Parit Sulong Memorial
Parit Sulong, Malaysia
The Battle of Muar | The Retreat | The Massacre | The Survivors | After the War
The Parit Sulong Memorial commemorates the Battle of Muar and its tragic aftermath during WWII. The memorial is situated within the Community Park at Parit Sulong, near by the site of the massacre. Consisting of a central memorial area and two interpretive panels, the Memorial is a dignified, simple marker to this significant and tragic event.
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In January 1942 an Australian and Indian force engaged in a desperate battle against the Japanese Imperial Guards Division that ended at Parit Sulong.
Murray Griffin, Attack on Japanese tanks on the Bakri-Parit Sulong Road (ART27570)
Weakened by defeat at the Muar River, the 45th Indian Brigade and a support battery of the 2/15th Field Regiment retreated and an Australian force was sent to restore their lost position. The 2/29th Battalion with a troop of the 4th Anti-Tank Regiment was deployed first. The 2/19th Battalion followed, with men of 8th Division Signals maintaining communications.
Surrounded and outnumbered, this combined force was ordered to fight its way out by the senior surviving officer, Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Anderson, 2/19th Battalion. Fighting hand to hand and under incessant aerial and artillery bombardment, they reached the outskirts of Parit Sulong to discover that the village and the only avenue of withdrawal, the bridge spanning the Simpang Kiri River, were already in Japanese hands.
Murray Griffin, Withdrawal from Parit Sulong (ART26529)
Although Anderson's men gained control of the village they were unable to force the enemy from the bridge. On the morning of 22 January, Anderson, fearing annihilation, ordered his men to break out through the jungle. During the battle and retreat over 300 Australians died, however, with the assistance of the local people and especially the Chinese community many of those who survived later reached British lines at Yong Peng.
For his brave leadership, determination and outstanding courage during the battle, Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Anderson received the British Commonwealth's highest award, the Victoria Cross.
Godson, John Barclay, Lieutenant Colonel Charles Anderson, (ART31764)
In the aftermath of the battle nearly 150 severely wounded Australian and Indian soldiers were left together at Parit Sulong under the charge of Captain Rewi Snelling, who indicated their willingness to surrender to the advancing Japanese. These soldiers were left behind in the expectation that they would be treated humanely. Instead, their Japanese captors herded them into buildings on the western side of the bridge, mistreated them and denied them medical attention.
Late on the afternoon of 22 January 1942, the prisoners were forced outside, machine-gunned, doused with petrol and set alight. Only three men were known to have survived. Sadly, this massacre was not an isolated incident.
Murray Griffin, Action at Parit Sulong, January 1942, (ART24477)
Sergeant Ron Croft, Lieutenant Ben Hackney and Private Reg Wharton all survived the massacre by feigning death amongst the carnage and sustaining wounds from kicking and bayonets in silence and stillness.
After this, with extensive wounds, they made their escapes with the help of the local Malaya and Chinese communities, even though their presence put these communities in grave danger.
When the fighting had passed, the Japanese established a Kempei Tei (military police) headquarters in the village. Many local people, including those suspected of assisting Australian or Indian soldiers, were executed or severely mistreated, while others were forced to flee. Harsh treatment continued until the end of the Japanese occupation of Malaya (now Malaysia) in September 1945.
Murray Griffin, Halt during the withdrawal from Bakri, January , 1942 (ART24490)
The Bridge at Parit Sulong
by Lynette Ramsey Silver
Massacre at Parit Sulong
by Gilbert Mant
A History of the 2/29 Battalion – 8th Australian Division AIF
by R W Christie
The Grim Glory of the 2/19 Battalion AIF
by the 2/19th Battalion AIF Association
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