Preparations for the Invasion of Malaya - Episode 529

The Unauthorized History of the Pacific War

Captain William Toti, USN

Naval History And Heritage Command, History, Imperial Japanese Navy, Sam Cox, Admiral King, Cruisers, Spruance, Fargo, Seth Paridon, Fighters, Pacific War, Stavridis, Cactus Air Force, December 7, Station Hypo, William Toti, Bombers, Bill Toti, Navy, Halsey, Submarines, Society & Culture, Education, Us Navy, Mush Morton, Cincpoa, Documentary, Guadalcanal, Imperial Japan, World War Ii, Midway, Aircraft Carriers, Cryptology, Wake Island, Nimitz, Cincpac, Macarthur, Pearl Harbor, Wahoo, Courses, Battleships, New Guinea

4.9 • 872 Ratings

🗓️ 18 November 2025

⏱️ 73 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

This week Seth Paridon and Jon Parshall take a look at the preparation for the Japanese invasion of Malaya in December 1941. The guys dig into the Japanese outlook on the region, the reasons for invasion, as well as the invasion plans. Digging into the personalities involved, Jon dishes out the goods on Brooke-Popham, Percival, Yamashita and others. A fascinating discussion on the Japanese plan of attack and lack of British preparedness (and why that was) follows. Dig into this one as we set up the greatest disaster in British military history. #wwiihistory #ww2 #usnavy #usa #usarmy #medalofhonor #enterprise #aircraft #aircraftcarrier #cv6 #midway #wwii #wwiihistory #ww2 #worldwar2 #usnavy #usnavyseals #usmc #usmarines #saipan #usa #usarmy #aircraft #aircraftcarrier #battleship #battleships #ussenterprise #aircraftcarriers #museum #essex #halsey #taskforce38 #wwii #wwiihistory #ww2 #usnavy #usa #usarmy #medalofhonor #enterprise #aircraft #aircraftcarrier #cv6 #midway #wwii #wwiihistory #ww2 #worldwar2 #usnavy #usnavyseals #usmc #usmarines #saipan #usa #usarmy #aircraft #aircraftcarrier #battleship #battleships #ussenterprise #aircraftcarriers #museum #hollywood #movie #movies #books #mastersoftheair #8thairforce #mightyeighth #100thbombgroup #bloodyhundredth #b17 #boeing #airforce wwii #wwiihistory #ww2 #usnavy #usa #usarmy #medalofhonor #enterprise #aircraft #aircraftcarrier #cv6 #midway #wwii #wwiihistory #ww2 #worldwar2 #usnavy #usnavyseals #usmc #usmarines #saipan #usa #usarmy #aircraft #aircraftcarrier #battleship #battleships #ussenterprise #aircraftcarriers #museum #hollywood #movie #movies #books #oldbreed #1stMarineDivision #thepacific #Peleliu #army #marines #marinecorps #worldwar2 #worldwar #worldwarii #leytegulf #battleofleytegulf #rodserling #twilightzone #liberation #blacksheep #power #prisoner #prisonerofwar #typhoon #hurricane #weather #iwojima#bullhalsey #ace #p47 #p38 #fighter #fighterpilot #b29 #strategicstudying #tokyo #boeing #incendiary #usa #franklin #okinawa #yamato #kamikaze #Q&A #questions #questionsandanswers #history #jaws #atomicbomb #nuclear #nationalarchives #nara #johnford #hollywood #fdr #president #roosevelt #doolittle #doolittleraid #pearlharborattack #salvaged #medalofhonor #british #raf #royalairforce

Transcript

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0:00.0	The
0:07.0	The The
0:23.6	The All right. Hello and welcome to episode 529 of the Unauthorized History of the Pacific War podcast.
0:49.8	My name is Seth Peridon, historian and deputy director of the Mississippi Armed Forces Museum.
0:53.0	And with me, as always, no longer jet lag.
0:55.5	As my co-host, author, and historian, John Partial, how are you this October the 21st?
1:00.8	I'm doing well.
1:02.1	I'm, yeah, feeling distinctly better than I was last week, I got to say.
1:07.2	So, yeah, happy to be here in the middle of grinding away on the book.
1:11.6	Just got done laying out the September chapter.
1:14.6	You're almost there.
1:15.8	Almost there, baby.
1:17.2	Three more months.
1:18.6	Yeah, something like, well, yeah, but then got to do all the copy editing and all that happy crap.
1:23.3	But anyway, yeah, getting there.
1:25.3	It's big, fun, fun, fun, fun, fun.
1:27.2	Yep.
1:27.8	All right.
1:28.9	So I don't have my normal pithy interview intro to this week's episode because this is your bag.
1:36.2	This is exactly the first chapter, well, part of the first chapter of your book, upcoming book.
1:43.1	And, you know, just to give the brief context and what we're looking at here,
1:47.6	we've gone through the Pearl Harbor operation at nauseam,
	...

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