Justin Joseph
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Indian men faced first Japanese attack
P K Balachandran
First Published : 26 Apr 2010 03:44:00 AM IST
COLOMBO: History is all set to be rewritten. Contrary to the general impression that US naval personnel stationed at Pearl Harbour in Hawaii were the first to be attacked by the Japanese that resulted in US entry into World War II, the first to face the Japanese onslaught was an Indian army unit comprising Dogras from Jammu on the beach at Kota Bharu on the north-eastern coast of Malaya.
New research reveals that the Japanese naval fleet, which had anchored 3 miles off Kota Bharu, started shelling the beach held by the 8th Indian Infantry Brigade at 12.30 am local time on December 8, 1941 when the Japanese Air Force planes heading towards Pearl Harbour in the Pacific Ocean were still 20 minutes away from their target.
The attack on Pearl Harbour began at 2.38 am local time on December 8, 1941. But, the US forces, reporting it as per their standard time, misleadingly stated it to have taken place on December 7.
The palm-fringed, barbed-wired and heavily mined Kota Bharu Beach was held by the 3/17 Dogra Regiment under the command of Lt Col G A Preston.
Omar Senik, an 82-year-old local survivor of the first battle fought in Asia, told Japanese news agency Kyodo that local villagers and Indian soldiers were singing Hindi film songs on the beachfront when they saw Japanese landing craft approaching.
The Dogras promptly opened a volley of machine gun and artillery fire. In the ensuing battle, which saw intense hand to hand combat, 300 Japanese soldiers were killed.
But, the Dogras finally had to retreat because the Japanese, many of them hardened veterans of the war in China, came in waves.
The brigade took part in all early campaigns in Malaya, but retreated to Singapore along with other Allied forces. After it surrendered to the Japanese in Singapore on February 15, 1942, it was officially disbanded.
http://expressbuzz.com/world/indian-men-faced-first-japanese-attack/168286.html
P K Balachandran
First Published : 26 Apr 2010 03:44:00 AM IST
COLOMBO: History is all set to be rewritten. Contrary to the general impression that US naval personnel stationed at Pearl Harbour in Hawaii were the first to be attacked by the Japanese that resulted in US entry into World War II, the first to face the Japanese onslaught was an Indian army unit comprising Dogras from Jammu on the beach at Kota Bharu on the north-eastern coast of Malaya.
New research reveals that the Japanese naval fleet, which had anchored 3 miles off Kota Bharu, started shelling the beach held by the 8th Indian Infantry Brigade at 12.30 am local time on December 8, 1941 when the Japanese Air Force planes heading towards Pearl Harbour in the Pacific Ocean were still 20 minutes away from their target.
The attack on Pearl Harbour began at 2.38 am local time on December 8, 1941. But, the US forces, reporting it as per their standard time, misleadingly stated it to have taken place on December 7.
The palm-fringed, barbed-wired and heavily mined Kota Bharu Beach was held by the 3/17 Dogra Regiment under the command of Lt Col G A Preston.
Omar Senik, an 82-year-old local survivor of the first battle fought in Asia, told Japanese news agency Kyodo that local villagers and Indian soldiers were singing Hindi film songs on the beachfront when they saw Japanese landing craft approaching.
The Dogras promptly opened a volley of machine gun and artillery fire. In the ensuing battle, which saw intense hand to hand combat, 300 Japanese soldiers were killed.
But, the Dogras finally had to retreat because the Japanese, many of them hardened veterans of the war in China, came in waves.
The brigade took part in all early campaigns in Malaya, but retreated to Singapore along with other Allied forces. After it surrendered to the Japanese in Singapore on February 15, 1942, it was officially disbanded.
http://expressbuzz.com/world/indian-men-faced-first-japanese-attack/168286.html
