Doro Nawa - The Struggle for Singapore

Please note that this is a DTP (Desk Top Publishing) game designed on a desktop computer and all components, including the counters which will have to be cut and mounted, are printed on paper. These are designed by some very well-known designers and are a low cost alternative to today's professionally produced games. On rare occasions, some of these games are reproduced by other companies with higher quality components including die-cut counters but most of them are not. If you believe this game to have a professionally produced version, please contact us with your inquiry and we will help you to locate it if it does indeed exist.

Doro Nawa simulates the Japanese campaign in Malaya beginning December 8, 1941 and culminating in the surrender of Singapore on February 15, 1942. Japanese staff officers named the plan Doro Nawa, implying a shoe string affair: the Japanese were outnumbered by the Allied forces in Malaya.

Japanese propaganda stressed the colonial British role and bragged that Japan would oust the Europeans from Asia. Nearly one-third of the Indian Army in Malaya joined the Japanese-sponsored Indian National Army during the campaign.

Allied pre-war planning was based on the assumption the Japanese could launch only one major offensive. Precise planning combined with careful execution and clever propaganda overwhelmed the Allies as the Japanese launched multiple offensives against Pearl Harbor, Wake, Guam, Hong Kong, the Philippines, and Malaya. The Allies had sufficient force to repel the Japanese, but the lack of Allied preparation and Japanese successes caused the Allies to become demoralized.

Japanese control in Malaya was never challenged until the surrender of Japan. The British then used Japanese troops and administration to maintain control and prevent the Communists from cashing in on their war-long resistance. Ironically, the Communists only became important by assuming the anti-Western role of the Japanese.