Red signal in the palm trees

The troops which approached Kota Bharu belonged, of course, to the "Takumi force"; according to the latter, they arrived at 11 p.m. "We saw, near Kota Bharu, a small fishing village whose lights were still shining, and we thought, as it was Saturday evening, that the enemy was
drinking and dancing . At 11:40 p.m., the boats dropped anchor. Unfortunately for Takumi, they were about 2 kilometers from the predicted spot, as the current that runs along the coast to the south had carried them away. The boats were therefore opposite Key's positions. “At midnight,” writes Takumi, “the pale light of an oval moon rose from the sea to the east; a strong breeze was blowing and I could hear it whistling through the radio aerials. The waves were now up to 2 meters. This last detail is important because, according to the analyzes of specialists, waves of this height represent the maximum that launching operations can face and, if the wind increased, the Japanese were heading straight for disaster. In fact, that's what almost happened. It was very difficult to launch the landing craft; then they began to swing violently, moving away from the boats, then rushing on them. The soldiers, fearful of being crushed, howled in the darkness. To quote Takumi again:“They were encumbered by their lifejackets, their rifle, light machine guns, various weapons and their equipment. Jumping into the canoes was very difficult and even more difficult to gain a place in them. From time to time, a soldier would fall into the water with a cry and the sappers would fish him out. »
It took more than an hour for the first contingent to get into the barges; Colonel Nasu, commanding the 56th regiment, joined him. He saluted Takumi and ordered his canoe to head for the shore. It was 1 o'clock. Informed that everything was ready on the other transports, Takumi had his signalman emit a blue light which meant "signal received". Then “the landing craft headed for the coast in four lines,” Takumi adds. I could hear the sound of their engines. Ten, twenty minutes passed... I was getting worried. Finally, a red signal flashed twice among the palm trees on the beach. It was followed by rifle fire in seven or eight places, then by artillery and cannons. The enemy seemed to be in force.”
The landing craft had to come back for the second wave and when they did not appear, Takumi began to wonder what had happened. Shortly before 2 a.m., the R.A.F. came and bombarded the convoy; Takumi's staff ship, the Awajisan Maru, received a bomb in the second hatch, which killed fifty men and started a fire. Finally, at 2:05 a.m., the barges returned and Takumi received a message from Colonel Nasu:“1:30 a.m., successful disembarkation, but encountering many obstacles. Send second wave. »
Takumi gave the necessary orders but was immediately called by the commander of the naval escort. The presence of the R.A.F. worried the latter and he asked that we stop the landing and that we resume the sea. Takumi refused. The third and final wave would leave around 6 a.m. and, until then, we had to take the risk. The Navy reluctantly agreed to stay. But at the end of the discussion, Takumi was informed that he had to abandon the Awajisan Maru and he quickly transferred his P.C. to a rowboat. As he drove away, he saw the boat go up in flames from bow to stern. Another, in his place, would have thought that the gods were against him and would have bowed to fate; Takumi didn't flinch and ordered the boat to go straight for the shore. There he received a rather rough reception. The enemy positions were about a hundred meters away and we could see the barbed wire surrounding their posts. Their weapons were aimed straight at us. »
Other barges, Takumi saw, had made landfall just below the defense posts and in more dangerous waters; the machine guns mowed down the men in clusters. The sea was rough and some, falling in the water, tried to reach the mainland under the fire of the British. “The greatest confusion reigned on the whole beach, continues Takumi, but the commander understood that, if they remained there, they would be killed to the last and gave the order to go forward. The officers charged forward and the men followed them. Then the troops began to bypass the enemy positions and to dig the sand under the barbed wire. We also threw grenades. »