2nd Malaya Infantry Brigade

2nd Malaya Infantry Brigade
Active	1940-1942
Country	British Malaya
Allegiance	British Crown
Branch	Army
Type	Infantry
Size	Brigade
Part of	Malaya Command
Garrison/HQ	Singapore
Engagements	Malayan Campaign Battle of Singapore
Disbanded	1942
Commanders
Last commanding officer	Brig F. H. Fraser

The 2nd Malaya Infantry Brigade was a regular infantry brigade formed in 1940 with its headquarters in Singapore following the wartime expansion and reinforcement of Malaya Command. The Brigade participated in the Malayan Campaign and the Battle of Singapore against the Japanese until the surrender of the garrison in February 1942.

With the outbreak of World War II in Europe in 1939, earlier plans for the expansion and reinforcement of British forces in the Far East were accelerated. Initial expansion was slow and patchy due to the reluctance of the War Office in London to transfer forces from Great Britain for fear of a German invasion of Britain.

The Fall of France in June 1940 saw the Japanese adopt a more aggressive stance, including the occupation of parts of the Kowloon peninsula on the Chinese side of the border as well as the seizure of Longzhou in southern Guangxi next to the border of French Indochina brought the threat nearer and resulted in the withdrawal of British forces stationed in Beijing and Tianjin by August 1940 to Singapore to reinforce the Malaya Infantry Brigade garrisoned there.

The reinforcements resulted in the Malaya Infantry Brigade being divided to form the 1st and 2nd Malaya Infantry Brigade on 8 September 1940. The brigade was assigned for the defence of the Changi area of Singapore, the south-east coast of the island and the Pengerang area in Johor.

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Wikipedia