire an armor piercing shell at land it imbeds itself then explodes, while HE shells would have torn any Japanese army to pieces. Alongside the 15 inch monsters, there were countless other artillery pieces such as 9.2 inch guns. By December of 1941 Malaya and Singapore held 164 first line aircraft out of a total of 253 aircraft, but many of the fighters were the obsolete Brewster F2A Buffalo, a pretty slow, fat little beast that could take a licking as it was armored, but against the Zero fighter it was unbelievably outmatched in speed and maneuverability.    The Japanese acquired a major gift prior to the outbreak of war. On november 11th, 1940, the SS Automedon, a German raider attacked the HMS Atlantis which was carrying documents intended for the British far east command. The documents indicated the British fleet was not going to help Singapore; that Britain would not declare war if Thailand was invaded and that Hong Kong was expendable. The Germans gave the documents to the Japanese who were very excited by the information.    Starting in January of 1941, Colonel Masanobu Tsuji led the Taiwan Army Research section based on Formosa to investigate how a campaign could be waged in Malay and Singapore. His findings on the defenses of Malay and Singapore were summed up in these 3 points: 1. Singapore Fortress was solid and strong facing the sea, but vulnerable on the peninsular side facing the Johore Strait;  Newspaper reports of a strong Royal Air Force (RAF) presence were propaganda;  Although British forces in Malaya numbered from five to six divisions (well over 80,000 men), less than half were Europeans.    Now just a little bit about Tsuji as he was to become the chief of staff operations and planning under Yamashita. Tsuji was extremely insubordinate and a political schemer. He was a Toseiha faction fanatic, loyal to Tojo and thus definitely an enemy to Yamashita. Yamashita wrote of Tsuji in his war diary “is egotistical and wily. He is a sly dog and unworthy to serve the country. He is a manipulator to be carefully watched.” Tsuji would go on to have a infamous reputation for ordering atrocities in the name of his superiors, often without them knowing and this would be very much the case under Yamashita. Now using Tsuji's intelligence Yamashita began plans at his HQ at Samah, a port on Hainan island, starting in November of 1941 on how to launch the campaign. He was initially offered 5 divisions for the invasion, but he felt he could accomplish the objective with only three. There are a few reasons why he believed this; first, Tsuji's research suggested the peninsula roads would be the center of the battlefront and that the flanks would extend no more than a km or so to the left or right due to the dense jungle terrain (in fact Yamashita was planning to assault from the jungle specifically); 2nd intelligence indicated the defending troops were not of the highest caliber (the British were busy in Europe thus many of the troops in southeast asia were poorly trained, half were british regulars the rest were Australian, Indian and Malayan); 3rd Yamashita was aware “the Japanese army were in the habit of flinging more troops into the battle than could possibly be maintained” boy oh boy tell that one to the future boys on Guadalcanal. Thus he calculated 3 divisions was the maximum to be fed, equipped and supplied. Based on his recommendations the 25th army was created with 3 divisions; the 5th under Lt General Takuma Matsui; 18th under Lt General Renya Mutaguchi and the Imperial guards division of Lt General Takuma Nishimura. Supporting these would be two regiment of heavy field artillery and the 3rd tank brigade. Something that made Yamashita's campaign quite interesting was the usage and amount of tanks. He was invading with around 200 or so tanks consisting of the Type 95 Ha-Go light tank, type 97 Chi-Ha and Type 89 I-Go medium tanks and Type 97 Te-Ke tankettes. For aircraft he had the 3rd Air division, 459 aircraft strong with an additional 159 aircraft from the IJN to support them. The 3rd air division had a variety of aircraft such as Nakajima Ki-27 Nate's, Nakajima ki-43 Oscars, Kitsubishi ki-51 Sonia's, Kawasaki ki-48 Lily's, Mitsubishi ki-21 sally's, Mitsubishi ki-30 Ann's, Mitsubishi ki-15 babs and Mitsubishi ki-46 dinahs. For the IJN it was the 22nd air flotilla using Mitsubishi G3M1 Nell's, Mitsubishi A5M4 Claudes and some A6M Zeros. To say it was a lot of firepower at his disposal is an understatement, Yamashita was packing heat, heat he could use in a blitzkrieg fashion.   His staff at Samah identified 5 operational objectives: 1 Simultaneous capture of Singora and Patani, Thailand and Kota Bharu, Malaya.  2 Capture of all enemy airfields in southern Thailand and Malaya.  3 Occupation of Kuala Lumpur, Malaya.  4 Occupation of Johore Bahru, and control of Johore Strait.  5 Conquest of Singapore.    Colonel Tsuji, appointed Chief of Operations and Planning for the 25th Army, proposed the following plan which was readily approved:  Land the main strength of the 5th Division simultaneously and without warning at Singora and Patani, and at the same time land a powerful section of the 18th Division to attack Kota Bharu.  The troops disembarked at Singora and Patani to press forward immediately to attack the line of the Perak River Hand capture its bridge and the Alor Star aerodrome.  The troops landed at Kota Bharu to press forward along the eastern coast as far as Kuantan.    The landing at Kota Bharu, the only one in Malaya was expected to be opposed and quite risky. But if it was successful, it would create a useful diversion away from the main force landings in Thailand.   The landings took place around 2:15am local time on December 8th, about an hour and 20 minutes before the attack on Pearl Harbor. The landings went largely unopposed, except at Kota Bahru where the Japanese saw heavy resistance. The British had anticipated this landing point and created operation Matador, a plan to pre-emptively invade southern thailand to secure defensive lines against the Japanese, however this plan was never accepted by British high command for obvious political reasons. But on December 5th, with a Japanese invasion looking certain, suddenly London gave permission to the Far east commanders to decide if Operation matador should be activated or not. The commander in Malaya, General Arthur Percival recommended forestalling it, fearing to violate Thai sovereignty, which ultimately would be the doom of a defense for Malaya.   At the battle of Kota Bharu, the 9th infantry division of Major General Barstow attempted holding off the Japanese from taking the important Kota Bharu airfield. The 8th brigade of Billy Key had fortified the beaches with pillboxes, barbed wire and land mines. The Japanese took heavy losses, but they were able to find gaps and fill them up until Brigadier Key had to ask permission to pull out. The royal air force at Kota Bharu tossed Hudson bombers to hit the troop transports, but it was a suicide mission to do so. Meanwhile the IJA 5th division landed at Pattani and Songkhla in Thailand while the Imperial guards division marched over the border from French Indochina. The Japanese encountered very little resistance, the leader of Thailand Plaek Pibulsonggram had been trying to get assurances from the allies and Japanese all the way up until the invasion, once the Japanese landed he knew his best option was to play nice and sign an armistice. This basically spelt doom for malaya as the Japanese were given access to Thailand's airfields which they used to smash the forward airfields in Malaya.   The first day of aerial encounters were a catastrophe for the British. General Percival would comment “The rapidity with which the Japanese got their air attacks going against our aerodromes was quite remarkable. Practically all the aerodromes in Kelantan, Kedah, Province Wellesley, and Penang, were attacked, and in most cases fighters escorted the bombers. The performance of Japanese aircraft of all types, and the accuracy of their bombing, came as an unpleasant surprise. By the evening our own air force had already been seriously weakened.” Brigadier Key withdrew after causing an estimated 800 casualties upon the Japanese while taking roughly 465. While Kota Bharu was being fought over, Percival unleashed Operation Krohcol, a 2.0 of Matador seeing British forces cross into Thailand to intercept the incoming enemy. It was an absolute disaster, the British attackers were defeated not only by the Japanese 5th division, but some Royal Thai police also defended their territory. The operation had basically become a race to who could seize the important focal point first and the Japanese took it first thus winning decisively. To add to that misery, force Z, consisting of the battleship HMS Prince of Wales,, battlecruiser Repulse and 4 destroyers tried to intercept the Japanese invasion fleet only to be utterly destroyed by overwhelming Japanese airforces.   Within 4 days of the landings, the 5th division advanced from Singora through the town of Jitra to capture the RAF airfield at Alor star, around 100 miles away. Yamashita managed this using flanking techniques that saw his army take town after town and airfield after airfield. There were numerous natural obstacles to the advance such as dense jungles, very long supply lines, torrential rain and heat, but he had a secret weapon, bicycles. At Jitra Percival made his first major stand. Holding Jitra would safeguard the northern airfields of Malaya, but it was a folly to do so as the airfields in question were not provided adequate aircraft and the British lacked something extremely important to be able to defend themselves, tanks. Colonel Tsuji saw the fighting at Jitra first hand and reported “Our tanks were ready on the road, and the twenty or so enemy armored cars ahead were literally trampled underfoot … The enemy armored cars could not escape by running away, and were sandwiched between our medium tanks … It was speed and weight of armor that decided the issue.” The British had spread themselves far too thinly across a 14 mile front with jungle on their right flank and rubber plantations and mangrove swamps to their left. Yamashita used a innovative blitzkrieg like tactic, he combined his air, artillery, tanks and bicycle infantry to punch holes in concentrated attacks forcing allied defenders to withdraw. As Percival would write later in his memoirs “This withdrawal would have been difficult under the most favorable conditions. With the troops tired, units mixed as the result of the fighting, communications broken and the night dark, it was inevitable that orders should be delayed and that in some cases they should never reach the addressees. This is what in fact occurred … the withdrawal, necessary as it may have been, was too fast and too complicated for disorganized and exhausted troops, whose disorganization and exhaustion it only increased”    Yamashita had ingeniously thought of employing large numbers of bicycles for his infantry so they could keep up momentum and speed with his mechanized forces. Oh and he didn't bring thousands of bicycles over to Malaya, the real genius was that they were there ready for him. His intelligence prior to the invasion indicated nearly all civilians in malaya had bicycles, so when the Japanese came over they simply stole them. Half of Yamashitas troops moved in motor vehicles while the rest road on 18,000 bicycles. As noted by Tsuji “With the infantry on bicycles, there was no traffic congestion or delay. Wherever bridges were destroyed the infantry continued their advance, wading across the rivers carrying their bicycles on their shoulders, or crossing on log bridges held up on the shoulders of engineers standing in the stream.” They Japanese overwhelmed the defenders who were forced to fight, flee into the jungles or flee along the roads where they were simply outsped by the faster Japanese. The defenders left numerous stores of food, abandoned vehicles, and supplies that Yamashita's men would dub “churchill's allowance”. British Lt Colonel Spencer Chapmanwas forced to hide on the sides of roads watching Japanese pedal past remarking “The majority were on bicycles in parties of forty or fifty, riding three or four abreast and talking and laughing just as if they were going to a football match.” The Japanese had the ability to carry their gear on the bicycles, giving them an enormous advantage over the allies fleeing on foot. The Japanese could travel faster, further and less fatigued. When the British destroyed 250 bridges during their flight, “the Japanese infantry (to continue) their advance, wading across the rivers carrying their bicycles on their shoulders, or crossing on log bridges held up on the shoulders of engineers standing in the stream”. The British could not escape the bicycle blitzkrieg as it became known, countless were forced to surrender under constant pressure and relentless pursuit.    Alongside the bicycle warfare, whenever Yamashita faced terrain unsuitable for his tanks, he ordered amphibious landings further south to outflank the enemy's  rear.   Meanwhile the war in the air went equally terrible for the allies. The RAF had pulled back its best pilots and aircraft to deal with the war for Britain against the Luftwaffe. 21 airfields were in Malaya and Singapore, few of them had modern facilities, only 15 concrete runways. The heavy rain made the grass airstrips unusable. All the airfields were allocated around 8 heavy and 8 light anti aircraft guns. Quality radar units were completely inadequate. The Super Spitfires and Hyper Hurricanes were mostly in Britain fighting the Germans, while Buffaloes were allocated to Malaya. The Japanese airforces easily overcame the allied opposition and established air superiority quickly. Launching from airfields in Vietnam, they bombed all the airfields into submission and continuously applied pressure to Singapore. . The aerial dominance of the Zero and ‘Oscar' fighters served to undermine the morale of the British infantryman on the ground. As historian H. P. Wilmot has observed, “in the opening phase of the war the Zero-sen was just what the Japanese needed, and the Allies were devastated by the appearance of a ‘super fighter.' To add insult to injury, every airfield taken starting at the most northern going further and further south towards Singapore offered the Japanese new launching points to make for faster attack.   Yamashita's forces reached the southern tip of the peninsula in just 8 weeks, his men had covered some 700 miles, about 12 miles a day on average. They fought 95 large and smaller battles doing so. Multiple lines of defense were erected one after another to try and halt the Japanese advance, to kill their momentum. Starting at the beach landings, to Jitra, then to Kampar, over the Slim river, then Johor. The British failed to employ “leave behind forces” to provide guerilla warfare in lost territories leading not only the Japanese to easily consolidate their gains, the Thai's also came down and grabbed some territory. At the battle of Muar Major General Gordon Bennet deployed the allied defenders south of the Muar River and it was widely believed here they would finally halt the Japanese. Then the Imperial Guards division outflanked them performing an amphibious landing and advancing down the coastal route. The 5th Japanese division followed a parallel route through the center and the 18th division landed near Endau. The allies were thus surrounded and took heavy casualties, countless were forced to flee through swamps and thick jungle abandoned their stuff. Gordons 45th brigade were absolutely shattered, effectively disbanded and left north of the Muar river as the rest of the allies fled south. The defeat at Muar broke the British belief they could hold even a toehold on Malay. Percivals strategy to fight delaying actions until the arrival of reinforcements to Singapore had fatally undermined his troops ability to hold onto defensive positions. As the British governor of the Johore straits settlement, Sir Shenton Thomas would say on January 6th ‘“We … have gone in for mechanized transport to the nth degree. It is a fearsomely cumbersome method. We have pinned our faith to the few roads but the enemy used tracks and paths, and gets round to our rear very much as he likes.”” Yet alongside the conquest came a series of atrocities.    At the Parit Sulong Bridge south of the Muar, Captain Rewi Snelling was left behind with 150 wounded Australian and Indian soldiers not able to trek south. The Imperial guards division herded them into buildings, denied them medical treatment, many of the Indians were beheaded, others shot. This become known as the parit sulong massacre. Its hard to saw what Yamashita would have known about this incident, it technically was under the command of Takuma nishimura. On January 22nd, Nishimura gave the orders for prisoners to be forced outside, doused with petrol and set on fire. Nishimura would be sentenced to life in prison by a Singapore court, but on a flight back to Japan he was hijacked by Australian military police in Hong Kong who grabbed him and held a trial for the Parit Sulong massacre, finding him guilty and hanging him on june 11th of 1951.    When the Japanese reached the straits of Johore, Yamashita took several days to perform reconnaissance, allowing his forces to regroup and prepare to attack the massive fortress. His plan for the invasion would see the Imperial guards perform a feint attack on the northeast side of Singapore, landing on the nearby Palau Ubin island on february 7th. The 5th and 18th division would remain concealed in the jungle until the night of the night of the 8th when they would cross the Johore and hit the northwest side of Singapore. The causeway to Singapore had been blown up by the retreating British, but the ability for Singapore to defend itself from a northern attack was lackluster. When Churchill was told by Wavell the Japanese sat on the other side of the Johore strait ready to attack the fortress he said ““I must confess to being staggered by Wavell's telegram. It never occurred to me for a moment that … Singapore … was not entirely fortified against an attack from the Northwards …””   With barely enough supplies or logistical support for his campaign, Yamashita's rapid advance down the Malay peninsula walked a tightrope of what was possible. His 70,000 men of which 30,000 were frontline troops had overcome a British force double their number. In Japan he garnered the epithet “Tiger of Malaya”, which ironically he was not too happy about. Later on in the war he would bark at a German attache “I am not a tiger. The tiger attacks its prey in stealth but I attack the enemy in a fair play”.   By this point Singapore had swollen from a population of 550,000to nearly a million. Percival had a total of 70,000 infantry of mixed experience plus 15,000 clerks and support staff to man lines if necessary. 38 battalions, 17 Indian, 13 British, 6 Australian and 2 Malayan. He placed his weakest troops west of the causeway, near the abandoned naval base rather than nearby the airfield which he considered was going to be Yamashita's thrust. He placed his best forces over there, which would prove fatally wrong as Yamashita hit west of the causeway. Yamashita meanwhile could only muster 30,000 troops, he was outnumbered 2:1 and amphibious assaults called for the attacker to hold a 2:1 advantage for success. Yamashita's men were exhausted, they had suffered 4565 casualties, roughly 1793 deaths in their 55 day advance south. Worse yet, Yamashita had a critical supply issue. He had greatly exceeded his supply lines and had been surviving on the abandoned churchill stores along the way. His ammunition was critical low, it is said he was down to 18 functional tanks, allowing his men to fire 100 rounds per day, the fuel ran out, and as Yamashita put it “My attack on Singapore was a bluff—a bluff that worked. I had 30,000 men and was outnumbered more than three to one. I knew that if I had to fight for long for Singapore, I would be beaten. That is why the surrender had to be at once. I was very frightened all the time that the British would discover our numerical weakness and lack of supplies and force me into disastrous street fighting.” He told his men of the 5th and 18th division not to build any cooking fires so they could conceal their positions in the jungle as he gathered hundreds of collapsible boats and other crafts to ford the strait. He gathered 40 divisional commanders and senior officers to a rubber plantation and with a flushed red face read out his attack orders while pouring them Kikumasamune (ceremonial wine). He made a traditional toast and said “It is a good place to die; surely we shall conquer”. He had to get the British to surrender quickly, he had to essentially ‘bluff” his enemy. He had to make the British think he was fully armed and supplied for a prolonged siege, how could he do so? He fired his artillery like a mad man, knowing full well they would run out of shells.   Starting on February 3rd,  Yamashita's artillery supported by aerial bombings hit Singapore for 5 days. On the night of the 7th, 400 Imperial Guards crossed to the Ibin island performing their feint attack. Percivals attention was grabbed to the east successfully, while on the night of the 8th the 5th and 18th divisions assembled carefully at the water's edge. At 8:30pm the first wave of 4000 Japanese troops crossed the Johore strait aboard 150 small vessels. The noise of their engines was drowned out by artillery. The thinly spread Australian lines, 3000 or so men led by Major General Bennet were breached fast leading to pockets of surrounded australian troops. As Lewis Gunner cliff olsen recalled “We were horribly spread out and it was pitch black and they [Japanese troops] were very hard to see. They walked through us half the time.” A beachhead was formed, a soon 14,000 Japanese had crossed by dawn.    Communications broke down for the allies, Percival unwilling to believe the Japanese's main thrust was in the west declined to send reinforcements there. When he did finally realize the main thrust was in the west he began to withdraw troops from quiet sectors and built up a reserve. The Japanese held air supremacy and their artillery was fierce. The big 15 inch guns of singapore held mostly armor piercing shells designed to hit ships, there were few HE shells available. When they fired upon the Japanese the shells would hit the ground they would embed deeply before exploding doing little damage. The defenders had no tanks, basically no more aircraft. The last departing ships fled the scene as everything was burning chaos around them. Morale was breaking for the defenders. By the 9th, Japanese bombers were raining bombs on allied positions unopposed. Bennet was forced to pull men back to a new line of defense from the east of the Tengah airfield to the north of Jurong. Poor communications hampered the northern sector of Brigadier Duncan Maxwell whose troops actually battered the hell out of the Imperial Guards who had landed at 10pm on the 9th. The Imperial guards gradually managed a foothold on a beach, but Maxwell feared encirclement and withdrew his men against direct orders of Bennet. The retreat opened up the flank of the 11th indian division who were overrun. All of the beaches west of the causeway fell to the enemy, when they did Yamashita brought over his tanks to smash the new Jurong line. The Japanese could have potentially stormed the city center at this point, but they held back, because in reality, Percival had created a formidable reserve in the middle. The Australian 22nd brigade took the brunt of the fighting.    Yamashita was running out of reserves and his attacks were reaching their limit, but he needed the battle to end swiftly. Yamashita was shocked and shaken when he received a report that the British troop strength within the city was twice what they believed. With covert desperation, Yamashita ordered his artillery to fire until their last rounds and sent Percival a demand for surrender. “In the spirit of chivalry we have the honour of advising your surrender. Your army, founded on the traditional spirit of Great Britain, is defending Singapore, which is completely isolated, and raising the fame of Great Britain by the ut¬ most exertions and heroic feelings. . . . From now on resistance is futile and merely increases the danger to the million civilian inhabitants without good reason, exposing them to infliction of pain by fire and sword. But the development of the general war situation has already sealed the fate of Singapore, and the continuation of futile resistance would only serve to inflict direct harm and in¬ juries to thousands of non-combatants living in the city, throwing them into further miseries and horrors of war. Furthermore we do not feel you will in¬ crease the fame of the British Army by further resistance.”   Singapore had received another order prior to this from Churchill “It is certain that our troops on Singapore Island greatly outnumber any Japanese that have crossed the Straits. We must defeat them. Our whole fighting reputation is at stake and the honour of the British Empire. The Americans have held out on the Bataan Peninsula against far greater odds, the Russians are turning back the picked strength of the Germans, the Chinese with almost complete lack of mod¬ ern equipment have held the Japanese for AVi years. It will be disgraceful if we yield our boasted fortress of Singapore to inferior enemy forces. There must be no thought ofsparing troops or the civil population and no mercy must be shown to weakness in any shape or form. Commanders and senior officers must lead their troops and if necessary die with them. There must be no question or thought of surrender. Every unit must fight it out to the end and in close contact with the enemy. ... I look to you and your men to fight to the end to prove that the fighting spirit that won our Empire still exists to enable us to defend it.”   What was Percival to do? The Japanese had seized control over Singapore water reservoirs, the population would die of thirst within 2-3 days. Japanese shells were causing fires and death everywhere. People were panicking, trying to get on the very last boats leaving the port, even though that surely meant death to the IJN. An American sailor recalled “There was a lot of chaos and people killed on the docks during these bombardments. Everywhere you looked there was death. Even in the water there were dead sharks and people floating all around.” Defeatism was endemic. Australian troops were overheard saying “Chum, to hell with Malaya and Singapore. Navy let us down, air force let us down. If the bungs [natives] won't fight for their bloody country, why pick on me?” Sensing a complete collapse Percival formed a tight defense arc in front of the city, and by the 13th his commanders were telling him they believed Singapore was already doomed. Wavell was asked for approval for surrender, but he replied  “to continue to inflict maximum damage on enemy for as long as possible by house-to-house fighting if necessary.” Percival then told him the water reservoirs were taken, so Wavell sent back “YOUR GALLANT STAND IS SERVING A PURPOSE AND MUST BE CONTINUED TO THE LIMIT OF ENDURANCE”   On the 15th, Percival held a morning conference reported there was no more fuel, field gun nor bofor ammunition. In 24 hours their water would be done. He told them he would ask for a ceasefire at 4pm, by the end of the day Wavell gave him permission to surrender. Over at his HQ on the Bukit Timah heights, Yamashita was staring at a Union Jack fluttering over Fort Canning. Then a field phone rang, and a frontline commander reported the British were sending out a flag of truce.   Meanwhile back on February the 14th, Japanese forces reached the Alexandra Barracks hospital at 1pm. At 1:40pm a British Lt greeting them waving a white flag and was bayoneted on the spot. The Japanese stormed the hospital and murdered the staff and patients. 200 male staff and patients, badly wounded were bound over night and marched to an industrial estate half a mile away. Anyone who collapsed was bayoneted. The survivors of the march were formed into small groups and hacked to death or bayoneted. For a few days over 320 men and women were massacred. Only 5 survivors would give recounts of the event. It is suspected by historians that Tsuji was the architect of the Alexandra hospital massacre. This is because he was the instigator of countless atrocities he ordered unbeknownst to his superior commanders such as Yamashita.    Percival was ordered to go to the Ford motor factory to where he met with Yamashita. Yamashita was hiding his surprise that the surrender party came and as he glanced at the surrender terms he said through his interpreter “The Japanese Army will consider nothing but surrender,” Yamashita knew his forces were on the verge of running out of ammunition and he still held half troops Percival did, he was anxious Percival would figure it out. Percival replied “I fear that we shall not be able to submit our final reply before ten-thirty p.m.,” Percival had no intention of fighting on he simply wanted to work out specific details before signing the surrender. Yamashita was sure Percival was stalling. “Reply to us only whether our terms are acceptable or not. Things must be settled swiftly. We are prepared to resume firing.Unless you do surrender, we will have to carry out our night attack as scheduled.”” Percival replied ““Cannot the Japanese Army remain in its present position? We can resume negotiations again tomorrow at five-thirty A.M”. Yamashita screamed “Nani! I want the hostilities to cease tonight and I want to remind you there can be no arguments.” Percival replied ““We shall discontinue firing by eight-thirty p.m. Had we better remain in our present positions tonight?” Yamashita said yes and that firing would cease at 8:30pm and that 1000 allied men could keep arms to maintain order within the city. Yamashita stated “You have agreed to the terms but you have not yet made yourself clear as to whether you agree to surrender or not.” Percival cleared his throat and gave a simple nod. Yamashita looked at his interpreter “There's no need for all this talk. It is a simple question and I want a simple answer.” He turned to Percival and shouted, “We want to hear ‘Yes' or ‘No' from you! Surrender or fight!” Percival finally blurted out  “Yes, I agree. I have a request to make. Will the Imperial Army protect the women and children and British civilians?”Yamashita replied  “We shall see to it. Please sign this truce agreement”. At 7:50 the surrender was signed off, 40 minutes later Singapore was in the hands of the Japanese. In 70 days Yamashita took at the cost of 9824 casualties, had seized Malaya and Singapore, nearly 120,000 British surrendered. It was the greatest land victory in Japanese history.   Churchill called the fall of Singapore to the Japanese "the worst disaster and largest capitulation in British history" Churchills physician Lord Moran wrote The fall of Singapore on February 15 stupefied the Prime Minister. How came 100,000 men (half of them of our own race) to hold up their hands to inferior numbers of Japanese? Though his mind had been gradually prepared for its fall, the surrender of the fortress stunned him. He felt it was a disgrace. It left a scar on his mind. One evening, months later, when he was sitting in his bathroom enveloped in a towel, he stopped drying himself and gloomily surveyed the floor: 'I cannot get over Singapore', he said sadly   With the fall of singapore came another atrocity, the Sook Ching massacre. After February 18th, the Japanese military began mass killings of what they deemed undesirables, mostly ethnic Chinese. It was overseen by the Kempeitai and did not stop in Singapore, but spread to Malaya. It seems the aim of the purge was to intimidate the Chinese community from performing any resistance. According to postwar testimony taken from a war correspondent embedded with the 25th army, Colonel Hishakari Takafumi, he stated an order went out to kill 50,000 Chinese, of which 20 percent of the total was issued by senior officials on Yamashita's operations staff, most likely Tsuji. It is certain at the behest of Tsuji the orders were extended to Malay. The death toll is a tricky one, the Japanese went on the record to admit to 6000 murders, the Singaporean Chinese community and the Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew allege 70,000-100,000. Historians analyzing the scale of discovered mass graves after some decades think around 25,000-50,000. How much Yamashita knew of the massacre is debatable, the orders came from his office after all, but it seems Tsuji had orchestrated it. Many of Japan's generals wanted Yamashita to be appointed war minister, a move that obviously threatened then Prime Minister Hideki Tojo, who feared his rival. Tojo retaliated, ordering Japan's new war hero back to Manchuria. On the surface, the assignment appeared worthy as Yamashita would serve as the first line of defense against a possible Soviet invasion. But since the two nations had signed a neutrality pact in April 1941, and Soviets were bogged down fighting the Germans, immediate war appeared unlikely. In reality, Tojo had parked Yamashita on the war's sidelines. Tojo went even further, he barred Yamashita any leave in Tokyo, preventing him from visiting his wife as well as from delivering a speech he had written for the emperor. No worries though, an aide of Yamashita's sent him three geishas. Allegedly he said this “I know they want to please me with these girls. But send them back—and don't forget to tip them.” The Tiger of Malaya would maintain a low profile in Manchuria where he received a promotion to full General. As months fell to years Yamashita sat on the sidelines helpless to aid the Japanese forces. His exile would come to an end in 1944 when Tojo was outed and the Tiger was required to try and save the Philippines from General Douglas MacArthur.

This week Seth Paridon and Jon Parshall dig into the destruction of Force Z at the hands of the Imperial Japanese Navy's air arm. Sent as a deterrent to Japanese aggression in the area in December 1941 by Winston Churchill, Force Z was supposed to be the "big stick" of Royal Navy power in the Pacific. Comprised of HMS Prince of Wals and battlecruiser HMS Repulse, as well as four destroyers, the paltry battleship force under Adm Sir Thomas Phillips sortied from Singapore on December 8 to break up the Japanese invasion fleet headed for Malaya. What occurred after, is often cited as the demise of the battleship as the queen of the seas. In short order, the Japanese Betty's and Nell's, slinging torpedoes, eviscerated the two capital ships and altered the shape of the Malayan campaign. Tune in to hear this relatively unknown story. #wwiihistory #ww2 #usnavy #usa #usarmy #medalofhonor #enterprise #aircraft #aircraftcarrier #cv6 #midway #wwii #wwiihistory #ww2 #worldwar2 #usnavy #usnavyseals #usmc #usmarines #saipan #usa #usarmy #aircraft #aircraftcarrier #battleship #battleships #ussenterprise #aircraftcarriers #museum #essex #halsey #taskforce38 #wwii #wwiihistory #ww2 #usnavy #usa #usarmy #medalofhonor #enterprise #aircraft #aircraftcarrier #cv6 #midway #wwii #wwiihistory #ww2 #worldwar2 #usnavy #usnavyseals #usmc #usmarines #saipan #usa #usarmy #aircraft #aircraftcarrier #battleship #battleships #ussenterprise #aircraftcarriers #museum #hollywood #movie #movies #books #mastersoftheair #8thairforce #mightyeighth #100thbombgroup #bloodyhundredth #b17 #boeing #airforce wwii #wwiihistory #ww2 #usnavy #usa #usarmy #medalofhonor #enterprise #aircraft #aircraftcarrier #cv6 #midway #wwii #wwiihistory #ww2 #worldwar2 #usnavy #usnavyseals #usmc #usmarines #saipan #usa #usarmy #aircraft #aircraftcarrier #battleship #battleships #ussenterprise #aircraftcarriers #museum #hollywood #movie #movies #books #oldbreed #1stMarineDivision #thepacific #Peleliu #army #marines #marinecorps #worldwar2 #worldwar #worldwarii #leytegulf #battleofleytegulf #rodserling #twilightzone #liberation #blacksheep #power #prisoner #prisonerofwar #typhoon #hurricane #weather #iwojima#bullhalsey #ace #p47 #p38 #fighter #fighterpilot #b29 #strategicstudying #tokyo #boeing #incendiary #usa #franklin #okinawa #yamato #kamikaze #Q&A #questions #questionsandanswers #history #jaws #atomicbomb #nuclear #nationalarchives #nara #johnford #hollywood #fdr #president #roosevelt #doolittle #doolittleraid #pearlharborattack #salvaged #medalofhonor #tarawa #malayalam

In this week's show: An ACT Airlines Boeing 747-400 freighter on behalf of Emirates has a runway excursion at Hong Kong; British Airways Faces $450K Lawsuit From Sabre Over UK Tax Dispute; and a Nottinghamshire man is given access to 50 Ryanair boarding passes in a major booking site data breach.    In the military news: The UK MOD seeks industry partners for new drone testing framework; and Eight Su-30s and four Jaguars faced six F-35Bs during a carrier defence scenario as part of the HMS Prince of Wales' participation in Exercise Konkan    In the penultimate part of the interview with Alan Munro, Alan talks with Nick about his adventures at RAF St Mawgan in Cornwall, his exploits during his flying in Germany and some of his challenges whilst he was instructing on the Phantom. Take part in our chatroom to help shape the conversation of the show. You can get in touch with us all at : WhatsApp +447446975214 Email podcast@planetalkinguk.com or comment in our chatroom on YouTube.

The Royal Navy Fleet flagship in Asia prompts a critical question: How serious is Britain about the Indo-Pacific? Against a backdrop of deepening UK - Japan defence and economic ties, shifting US engagement, and growing regional security pressures, this episode of Global Security Briefing explores what the HMS Prince of Wales' 2025 mission reveals about the UK's approach to the Indo-Pacific. Host Neil Melvin is joined by Dr Philip Shetler-Jones to discuss how the deployment has been received in Japan and across the region, what has changed since the 2021 Royal Navy mission, and where Britain's Indo-Pacific policy may be heading in the years ahead.

The UK's 2025 Carrier Strike Group has sailed to the other side of the world, and is halfway through that 8 month mission. But what's it all for? Sitrep explains what the military drills along the way will have given the 4,000 servicemen and women taking part, and why the aircraft carrier's role hosting defence and trade talks in Japan still matters. The Royal Navy can't do big global deployments without the support from the Royal Fleet Auxilliary. But with yet another RFA ship forced out of service, former Royal Navy Commander Tom Sharpe tells us why he thinks that logistic capability is at crisis point. And in our ongoing exploration of transformative technologies, Sitrep explains directed energy weapons including lasers and radio beams could soon be in service with Britain's Armed Forces.

Welcome to Top of the Morning by Mint.. I'm Nelson John and here are today's top stories.Jet-Lagged in Kerala, may finally leave for home Jet-Lagged in Kerala, may finally leave for home A $115 million British F-35B stealth jet has been grounded at Thiruvananthapuram airport since June 14 after bad weather forced it to divert from the HMS Prince of Wales. While engineers work on repairs, the jet has turned into a social media sensation. Kerala Tourism joined the fun with a viral post: “Kerala is such an amazing place, I don't want to leave.” Cartoons have popped up showing the jet enjoying chai and snacks under palm trees. The UK Defence Ministry has dismissed rumors about dismantling and flying it back via cargo. The aircraft is expected to take off again as early as next week. Nipah Returns: Kerala on Guard Kerala is back on high alert after two confirmed cases of the deadly Nipah virus—one fatal. An 18-year-old girl from Malappuram died, while a 38-year-old woman from Palakkad is undergoing treatment. Nearly 500 people are on the contact list, with 29 in the highest-risk category. Despite this, no new cases have been reported, and containment zones in Malappuram have been lifted. A central health team is on the ground coordinating efforts. Nipah is a zoonotic virus with no vaccine, but Kerala's public health system has managed past outbreaks with early detection and isolation. Vedanta Called a ‘Parasite' in Explosive Report In a scathing 87-page report, US-based Viceroy Research accused Vedanta Resources Ltd (VRL) of draining its Indian arm, Vedanta Ltd (VEDL), through aggressive dividend extraction, shady internal loans, and dubious brand fees. The report calls VRL a “parasite” with no meaningful operations of its own, relying on the Mumbai-listed company to survive. It highlights over $8 billion in dividends paid by VEDL despite falling cash flows, unexplained interest costs, and $1 billion in suspect loans. Viceroy also flagged flashy project announcements with little follow-through, a revolving door of senior execs, and 107 legal disclosures since 2022—far more than peers like Tata Steel. The takeaway? A pattern of poor governance and financial engineering. Tax Relief for Green Investors The Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA) just received a big push from the finance ministry. Its bonds are now classified as ‘long-term specified assets' under Section 54EC of the Income Tax Act. Translation: investors can save capital gains tax by investing up to ₹50 lakh annually in these bonds. The proceeds will be used exclusively for revenue-generating renewable energy projects. IREDA chairman Pradip Kumar Das hailed the move as a “pivotal moment” for green finance. The company posted a strong Q4 profit rise but saw a dip in Q1 earnings. Nonetheless, its stock ended 2.26% higher. Glenmark's $700 Million Global Leap Glenmark Pharmaceuticals has struck gold with the biggest outlicensing deal in Indian pharma history. Its US-based unit, Ichnos Glenmark Innovation (IGI), has licensed a breakthrough blood cancer drug to AbbVie for $700 million upfront, with total potential payouts of $1.93 billion. The drug, ISB 2001, is a trispecific antibody targeting multiple myeloma—an aggressive blood cancer that resists conventional treatments. The therapy is still in early trials but has already received orphan and fast track designations from the FDA. Glenmark will retain rights in India and emerging markets, while AbbVie takes it global. “This puts India on the world map,” said Glenmark MD Glenn Saldanha. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In The Wide World segment, host Neil Humphreys chats with Nik Mehta, British High Commissioner to Singapore, about the recent visit of HMS Prince of Wales to Singapore. The British High Commissioner explains the geopolitical, strategic and cultural value of the warship docking at Marina Bay - the first time that has happened in Singapore. He also looks back at a whirlwind first year in the job, stating that the last 12 months have been the most rewarding of his diplomatic career. And yes, he does answers that question: After a year, has the British High Commissioner to Singapore finally encountered an otter? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this week's Defense & Aerospace Report Washington Roundtable, Dr. Patrick Cronin of the Hudson Institute think tank, Michael Herson of American Defense International, former Pentagon Europe chief Jim Townsend of the Center for a New American Security, former Pentagon comptroller Dr. Dov Zakheim of the Center for Strategic and International Studies join Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian to discuss Reconciliation and Senate rescissions as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee; two Minnesota lawmakers and their spouses were shot and two are killed; Israel and Iran continue to trade attacks as Jerusalem presses ahead its drive to destroy Tehran's nuclear capabilities through air attacks and troops on the ground; after initially demanding Iran's “unconditional surrender,” President Trump has said he's given Iranian leaders an “ultimate ultimatum” to give up its nuclear aspirations while still weighing whether US forces should join Israel in strike; America is the only nation with the capabilities to bomb Iran's deeply buried sites, but doing so might cause nuclear contamination; at the G7 meeting in Canada, Trump again sided with Russia as leaders prepare to converge on The Hague for what will be an abbreviated NATO summit during which the US president is expected to announce the withdrawal of some American troops from Europe; the US Indo-Pacific Command raises its threat level as two Chinese aircraft carriers operate together in the South China Sea; as Britain's HMS Prince of Wales also is operating in the region; and the president cleaned the acquisition of US Steel by Nippon Steel after demanding the US government hold a “golden share” in the new entity.

The Royal Navy's newest aircraft carrier will be accompanied by more than 3000 servicemen and women, up to 24 RAF fighter jets, four British ships and four more from allies to sail as a carrier strike group halfway round the world.But it is a considerably more dangerous world than four years ago when a British carrier group last sailed to the Indo-Pacific.Retired Commodore Steve Prest tells us what threats the vessels could face in the Red Sea and the capabilities they have to protect themselves, and Professor Michael Clarke explains why the UK wants to show off its military might as far away as Australia when a land war is raging in Europe.This first global operational deployment for HMS Prince of Wales will also be the first time a UK carrier has sailed with a full complement of British F35's, and Claire Sadler explains another first – using drones to fly resupply missions between ships.

This week we are discussing a smashingly successful air attack conducted by the Empire of Japan in December 1941 (but not that one).Jump to around 14:30 to get right to the actionSources:Bell, Christopher M. “The ‘Singapore Strategy' and the Deterrence of Japan: Winston Churchill, the Admiralty and the Dispatch of Force Z.” The English Historical Review, vol. 116, no. 467, Jun 2001, pp. 604 - 634.Garzke, William H., Robert O. Dulin, and Kevin V. Denlay. "Death of a Battleship: The Loss of HMS Prince of Wales, December 10, 1941 - A Marine Forensic Analysis of the Sinking." 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20220327195109/https://pacificwrecks.com/ships/hms/prince_of_wales/death-of-a-battleship-2012-update.pdfToll, Ian W. Twilight of the Gods: War in the Western Pacific, 1944 - 1945. Norton, 2020.Support the show

Send me a message48 hours after the Japanese launched their surprise attack on Pearl Harbour their aircraft delivered an equally devastating blow to the Royal Navy.On the 10th December 1941, the warships HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Repulse were sunk by torpedoes launched by Japanese aircraft.It was the first time that warships defending themselves & sailing in open water had been sunk solely by an air attack.It would change naval warfare forever.Support me by becoming a PatronSupport the show

Sitrep's Simon Newton has just returned from Ukraine - he reports for Sitrep from a drone testing centre where new models are trialled before being used in combat.Sitrep also hears from the former Champion Boxer, and now Mayor of Kiev, Vitali Klitschko, on his country's will to resist.Also on Sitrep, as tensions remain high in the Middle East, Britain deploys a Type 45 Destroyer HMS Diamond to the Gulf and America sends the USS Eisenhower through the Strait of Hormuz. Sitrep looks at how Aircraft carriers are used to deploy both hard and soft power and hears from the Commanding Officer of the UK's biggest warship HMS Prince of Wales.

Sitrep's Simon Newton has just returned from Ukraine - he reports for Sitrep from a drone testing centre where new models are trialled before being used in combat.Sitrep also hears from the former Champion Boxer, and now Mayor of Kiev, Vitali Klitschko, on his country's will to resist.Also on Sitrep, as tensions remain high in the Middle East, Britain deploys a Type 45 Destroyer HMS Diamond to the Gulf and America sends the USS Eisenhower through the Strait of Hormuz. Sitrep looks at how Aircraft carriers are used to deploy both hard and soft power and hears from the Commanding Officer of the UK's biggest warship HMS Prince of Wales.

For review:1. US Foreign Military Sales: South Korea- SM 6 missiles + AIM 9 Sidewinder Missiles; & Japan- Tomahawk Missiles.2. US Security Assistance to Ukraine is worth $100 million.  Includes 1 x HIMARS; 155 & 105mm artillery rounds; AT weapons, etc.3. US Secretary of Defense visits Ukraine.4. IDF locates and explores tunnel in the Al-Shifa hospital complex.5. IDF 36th Division ground operations in Gaza employ Infantry-Armor-Combat Engineer teams.6. US Army Long-Range Precision Fires effort- Mid-Range Capability or new name- Strategic Mid-Range Fires System- will be fielded in Indo-Pacific AOR next year.  Exact location- not disclosed yet. (South Korea? Guam? Hawaii?)7. Sweden to procure Common Anti-Air Missiles for Royal Navy Corvettes.8. France successfully tests M51.3 Strategic Ballistic Missile.9. India and Australia to hold defense & security dialogue.10. UK Navy successfully launch/recovers large Mojave UAS from HMS Prince of Wales Aircraft Carrier off the Virginia Coast. 

On this week's Defense & Aerospace Report Business Roundtable, sponsored by Bell, Dr. “Rocket” Ron Epstein of Bank of America Securities, and Richard Aboulafia of the AeroDynamic Advisory consultancy, join Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian to discuss the week on world markets as inflation declines and Congress funds the government through mid-January, Babcock and BAE Systems earnings as well as AUKUS newsflow, takeaways from President Biden's summit meeting with China's Xi Jinping and the Dubai Airshow, Boeing's decision to eliminate its top strategy post, and the General Atomics Aeronautical Systems' Mojave short-takeoff and landing variant of the Predator makes history by taking off and landing aboard HMS Prince of Wales.

RR The Wire 1630Z October 11, 2023PRECEDENCE: ROUTINE RRDTG: 163011Z OCT 23ICOD: 153011Z OCT 23CONTROLS: Public ReleaseQQQQBLUF: ISRAEL STRIKES TARGETS IN SYRIA AND LEBANON. FINLAND DETECTS UNDERSEA PIPELINE ATTACK.-----BEGIN TEARLINE------International Events-Middle East Front: IDF makes final preparations for Gaza invasion. Israel strikes targets in Lebanon as Hezbollah militants conduct limited skirmishes along the border. Israel strikes targets in Syria in response to alleged mortar fire originating IVO Quneitra. IDF begins Naval bombardment and airstrikes of Egypt/Gaza Rafah border crossing after ordering noncombatants in Gaza to flee to Egypt via same crossing. Evidence begins to mount indicating the use of White Phosphorous rounds by IDF on Gaza. Various Palestinian-aligned splinter groups make preparations for operations around the world, increasing threatening rhetoric, particularly in the US and Europe.US CSG-12 arrives O/S, Eastern Med. 101st ABN reportedly preparing to deploy to Jordan. Various US SOF units already deployed to Israel. HMS Prince of Wales CSG departs Norfolk, Virginia, possibly also to deploy to the Med at a later date.European Front: Clashes erupt at protests as conflict escalates in the Middle East. The US sends additional $200 million to Ukraine.Baltic Front: Finland alleges deliberate pipeline sabotage after detecting pressure drop in the Baltic-Connector pipeline on Sunday. This pipeline transports LNG between Finland and Estonia.Balkan Front: Bosnian nationalists rally in Sarajevo to support Palestine on the eve of high tensions in the region. Before the Israeli war, tensions between Bosnia/Kosovo flared, resulting in border clashes that injured demonstrators.-The Home Front-USA: California creates and implements Ebony Alert, a dedicated Amber Alert for missing Black children. This is the first emergency service to prioritize response based on race. US House report indicates 99% of illegal immigrants encountered since 2021 have not been deported, and contact has been lost with the overwhelming majority.-Analyst Comments-Information warfare abounds following various atrocities of war, many of which cannot independently be verified. Caution must be exercised in the information space as all sides in the current conflict have long histories of narrative shaping. Outside the immediate warzone, tensions will continue to grow as both sides demonize any attempt at neutrality. Many US politicians and pundits have shared uncorroborated stories, old videos, and completely false information on social media, with no concern for verifying most of the information they are repeating. Due to the Illusory Truth Effect, it will become increasingly difficult to discern the truth as time goes on.Extremely serious and concerning rhetoric runs rampant on social media; everything from chemical to nuclear weapons has been openly discussed by high ranking political officials on all sides of the conflict. The question remains as to how much of this rhetoric will be backed up with action. The use of White Phosphorus munitions by IDF is highly likely, as video evidence all but confirms this munition's use. However, genuine video evidence has been mixed with old videos from the Syrian War, further weaponizing the use of information in this conlict. -----END TEARLINE-----Analyst: S2AEND REPORTNNNN

It was May 1941. The world was in the throes of the Second World War, a conflict of unparalleled scale, magnitude, and complexity. While fierce battles raged on multiple fronts, another front, less publicized but equally crucial, was unfolding on the world's oceans. The North Atlantic, in particular, was the stage of a grand strategic ballet where the British and German navies danced a dance of death.  The North Atlantic was a lifeline for Britain, bringing vital supplies from the United States and elsewhere. This lifeline was under threat from the German navy, or Kriegsmarine, which aimed to sever it, starving Britain into submission. The German plan involved deploying heavily armed battleships as commerce raiders, and two such dreadnoughts of the Reich, the battleship Bismarck and the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen, were setting sail for the Atlantic.  Opposing them was the British Home Fleet, proud defenders of Britain's maritime lifeline. Among them, the battlecruiser HMS Hood, a symbol of British naval might and pride, and the newly commissioned battleship HMS Prince of Wales, an embodiment of modern naval design. The stage was set for a high-seas showdown that would test the mettle of both these forces. This encounter, which would come to be known as the Battle of the Denmark Strait, would forever remain etched in the annals of naval warfare. This is the story of that fateful confrontation, of mighty ships and even mightier men, of strategies and tactics, of courage and sacrifice, of victory and defeat. As we delve into this epic tale, we shall also explore the events leading up to the battle, the seminal events during the battle, the reasons behind the outcome, its impact on World War II, and the legacy it left behind. Prepare to embark on a journey through time, to an era when steel giants clashed amidst the thunder of cannons and the fury of the seas. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/ww2-stories/support

10-December-1941. While serving as a midshipman aboard the Royal Navy Battlecruiser HMS Repulse, Midshipman Robert Ian Davies MID participated in the first major naval engagement of the Pacific Campaign. We delve into the remarkable story of Midshipman Robert Ian Davies and his role in the sinking of the British battleships HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Repulse during the Second World War. Despite limited firsthand accounts of Davies' actions, his bravery and leadership caught the attention of his superiors, leading to his nomination for higher recognition. We explore the Valour Inquiry and the challenges faced in honouring Davies' gallantry. While the Tribunal ruled against awarding him the Victoria Cross, the testimonies of respected naval officers shed light on his courageous actions. We also reflect on the fate of the sunken ships and the unfortunate illegal salvage activities that have disturbed their resting places. Join us as we uncover the life, service, and legacy of Midshipman Robert Ian Davies, a symbol of sacrifice and resilience during a tumultuous time in history. This Episode is part of #ShipwreckSummer --- Buy the Podcast a Ko-Fi https://ko-fi.com/iwasonlydoingmyjobpodcast Feedspots Top 50 Military History Podcast list https://blog.feedspot.com/military_history_podcasts/ For Show Notes, transcripts and photos check out the I Was Only Doing My Job Website at www.thedocnetwork.net. Access to the Discord Server https://discord.gg/v3Vpb9Fhsj Find the Podcast on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/IWODMJ Twitter https://twitter.com/iwodmj Instagram https://www.instagram.com/iwodmj Mastodon https://mastodonbooks.net/@IWODMJ/ YouTube https://youtube.com/@iwasonlydoingmyjobpodcast --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/iwasonlydoingmyjob/message

Good afternoon, I'm _____ with today's episode of EZ News. **Tai-Ex opening ** The Tai-Ex opened down 29-points this morning from yesterday's close, at 16,593 on turnover of 3.8-billion N-T. The market lost ground on Tuesday, as investor optimism about a deal on America's debt ceiling was dented (受打擊) by worries about the regional economy. **10AM - Typhoon Mawar ** Typhoon Mawar is be passing through waters off Taiwan's southeast and eastern coasts. The Central Weather Bureau says the storm is currently located some 430-kilometers east of Eluanbi, at the island southernmost tip, and moving in a north-northeasterly direction at between 9 and 13-kilometers-an-hour. Mawar still has a radius of 300-kilometers and is packing sustained wind speeds of 126-kilometers-an-hour, with gusts of up to 162-kilometers-an-hour. According to the weather bureau's forecast center, Mawar will move away from Taiwan tomorrow and begin to skirt (沿…的邊緣走) the Ryukyu Islands in southern Japan. **Lawmakers Pass Amendments to Immigration Act to Retain Foreign Talent ** Lawmakers have passed amendments to the Immigration Act aimed at improving professional talent retention by easing residency restrictions for foreign nationals and their spouses and children. The amendments extend permanent residence rights to spouses (配偶), minor children, and adult children with disabilities of foreign nationals … …. who are high-level professionals, have won top professional awards, have made a significant contribution to Taiwan, or hold an investment visa. While Alien Permanent Resident Certificate holders will only need to spend an average of 183 days per year over the last five years in Taiwan to retain their permanent residency status, instead of the current 183 days each year for five years. **New US Aid Package for Ukraine ** A New US aid package for Ukraine will likely include munitions (彈藥) for drones. Lisa Dwyer has the details….. **UN Extends Arms Embargo on SSudan ** The U.N. Security Council has extended an arms embargo on South Sudan. The 10-0 vote with five abstentions (棄權) on the U.S.-drafted resolution was the same as the vote on the previous sanctions resolution adopted last May. The resolution welcomes “encouraging developments” in implementing some elements of a fragile 2018 power-sharing agreement including completing the first phase of training and graduation of a unified force. But it expresses concern “over the continued intensification of violence prolonging the political, security. economic and humanitarian crisis in most parts of the country." **Malaysia Reports Chinese Barge Plundering WWII Shipwrecks ** Malaysia's maritime agency says a detained Chinese barge likely plundered (竊取，侵佔) two World War II British shipwrecks in the South China Sea. Malaysian media reported that illegal salvage (打撈) operators are believed to have targeted the HMS Repulse and HMS Prince of Wales, which were sunk in 1941 by Japanese torpedoes. Over 800 sailors perished, and the shipwrecks are designated war graves. The agency detained the barge on Sunday for anchoring without a permit. It found piles of scrap metal and an artillery shell believed to be from World War II. The agency said a thorough search Tuesday found another 100 artillery shells on the vessel. That was the I.C.R.T. news, Check in again tomorrow for our simplified version of the news, uploaded every day in the afternoon. Enjoy the rest of your day, I'm _____.

(Bonus) The Imperial Japanese Navy in World War II, at the beginning of the Pacific War in December 1941, was the third most powerful navy in the world, and the naval air service was one of the most potent air forces in the world. During the first six months of the war, the Imperial Japanese Navy enjoyed spectacular success in inflicting heavy defeats on Allied forces, being undefeated in every battle. The attack on Pearl Harbor crippled the battleships of the US Pacific Fleet, while Allied navies were devastated during Japan's conquest of Southeast Asia. Japanese Navy aircraft operating from land bases were also responsible for the sinkings of HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Repulse which was the first time that capital ships were sunk by an aerial attack while underway. In April 1942, the Indian Ocean raid drove the Royal Navy from South East Asia. After these successes, the Japanese now concentrated on the elimination and neutralization of strategic points from where the Allies could launch counteroffensives against Japan's conquests. However, at the Coral Sea, the Japanese were forced to abandon their attempts to isolate Australia while the defeat at Midway saw them forced on the defensive. The campaign in the Solomon Islands, in which the Japanese lost the war of attrition, was the most decisive; they had failed to commit enough forces in sufficient time.

In this special episode, as the United Kingdom and the world says farewell to Her Majesty The Queen, Queen Elizabeth II, host Iain Ballantyne talks to long-time WARSHIPS IFR contributor Richard Johnstone-Bryden. Richard is the author of several books that highlight the strong connection between the Royal Navy and The Queen. When writing ‘The Royal Yacht Britannia - The Official History,' Richard worked under the close direction of Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, the Queen's late husband, and also interviewed members of the Royal Family. During the podcast, Iain and Richard consider links between the Royal Navy and the monarchy, especially via special connections to various notable vessels and events. In addition to discussing the role of the Royal Navy in the state funeral of Her Majesty in London, Iain and Richard talk about how the Royal Family will carry on its close relationship with the Navy, in which some of its members have at various times seen combat service. • Iain Ballantyne is the Editor of WARSHIPS International Fleet Review magazine. For reports and features on global navies, including the naval side of events connected to the passing of Queen Elizabeth II get the November edition of WARSHIPS IFR, due out on 21.10.22. Check out the website http://bit.ly/wifrmag Also, follow the magazine on Twitter @WarshipsIFR and on Facebook @WarshipsIFR • Among other books written by Richard Johnstone Bryden are: ‘Britain's Greatest Warship - HMS Ark Royal (IV)'; ‘HMS Illustrious (V) 1982 – 2014'; ‘HMS Ocean (VI) 1998-2018', ‘HMS Bulwark (VII) 2005-2017', ‘HMS Prince of Wales (VI) 2019', ‘HMS Belfast Cruiser 1939'; and ‘HMS Cavalier Destroyer 1944'. For more information on his work visit: https://www.richardjohnstone-bryden.co.uk

Season 4 - Episode 6 //This week we discuss the breakdown of HMS Prince of Wales, incidents involving the RAF Red Arrows, the ongoing issues with RAF recruitment, developments in the Russia-Ukraine conflict and a brief mention of issues in Iraq and the Asia-Pacific region //Featuring @DefenceGeek and @Osinttechnical //Guest appearance from @geoallison, Editor of the UK Defence Journal //Made in collaboration with the UK Defence JournalSupport us at: https://www.patreon.com/theosintbunker

In the thirty-seventh episode of Geostrategy360 Viktorija speaks to our Herbert Richmond Associate Fellow, Professor Alessio Patalano. They discuss the Carrier Strike Group's deployment in Operation Fortis, the leading role played by HMS Prince of Wales in NATO's Cold Response exercises and the importance of the Royal Navy to the UK's Global Britain ambitions.

Dr Sam Willis meets with the First Sea Lord, Admiral Sir Tony Radakin to discuss the many challenges the Royal Navy faces exercising sea power in the modern world. They discuss life on a modern warship; how the sea provides prosperity, security and stability; exercising seapower hand in hand with a Government's policies; G7 and NATO; 'Global Britain' and Britain's overseas territories; the Gulf of Guinea and the Ukraine; the Rule of law, Exclusive Economic Zones; the nuclear deterrent; the new technology of the new aircraft carriers HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales; the challenges of providing manpower for the navy; drone technology and naval power; and the role of history and tradition in the Royal Navy.To see a video of this interview check out the Mariner's Mirror Podcast's YouTube Channel. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In May 1941 Nazi Germany's most powerful warship and pride of the Kriegsmarine the Bismarck slipped out of harbour and made its way to hunt Allied merchant shipping in the Atlantic. Operation Rheinubung would be its first and last mission. Alerted to her presence and desperate to protect its Atlantic trade routes, the admiralty of the Royal Navy sent her best battleships, including the mighty HMS Hood to intercept the German sortie and sink Bismarck. This fateful encounter would lead to the obliteration of HMS Hood just minutes after engaging the Bismarck when a shell detonated one of her magazines. The rapid destruction of HMS Hood, which had been the pride of the Royal Navy, and mauling of the accompanying HMS Prince of Wales sealed Bismarck's fate. The Royal Navy launched an all-out effort to sink the mighty battleship at almost any cost. In this episode of the podcast, Dan with the help of archive interviews from veterans of the battle tells the story of this titanic clash of arms in the Atlantic.If you would like more content on the story of the Bismarck then watch History Hit's dramatic new documentary Hunt the Bismarck. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In May 1941 Nazi Germany's most powerful warship and pride of the Kriegsmarine the Bismarck slipped out of harbour and made its way to hunt Allied merchant shipping in the Atlantic. Operation Rheinubung would be its first and last mission. Alerted to her presence and desperate to protect its Atlantic trade routes, the admiralty of the Royal Navy sent her best battleships, including the mighty HMS Hood to intercept the German sortie and sink Bismarck. This fateful encounter would lead to the obliteration of HMS Hood just minutes after engaging the Bismarck when a shell detonated one of her magazines. The rapid destruction of HMS Hood, which had been the pride of the Royal Navy, and mauling of the accompanying HMS Prince of Wales sealed Bismarck's fate. The Royal Navy launched an all-out effort to sink the mighty battleship at almost any cost. In this episode of the podcast, Dan with the help of archive interviews from veterans of the battle tells the story of this titanic clash of arms in the Atlantic.If you would like more content on the story of the Bismarck then watch History Hit's dramatic new documentary Hunt the Bismarck. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Over the objections of the Admiralty, Churchill orders the HMS Prince of Wales and Repulse to the Far East in December 1941. The Japanese prepare to hunt and destroy "Force Z" and two days after hostilities begin, disaster strikes.

Yörük Işık ve Serhat Güvenç, Havada Suda’da yakın ve uzak çevreden hava ve deniz olaylarını inceledi, İstanbul Boğazı’ndan bu hafta geçen gemileri anlattı, Rusya’nın Ukrayna’yı sıkıştırmaya devam edişini, Çekya’nın 18 Rus diplomatı sınır dışı etmesini, Milli Savunma Bakanı Hulusi Akar’ın HMS Prince of Wales uçak gemisini incelemesini, Rusya’nın Ermenistan’a İskender-M füzesi verip vermediği sorusunu ele aldı.

Winston Churchill was no stranger to storms. They had engulfed him in various ways throughout his long career and he had always turned to face them with jutting jaw and indomitable spirit. Dark clouds had hovered over him from the moment he became Britain’s Prime Minister in May 1940. Now, fifteen harrowing months later, he was setting out to meet President Franklin Roosevelt, the one man who could offer real assistance in his hour of need. And another storm awaited—this time one of a meteorological kind as his ship, HMS Prince of Wales, ran into a howling gale within hours of leaving its base at Scapa Flow. After five days, the coast of Newfoundland hove into view and Britain’s Prime Minister was piped aboard USS Augusta at Placentia Bay to meet with FDR. The meeting produced a document, strangely never signed, called The Atlantic Charter—an eight-point agreement designed to act as a guide for how the world’s nations should behave towards each other in the post-war years. Many of the principles laid out in this document are incorporated into the Charter of the United Nations. In their book, Roosevelt's and Churchill's Atlantic Charter: A Risky Meeting at Sea that Saved Democracy (The Naval Institute Press, 2021), Michael Kluger and Richard Evans explain how this document came into being—bits of it being scrawled out on scraps of paper over dinner—and delve into the lives of the two most prominent and influential figures of the twentieth century. While this narrative book is not aimed at an academic audience, it is sure that this exciting and interesting tale, will interest the lay educated public who is beginning to be interested in the history of the Second World War. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/world-affairs

Winston Churchill was no stranger to storms. They had engulfed him in various ways throughout his long career and he had always turned to face them with jutting jaw and indomitable spirit. Dark clouds had hovered over him from the moment he became Britain’s Prime Minister in May 1940. Now, fifteen harrowing months later, he was setting out to meet President Franklin Roosevelt, the one man who could offer real assistance in his hour of need. And another storm awaited—this time one of a meteorological kind as his ship, HMS Prince of Wales, ran into a howling gale within hours of leaving its base at Scapa Flow. After five days, the coast of Newfoundland hove into view and Britain’s Prime Minister was piped aboard USS Augusta at Placentia Bay to meet with FDR. The meeting produced a document, strangely never signed, called The Atlantic Charter—an eight-point agreement designed to act as a guide for how the world’s nations should behave towards each other in the post-war years. Many of the principles laid out in this document are incorporated into the Charter of the United Nations. In their book, Roosevelt's and Churchill's Atlantic Charter: A Risky Meeting at Sea that Saved Democracy (The Naval Institute Press, 2021), Michael Kluger and Richard Evans explain how this document came into being—bits of it being scrawled out on scraps of paper over dinner—and delve into the lives of the two most prominent and influential figures of the twentieth century. While this narrative book is not aimed at an academic audience, it is sure that this exciting and interesting tale, will interest the lay educated public who is beginning to be interested in the history of the Second World War. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/history

Long before the coronavirus battered European economies, NATO's European allies were finding it difficult to produce the cash or the political will to spend 2 percent of their GDP on defense. Now, with the COVID-19 pandemic straining government budgets, defense spending is likely to be on the chopping block. This will have serious implications for transatlantic security. Even as budgets shrink, security challenges will remain. China has shown an increasing willingness to intimidate democracies, while Russia remains a spoiler in Europe and the Middle East. Financial calamity does not mean that European cooperation within NATO should take a step back. In fact, now is the perfect time for European militaries to work together and no better opportunity exists than to use HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales as hubs for a NATO carrier strike group (CSG). A NATO CSG would be a powerful symbol of Alliance unity and would bolster the Alliance's force posture and interoperability.  Key Takeaways: 0:00 Intro 2:11 Michael John Williams talks about why he thinks NATO needs a Carrier Strike Group and the capabilities it would give the Alliance that it doesn't already have 8:42 Michael John Williams talks about if NATO needs a Carrier Strike Group and whether all the other allies wants NATO to have one 11:11 Michael John Williams talks about the actual capability of Carrier Strike Group, how it could be done so and why NATO needs it 12:53 Michael John Williams also talks about the NATO countries that have aircraft carriers that NATO could use  18:11 Michael John Williams talks about who would have the command and control over the Carrier Strike Group if NATO was given one by its allies  19:29 Michael John Williams talks about other needs that NATO does not know it has at the moment that Carrier Strike Group would fulfill 22:46 Michael John Williams shares his thoughts on whether the call to NATO having a Carrier Strike Group is largely US driven 24:04 Michael John Williams also shares his thoughts on if this whole process of having Carrier Strike Group in NATO require a new spending 25:50 Michael John Williams talks about if a Carrier Strike Group in NATO could be really a useful tool and a flexible one not just for the United States or Great Britain, but for all the allies 28:54 Michael John Williams explains if China is an enough threat and a motivating factor for NATO to have and use a Carrier Strike Group 30:27 Michael John Williams talks about China and Russia, if they are a threat to an extent of NATO having the Carrier Strike Groups, and if so, which is the major threat 34:24 Michael John Williams shares his thoughts if European allies need to see China as a big enough threat to justify more investment in an idea like a Carrier Strike Group  Shows Mentioned: https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/content-series/nato20-2020/christen-a-carrier-strike-group/  The Lancaster House Treaties of 2010 are two treaties between the United Kingdom and France for defense and security cooperation. They were signed at 10 Downing Street on 2 November 2010 by British Prime Minister David Cameron and French President Nicolas Sarkozy. https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/content-series/nato20-2020/nato20-2020-podcast-rethink-and-replace-2-percent/  Brexit refers to the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community at the end of 31 January 2020 CET. An illiberal democracy is a governing system in which, although elections take place, citizens are cut off from knowledge about the activities of those who exercise real power because of the lack of civil liberties; thus it is not an open society. Quotes Mentioned: “Under the Trump administration, NATO has really come in for a lot of bludgeoning on defense expenditure, on investment, etcetera.” “A lot of times, Carrier Strike Groups are about the symbolism.” “The symbolism of a very tangible asset that is sovereign but is under a NATO hat has a lot of value.” “The US is increasingly strained.” “The NATO carrier group would be a one star command.” “Germany can become a slightly more problematic ally because the Bundestag has to approve everything.” “From the United States point of view, policymakers need to be very concerned about how European allies view the United States.” “The US needs much less hubris in its foreign policy.” Guests Social Media Links: Website: https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/expert/michael-john-williams/  Website: http://www.mjwilliams.com/aboutx  Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheOpenMike 

In this episode of the Weekly Defence Podcast, we bring you the latest from the land, air and naval domains in the UK and provide you with an insight of the most relevant defence stories of the last month in the Asia-Pacific region.News Round (00:42)  This week our domain journalists focus on the UK after the MoD released its latest Defence Equipment Plan, covering the period 2019-2029. The plan, which was rated ‘unaffordable' by the National Audit Office (NAO), reveals a fiscal black hole that threatens future investments in procurement of new equipment across the land, sea and air domains.In depth:Land Reporter Flavia Camargos Pereira touches on the potential implications for the British Army as it attempts to implement a challenging modernisation programme. Officially, £32 billion is set aside for army equipment projects in 2019-2029, but the NAO report raises questions over the fate of programmes such as Ajax, Boxer, the Challenger 2 replacement, MRV-P (JLTV) and Warrior. Editor – Air Tim Martin highlights some potential impacts on UK air programmes. A lack of funding is likely to result in significantly delayed deliveries of the MQ-9B Protector UAV, for example. RAF procurement of E-7 Wedgetail airborne early warning and P-8 Poseidon MRA1 maritime patrol aircraft could also be affected, which in the first case could translate into a serious capability gap. Tim also delves into the Sea Venom design: the Defence Equipment Plan mentioned design problems with the anti-ship missile, resulting in a 15-month in-service delay.  Senior Editor - Naval Richard Thomas updates our listeners on how the senior service fares under the Defence Equipment Plan. Naval Command expects to spend around £30.9 billion over the next ten years. This includes the completion of build and trials activity of the carrier HMS Prince of Wales and work-up of HMS Queen Elizabeth for its first operational deployment in 2021. However, costly problems on the construction of HMS Audacious (boat four in the seven-boat Astute class of submarines) are having a knock-on effect for the delivery of the next boat, HMS Anson.Deep Dive – The latest from Asia-Pacific (18:23)Asia-Pacific Editor Gordon Arthur brings our listeners the latest news from the region, looking at some of the biggest stories of the last month following shows in India and Singapore.Gordon talks about Singapore's plan to increase its naval capacity by investing in more littoral vessels and upgraded patrol boats. He also mentions the prospects for Indian procurement of MH-60R helicopters, in the wake of US President Donald Trump's recent visit. Elsewhere, in China the PLA is placing a major order for body armour; and in Australia the RAAF faces a problem after the USN suspended acquisition of the MQ-4C Triton for two years. Interview- Schiebel (31:35)Gordon Arthur talks to Hans Schiebel, chairman of the eponymous Austrian company, about a recent contract from the Royal Thai Navy to supply its Camcopter S-100 VTOL UAS. Gordon also asks about future plans and investments from Schiebel in South East Asia.  Music and sound mixing provided by Fred Prest 

In this episode of the Weekly Defence Podcast, after heads of state, government and military leaders descended on London for the NATO Leaders' Meeting, we review the issues facing the alliance, and get the perspective of two key analysts.News Roundup (00:36) On the news this week…Senior Editor, Naval Richard Thomas and Deputy Editor, Air Tim Martin, take a look at the atmosphere at this year's NATO meeting in occasion of the 70th anniversary of the alliance. They discuss why the positive speech delivered from the NATO Secretary, Jens Stoltenberg, was contrasted by scepticism by some world leaders, with particular attention to French President Emmanuel Macron's speech.Director of Analysis Matthew Smith shares data following the NATO release of its most recent set of budgets, which saw a significant increase in procurement expenses compared to last year with Turkey on top of the list with an estimate $5.3billion for procurement expenses. Senior Editor, Naval Richard Thomas talks about the Royal Navy's new aircraft carrier commissioning ceremony in Portsmouth, 78 years after the sinking of the first HMS Prince of Wales.Interview – Justin Bronk of RUSI (21:14)Deputy Editor, Air Tim Martin talks to Justin Bronk, Research Fellow specialising in combat airpower and technology in the Military Science team at RUSI .Interview – Robert Vass President of GLOBSEC (36:26)We discuss with Robert Vass some the most prominent issues amid countries part of the NATO alliance following the world's leaders' speeches at this year's event in London.Industry Voice: Nammo (51:24) Shephard Media's VP Content Tony Skinner and Nammo SVP of Communications Endre Lunde discuss the EU's possible prohibition of lead ammunition for sport and hunting purposes, and the effect this would have on the defence supply chain.Music and sound mixing provided by Fred Prest

Prime Minister, Boris Johnson has praised the military at a Downing Street reception for the Armed Forces. The Iran/Saudi stand off continues but what does this mean for the US we hear from experts Dan Plesch and Mike Evans.  Two former paratroopers who took the Ministry of Defence to a tribunal were subject to "highly offensive" racial harassment, an employment judge has ruled.  Why is this still happening in the Army? And Britain's second aircraft carrier, HMS Prince of Wales begins sea trials. Follow us on Twitter @bfbssitrep  

Prime Minister, Boris Johnson has praised the military at a Downing Street reception for the Armed Forces. The Iran/Saudi stand off continues but what does this mean for the US we hear from experts Dan Plesch and Mike Evans.  Two former paratroopers who took the Ministry of Defence to a tribunal were subject to "highly offensive" racial harassment, an employment judge has ruled.  Why is this still happening in the Army? And Britain's second aircraft carrier, HMS Prince of Wales begins sea trials. Follow us on Twitter @bfbssitrep  

This week we’re joined by a guest who builds and operates on warships so we’re watching movies to match - first up is the USS Nimitz, sent back in time to the eve of the attack on Pearl Harbour in The Final Countdown (1980). Next up we’re bound for the east coast of Russia on patrol with Denzel Washington and Gene Hackman on the USS Alabama in Crimson Tide (1995). We finish off aboard the HMS Surprise under lucky Captain Jack and his good doctor friend Stephen in Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003)Also: Wibbly-wobbly swirly-whirly timey-wimey thing.James Farentino. Explodium™. The Philadelphia Experiment (1984). Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970) vs. Pearl Harbour (2001). Vasili Arkhipov. FOST. The Silver Surfer. “Mission killed”. Roll Tide. Lipizzaner stallions. Patrick O’Brian’s Aubrey-Maturin series. Pirates of the Caribbean (2003). He who will not be mentioned. The Rime of the Ancient Mariner. Leeroy Jenkins. We play a game of “War! Ships, what are they good for?” and Dave plugs HMS Prince of Wales and Drachinifel.

This week's episode of the Bristol Live podcast explores diversity in Bristol with reporter Tristan Cork and how the 'Year of Change' campaign can help improve inequality in the city.Inside Bristol Live, a weekly podcast brought to you by reporters in your local newsroom, investigates the biggest stories happening in your area with interviews from journalists.On this week's show, host Alex Ballinger speaks to Tristan about his work covering the Bristol-wide Year of Change that hopes to highlight and change inequality in the city.Also this week, reporter Bronwen Weatherby talks about a one-day trip she took to Bristol for a story that may excite many down south. She explains why she took the flight north of the border and exactly what a new Navy aircraft carrier could mean for people here.Finally, the tables are turned this week and our host Alex Ballinger becomes the interviewee to discuss a court case involving a woman who stole more than £50,000 from the NHS surgery where she worked.Politics reporter Esme Ashcroft very kindly volunteered to step in to host a segment and grill Alex on one of his stories. You can follow the journalists featured in this episode on twitter:Tristan Cork - @TristanCorkPostEsme Ashcroft - @EsmeAshcroftBronwen Weatherby - @BronWeatherbyStories included in this week's show:How can Bristol be less segregated? 7 things to take away from the first City ConversationWhy one of the world's biggest aircraft carriers - HMS Prince of Wales - is linked to BristolBristol GP surgery manager who campaigned against NHS cuts stole more than £50,000 from health serviceNew episode every Friday.Follow us on Twitter @IBLpodcast and host Alex Ballinger on @ambhack.Produced by Matt Aldus (@mattaldus) For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy

Malaya was a secondary effort of secondary effort for both the British and the Japanese - so how does Concentration of Force work for secondary efforts? Force Z was HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Repulse. A force too small to effect the outcome, but too large to lose. 1 Squadron RAAF conduct the first air strike against the Japanese in WW2. How did Admiral Tom Phillips plan to interdict the Japanese landing forces?  What is the role of the naval LO? Why did CAPT Tennant disobey orders about radio silence? RAAF support for Force Z was too little, too late.  Churchill described this as the most direct shock that he had ever received after Force Z was sunk. Force Z was the first capital ships sunk by air power alone, this is a great example of technological surprise. The Japanese create a turbulent and rapidly deteriorating situation - how did this impact the British decision making. Don't penny packet your Battleships. The IJA stacked the deck in aircraft.  More aircraft and aircraft that were better with better pilots - this helps swing the balance for the Japanese. The force ratios for the Japanese were very low.  They never achieved overwhelmingly combat power, but they achieved overwhelming success. They had 11 Divisions for their land operations across the Pacific AO.  How did Yamashita entirely pay of Concentration of Force and still succeed? Leadership, training, doctrine, planning, morale, combined arms and audacity.  Do this and pay of concentration of force at your leisure. "Read this alone and the war can be won" was the book that built the moral case for the offensive and covered the tactics as well that would lead to victory.      

En el programa de esta semana viajamos hasta la Segunda Guerra Mundial para hablar de algunos de los buques más importantes que participaron en esta contienda y que tuvieron el mismo y trágico final. Para poder visionarlo mejor hemos seleccionado, en esta primera entrega, a un buque por nación combatiente. Empezamos con Alemania, y tras eliminar al Bismarck (que ya tuvo su propio programa) hemos escogido a su buque gemelo, el Tirpitz. Este acorazado fue botado el 1 de abril de 1939, y fue hundido en Noruega por bombarderos de la RAF el 12 de noviembre de 1944. En segundo lugar hemos recatado al USS Indianapolis, un crucero pesado estadounidense de clase Portland, botado el 7 de noviembre de 1931 es famoso porque fue el buque que transportó desde América el material fisionable de la primera bomba atómica y por el trágico final de muchos de sus náufragos. En tercer lugar tendremos junto a nosotros a un gran desconocido, el crucero italiano de la clase Condottieri, Giovanni dalle Bande Nere. Este crucero fue botado el 27 de abril de 1930 y hundido por los torpedos de un submarino británico el 1 de Abril de 1942. En cuarto lugar rescatamos del fondo del mar al célebre, HMS Prince of Wales un acorazado clase King George V de la Real Armada Británica, botado el 3 de mayo de 1939 y hundido en un gran ataque aéreo japonés el 10 de diciembre de 1941. En penúltimo lugar nos acompañará el acorazado más pesado y fuertemente armado jamás construido, el Yamato japonés, hundido el 7 de abril de 1945 al norte de Okinawa por masivo ataque aéreo. Para finalizar sacamos del olvido a otro gran ignorado, el acorazado Marat, anteriormente llamado Petropavlovsk, hundido en el sitio de Leningrado.

Como todos sabemos el Imperio Británico, al igual que los imperios precedentes, llegó a su fin. Y de la misma manera que el romano o el español lo hizo de manera paulatina. El imperio británico siguió un camino marcado por una serie de acontecimientos que como piedras miliares, lo llevó a lo que es hoy: Un país como cualquier otro. Una de esas piedras miliares fue cuidadosamente tallada por la Aviación Naval Japonesa durante las primeras horas de la Guerra del Pacífico. Pocas horas después del ataque a Pearl Harbor tres escuadrones de bombarderos japoneses con base en la Indochina Francesa y en Tailandia lograron lo que hasta ese momento se creía imposible: El hundimiento en alta mar y en batalla de dos grandes navíos acorazados. Un ataque exclusivo de la aviación sin el apoyo de la marina, como había ocurrido antes en la Batalla de Matapán o durante la cacería del Acorazado Bismarck. Pero el hundimiento del crucero de batalla HMS Repulse y del acorazado HMS Prince of Wales distó mucho de ser un tiro al pichón. Ambos navíos se defendieron con uñas y dientes, en particular el Repulse, que era un buque muy viejo en comparación con el ultramoderno Prince of Wales. En este episodio de Zafarrancho en Gotas encontraréis, además del marco histórico y estratégico que originó la batalla, una narración detallada de los eventos tácticos. En la segunda mitad del audio volveremos sobre nuestros pasos para ofrecer un punto de vista muy poco usual de la contienda. La canción con la que se abre el episodio se titula "Nomad" del grupo “Macouno”. Los clips de efectos especiales son libres y provienen de páginas como www.freesound.org. Los clips de audio han sido obtenidos en museos o archivos históricos virtuales.

Como todos sabemos el Imperio Británico, al igual que los imperios precedentes, llegó a su fin. Y de la misma manera que el romano o el español lo hizo de manera paulatina. El imperio británico siguió un camino marcado por una serie de acontecimientos que como piedras miliares, lo llevó a lo que es hoy: Un país como cualquier otro. Una de esas piedras miliares fue cuidadosamente tallada por la Aviación Naval Japonesa durante las primeras horas de la Guerra del Pacífico. Pocas horas después del ataque a Pearl Harbor tres escuadrones de bombarderos japoneses con base en la Indochina Francesa y en Tailandia lograron lo que hasta ese momento se creía imposible: El hundimiento en alta mar y en batalla de dos grandes navíos acorazados. Un ataque exclusivo de la aviación sin el apoyo de la marina, como había ocurrido antes en la Batalla de Matapán o durante la cacería del Acorazado Bismarck. Pero el hundimiento del crucero de batalla HMS Repulse y del acorazado HMS Prince of Wales distó mucho de ser un tiro al pichón. Ambos navíos se defendieron con uñas y dientes, en particular el Repulse, que era un buque muy viejo en comparación con el ultramoderno Prince of Wales. En este episodio de Zafarrancho en Gotas encontraréis, además del marco histórico y estratégico que originó la batalla, una narración detallada de los eventos tácticos. En la segunda mitad del audio volveremos sobre nuestros pasos para ofrecer un punto de vista muy poco usual de la contienda. La canción con la que se abre el episodio se titula "Nomad" del grupo “Macouno”. Los clips de efectos especiales son libres y provienen de páginas como www.freesound.org. Los clips de audio han sido obtenidos en museos o archivos históricos virtuales.