Daily Telegraph February 13th 1942. An account of 'fierce British resistance' and 'terrible Japanese casualties' for the British public. The first of these being to say the least an exaggeration and the second a total fantasy. Within days of this article it was to be revealed as the greatest military defeat in British history with a prepared fortress containing a largely British, Australian and Indian force surrendering to a Japanese army a fraction of its size that had marched hundreds of miles over terrible terrain and was also suffering desperate logistical problems with very little fuel, ammunition or food. Historians now commonly regard this defeat as when 'the British Empire fell' as its prestige could never again be restored East of Suez. In its aftermath Japanese analysts rated British troops as considerably poorer than Italian in all of valour, training and motivation. Though they were to receive a rude awakening over the coming months in Burma.