The Battle of Gemas—part of the wider Battle of Muar

Battle of Muar

The Battle of Muar was the last major battle of the Malayan campaign. It took place from 14–22 January 1942 around Gemensah Bridge and on the Muar River...

—took place during the Japanese invasion of Malaya

Battle of Malaya

The Malayan Campaign was a campaign fought by Allied and Japanese forces in Malaya, from 8 December 1941 – 31 January 1942 during the Second World War. The campaign was dominated by land battles between British Commonwealth army units, and the Imperial Japanese Army...

 in the Pacific Campaign

Pacific War

The Pacific War, also sometimes called the Asia-Pacific War refers broadly to the parts of World War II that took place in the Pacific Ocean, its islands, and in East Asia, then called the Far East...

 of the Second World War. The action occurred on 14 January 1942 at the Gemencheh

Gemencheh

- Gemencheh Bridge during Battle of Malaya :During the Battle of Malaya in the Second World War, Gemencheh Bridge near Gemas was the site of a fierce battle between the Imperial Japanese Army and the 2/30 Battalion, 8 Division, Australian Imperial Force . Commanding Officer of the Battalion was...

 Bridge near Gemas

Gemas

Gemas is a small town in Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia, just near the Negeri Sembilan-Johor state border. The town is located approximately 165 km from the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur. It is the meeting place of Malaysian west and east coast rail lines operated by Malayan Railways. For this...

 and saw around 1,000 troops of the Japanese Japanese 5th Division

5th Division (Imperial Japanese Army)

The was an infantry division in the Imperial Japanese Army. Its call-sign was the .-History:The 5th Division was formed in Hiroshima in January 1871 as the , one of six regional commands created in the fledgling Imperial Japanese Army. The Hiroshima Garrison had responsibility for western region...

 killed or wounded during a fierce ambush initiated by Australian soldiers from 2/30th Battalion

2/30th Battalion (Australia)

The 2/30th Battalion was an infantry battalion of the Australian Army that served during World War II. Formed on 22 November 1940 at Tamworth, New South Wales, the battalion was part of the 27th Brigade of the 8th Division. It fought in Malayan Campaign, participating in the battles at Gemencheh...

, assigned to the 27th Brigade

27th Brigade (Australia)

The 27th Brigade was a brigade-sized infantry unit of the Australian Army. The brigade was the last Second Australian Imperial Force infantry brigade raised for service during the World War II...

 of the 8th Division.

Battle

The 2/30th Battalion's commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel Frederick "Black Jack" Galleghan, was ordered to mount an ambush on the main road, 11 kilometres (6.8 mi) west of Gemas in the hope of preventing the Japanese from advancing any further south. The ambush site was located at a point were a wooden bridge crossed the Sungei Gemencheh river, connecting Gemas with the larger neighbouring town of Tampin

Tampin

Tampin　 is both a town and a district in Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia, however part of the town spills over into the neighbouring state of Malacca, as it is located along the Malacca-Negeri Sembilan border...

, and bringing traffic on the road into a long cutting through thick bushland. The 2/30th Battalion subsequently deployed one company in the ambush position 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) forward of the main body of the battalion.

The Japanese had passed through Tampin and needed to cross the bridge to reach Gemas and at 16:00 on 14 January 1942, "B" Company 2/30th Battalion under Captain Desmond Duffy, initiated the ambush. As the Japanese passed through the engagement area in their hundreds—many of them on bicycles—the bridge was blown and the Australians opened fire with machine guns, rifles and grenades. Faulty telephone lines back to the main battalion position prevented Duffy from being able to call in artillery fire on to the follow on Japanese forces, however, and the forward company was subsequently forced to withdraw after a 20-minute engagement as the Japanese began to press their positions.

Aftermath

The battle following the ambush, and a further action closer to Gemas during which the Australian anti-tank gunners destroyed six out of eight Japanese tanks, lasted another two days. The fighting ended with the Australians withdrawing through Gemas to the Fort Rose Estate. Total Japanese casualties numbered over 1,000 killed and wounded, while the Australians lost 81 killed, wounded or missing.

Despite the tactical victory at Gemas, as well as strong stands later at Bakri, the 22nd Australian Brigade’s

22nd Brigade (Australia)

The 22nd Brigade was a brigade-sized infantry unit of the Australian Army. The brigade was raised for service during the World War II on 15 July 1940 as part of the 8th Division....

ambush north of Jemaluang and the fighting withdrawal from Muar, the Japanese advance down the Malay Peninsula was only temporarily slowed.