 The National Broadcasting Company and its affiliated stations present the Pacific story. In the mounting fury of world conflict, events in the Pacific are taking on ever greater importance. Here is the story of the Pacific and the millions of people who live around this greatest sea. The drama of the people whose destiny is at stake in the Pacific war. Here is the tale of the war in the Pacific and its meaning to us and to the generations to come. Tonight's Pacific story, Malacca Strait, Gateway to the Southwest Pacific, comes to you from Washington, D.C. and Hollywood. As another public service with drama the past and present, and commentary by Admiral Sir James Somerville, head of the British Admiralty delegation in Washington. Malacca Strait, Gateway to the Southwest Pacific. For a thousand years, nations have struggled for control of the stretch of water between the Malay Peninsula and the Great Island of Sumatra. The blood of Britishers, Frenchmen, Dutchmen, Spaniards, Portuguese and Asianics has mingled with the waters of this strait. Today the Japanese control of this stretch of water, the straits of Malacca, is being challenged by the Allies. Until this control is finally rested from them, the Japanese will hold the strategic advantage in this part of the Pacific. I spent all my days in the Malacca Strait. This is a steamship pilot. Look here at this map. The pilot points to the straits. It's 520 miles long, 520 miles, and for a long time the Japanese controlled every foot of it. In the years before the war the straits were the main sea lane for ships en route from Europe and India to China and the Indies. New United Nations ships have gone through the straits now for more than three years. And each single port in the Malay Peninsula and a good part of Sumatra are to be taken back. We first got to take back the straits of Malacca. I saw the Japanese take the straits of Malacca. The importance of the straits is even more far reaching than that. This is an observer. When the straits are open cargo ships and warships can proceed through the Bay of Bengal and through the straits into the South China Sea. With Singapore recaptured the British will have a strong naval base from which to operate in the theater. And with the American Navy based in the Philippines, the control of the South China Sea will be absolute. The Japanese communications to the South will be entirely cut, isolating the enemy in the islands of the Southwest Pacific. And then we will be able, as the straits of Malacca are today, a focus of struggle in the Southwest Pacific, so they were for centuries. The Portuguese came first. Welcome back to Malacca, my captain. That is good to be back, but I hardly recognize the ship. Malacca has changed. It is now the greatest trading center between the East and the West. Wonderful, wonderful. A wall 20 feet high around the city. And the bastions and breast wedges. You've made a port of it. The strongest in the strait. See that? A bronze cannon. We have 40 cannon like that. Brought out here from Portugal. Malacca is growing. We have built a mission. We are expanding our trade. We need our cannon. Ah, if you are to hold this base, yes. Without Malacca as a base, our trade would be crippled. I have been able to set up new trading force only because we have this base here. Yes. What progress have you to report? Well, since last I was here in Malacca, I have sailed through all the seas of the Indies. I took with me melee pilots, and they knew every current and wind and landform. We now have trading force in the Spice Islands at Titor, Tanate and Bonda. Excellent, my captain, excellent. And from these trading force, we will be in a position to expand our trade. To the fortress city of Malacca, on the west coast of Malaya, and about midway in the straits of Malacca, came traders of all nations. Chinese, Indians, Malays, Arabs. Religion came. Francis Xavier to preach and to teach and to minister to the Sikh. And missionaries of other religions, Buddhists, Muslims, Brahmans and Confucianists. Malacca grew with each passing year, and the life of the city was its trade. In 1580, the men in the trade at Malacca had something special to talk about. Portugal has been united with Spain, and the Spaniards are going to take over all our holdings out here in the Pacific. Eight years later, in 1588, there was still more to talk about. Sprains of Sipah has been broken. The invincible Armada has been destroyed by the British. Destroyed by Armada? Completely. Portugal is done in the Pacific. Yes. No, it will be between the British and the Dutch. For 230 years, Britain and the Netherlands competed for the Indies and for Malaya and Southeast Asia. And with each passing year, the conflict grew. The Dutch, step by step, extending their control. The British moving down into Malaya, hitting out expeditions at Malacca, founding Singapore and driving into Java. The struggle between the two powers was at last resolved in 1824. Britain agrees to give the Netherlands a free hand in the islands of the Indies. The Netherlands agreed to give Britain a free hand on the mainland of Asia. The Dutch cleared out of the Malay Peninsula, and the British moved in. Malacca straights became a great trade route. Ship traffic increased, new cities rose. Sabang, Penang, Palambang, Singapore. But over them fell a shadow. The old lesson came up over the side, not a man among my crew had a chance. How long do you think the pirates followed you? They must have followed us all the way from Penang. Waited until they got your vessel in hours of the straight, did they? Yes, and they knew what we had aboard. Well, they have spies in every port. We have them here in Singapore. Well, they put me in my mate in a boat, and that's the last we've sold the vessel. Are you and the British government going to stand by and have us taken one by one by these blaggers? Are you going to do something to stop this piracy? We don't have the means to police this water. Then why don't you organize an expedition and hump them down? Wipe them out. They have hideouts in a thousand inlets and swamps in small islands, the length of Australia. Then find them. Why, they even come in and raid the harbors. They did it at Penang and down at Penambang. You've got to stop it. Good day, sir. I don't know. I don't know. Commander, Captain Worthington, is here to see you, sir? Hmm? Oh, uh, yes, yes. Send him in. Yes, sir. Captain Worthington, the commander will see you now. No, thank you. Thank you. I'm ready to sail, Commander. Yes, Captain. I have an idea of the pirates have agents here in Singapore, but they know not only where I'm sailing, but watching my hold. Yes. What assurance can you give me that my vessel will not be followed out and overhauled? Unfortunately, we're not able at this time to make any guarantees. However, we have several men of war under the synergy. Oh, that's not enough. The Royal Navy has promised us several more warships. Am I to wait for them? No. Let me tell you this, sir. Unless this pirate team, the straits is stopped. This colony of Singapore is lost. Merchantmen must be protected and the straits must be made secure. Singapore was virtually blockaded. The city of Malacca, which had a population of 100,000 when the Portuguese came, faded. Its population dwindled to half and less. Its harbors, where the largest ships in the world once called, became almost worthless. The pirates harassed sea traffic throughout the length of the straits and in the waters of the China Sea. Then, something began to happen. British men of war. British men of war. I didn't look outside as before. I was running it down. It just came up over the horizon before any of us saw it. And everything in your tail! If heads of some of the folks will be of his! Rip those tails! Get all of them! Ship by ship, Royal Navy war vessels turned up in the southwest Pacific. Singapore became their base. Penang became a base. A strong naval base that cheered each end of the Malacca straits. Piracy was driven from the waters of the straits and the China Seas and the Sunda Seas. And this quarter became a bastion of naval strength. Once again, the straits of Malacca became the important seaway from the Bay of Bengal to China and the Indies. Great ships deemed to its 520 miles and thriving ports rose along its shores. Here is not a big port. But it is one of the most important in these waters. Sabang is on the small island of Pulu Way off the northern tip of Sumatra. You see, when you're approaching the straits from the Bay of Bengal that is from the northwest. Sabang here is the first port you reach. Sabang guards the northwest approaches to the straits. There's a cooling station here. And see that tower up there? That's the radio station. The city is a tight little community against the waterfront. And another thing, Sabang's got a weather station. So ship masters can put in there for the last minute weather information. Across the straits from Sabang where the straits are more than 200 miles wide is Penang. Penang is an island just off the coast of Malaya. Something must be up here. This is the observer again. You Britishers must be expecting trouble here. Landing all these troops? Well, Penang's an important port. Yeah. Been important several hundred years since the day of the East India Company. I didn't know Penang was that old. Oh, indeed. There's been a port here since well. Oh, since about the time of the French Revolution. And those days was called St. Edward Island. Uh-huh. Strategically located, commanding the northeast approaches to the straits and the western shore of Malaya. Yes. That's right. But, uh, why are you bringing all these troops in here now? We need them to reinforce the air force here. I've never been aware until now that so much of Penang is level. Good two-thirds of it is level. Well, you must have air fields to protect the naval base. Well, you've got plenty of space here. More than a hundred square miles. We shall probably have you, Paulette. To the west of the straits is a thousand-mile-long island of Sumatra. I sail along the shore of Sumatra like this ten thousand times under. Sumatra is on the bridge. Sumatra is just about as long as the state of California and just about the same ship. I know. Oh, this is my self-passing sugar straits. When you've handled the wheels as many times as I have, you'll know every inch of it. I say, look at him, my lad. Aye, aye, sir. Aye, man. That's a big island over there. Seems to have a lot of mountains on it. Keep your eye on the coast. Aye, aye, sir. You can. There's a mountain range on that island that runs from one end to the other. Aye. Twenty-five volcano peaks in it. Twenty-five? Aye, aye, aye. I say, look at the color of that water. That is gray and not a whipper on it. Keep your eye on the coast. Aye, aye, sir. Right over there is the city of Medan. Medan? We'll be put in there. Not this trip. Medan is a fair city. Fifty-five thousand people. We're watching now. A city right in the middle of a jungle. Aye, that's what it is. Lots of wild animals there. The big Sumatra bay on Oslo. They came with two horns instead of one. And bears, crocodiles and lots of lizards and turtles and snakes. Aye, lots of animals. But there's some pretty fair cities too. All along the shore of the streets. And most of the cities are connected by pine highway. Aye, aye. Looks like nothing but wilderness and swamp over there. Keep your eye on the coast. Aye, aye, sir. We'll... This trait of Malacca is like a main street. With everything growing up along it. The question is, who is going to control it? By late 1941, with the war in Europe raging, Britain had little to spare to reinforce the strongholds of the Straits of Malacca. Some additional war planes were dispatched to Malaya. Two capital ships, which could still be spared from European waters owing to battle damage to other capital ships, were dispatched to Singapore Naval Base. By December, the situation in the Pacific had become crucial. Through the Straits of Malacca to Singapore, came the 35,000 ton HMS Prince of Wales and the Mahi HMS Repulse. As the news came of the Japanese blow at Pearl Harbor, the Prince of Wales and the Repulse left Singapore and headed out through the South China Sea toward an advanced operational base. September 10th, 1941, HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Repulse have been sunk by Japanese torpedo planes in the South China Sea off the coast of Malaya. Seven torpedo bombers and 36 high-level bombers attacked the battleship and the battle cruiser. Both were struck with all the might... On the next day, waves of Japanese dive bombers swarmed down on Penang. I was in the harbor at Penang during the raid. I was piloting a vessel down to Singapore. The harbor was crowded with warships and merchant men, Chinese jumps and naked boats of all kinds. The damage was bad. Japanese have made landings at Kota Baru on the east side of the Malaya Peninsula. Well, there's nothing but swamps and jungles on the east side of Penang. They will probably try to pinch off the peninsula by cutting directly across it. I don't think they can do that from Kota Baru. Oh, but they can land above Kota Baru at Singora in Thailand and then they can cut down behind us here at Penang. That is what we must anticipate. Can Penang be defended from attacks from the landfines? There is only two and a half miles of water between us and the mainland, and the Japanese drive down behind us. On the night of December 14, 1941, they loaded the women and children aboard the vessel I was piloting. And in the dark, we got underway from the wrecked port and headed down through the streets for Singapore. The Japanese took the airfield and the rail sea junction at Kota Baru. Below this, only 200 miles above Singapore, they took the highway sea junction at Kwantan. And above Kota Baru, they landed in ports at Singora in Thailand. They're driving across the peninsula. They're going to try and outrank Penang. We will evacuate all troops and military equipment at once. Penang was lost. With the Japanese in this strategic stronghold, they commanded the northern end of the Straits of Malacca. Soon their aircraft were on the Penang airfields. And soon in full fury, the Japanese were driving down the Mele Peninsula along the Straits of Malacca toward Singapore. They drove down through the tangled steaming jungles, other Japanese forces were striking. January 11, 1942, strong Japanese forces have invaded the Dutch East Indies. January 23, 1942, Japanese forces have landed at Balaktaipan and Java and are now threatening Borneo. February 15, 1942, Singapore has fallen. The Japanese held both ends of the Straits of Malacca. In another month, they were in Sumatra and Java to the south and Burma to the north. The principal sea lane from Europe to China and the Indies was in the hands of the enemy. We managed to get out of Singapore before it fell. It was like the evacuation of Penang. Our decks and our holes were crowded with refugees. We headed out into the dark so we would not be spotted by Japanese air cranes. We hoped we would not be spotted by Japanese submarines. Our best route back to India was through the Straits. But we knew that we would have to go the long way around for the Straits were closed tight. Now, intelligence officers operating with the natives in their small boats along the 520-mile stretch of the Straits of Malacca saw something that no man in all history had ever seen. Good Lord, look at that. A full Japanese battle fleet heading northward through the Straits. A bigger warship... big... That's a battleship there. There's another. And that, that there must be an aircraft carrier. Yes, yes it is. And there's another. And one, two. No, no, three cruisers. Lord, and look at the destroyers and give it escort. And never see so many big ships. That's the first time any Japanese task force has teamed into the Bay of Bengal. Where are they going? They may be heading for India. I say help me get the cover off the wireless. We'll have to inform the Japanese. The Japanese immediately made use of the strategic straits. Behind the battle fleet came supply ships. They had a sea lane to Burma and India. Taking the Andaman Islands, commanding the northeast approaches to the Straits of Malacca. Teams of Japanese supplies are flowing through the Straits of Malacca into the Bay of Bengal. With their strong line of communications through the Straits guarded now by Penang and Sabang, the Japanese drove boldly up into Burma, threatened India, Ceylon, and even Madagascar and Africa. But today, the picture in the region of the Straits of Malacca is different. The tide has turned. India has become one of the greatest military bases on earth. North Burma has been recaptured. And powerful units of the British fleet now command the Bay of Bengal. And are knocking at the northern gate of the Straits of Malacca. And now, the communiques of a different kind are coming in. April the 19th, 1944. British Admiralty announced carrier-borne planes from an allied force which included British, American, French, and Dutch units attacked Sabang. This fleet was commanded by Admiral Sir James Somerville. April 25th, 1944. The Admiralty announced today that Sabang has been bombarded by an allied force of battleships cruises. December 10th, 1944. The British Admiralty today announced the formation of a huge British Pacific fleet. Admiral Sir Bruce Fraser, who relieved Admiral Sir James Somerville in command of the Eastern Fleet, is its commander. December the 19th, 1944. Sir Bruce Fraser had no command of the new British Pacific fleet. It's conferring with a memorable caramel chest of a double enimus. The recon quest of the Straits of Malacca is already underway. British amphibious forces are striking down the Arakon coast toward Rangoon. And strong units of the British Pacific fleet are in the waters of the southwest Pacific in the vicinity of Australia. The Straits of Malacca is the most travel stretch of water in this part of the world. Who controls it, controls Singapore and Malaya and Samatra? How it will be retaken remains to be seen. But what is sure is, when the Straits of Malacca are retaken, a new epic will open in the war in the Pacific. The Straits of Malacca are the roadway to Singapore and to China. And now to tell the significance of the operations in this region and their importance to the war in the Pacific, the national broadcasting company presents Admiral Sir James F. Somerville, KCB, KBE and DSO of the British Navy. The next voice you hear will be that of Admiral Somerville. We take you now to Washington, D.C. The Straits of Malacca are certainly the roadway from the west to Singapore, to the South China Seas, to the Philippines and yes to Japan itself. There are other roads but they're much longer. For example, the distance from Aden to Manila via the Malacca Straits is just under 5,000 miles. But to get there around the south and up the east coast of Australia, the ship has to steam over 11,000 miles. From Cape Town to Manila via the Straits is 7,000 miles. As compared to nearly 11,000 miles, you'll come down the south of Australia. You may ask, to what extent are Americans interested in this Western approach to the Pacific? You may say, surely our fleet, our armies and our air forces in the Pacific, receive all their supplies from America. That's quite true. The American Pacific Fleet does receive its supplies from America. But the British Pacific Fleet, on the other hand, draws practically all its supplies from the west and from Australia. So for the British, the opening of the Straits from Malacca is a matter of very great importance. But even the American Pacific Fleet could benefit in one respect if these straits were open. The oil it burns is brought to the American Fleet over 9,000 miles across the Pacific. If our oil is brought from the Persian Gulf, it'll save you over 4,000 miles as affected. So you'll see how important these straits are and our necessity is that we should regain control of them. But control cannot be regained fully until Singapore has been recaptured. When is this likely to happen? Well, there's never been anyone's guess at the moment. But the rapid advance by Admiral Mount Basin's forces in Burma, an impunity with which the Allied ships have been operating in the Straits, suggests the day is drawing much closer when the British flag will once more fly over Singapore. Commander of the Straits, inevitably involved, commands the lands bordering those straits. The island of Sumatra, the Malayan Peninsula. These lands are important on account of the rubber, oil, tin, lead, and other raw materials they produce and which are necessary for the full development of our war effort. I think you can be stated without exaggeration that the opening of the Straits and the release of those lands from Japanese domination will be an important factor in bringing about the final defeat of Japan. It's curious how little use the Japanese made of their opportunity when they had control of the Straits. You've heard how a month or two after the fall of Singapore, the Japanese fleet was seen steaming up the Straits and out in the Indian Ocean. I was waiting for that fleet, south of Salon. Waiting with a hastily assembled fleet, which, as I found out subsequently, was not up to strength for the Japanese fleet, and was sufficient in that vital component of the fleet, the aircraft carriers. The Japanese looked for me on that occasion, and I looked for them. Now both searches failed. If either of those searches had succeeded, I'd probably not be talking to this moment. I'd probably be as the sailors put it in David Jones' locker. But after this one sortie, the Japanese retired in the Straits and never emerged again. I wonder why? They had the ball in their feet then, the goal wide open. That goal of our communications with the Middle East up the east coast of Africa, the only link we had with the Middle East at that time. If those communications had been cut, we might well have lost the war. It was indeed a critical time. But thanks to rapid recovery of the American fleet after Pearl Harbor, thanks to Coral Sea Action, the Midway and the Guadalcanal, the Japanese fleet was drawn away and pinned down to the Pacific. That was a long distance cooperation. We now have much closer cooperation with the British and American fleets fighting side by side the Pacific, as they fought in the Mediterranean and on the coast of Normandy. And besides British Pacific fleet, we now have the British East Indies fleet. It's that fleet which will certainly play a leading part in reopening the straits. In conclusion, I would like to pay tribute to the work of the British and Dutch submarines in the Straits of Malacca and the toll they extracted from the Japanese. The score, at the end of January, was 15 warships sunk, ranging from a cruise of the submarine chasers, 21 large merchant vessels, 51 coasters, and 159 tugs of small craft all sank. The gross tonnage of these ships, about 150,000 tons in all, may not be very impressive. But the work of the submarines under humid and intolerable conditions, with the wet bulb always much harder than the dry, operating in shallow, narrow waters, hunted by aircraft and surface vessels, that work certainly was most impressive. For well over a year, the Allied submarines, rather than the Japanese, have exercised control over the Straits of Malacca. Thank you, Admiral Sir James F. Somerville. You have been listening to the Pacific Story, presented by the National Broadcasting Company and its affiliated independent stations, as a public service to clarify events in the Pacific and to make understandable the crosscurrents of life in the Pacific Basin. For a reprint of this Pacific Story program, send 10 cents in stamps or coin to University of California Press, Berkley, California. To repeat, for a reprint of this Pacific Story program, send 10 cents in stamps or coin to University of California Press, Berkley, California. The Pacific Story is written and directed by Arnold Marquess. The original musical score was composed and conducted by Thomas Paluso, your narrator, Gain Whitman. This program came to you from Washington, D.C. and Hollywood. This is the National Broadcasting Company.