On 14 February, the Japanese again launched a heavy attack at 8.30am, supported by intense mortar and artillery fire, on the front held by the 1st Malay Brigade.The defenders beat off this and a number of other attacks. The fighting included bitter hand-to-hand combat, and losses from both sides were heavy. At 4.00pm an attack supported by tanks eventually succeeded in penetrating the left, and the defenders on this flank were forced back to a line from the junction of the Ayer Rajah and Depot Road through the Brick Works and along the canal to Bukit Chermin. Owing to the failure of units on both its flanks to hold their ground, the 1st Malay Brigade withdrew at 2.30pm. It was at this point that C Company of the Malay Regiment received instructions to move to a new defence position, Bukit Chandu.
Bukit Chandu (means "Opium Hill" in Malay) was named after an opium-processing factory located at the foot of the hill. This was also where C Company of the Malay Regiment made their final stand against the Japanese attack. Bukit Chandu was a key defence position for two important reasons. It was situated on high ground overlooking the island to the north; and secondly, if the Japanese gained control of the ridge, it gave them direct passage to the Alexandra area. The British army had its main ammunition and supply depots, military hospital and other key installations located in Alexandra.
C Company's position was separated from D Company by a big canal. Oil was burning in the canal, which flowed from Normanton Depot. The burning oil prevented C Company soldiers from retreating further south. The company was under the command of Captain H. R. Rix, a British officer. He encouraged the men to defend Bukit Chandu down to the last soldier, and was killed,together with many of his Malay Regiment soldiers in the last defensive battle at Pasir Panjang.
The Japanese pressed their attack on Bukit Chandu in the afternoon, but under the guise of a deception. They sent a group of soldiers, dressed in Punjabi uniforms, passing themselves off as Indian soldiers in the British army. C Company saw through this trick as they knew that soldiers of the British army usually marched in a line of three whereas the disguised soldiers were in a line of four. When they reached the Malay Regiment's defensive line, C Company's squad opened fire, killing several men. Those who survived escaped downhill.
Last stand
Two hours later, the Japanese launched an all-out banzai charge in great numbers. The attack overwhelmed the Malay Regiment, and the defence line shattered. Greatly outnumbered and short of ammunition and supplies, the Malay Regiment continued to resist the Japanese. Both sides engaged in fierce hand-to-hand combat using bayonets. Adnan bin Saidi was seriously wounded but refused to retreat or surrender and instead encouraged his men to fight to the end.
Soon after, Pasir Panjang was under Japanese control, and Adnan bin Saidi, wounded and unable to fight, was captured. Instead of taking him prisoner, the Japanese continuously kicked, punched and beat him before tying him to a cherry tree and stabbing him to death with their bayonets.
Aftermath
The battle of Pasir Panjang had little strategic significance. From a purely military operational perspective, the Battle of Pasir Panjang could not change the outcome of the fate of Singapore and it was a matter of time before the British would surrender to the Japanese 25th Army. The Allied units stationed there were simply tasked with defending the approach to the ridge, but instead had to resist the main invasion force. Opium Hill itself is situated on high ground overlooking the island to the north; and it control the direct passage to the Alexandra area where the British army had its main ammunition and supply depots, military hospital and other key installations located in the Alexandra area. The fall of Opium Hill allow Japan access to Alexandra area, indirectly contribute to Alexandra Hospital massacre.
Adnan bin Saidi is described by many Singaporeans and Malaysians today as a hero for his actions on Bukit Chandu—he encouraged his men not to surrender and instead fight to the death. In Singaporean and Malaysian school textbooks, he is also credited as the soldier who noticed the error in the marching style of the Japanese soldiers disguised as Indian troops.
Source:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Pasir_Panjang#Bukit_Chandu
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