III Corps (India) - Second World War

Second World War

The British Indian III Corps was the primary ground formation that took part in the Battle of Malaya in 1942. It was commanded by Lieutenant-General Sir Lewis "Piggy" Heath.

III Corps was formed in mid-1941 as part of the Malaya Command when the increase in tension in the Far East necessitated the dispatch of large reinforcements to the area to deter Japan. On 7 December 1941 the Corps consisted of the Indian 9th Infantry Division, commanded by Major-General Barstow, the Indian 11th Infantry Division, commanded by Major-General Murray-Lyon, a Lines of Communication Area, and the Penang Fortress. Due to the rapid expansion of the British Indian Army, many of the formations in the Indian divisions were ill-trained and lacked large enough cadres of experienced troops.

The British had plans - Operation Matador and Operation Krohcol to move forward into the south of Siam to forestall Japanese advances. However, lack of forewarning, combined with caution over upsetting Japan needlessly with precipitate actions, prevented the plans from being implemented. This put the garrison on the defensive, a position from which it never recovered.

III Corps was pushed down the Malayan peninsula by Japanese units, who employed novel tactics. When confronted with an Allied strong point on a road, the Japanese troops would leave a screen in front of the position, and then send infiltrators round through the jungle to outflank the position. Having been surrounded, positions were usually relatively easy to take. III Corps and the rest of the Allied land forces were pushed back to Singapore itself by February 1942. There they endured a short siege before the island surrendered at the direction of Lieutenant-General Arthur Percival. Some of the prisoners taken from Indian III Corps subsequently joined the Indian National Army.