Due to the weak defenses of the country, the Japanese attacked Singapore and easily took control of the colony on 15 February 1942. Up to 60,000 British soldiers surrendered on that day, and Churchill called it "the worst disaster and largest capitulation in British history". There were a lot of losses by both the British and the rest of the Empire, with a total of nearly 85,000 people captured. About 5,000 were killed or injured, many from Australia and India.