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| Wednesday, 7 April 2004 |
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Reminiscences of World War II: The day Japanese bombed Lanka by Aryadasa Ratnasinghe It happened on Easter Sunday, April 5, 1942, at about 7.30 a.m., when most of the Christians were on their way to the church to attend the Mass, commemorating the resurrection of Jesus Christ, after His crucifixion, and other people were out of their homes on different errands. A Japanese squadron of 120 Zero fighter aircrafts, led by Vice Admiral Chulchi Nagumo and Air Force Commander Mitsuo Fuchida, was sighted off shore, flying towards the South-Eastern coast of the island, by the RAF Squadron Leader Leonard Birchall, who had, as usual, taken to the sky, from the Koggala airbase, on a reconnaissance mission. No sooner Birchall saw the enemy aircraft approaching at a distance, he forthwith signalled the news to the RAF Headquarters at Ratmalana, to be on the alert of an impending air offensive by the Japanese squadron. The Japanese pilots who detected Birchall's aircraft, fired a storm of bullets, and it crashed into the sea near Hikkaduwa. He was taken prisoner by the Japanese troops, but later released. For his gallantry, he was promoted Air Commodore. On April 5, 1992 he visited Sri Lanka, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the air battle over Colombo. These two men, Vice Admiral Nagumo and Commander Fuchida, were responsible for the bombing of the Pearl Harbour, a US Deep-water Naval Base, on the island of Oahu, in the US Pacific Ocean State of Hawaii, adjacent to Honolulu, on December 7, 1941, while Japanese 'peace' envoys were in Washington to negotiate a peace settlement. The air raid destroyed US aircraft carriers, war planes, submarines etc., and killing about 2,000 Americans and wounding about 3,000 service personnel including civilians. On the following day, the US declared war on Japan, and entered World War II to crush the enemy prowess. The Prime Minister of England, Sir Winston Churchill, immediately rushed the brilliant war veteran, Gen. Douglas MacArthur to the Far East, to attack the Japanese troops on the warpath. The most powerful warships, HMS Prince of Wales and the HMS Repulsive were sunk by the Japanese armada on Jan. 10, 1941, which gave Japan naval and air supremacy in the Pacific. The Japanese immediately overran Malaya from Thailand, and captured Singapore with 60,000 British troops in Feb. 1942. From 1943, the command against Japan was divided among Lord Mountbatten in Burma (now Myanmar), Admiral Nimitz in the Central Pacific, and Gen. MacArthur in the South-West Pacific. A threatened invasion of India was averted in 1944. On that crucial Easter Sunday, the RAF had only 20 Catalina aircraft to fight against 120 Zero aircraft of the Japanese squadron led by Commander Fuchida, which were hardly sufficient to face the Japanese air strength. On the other hand, Sri Lanka was not ready to face such an offensive, as the defence strength was at a low ebb. The Ceylon Garrison Artillery and the Royal Artillery combined, were able to shoot down Japanese war planes flying over Colombo. The attack lasted for nearly 20 minutes, and in the melee, a few Japanese planes were grounded by artillery fire. One fell near St. Thomas' College grounds in Mount Lavinia, one near the Kelaniya temple, one a few distance away from the Bellanvila temple, one at Pita Kotte, one at the racecourse, one at St. Joseph's playgrounds and one near Horana. The Angoda Mental Hospital, on a mistaken target, was bombed, killing 20 inmates and wounding about 30 who were outside the building. The Japanese pilots, by error of judgment, had thought the building was the Echelon Square, where British troops were sheltered. For this grave mistake, the Japanese authorities apologised to the Sri Lanka government for the unfortunate incident. To prevent a similar mishap, and as a means of air raid precaution, the government took steps to mark a huge Red Cross, 10ft. by 10ft., above the roofs of hospitals in the island, as a mark of identification, to prevent a repetition in the future. Although Adolf Hitler, the architect of World War II, encouraged Japan to invade Sri Lanka, it did not materialise, because Japan's main motive was to attack the British Eastern Fleet commanded by Admiral Sir James Sommerville and berthed in the Colombo harbour. Sensing danger, the fleet was taken to Addu Atoll in the Indian Ocean to prevent detection by the Japanese troops. With the outbreak of the World War II on Sept. 1, 1939, all constitutional matters of the island were set aside. The Colonial governor, Sir Andrew Caldecott, had to place the country under a war footing, organise civil defences, rationing of food, building military camps, acquisition of lands for military purposes, the evacuation of school children from Colombo to outstations, opening of air raid evacaution centres, cutting trenches near schools for children to take cover in case of an air attack etc. One of the major commands of the War, i.e., the South-East Asia Command (SEAC), was established in the island, with Lord Louis Mountbatten as the 'Supremo', whose headquarters was in Kandy. This great war veteran, was a British Admiral of the Fleet, and was responsible for the unconditional surrender of Japan. He was assassinated by Irish terrorists in 1979. Immediately after bombing of Colombo on that Easter Sunday, Sir Oliver Gunatilaka (the then Auditor-General), was appointed Civil Defence Commissioner and Geoffrey Layton, who was serving in Java, was called upon to assume duties in Sri Lanka as Commander-In-Chief, and to organise the defence fortifications in the island as well as to protect the civilians. The Japanese air raid on that critical Sunday was like a bolt from the blues, for the native population as they had never witnessed or experienced artillery warfare. Most people with their families and dependants evacuated Colombo for places of safety, far and near, fearing a further attack. Colombo city looked haunted and desolate, with all boutiques closed, and there was not a single hotel to sip a cup of tea. Sir Oliver Gunatilaka, as Civil Defence Commissioner, and on authority vested on him, immediately intervened and made arrangements to open all closed boutiques and hotels for the convenience of the public. Under the military law, he ordered anyone desirous of owning these buildings, to occupy them, with all rights of possession, regardless of title ownership. People volunteered to own the closed buildings, and some of them are still said to be under such ownership. Admiral Sir Geoffrey Layton became very much bothered over the lack of preparations to face an enemy offensive. It is said that he was a bluff sailor who had the ambition of enjoying dictatorial powers above the governor, who was compelled to step down to a secondary place with dignity. Admiral Layton's brusque ways sometimes gave the impression and the governor and his ministers were in some way responsible for the neglect, as the island was not armed to the teeth, to prevent a possible enemy attack. He remarked, "Except for the big guns on the Galle Face, the defence of the country was practically non-existent." The racecourse in Colombo and the ladies golf club were requisitioned. Remembering his experience in Malaya, Layton arranged to send European women and children out of the island for safety. This panicky measure brought a rebuke from Winston Churchill, who observed that he had sent Layton to the island to take charge of the country, and not to cause panic and consternation. This was the result of warfare 62 years ago, but today, the war weapons used are most destructive, and sophisticated. The World War II came to an end in 1945, with the unconditional surrender of Japan, after the Allied Forces dropped two atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The terms of surrender was signed on Sept. 2, 1945, on the battleship Missouri with Gen. Douglas MacArthur in charge, in the presence of emperor Hirohitho of Japan. |
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