Battle of Kota Bahru

Japanese Invasion of Malaya
Part of the Battle of Malaya, Second World War
Bachok Beach, Kota Bharu, July 1941, possibly one of the Japanese landing points.
Date 8 December 1941 Location Malaya Result Japanese victory
Belligerents
British Empire:  United Kingdom  British India  Australia	Japan
Commanders and leaders
Arthur Percival Lewis Heath Arthur Barstow Billy Key Arthur Cumming C.W.H.Pulford	Tomoyuki Yamashita Hiroshi Takumi Renya Mutaguchi Shintarō Hashimoto
Units involved
British India: III Indian Corps 9th Indian Division 11th Indian Division No. 27 Squadron RAF No. 36 Squadron RAF No. 62 Squadron RAF No. 205 Squadron RAF Australia: No. 1 Squadron RAAF No. 8 Squadron RAAF No. 21 Squadron RAAF No. 453 Squadron RAAF	Twenty-Fifth Army: 5th Division 18th Division Imperial Japanese Navy
Strength
N/A	1 light cruiser 4 destroyers 2 minesweepers 1 submarine chaser 3 troopships 5,300 infantry
Casualties and losses
68 killed 360 wounded 37 missing	3 troopships damaged 320 killed 538 wounded

British Empire:

The Japanese Invasion of Malaya began just after midnight on 8 December 1941 (local time) before the attack on Pearl Harbor. It was the first major battle of the Pacific War, and was fought between ground forces of the British Indian Army and the Empire of Japan.

Kota Bharu, capital of Kelantan State on Malaysia's northeast coast, was, in 1941, the Royal Air Force's (RAF) and Royal Australian Air Force's (RAAF) base of operations in Northern Malaya. There was an airstrip at Kota Bharu and two more at Gong Kedak and Machang. Japanese losses were significant because of sporadic Australian air attacks, Indian coastal defences, and artillery fire.

The Japanese invasion plan involved landing troops from the 5th Division at Pattani and Songkhla on Thailand's east coast, and troops from the 18th Division at Kota Bharu Malaya's northeast coast. The forces in Thailand were to push through to the west coast and invade Malaya from the northwestern province of Kedah, while the eastern forces would attack down the east coast and into the interior of Malaya from Kota Bharu.

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