sentences:  With the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939, the command reinforced its strength in anticipation of an attack.With the bulk of British forces being tied down in the war in Europe and the Near East, the command was mainly augmented by units from India.On 18 November 1940, the command was placed under the command of the British Far East Command and later, on 7 January 1942, under the short-lived South West Pacific Command or ABDACOM, which was tasked to maintain control of the "Malay Barrier" (or "East Indies Barrier"), a notional line running down the Malayan Peninsula, through Singapore and the southernmost islands of the Dutch East Indies.