Churchill called it "the worst disaster and the largest capitulation in British history" and the Fall of Singapore on 15 February 1942 has certainly gathered its own mythology in the past 70 years. Was it all the fault of General Percival; were the guns pointing the wrong way; did the Australians refuse to fight; did General Yamashita bluff Percival into surrendering; why did the Allies underestimate the Japanese?

Should Churchill have exercised tighter control, as he did in North Africa? In this article I'll try to answer these questions and to consider if Singapore could have been saved.