Q&A · 3:34:36-3:35:31

Tanga's prepared defences and the Singapore plantation comparison

A question asks whether First World War experience at Tanga influenced the decision not to burn rubber plantations around Singapore.

Question

Did the Battle of Tanga influence the decision not to burn rubber plantations around Singapore?

Short answer

Yes, with the qualification that Tanga involved prepared defensive positions and Singapore's plantations offered no equivalent preparation.

Notes

Tanga is accepted as a factor in British thinking about Singapore's plantations. The qualification is that Tanga involved prepared positions. Vegetation alone did not reproduce the defensive arrangements that had impeded the earlier attackers. No estimate is given for the weight of that precedent in the Singapore decision.