Background
Taken from = http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/singapore-falls-to-japan Singapore, the "Gibraltar of the East" and a strategic British stronghold, falls to Japanese forces.
An island city and the capital of the Straits Settlement of the Malay Peninsula, Singapore had been a British colony since the 19th century. In July 1941, when Japanese troops occupied French Indochina, the Japanese telegraphed their intentions to transfer Singapore from the British to its own burgeoning empire. Sure enough, on the eve of the Pearl Harbor attack, 24,000 Japanese troops were transported from Indochina to the Malay Peninsula, and Japanese fighter pilots attacked Singapore, killing 61 civilians from the air.
The battle between Japanese and British forces on the Malay Peninsula continued throughout December and January, killing hundreds more civilians in the process. The British were forced to abandon and evacuate many of their positions, including Port Swettenham and Kuala Lumpur.
On February 8, 5,000 Japanese troops landed on Singapore Island. The British were both outmanned and outgunned. Pro-Japanese propaganda leaflets were dropped on the islands, encouraging surrender. On February 13, Singapore's 15-inch coastal guns--the island's main defensive weapons--were destroyed. Tactical miscalculations on the part of British Gen. Arthur Percival and poor communication between military and civilian authorities exacerbated the deteriorating British defense. Represented by General Percival and senior Allied officers, Singapore surrendered to Japanese Gen. Tomoyuki Yamashita in front of Japanese newsreel cameras. Sixty-two thousand Allied soldiers were taken prisoner; more than half eventually died as prisoners of war.
With the surrender of Singapore, Britain lost its foothold in the East. British Prime Minister Winston Churchill attempted to prop up morale by urging Brits "to display the calm and poise, combined with grim determination, which not so long ago brought us out of the very jaws of death."
Taken from= http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Singapore Background[edit]
Outbreak of war[edit]
See also: Second Sino-Japanese War
The Allies had imposed a trade embargo on Japan in response to its continued campaigns in China. Seeking alternative sources of necessary materials for its Pacific War against the Allies, Japan invaded Malaya.[4] Singapore — to the south — was connected to Malaya by the Johor–Singapore Causeway. The Japanese saw it as a port which could be used as a launching pad against other Allied interests in the area, and to consolidate the invaded territory.
Invasion of Malaya[edit]
Main article: Malayan Campaign

View of the blown up causeway, with the gap visible in the middle, which delayed the Japanese conquest for over a week to 8 February
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History of Singapore

Early history of Singapore (pre-1819)
Founding of modern Singapore (1819–26)
Straits Settlements (1826–67)
Crown colony (1867–1942)
Battle of Singapore (1942)
Japanese Occupation (1942–45)
Sook Ching (1942)
Post-war period (1945–55)
First Legislative Council (1948–51)
Maria Hertogh riots (1950)
Second Legislative Council (1951–55)
Anti-National Service Riots (1954)
Internal self-government (1955–62)
Hock Lee bus riots (1955)
Merger with Malaysia (1962–65)
Merger referendum (1962)
Operation Coldstore (1963)
Race riots in Singapore (1964)
MacDonald House bombing (1965)
Republic of Singapore (1965–present)
1969 race riots of Singapore (1969)
Operation Spectrum (1987)
East Asian financial crisis (1997)
Embassies attack plot (2001)
SARS outbreak (2003)
2013 Little India riot (2013)
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Riots
Singapore portal v t e The Japanese 25th Army invaded Malaya from Indochina, moving into northern Malaya and Thailand by amphibious assault on 8 December 1941.[5] This was virtually simultaneous with the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, which was meant to deter the US from