However Second Lieutenant Saidi saw through the ruse as British soldiers march in threes and Japanese soldiers march in fours. When the disguised soldiers reached the Malay Regiment's defence line, C Company's squad opened fire with their Lewis machine guns, killing some and badly wounding the rest — those who survived rolled and crawled downhill to save themselves. Four of the top marksmen in the previous years military competition held in Singapore were men from C Company. Two hours later, the Japanese launched an all-out assault in great numbers despite being within point blank range of the Australian artillery. To save ammunition, the artillery did not open fire, a manoeuvre that greatly surprised the Japanese. The shell that had been "saved" by the Australian artillery was handed over to the Japanese army the next day when General Percival surrendered Singapore to General Yamashita. The Malay Regiment were soon overwhelmed by the attack. Although greatly outnumbered and short of ammunition and supplies, they continued to put up resistance. Reports claimed that Lieutenant Saidi manned a Lewis machine gun others engaged in fierce hand-to-hand combat using only bayonets. Nevertheless, the troops stood their ground and frustrated the enemy. Lt. Saidi was seriously wounded but refused to retreat; instead he encouraged his men to fight to the last, showing a disregard for personal danger that inspired the company to fight on. Adnan was later captured and tortured before being bayoneted to death. On 28 February 1942, four Malay Regiment officers taken prisoner were executed in Pasir Panjang by firing squad for refusing to join the Imperial Japanese Army when instructed to do so by Malay traitor Major Mustapha Hussein of the Fujiwara Kikan Japanese intelligence organisation. They were Lieutenant (No.8) Ariffin Hj Sulaiman, Lieutenant (No.29) Abdul Wahid Jidin, Lieutenant (No.57) Abdullah Saad and Lieutenant (No.12) Ibrahim Sidek. Lieutenant Ahmad Noordin of 'A' Company, 1st Battalion was executed earlier on 15 February 1942 while Lieutenant Muhammad Isa Mahmud of HQ Company, 1st Battalion was executed on 12 February 1943. Most of the surviving captured Malay Regiment officers defected or joined the Imperial Japanese Army. During the entire Malayan Campaign, but largely between 12 and 14 February 1942 in Singapore, the Malay Regiment suffered a total of 159 killed (six British officers, seven Malay officers, and 146 other ranks) and a large but unspecified number wounded. On the whole the British were not convinced that