ABSTRACT
For Churchill, ‘Fortress Singapore’ implied a place that could hold out for weeks against a siege, much as Tobruk had from April 1941 until it was relieved on 8 December of the same year.4 For his commanders, ‘Fortress Singapore’ was a naval base opposite Johore, whose guns could secure it from sea attack, but which remained vulnerable to its landward side. For them, the only way to defend it was to keep attacking forces as far to the north, in Malaya, as possible.
