The Far East Campaign: Early Defeats

Join curators Jasdeep Singh and Dr Peter Johnston as they discuss the fall of Hong Kong and Singapore, and defeat in the first Burma campaign.

For the British and Commonwealth Army, the campaign in the Far East during the Second World War is a story of initial defeat followed by ultimate victory.

The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941 was the start of a series of coordinated strikes on Allied territories in Asia and the Pacific. Within days, Japanese troops had invaded the British colony of Hong Kong and the British territories of Malaya and Borneo. Then, in early 1942, they launched an attack on Burma. 

Across the region, British and Commonwealth armies were swiftly defeated.

Curators Jasdeep Singh and Dr Peter Johnston will use objects from the National Army Museum’s collections to understand the reasons behind these dramatic defeats. They will also look at the impact they had on troops, military strategy and perceptions of the British.

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