the battle of singapore was a battle of world war ii from 8 to 15 february, 1942. the british army of 85,000 men was led by lieutenant general arthur percival, while the japanese regiment of 36,000 men was headed by lieutenant general tomoyuki yamashita. japan captured the british naval base in singapore, built as a protectionary agent for dominions in the pacific. japan defeated the inadequate forces at singapore, allowing the imperial japanese forces to move further south in its war against the allied powers. the defeat of the "singapore strategy" meant that thousands of british and australian pow's were taken.