Forgotten War, the British Empire and Commonwealth’s Epic Struggle Against Imperial Japan, 1941-1945.

 Forgotten War, the British Empire and Commonwealth’s Epic Struggle Against Imperial Japan, 1941-1945.

In the opening weeks of the expanded Asia/Pacific war, a garrison made up of British, Indian, Canadian and local forces put up a determined, but hopeless, defence of Hong Kong against an enemy that was more than twice its size and had complete control of the air. 

This battle began on the morning of 8 December when three regiments of the Japanese 38th Division crossed the Sham Chun River and advanced into Hong Kong’s New Territories from the north. Here, they met British and Indian forces, which conducted a fighting withdrawal to a series of strong defensive positions known as the Gin Drinkers’ Line. 

Meanwhile, that morning Japanese bombers attacked Kai Tak airport and effectively destroyed the meagre RAF force stationed there as well as several civilian aircraft. On the 9th the first Japanese forces reached the 10-mile-long Gin Drinkers’ Line, which was only defended by three British battalions, and began a series of probing attacks. That night the Japanese seized the Shing Mun Redoubt, a key position on the line. Then on the morning of the 11th the Japanese carried out attacks against positions in the Golden Hill area. With these events, Major-General Christopher Maltby, the garrison commander, realised that the Gin Drinkers’ Line was now dangerously compromised and ordered a full withdrawal to Hong Kong Island, which the British carried out over the next two days.

Supporting this ground struggle was a small naval contingent stationed at Hong Kong consisting of the veteran destroyers Scout, Thanet and Thracian along with a handful of auxiliaries and motor torpedo boats. 

Almost immediately this small force was reduced when authorities ordered Scout and Thanet to break out and proceed to Singapore, which they successfully did despite a hazardous journey through Japanese controlled waters. While this was underway, the vessels that remained behind engaged in a number of minelaying, ferrying and ground support operations as well as various offensive sweeps in which they claimed the destruction of several Japanese coasters and launches. Despite this yeoman service, the constant grind of air attacks, ground fire and dwindling support resources steadily depleted this force. 

This was highlighted by the loss of Thracian, which was scuttled following bomb and grounding damage on the 16th.

Meanwhile, the battle for Hong Kong continued. By 13 December the British completed their withdrawal from the New Territories and Kowloon, and the garrison settled in to defend Hong Kong Island. Over the next six days the Japanese relentlessly shelled and bombed the garrison as the British rejected two calls to surrender. During this time, the British also repulsed a Japanese probing attack against the Lye Mun Peninsula. Finally, on the night of 18/19 December the Japanese successfully landed a large force consisting of six battalions on the northern portion of the island. 

From there, the Japanese advanced inland, and over the next week split the British defenders seizing many key features including the island’s main water reservoirs. Throughout this period, the British continued to put up fierce resistance, including the launching of many local counterattacks.

 This was supported by the handful of surviving motor torpedo boats that carried out attacks that sank or damaged a number of Japanese troop-laden launches bringing reinforcements to the island. Yet, despite these valiant efforts, the British were unable to stem the unrelenting Japanese advance.

By 25 December the situation was clearly hopeless. With no prospect of reinforcement or escape and realising that further resistance would only lead to needless bloodshed, at 1530 hours Governor Mark Young and General Maltby surrendered Hong Kong to the Japanese. With this, the widespread fighting ended, although certain isolated British formations continued to resist for the next few days. 

In their failed attempt to hold the colony, the British suffered 11,848 military casualties, most of whom were taken prisoner. Among the Allied dead was Company Sergeant Major John Robert Osborn of the Winnipeg Grenadiers, who threw himself on a grenade to save the lives of his comrades and was thus awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross. Japanese losses are more difficult to ascertain. The official Japanese casualty figure for the battle was 675 killed and 2,079 wounded, but this may have been an understatement of their true losses.

 Many participants and scholars believe that Japanese casualties were much higher, perhaps as high as 6,000 or more. In addition to this personnel toll, the British also lost the destroyer Thracian, one minelayer, four gunboats, eight motor torpedo boats and four auxiliaries sunk or scuttled, and the Japanese seized 26 Allied merchant ships totalling 52,604 tons.

Eventually, the British would regain control over Hong Kong, but in the interim, both the citizens and the prisoners of war would suffer great privations under Japanese occupation. Pictured here are Canadian troops training as part of the Hong Kong garrison prior to the Japanese invasion. Palmer Fred (Hon Lt), public domain. Also pictured is the aforementioned British destroyer Thracian, which was scuttled at Hong Kong, but subsequently repaired and employed as a patrol boat in the Imperial Japanese Navy.