Once again the 'Despatches from the Front' series has delivered an important collection of despatches that has been introduced and sensitively edited. There is the usual crisp illustration for which the series is known. The despatches show what senior commanders were seeing and thinking and as a collection of primary sources, this book will be invaluable as a reference work for enthusiasts, researchers and those who just want to side step the middlemen historians. A very illuminating book on a much under-covered subject. Highly recommended.

... The despatches in this book show how much was a surprise and how much was anticipated. Inevitably the collapse of defence in Malaya, Singapore and in the Netherlands East Indies was an enormous shock. This is a story that needs to be told and understood and these despatches go a long way to setting out the realities of what happened.

FIRE Reviews