World Battlefronts: Singapore in Sight

The Jap was already on the British 20-yard line. In seven weeks of fighting, starting from his own goal on the Thailand-Malaya border, he had moved 360 miles south through the steaming jungle. His weapons had been end runs, forward passes and quarterback sneaks. Now the time had come for power bucks, because pay dirt—the precious island of Singapore—was not far off.

Now the invaders were less than 60 miles from Singapore. Inside the 20-yard line the going promised to get tougher. The British at last had stopped cursing the Japanese for not "coming out and fighting." Slowly and possibly too late,...