Japanese Forces

The Selarang Barracks Incident

In 1942, four Australian POWs did the unthinkable, and tried to escape from their Japanese prisoner of war camp. The Japanese became so incensed that they ordered every POW in the Changi peninsula to sign an agreement promising not to escape. These prisoners—being Australian—promptly told the Japanese to do one. In retaliation, the Japanese ordered every single one of them to assemble in the Selarang barracks without food or water—all fifteen thousand of them. For four days, the men were forced to stand shoulder-to-shoulder in a space only constructed to hold as few as one thousand people. After four days suffering from dysentery, malnutrition, and dehydration, the Australians relented and signed the agreement.