The Battle Of Opium Hill 14 Febuary 1942

The Battle of Pasir Panjang

The first battle between the Malay Regiment and Japanese soldiers occurred on 13 February at around 2.00pm. The Japanese 18th Division started to attack the southwestern coast along Pasir Panjang Ridge and astride Ayer Rajah Road. The Japanese 56th Infantry Regiment under Colonel Yoshio Nasu, supported by a considerable force of artillery, attacked the ridge during the morning.

One of the units defending the line was B Company of the Malay Regiment. Under heavy fire from the Japanese, who were supported by artillery and tanks, B Company was forced to retreat to the rear. However, before the retreat could be completed, the Japanese succeeded in breaking through B Company's position. In the battle, the troops fought hand-to-hand combat using bayonets against the Japanese. A few from B Company managed to save themselves while others were captured as prisoners-of-war. This penetration led to the withdrawal after dark, of both the 44th Indian and 1st Malay Brigade, to the general line at Mount Echo (junction of Ayer Rajah and Depot Road, around present-day Buona Vista)

The Battle of Opium Hill

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By Nor-Afidah Abd Rahman written on 2004-06-14
National Library Board Singapore

Comments on article: InfopediaTalk

The Battle of Opium Hill (14 February 1942) at Pasir Panjang was one of the fiercest battles that took place in Singapore in World War II. It pitted the invading Japanese Army against a brave but heavily outnumbered troop of the 1st Malay Brigade of the Malay Regiment. The battle was also remembered for the heroism of Lieutenant Adnan Saidi, the leader of the brigade, who together with his men fought the Japanese to their grisly deaths. Today, an interpretive centre, Reflections at Bukit Chandu, stands on the hill, commemorating the battle and the contributions of these men.

Background
Opium Hill, or Bukit Chandu in Malay, constituted the British final defence parameter against the invading Japanese army. The Japanese campaign to invade Singapore had begun on 8 February 1942 with one strategic defensive position after another rapidly falling into Japanese hands. By 13 February, the Japanese Imperial Army had shifted their attention to Pasir Panjang Ridge. The ridge was important because it offered a passage to the Alexandra area where the British Military Hospital and the main British ammunition and ordinance depots were located.

The task for defending the ridge was assigned to Lieutenant Adnan Saidi and his men of the "C" Company of the 1st Malay Brigade. They distinguished themselves by fighting on despite being heavily and continuously shelled by a regiment of the crack Japanese 18th Division. Adnan and his men, stationed at Pasir Panjang Village, held the Japanese at bay for as long as they could and withdrew only in the late evening of 13 February when they were outstripped in strength. As they retreated, they gave up the approach to Pasir Panjang Ridge known as the Gap.

Description
The Japanese continued their bombardment and infantry assault on the 1st Malay Brigade throughout 14 February. This gallant troop, after being forced to yield the Pasir Panjang Ridge the night before, withdrew to Bukit Chandu or Opium Hill. The hill was named so after an opium-processing factory that used to be at the bottom of the hill. Adnan ordered his men to fortify their new defence position by building a wall of sandbags all around.

In the early afternoon, "strange" troops were seen by Adnan as advancing uphill from Pepys Road. The troops were first thought of as Sikh soldiers from the Birtish-Indian Army because they were spotted with turbans. However, their grouping of four instead of three, which was the norm of the British Army, led Adnan to suspect that these were actually enemy troops disguised as British soldiers. Adnan ordered his men to open fire and 20 enemy men were mortally wounded, causing the Japanese to retreat. This victory for the Malay Brigade was however short-lived as two hours later, the Japanese launched a second all-out attack with more Japanese soldiers and heightened shelling by kamikaze planes. Fierce fighting ensued on Opium Hill, and when ammunition ran short, Adnan and his men resorted to hand-to-hand combat using their bayonets. Heavily outnumbered, the 1st Malay Brigade continued to hold their ground until they were completely overrun. They paid heavily for frustrating the Japanese army's attempts at victory for nearly 48 hours. Their lives ended in grisly deaths at Japanese hands. Adnan, the courageous leader, was hung by his legs to a tree and repeatedly bayoneted before his mutilated body was burnt.

The only Malay Regiment survivor was Corporal Yaakob. In the turmoil of fighting, he fell on top of a pile of dead bodies and lay there motionless to escape death by the Japanese. He witnessed the gruesome final moments of Lieutenant Adnan whose body was never recovered.

Aftermath
By the afternoon of 14 February, as the Malay Brigade fell, a tragedy followed. The Japanese captured Alexandra military hospital and subsequently massacred its occupants, leaving only a few to escape. On hindsight, it was said that the task of the 1st Malay Brigade in defending the Pasir Panjang/Alexandra district could have been made easier if its neighbouring Australian artillery had been more co-operative. Instead, to save on ammunition, they were told to fire only in defence of the Australian perimeter which was at higher ground than where the Malay Brigade was positioned. With a more commanding view of the battlefield, the guns could have taken on the advancing Japanese effectively along the south coast where the Malay Brigade was fighting.

Adnan received posthumous awards by the British government for his bravery and his heroic contingent is remembered for its role in defending the sovereignty of Singapore.

Variant Names
Malay name: Bukit Chandu or Bukit Candu meaning "Opium Hill".
Variant name: Battle of Pasir Panjang; Battle at Bukit Chandu.



Author
Nor-Afidah A Rahman & Nureza Ahmad



References
Owen, F. (2001). The fall of Singapore (pp. 192-203). London: Penguin Books.
(Call no.: SING 940.5425 OWE)

Warren, A. (2002). Singapore 1942: Britain's greatest defeat (pp. 255-261). Singapore: Talisman.
(Call no.: SING 940.5425 WAR)

Chan, K.S. (1998, July 11). Lt Adnan Saidi, hero of Malay Regiment. The Straits Times.

Goh, C.L. (2001, December 27). Stories of duty, honour, courage. The Straits Times.

He fell in Battle for Bukit Candu. (1996, February 14). The Straits Times, Life, p. 5.

WWII hero died fighting the Japanese. (1996, February 14). The Straits Times, Life, p. 5.

Liza Sahid. (1999). Adnan Saidi. Retrieved June 14, 2004, from [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

National Archives of Singapore. (2002). Reflections at Bukit Chandu. Retrieved July 22, 2004, from [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

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Original

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location of the battle
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one of the pill box
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Biografi Leftenan Adnan (Wikipedia)[3]

Adnan bin Saidi atau lebih dikenali sebagai Leftenan Adnan Saidi dilahirkan di Kampung Sungei Ramal, Kajang, Selangor pada tahun 1915. Adnan Saidi merupakan anak sulung dalam keluarganya. Adik-adik beliau, Ahmad bin Saidi dan Amarullah bin Saidi juga merupakan anggota tentera.

Ahmad Saidi terbunuh dalam pertempuran selepas memasuki angkatan laut pada tahun 1939. Kapalnya, HMS Pelanduk, ditenggelamkan oleh Jepun dalam pelayaran ke Australia. Adiknya yang termuda Amarullah Saidi terselamat daripada peperangan dan sekarang bersara dan menetap di Kajang, Selangor. Adnan Saidi menerima pendidikan di Pekan Sungei Ramal dalam aliran Inggeris.

Beliau merupakan pelajar yang rajin dan berjaya dalam pengajiannya. Selepas menamatkan pengajian, Adnan terpilih sebagai guru pelatih dan mengajar (alma mater) selama lebih satu tahun. Adnan Saidi kemudiannya mengambil keputusan untuk memasuki tentera.

Pada tahun 1933, ketika berusia 18 tahun, Adnan Saidi memasuki Rejimen Askar Melayu (Malay Regiment). Setahun kemudian, beliau terpilih sebagai rekrut terbaik. Pada tahun 1936, Adnan dilantik ke pangkat Sarjan - kenaikan pangkat yang pantas bagi seorang tentera muda.

Pada tahun 1937, Adnan Saidi terpilih untuk mewakili platunnya dalam perbarisan memberi hormat di London bagi menyambut pertabalan Raja George VI. Tidak lama selepas itu, Adnan Saidi sekali lagi dinaikkan pangkat kepada Kompeni-Sarjan-Major dan dihantar ke Singapura untuk kursus latihan pegawai. Setelah menamatkan kursus sebagai Leftenan Muda, Adnan Saidi dilantik sebagai ketua Platun ke-7, Kompeni 'C' .

Sekembalinya Leftenan Adnan Saidi daripada London, beliau berkahwin dengan seorang guru di kampungnya, Puan Sophia Pakih Muda dan mendapat tiga orang anak : dua lelaki, Mokhtar dan Zainudin (yang tinggal di Seremban dan Johor), dan seorang anak perempuan. Termuda di antara tiga beradik, bayi perempuan beliau meninggal sejurus selepas kejatuhan Singapura.

Pada akhir 1941, Leftenan Adnan Saidi ditempatkan di Singapura dan membawa keluarganya bersama-sama. Mereka tinggal di rumah besar di Pasir Panjang, dalam kawasan yang dikhaskan untuk keluarga Rejimen Askar Melayu.

Apabila berita peperangan Perang Dunia II semakin hampir, dan pihak Jepun bersedia untuk menjajah Singapura, Leftenan Adnan menghantar keluarganya kembali ke kampung mereka di Kajang. Ini merupakan masa yang getir bagi Leftenan Adnan kerana isteri beliau, Sophia sedang mengandungkan anak mereka yang ketiga. Ini merupakan kali terakhir mereka bersama.

mumuchi wrote:Btw itu filem ada main ka ini hari?

standupper wrote:Tahukah anda:

1. Display Sejarah dan Potret Lt Adnan terletak di sebelah kanan pintu masuk pejabat Panglima Tentera Darat. Manakala sebelah kiri adalah Display Sejarah Hang Tuah.

2. Banyak pihak awam turu buat majlis Tahlil untuk Lt Adnan pada tarikh 14 Februari termasuk sebuah NGO di Masjid Kg. Baru, KL baru-baru ini tanpa perlu disuruh oleh mana-mana pihak berwajib.

3. Allahyarham Lt Adnan telah dianugerahkan title Datuk oleh Sultan Selangor. Solutasi kini adalah Lt Dato' Adnan Saidi.

4. Siapa tahu dimana pusara Lt Adnan?

5. Selepas filem Lt Adnan.. akan ada lagi penerbitan filem dan drama pengkisahan perjuangan termasuk Platun Harimau (Pelancaran pada 18hb Febuari) dan Beret Hijau (akan datang).

standupper wrote:Tahukah anda:

4. Siapa tahu dimana pusara Lt Adnan?