On 9 February 1942, the 5th and 18th Divisions and Imperial Guards Division of the Japanese forces landed on the north-western coast of Singapore, from Kranji and Lim Chu Kang down to Sarimbun. At the Kranji Beach Battle, Japanese forces suffered one of their major losses. While moving up the Kranji River at midnight, the Japanese Imperial Guards got bogged down in the mangrove swamps and tributaries. The defending forces in Singapore demolished fuel tanks and set fire to the gushing oil as it rushed into the river. Many Japanese soldiers were burnt alive in the sea of fire; others were forced deep into the swamp.
Among the valiant defenders were the 27th Australian Brigade and the Dalforce (named after its commander Lieutenant Colonel John Dalley of the Malayan Special Branch). This local volunteer force consisted of men and women, old and young, from college students to rickshaw pullers, from nationalists to communists. As the war intensified, the Dalforce volunteers were given only three to four days of training and sent to the war front. Without uniforms, the fighters improvised and wore a red triangle on their blue shirts to avoid being mistaken as Japanese by the Australians.
Despite their fighting spirit, the Dalforce fighters were let down by poor training and the lack of equipment. A further blow was delivered when the 27th Australian Brigade withdrew southwards. This was due to a misunderstanding of Lieutenant General Percival's battle plans arising from fears that the Japanese forces would cut them off at Bukit Timah, the city centre. (Lieutenant General Percival, General Officer Commanding HQ Malaya Command, was in command of the defence of both Malaya and Singapore.) As a result, the Japanese established a stronghold in the northern Woodlands area and secured a relatively easy passage into the island.