NZ's response to threat of invasion article

[flyjoe180]

Seventy years ago Japan stunned the United States with its dawn assault on Pearl Harbour. With most of our fighting men overseas, New Zealand was unprepared and vulnerable. Lawrence Watt looks at how we responded to the threat of invasion

www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10770531

[Dave Homewood]

"Japan followed its lightning blow against the Pacific Fleet with an attack on the British colony of Malaya. Two Royal Navy battleships were destroyed."

Oh dear... this is incorrect. Japan attacked Malaya almost two hours before the first wave of attacks took place at Pearl Harbour. That was on the 8th of December 1941 local Malaya time, which was still 7th of December 1941 in Hawaii due to the International Date Line.

Also the two ships attacked and sunk, HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Repulse, were not sunk till the 10th of December Malayan/Singapore time.

[Luther Moore]

That's very interesting,cheers for posting it.There is a place up the road from me in Sydney where we used to play as kids that still has all the defence bunkers and gun emplacements that runs all along the coast,it's a reminder of how real the threat of Japanese invasion really was.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malabar_Battery

[Andy Wright]

Aaaaaand, anorak on, HMS Repulse was a battlecruiser. ;D One of my fave bug bears when that action is mentioned in the press etc.

[flyjoe180]

Dec 5, 2011 17:43:46 GMT 12 Andy Wright said:

Aaaaaand, anorak on, HMS Repulse was a battlecruiser. ;D One of my fave bug bears when that action is mentioned in the press etc.

And rightfully so, they should do their research more thoroughly.