The protecting troops by way of this time have been badly demoralised. millions of exhausted and nervous stragglers left the combating to hunt protect in huge advertisement constructions. On 12 February, the defenders clashed with jap troops at Bukit Timah highway, south of Bukit Timah Village, Nee quickly Village and Pasir Panjang. Over on the common employees operations room within the Battlebox, Percival marked out Singapore’s ultimate protecting perimeter. It was once 28 miles lengthy, enclosing Kallang airfield, Thomson village, MacRitchie reservoir, Adam highway, Farrer, Holland and Bouna Vista Roads. via this time, Singapore was once already coming lower than heavy air assault with nearly day-by-day bombings by means of eastern airplane. Royal military officer David Copley famous that after fortress Canning got here lower than assault via aerial bombs and box artillery, the overall employees (Intelligence) clerks have been made to damage each rfile within the Battlebox and above-ground structures, together with documents going again a couple of many years. Lorry a great deal of files have been despatched to the municipal refuse incinerator till it was once overrun by way of the japanese. those who have been too delicate have been fed web page by means of web page into fires in neighborhood clay cooking stoves at the balconies. Smoke from those fires should be visible drifting throughout citadel Canning, darkening the already smoky air. in keeping with Copley, who used to be keen on the destruction of records, army coders additionally destroyed their books outdoors the Battlebox: So at some point in the direction of the tip, a so much pressing, so much critical message got here to the GOC Malaya from common Wavell simply after he had visited Singapore and back to India (sic). The GOC and his employees couldn't decipher the message as the books have been destroyed due to the nearness of the japanese and equally the naval experts had no cipher or code books nonetheless undestroyed. 26 ultimately, a code booklet was once discovered to decode Wavell’s order however it used to be transparent that not anyone anticipated the defenders to carry on much longer. On thirteen February, Yamashita moved his headquarters ahead to the bomb-damaged Ford Motor manufacturing unit. He feared a chronic conflict as soon as Percival had dug in at his final line of defense to attend for reduction reinforcements. He had no longer adequate males or ammunition for an extended struggle. therefore, he tasked the 18th department to seize Alexandra Barracks and the Imperial Guards to catch MacRitchie fast sooner than Percival had settled in at his final stand. The bloodbath on the Alexandra army health facility used to be as a result of the the 18th Division’s assault, with blameless medical professionals and nurses killed as they attempted to avoid wasting sufferers at the working desk. eastern squaddies bayoneted the workers and sufferers alike, killing over two hundred within the health center. 27 Hordes of individuals had already all started attempting to evacuate from Singapore in no matter what vessels they can locate. As girls and youngsters attempted to board ships destined for Australia and India, unruly troops who had deserted their devices attempted to get on board the ships on the way to get away the island. the various ships which have been packed to the gunnels didn't make it, now not as a result of the variety of humans aboard, yet simply because they have been bombed and attacked by way of jap airplane as they attempted to escape the island.