The Singapore strategy was a strategy of the British Empire between 1919 and 1941. It was a series of war plans that evolved over a twenty-year period to deter or defeat aggression by the Empire of Japan by basing a fleet of the Royal Navy in the Far East. Ideally, this fleet would be able to intercept and defeat a Japanese force heading south towards India or Australia. To be effective, it required a well-equipped base, and Singapore was chosen as the most suitable location in 1919. Work continued on a naval base and its defences over the next two decades. The Singapore strategy was the cornerstone of British Imperial defence policy in the Far East during the 1920s and 1930s. A combination of financial, political and practical difficulties ensured that it could not be implemented. The strategy ultimately led to the despatch of Force Z to Singapore and the sinking of the Prince of Wales and Repulse by Japanese air attack on 10 December 1941. The subsequent ignominious fall of Singapore was described by Winston Churchill as "the worst disaster and largest capitulation in British history".

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singapore_strategy

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1898:

Organized cheerleading was born at the University of Minnesota when student Johnny Campbell directed a crowd attending an American college football game to cheer on their team. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheerleading

1932:

The Australian military began a "war against emus", a flightless native bird blamed for widespread damage to crops in Western Australia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emu_War

1964:

King Saud of Saudi Arabia was deposed by his half-brother Faisal over concerns of the former's profligacy and his inability to deal with the socialism of Egypt's Gamal Abdel Nasser. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saud_of_Saudi_Arabia

1995:

Former South African Minister of Defence Magnus Malan and 10 other former senior military officers were arrested and charged with 13 murders in the KwaMakhutha massacre of 1987. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnus_Malan

2004:

Dutch film director Theo van Gogh, whose film Submission was critical of the treatment of women in Islam, was assassinated by Mohammed Bouyeri. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theo_van_Gogh_(film_director)

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

bone-eating snot flower worm: (biology) A worm-like creature, Osedax mucofloris, that feeds on the carcasses of minke whales in the North Sea. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/bone-eating_snot_flower_worm

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

Tests are a gift. And great tests are a great gift. To fail the test is a misfortune. But to refuse the test is to refuse the gift, and something worse, more irrevocable, than misfortune. --Lois McMaster Bujold https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Lois_McMaster_Bujold