Hong Kong and Wake Island, and we also  watched General MacArthur's forces start their  

catastrophic withdrawal into Bataan, where they  would resist until reinforcements could arrive to  

save them. In Malaya, the British defenders were  also in a difficult position, nearly thrown off  

the center of the peninsula. Today, we are going  to continue our coverage over the events unfolding  

in the Malay Peninsula and in the Philippines,  but first, we are going to take a quick detour  

to China, where major combat resumed for the  first time since the attack on Pearl Harbor.

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The outbreak of the Pacific War did not alter  the main objective of the Japanese operations  

against China, which was the overthrow of Chiang  Kai-shek's regime and the establishment of a  

puppet Chinese government . Most of the Japanese  forces had been allocated to China since 1938,  

but the opening of a new front to the south meant  that some divisions would have to be transferred  

to partake in the offensives launched in the  Pacific, although the Japanese position in  

the region would remain strong enough to continue  the occupation of most of the strategic locations  

that had been conquered. Tokyo also hoped  that the capture of Hong Kong, Burma and any  

other means for the Allies to supply China would  eventually force Chiang Kai-shek to surrender.  

But in the first weeks of the war, in  accordance with orders from the Allies,  

Chinese forces resumed vigorous  guerrilla warfare against the invaders,  

although the Japanese would quickly take the  upper hand and beat them off. The failures  

of the National Revolutionary Army during these  first few weeks of the war left Chiang Kai-shek  

unwilling to start any new major operations  during the start of the year 1942. The Japanese,  

focused on their southern expansion through the  Pacific, were also cautious from embarking on  

offensives against the fierce and numerous Chinese  defenders. And yet, there would be one exception. 

Back on December 13, Lieutenant-General Anami  Korechika of the 11th Army had ordered his forces  

to prepare for a sortie south of the Yangtze  River. After moving his forces south of Yoyang,  

the 6th and 40th Divisions began  their advance at dusk, driving the  

Chinese defenders towards Kuanwangchiao  and then expeling them from the town.  

The following day, Anami sent the 3rd Division to  travel along the Guangzhou-Hankou railway, then  

crossing the Ku Shui near Kueii and easily routing  the 99th Army. General Xue Yue of the 9th War Area  

quickly reacted by moving two armies to the left  bank of the Ku Shui, but by December 29, all  

Japanese divisions had crossed the river and had  started offensives against the Chinese defenders.  

At this point, Anami recognized that the Changsha  area was inadequately defended, so he decided to  

commit to a full-on attack to capture the city.  The next day, the Japanese divisions broke through  

the enemy lines one by one, routing the 37th Army  and then continuing their drive towards Changsha.  

While the 3rd and 6th Divisions were ordered  to directly continue against their objective,  

Anami ordered the 40th to take the town of  Mafengtsui to the southeast before capturing  

Chinching, another important city. By December  31st, the 6th had taken the town of Langlishih and  

the 3rd was already on the outskirts of Changsha . Japanese troops then started their attack on  

the city, managing to infiltrate the city's  castle but facing fierce Chinese resistance  

in the form of the 10th Army. Meanwhile, the  40th Division reached Chinching on January 1,  

starting its attack on the city one day later. The  remnants of the 37th Army were easily beaten off  

and by January 2, Chinching  had fallen into Japanese hands.  

At the same time, the 6th Division joined the  3rd in its assault against Changsha, slowly  

but surely overcoming the Chinese defenders. By  January 4, the city had fallen to the Japanese  

and the main objective of Anami's operation had  been achieved. But Xue Yue was now reuniting his  

forces for a general counterattack, and he was not  going to let the enemy take his city so easily.  

For the Chinese counteroffensive,  we'll have to wait until next week,  

because first we need to return to the Pacific to  take a look at the operations happening in Malaya  

and the Philippines. On December 28,  the situation was desperate for the  

Americans under General MacArthur, forced to  execute a difficult withdrawal into Bataan  

that required a great deal of coordination  between the North and South Luzon Forces.  

In the north, Japanese pressure had forced General  Wainwright's forces to abandon their second line  

and to retreat to a new defensive line between  the towns of San Miguel and Cabanatuan;  

and in the south, the Japanese 16th  Division had reached the Los Baños line,  

facing staunch American resistance  to continue their drive on Manila. 

The following day, the Japanese had already  gotten to the towns of Tarlac and Bongabon,  

so they were now applying heavy pressure on  Wainwright's new line with their tanks and  

superior firepower. At this point, General Homma  also realized the extent of MacArthur's plan,  

so he sent the 7th Tank Regiment as a  vanguard to move fast and capture any  

bridges and road junctions that would allow  them to entrap the retreating defenders.  

Among the 7th's targets were the vital  road junction of Plaridel and the steel  

bridges of Calumpit, where the South Luzon  Force needed to pass to get to Bataan.  

Meanwhile in Malaya, the Japanese 5th Division  had crossed the Perak River by December 26,  

later joined by the 4th Guards Regiment which  had taken part in the invasion of Thailand.  

They would then continue to press the  British rearguard in the next few days,  

preparing for a general offensive against Kampar.  Back on December 24, General Murray-Lyon was  

sacked due to his incompetence, and was replaced  by Brigadier Archibald Paris as commander of the  

11th Indian Division. By December 29, the 11th  had established defensive positions around Kampar,  

which was a key point for the defense of central  Malaya, as it was not easily outflanked inland.  

Paris then deployed the 15th Brigade north  of Kampar, with the 28th Brigade covering  

the Trunk Road from Dipang around the eastern  side of the Bujang Melaka and with the 12th  

Brigade at Bidor to cover possible Japanese  outflanking attempts via the Perak River. 

In turn, General Yamashita planned to capture  Kampar in three thrusts: a first direct attack on  

Kampar by the 41st Regiment; a second encircling  movement to the west by the 42nd Regiment,  

aimed against the 11th Indian Division's left  flank; and a third outflanking landing at the  

mouth of the Bernam River by the 11th Regiment  that would cut the British line of communications.  

On December 30, the 55th Regiment  had also landed at Kota Bharu,  

then starting to advance down the coast behind the  56th Regiment to launch a joint attack on Kuantan.  

In the first two days of the Kampar operation,  the Japanese troops would move slowly to their  

designated objectives, trying to strike at the  British defenders with a surprise attack powerful  

enough to knock them off the battle. Furthermore,  the 42nd got itself stalled by swamps and spent  

three days in a difficult march that prevented  them from participating in the offensive.  

At the same time that this was happening,  Homma's forces finally managed to break through  

Wainwright's third line when they took the town of  San Miguel. The American defenders would then be  

forced to retreat to their last line, ranging  from Fort Stotsenburg to the Sibul Springs.  

Concurrently, the 7th Tank Regiment was also  traveling towards Gapan a short distance away  

from the last American line. By December 31,  the 7th had broken through this last line,  

getting itself in the vicinity of Baliuag,  a town that stood in the way to Plaridel.  

Homma's other forces were also rapidly pushing the  American defenders to the town of San Fernando,  

where Wainwright knew that he  needed to make a final stand. 

Back in Malaya, following a heavy artillery  barrage, the 41st Regiment started its attack down  

the Trunk Road. British resistance was fierce, yet  they barely managed to repel the enemy assault,  

although artillery of the 15th Brigade did  inflict many losses on the Japanese regiment.  

At this point, the small convoy of boats of  the 11th Regiment had also already passed off  

Pangkor Island, arriving at the mouth of the  Bernam River during the evening of January 1.  

They would then land at Utan Melitang, driving  a small British patrol there and securing  

possession of this vital crossroad. This was  very bad for the Malayan defenders, posing a  

huge threat to their line of communications.  In response, Paris moved one battalion of the  

28th Brigade to the Slim River, where he  began to build a secondary defensive line.  

Yet this left Percival concerned for the safety  of the Kuantan airfield, which he needed to  

hold at least until January 10 to be able to  receive reinforcements, as the fall of the  

airfield would give Japanese fighters the chance  to jeopardize their arrival. In defense of Kuantan  

was the 22nd Brigade, and Percival urged them  to at least hold the airfield until January 6,  

something that seemed near impossible. At the same  time, the 7th Tank Regiment finally took the town  

of Baliuag and then advanced to engage M3 Stuart  light tanks at Plaridel. In this tank battle,  

the M3s, supported by artillery of the 71st  Division, managed to push the Ha-Gos back. 

Concurrently, the South Luzon Force of General  Jones had reached the Calumpit steel bridges.  

While his troops crossed it, Jones also sent  two tank platoons to engage the Japanese tanks  

at Baliuag and thus create enough time for the  Americans to pull out. The American armor would  

engage the 7th in the afternoon, disrupting the  Japanese force and successfully delaying their  

advance. By the end of the day, the last of the  South Luzon Force moved past Calumpit, blowing up  

the twin bridges behind them so the 16th Division  couldn't follow them. The next day, units of the  

16th occupied Manila, with Homma moving his  headquarters to the Philippine's capital.  

Other units of the 16th were also already  crossing the Pampanga River at Calumpit,  

while the 48th Division was concentrating around  San Fernando, where the 11th and 21st Divisions  

made a last stand in front of the entrance to  Bataan. Homma launched costly attack after attack  

against the battered divisions, but the Filipino  forces would hold their ground until January 4,  

then starting to withdraw towards Layac,  where they formed a new defensive line.  

January 2 would also see the  end of the Battle of Kampar,  

although it wouldn't have the same outcome  of the successful American withdrawal.  

At daybreak, the 41st again started an attack  against the 15th Brigade, suffering heavy losses  

while overrunning a British platoon. Yet the  British defenders organized a strong counterattack  

that at first was met by heavy machine-gun fire,  but eventually managed to drive the Japanese off. 

Despite the heroic resistance of the 15th Brigade,  to the west, the 4th Guards Regiment landed  

at Teluk Anson and engaged the battered 12th  Brigade by mid-afternoon. Heavy fighting ensued,  

but the Japanese threat of encirclement was enough  for Paris to order a withdrawal to the Slim River.  

At Kuantan, the two Japanese regiments had  also crossed the river and were now heading  

towards the airfield. The 22nd Brigade was  preparing for a difficult confrontation,  

but when the news of Paris' retreat reached them,  the entire 9th Indian Division of General Barstow  

was forced to withdraw through the  Kuala Lipis-Jerantut-Raub area.  

The 22nd immediately proceeded to demolish all  buildings and installations in Kuantan before  

starting their retreat, but at night, their  rearguard would be caught in the midst of  

the Japanese attack. The Indians were demolished  in the assault, losing a third of the brigade's  

strength , but the rest of the 22nd managed to  retreat without further incidents by January 3.  

That same day, the 4th Guards Regiment advanced  up to the Selangor River and then turned inland  

towards the bridges at Batang Berjuntai, thus  threatening the key city of Kuala Selangor and  

its valuable airfield. At the same time, General  Percival received his first reinforcement at  

Singapore, the 45th Brigade, immediately sending  it to repel the enemy advance on Selangor.  

But would it succeed? And would Paris' new  defensive line hold the Japanese invaders? For  

these answers, join us next week as we cover the  Battle of the Slim River and the continuation of  

the advance down the Malay Peninsula. If you want  to get the weekly coverage of the Pacific war,  

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