I would love to read your conjecture,
@jhungary .
From my own understanding and military analysis of the situation in British Malaya / Singapore during the formentioned time frame (1941-1942), most of the British Naval ships were recalled to defend Britain, leaving only 3 large warships to defend the British Orient. The battle cruiser Repulse was commanded by Captain W. G. Tennant, an older design but sported six 15" guns. The second ship was the battleship Prince of Wales, a ship practically fresh out of the docks (she was commissioned in March 1941), sporting ten 14" modern guns and good anti-aircraft defenses, but her total tonnage was limited by the treaty. The Prince of Wales was commanded by Captain J. C. Leach of the Royal Navy. The last large ship was the Indomitable, a 23,000-ton aircraft carrier with a compliment of 45 fighters. This force was designated "Force G" and sent underway to rendezvous in Singapore. These then were supported with 4 Destroyers and assorted smaller light destroyers.
During the Battle of Kuantan, these ships or otherwise known as "Force Z" were dispatched from Ceylon (Sri Lanka) to defend Singapore, only to turn aside and evade the Imperial Japanese Navy's Kido Butai during the initiating events. The 22nd Air Flotilla of the Nihon Kaigun (Imperial Japanese Navy) did spot the 2 capital ships, and were supported by a Destroyer Squadron. The HMS Repulse and her support destroyers were sunk during the engagement, with the HMS Prince of Whales , Britain's largest warship in the East, escaping into the Indian Ocean. It was later sunk by the Nihon Kaigun, as with other remaining Dutch vessels.
With naval supremacy, and practical air superiority, Japanese Operations into Singapore proper and Dutch Malaccas was ensured and could proceed unharassed. Thus the 25th Imperial Army , under command of Gen. Yamashita, supported by the Kaigun Tokubetsu Rikusentai (Imperial Naval Landing Force), and supported by the Emperor's Imperial Guards Division, initiated the pincer force attack / invasion of Singapore.
And in 7 days, the British Malaya Command was defeated. Over 138,000 British Soldiers yielded to the Imperial Army. It was, in British History, the most humiliating defeat of the British Empire.
I also would like to add some information for you and also to
@Lux de Veritas , who thinks that the Indians were not capable. During the Battle of the City of Jitra, the it was the 11th Indian Division that was tasked to defend the area of strategic interest. The 11th Indian Division was badly and poorly supplied, but managed to hold against what the Imperial Japanese Army considered its best , the Emperor's Imperial Guards Division. Despite being undermanned, poorly supplied and poorly armed, the 11th Indian Division managed to hold back advances of the Emperor's Imperial Guards Division for almost a day and a half.
A shift in tactics allowed the Japanese column to drive a deep wedge into the center of the British line of defense, and then the addition of a reinforcement force broke through the line. During the British retreat, there was much confusion due to the lack of a good communications system, and it was fueled by unorthodox tactics employed by the Japanese. I even read a book written by IJA veterans that noted how soldiers of the 11th Indian Division fought to the last man, many of whom were bayoneted to death by the Imperial Guards Division.
This is one thing that I admire about the Indians fighting spirit. While the British were keen to surrender en masse and English soldiers surrendered when enabled, Indians fought almost to the last man.
