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Operation Matador: Britain's War Plans Against the Japanese, 19181941. By Ong Chit Chung. Portland, Ore.: Times Academic Press, 1997. ISBN 981-210-095-4. Maps. Photographs. Tables. Notes. Bibliography. Index. Pp. xiv, 314. $25.00.
In the perspective of a half century, the fall of Singapore stands out ever more clearly as a landmark in Britain's imperial decline. Winston Churchill, of course, realized immediately what the "worst disaster" signified and tried vainly to procure its reconquest by British arms. The core of the problem that caused the debacle of February 1942 was very simple. After 1918, the British Empire retained global responsibilities without commensurate strength. The gap between real power and existing commitments was papered over...