Battle of Kuala Lumpur

The Battle of Kuala Lumpur was a battle between Japanese invasion forces and the British forces in Kuala Lumpur, then capital of the-Federated Malay States, a British protectorate.

Background
Japanese aircraft launched the first air raid over Kuala Lumpur on 22 December 1941. British anti-aircraft guns and RAF aircraft intercepted the attack and shot down one Japanese aircraft and damaged another.

By 7 January, the northern part of Malaya, including Perlis, Kedah, Kelantan, Terengganu and the Straits Settlement of Penang had fallen into Japanese hands.

After the Battle of Slim River, the Japanese troops' next military objective was Kuala Lumpur. Being the capital of the Federated Malay States it was of utmost importance to the Japanese. Kuala Lumpur by then was also the capital of the State of Selangor. The city was also home to RAF Kuala Lumpur.

Japanese entry
The Japanese entered Kuala Lumpur without much resistance, besides small skirmishes. The British troops had generally abandoned the city. The Japanese troops quickly took control of government and institutional buildings, such as the Sultan Abdul Samad Building, the railway station and the Pudu Jail.

After the battle, the Japanese used Pudu Jail as a POW detention centre. Many Allied POWs were tortured to death.

Aftermath
Kuala Lumpur, with the rest of the peninsula, remained under Japanese occupation until September 1945, when the Japanese home islands surrendered unconditionally after the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki by American forces in August 1945. The British Military Administration took over thereafter.

Little is known about the battle, since it did not bear much significance when compared to greater battles in British Malaya such as the Battle of Singapore. This piece of history was slowly forgotten by people, as Kuala Lumpur advances to being a global metropolis.