One of the key events of the battle in the Asia Pacific Theater was destruction of British Naval power. Prince of Wales, the British warship was destroyed by Japanese fighter planes on 10th December 1941. A swarm of Japanese fighter planes descended and bombed Prince of Wales and the cruiser called Repulse. However the anti aircraft guns from Prince of Wales had been active and the initial attack could not achieve its target. The Japanese changed their tactics. While the fighter planes concentrated to bomb one particular area, the anti aircraft guns turned their attention to them. Using this opportunity two Kamikaze fighter planes went straight down the chimney and destroyed the engine. Another ten or fifteen fighter planes descended to bomb each and every area of Prince of Wales. The Japanese suffered heavy losses, but their target was achieved. Prince and Wales sank and with that sank the Imperial British Navy. Britannia would never rule the waves again.
On 13th December Japanese occupied Guam islands.
On 14th December Japanese army reached Burma through Thailand. They invaded Hong Kong.
On 23rd December Wake island was occupied by the Japanese.
On 25th December Hong Kong surrendered.
On 27th December Manila was bombed by the Japanese airforce
On 11th January Dutch East Indies fell.
On 23rd January Japanese landed on Solomon islands
On 31st January battle of Malaya was over and Singapore was the next target
On 7th February Changi military hospital of Singapore was bombed by the Japanese because allied forces had hidden their weapons nearby. Japan had warned but allied forces did not listen
By 18th of February the British "lion" turned into a dog and surrendered their forces to the Japanese with tails behind their hind legs. They had put up the Indian soldiers as sacrificial lambs. It was the bravery of the Indian soldiers who were mistreated, discriminated against and were subjected like slaves by their British counterparts, that saved the lives of many of their colonial masters who had fled without a fight. Lt General Percival only requested the Imperial Japanese Lt. General Yamashita to take care of the British Civilians. He was not interested in the fate of the subjected races of Indians and the Malayas.
Adapted from Muktisangrame Bangali Sainik by Nitailal Basu, a soldier in the Indian National Army