1942: Japanese invaders arrive in the British colony of Burma

Burma falls

Japanese Soldier

In command of the Japanese assault on Malaya was General Tomoyuki Yamashita, who had spent the previous Christmas in Germany, studying Hitler's Blitzkrieg tactics. Instead of using tanks, he armed his troops with bicycles. These allowed fast movement along the narrow jungle tracks and could be carried, if necessary. By advancing directly through the jungle instead of along the heavily defended roads, his troops caught the British and Commonwealth troops by surprise. The conquest of Malaya has taken Yamashita just 54 days.