Dalforce

Dalforce (星华义勇军)
Active	25 December 1941 – 13 February 1942
Allegiance	Malaya Command
Type	Irregular military
Size	4,000 (1,250 armed)
Part of	Australian 22nd Brigade 1st Malaya Infantry Brigade
Garrison/HQ	Kim Yam Road HQ Ee Hoe Hean Club
Nickname(s)	"Dalley's Desperadoes”
Engagements	Battle of Singapore
Commanders
Notable commanders	Lt. Col. John D. Dalley

Dalforce, or the Singapore Overseas Chinese Anti-Japanese Volunteer Army (星华义勇军; Xinghua Yi Yong Jun) was an irregular forces/guerrilla unit within the British Straits Settlements Volunteer Force during World War II. Its members were recruited among the ethnic Chinese people of Singapore. It was created on 25 December 1941 by Lieutenant Colonel John Dalley of the Federated Malay States Police Force. The unit was known to the British colonial administration as Dalforce, after its chief instructor and commanding officer, John Dalley, whereas the Chinese in Singapore only knew it as the Singapore Overseas Chinese Anti-Japanese Volunteer Army. This formation took part in the Battle of Singapore and some members conducted a guerrilla campaign against Japanese forces during the Japanese occupation.

The British noted how ferociously the Chinese volunteers in Dalforce fought, earning them the nickname Dalley's Desperadoes.

Dalley had suggested creating a guerrilla network in 1940, but it was not until about a year later, when the Japanese invasion was imminent, did it become apparent that the official recruitment of the local Chinese against the Japanese was essential. The British Government relented and on 25 December 1941, Dalforce was officially established, ignoring the fact that the existing Singapore Overseas Chinese Anti-Japanese Volunteer Army had been in existence under Chinese leadership since at least 1939. John Dalley, together with his fellow British officers, began training in Johore in mid-January 1942 with a force of 200 men. By the time the Japanese invaded, Dalforce numbered 4,000 resistance fighters.

Due to the divided leadership between the Communist Chinese and the Kuomintang, the army was divided into two sections. One is the Singapore Overseas Chinese Volunteer Army, which was mainly Communist and under direct command of Lieutenant-Colonel Dalley, and the smaller Guomindang Overseas Chinese Guard Force under the command of Chinese Nationalist Major Hu Tie Jun. Both sections comprised a total strength not exceeding 1,500 men, and the Overseas Chinese Guard Force was also trained by British officers. Ian Morrison, the Malayan correspondent for The Times in 1942, also noted that they were "trained, and placed in formations according to their political sympathies. There was one school where the Kuomintang adherents were trained, another where the Communists were trained."

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