Gemas Baru (''New Gemas'' in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

) is a small town in

Segamat District The Segamat District ( ms, Daerah Segamat) or simply Segamat is a district in the Malaysian state of Johor. Segamat is also the name of the district's primary town. Etymology It is believed that 'Segamat' is derived from the Malay phrase '' ...

Johor Johor (; ), also spelled as Johore, is a state of Malaysia in the south of the Malay Peninsula. Johor has land borders with the Malaysian states of Pahang to the north and Malacca and Negeri Sembilan to the northwest. Johor shares maritime ...

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

. The town is located about 1 km from the

- Negeri Sembilan border. The original town centre of

Gemas Gemas (Negeri Sembilan Malay: ''Gomeh'') is a small town and a mukim in Tampin District, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia, near the Negeri Sembilan-Johor state border. It is situated 101 km northeast of Seremban, the state capital city, and 30 km no ...

is located just within the Negeri Sembilan state side of the border and also shared the same postal code 73400. To the southwest stands the famed

Mount Ledang Mount Ledang ( ms, Gunung Ledang; historically also: Mount Ophir) is a mountain in the Gunung Ledang National Park located in Tangkak District, Johor, Malaysia. The summit is located next to the tripoint of Tangkak, Jasin and Tampin Distri ...

, also known as Mount Ophir, with a height of 1276 m.

History

During the

Battle of Malaya The Malayan campaign, referred to by Japanese sources as the , was a military campaign fought by Allied and Axis forces in Malaya, from 8 December 1941 – 15 February 1942 during the Second World War. It was dominated by land battles betwee ...

in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, Gemencheh Bridge near Gemas was the site of a fierce battle between the

Imperial Japanese Army The was the official ground-based armed force of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945. It was controlled by the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office and the Ministry of the Army, both of which were nominally subordinate to the Emperor o ...

and the 2/30th Battalion,

8th Division 8th Division, 8th Infantry Division or 8th Armored Division may refer to: Infantry divisions * 8th Division (Australia) * 8th Canadian Infantry Division * 8th Air Division (People's Republic of China) * 8th Division (1st Formation) (People's Repu ...

, Australian Imperial Force (AIF). Commanding Officer of the Battalion was Lieutenant Colonel Frederick "Black Jack" Galleghan. Gemencheh Bridge was a bridge over the Kelamah River (Sungai Kelamah in Malay) that connected Gemas with the larger neighbouring town of

Tampin Tampin is a town in Tampin District, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia, which borders Pulau Sebang town in Alor Gajah District, Malacca. History and etymology Tampin gets its name from the container or pouch weaved from the pandanus fronds. The con ...

. The Japanese had passed through Tampin and needed to cross the bridge to reach Gemas. On 14 January 1942, "B" Company of the 2/30th Battalion, launched an ambush against the Japanese in the hope of preventing them from advancing further south. As the advancing Japanese soldiers passed by the ambush site, the bridge was blown. The battle following the ambush, and a further battle closer to Gemas, lasted two days. It ended with the Australian withdrawal through Gemas to Fort Rose Estate. Four days later, another encounter between Japanese and Allied soldiers took place near

Parit Sulong Parit Sulong is a small town in Batu Pahat District, Johor, Malaysia on the Simpang Kiri River, east of Muar. The historical Parit Sulong Bridge constructed during World War II is a main feature in that town. Parit Sulong sits approximately ...

during the Battle of Malaya. Allied troops, including the Australian 2/19th and 2/29th Battalions, were surrounded and routed there. A memorial remembering fallen Australians now stands by the site of the destroyed Gemencheh Bridge in Federal Route 1. Recently, a documentary titled The Battle of Gemas was jointly undertaken by Tahan Rata Filem and AVI to expand on the importance of this battle in the context of the Battle of Malaya and the fall of Singapore.

Transportation

Road

Gemas Baru is connected to other towns by federal highway 1. Route Federal Route 1 links Gemas Baru with

Seremban Seremban (Negeri Sembilan Malay: ''Soghomban'', ''Somban''; Jawi: ) is a city in the Seremban District and the capital of the state of Negeri Sembilan in Peninsular Malaysia. The city's administration is run by the Seremban City Council. Se ...

, the capital of Negeri Sembilan, and Johor Bahru, the capital of Johor.

References

{{coord, 2, 35, N, 102, 38, E, display=title, region:MY_type:city_source:GNS-enwiki Segamat District Towns in Johor

History

Transportation

Road

See also

References