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.



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