Tony Banham - Battle of Hong Kong Background http://www.hkvca.ca/historical/banham.htm Canadian Visit, December 2005 Battle of Hong Kong Background And Battlefield Tour Points of Interest Company Sergeant Major Osborn, VC, Winnipeg Grenadiers By: Tony Banham Table of Contents 1 of 13 11/5/2011 12:34 PM Tony Banham - Battle of Hong Kong Background http://www.hkvca.ca/historical/banham.htm Why Hong Kong? * The Battle of Hong Kong * The Loss of the Mainland, 8-12 to 13-12 * The Siege of the Island, 13-12 to 18-12 * The Invasion of the Island, 18-12 * The Forcing of Wong Nai Chung Gap, 19-12 * Pushing the Line West, 19-12 to 25-12 * Encircling Stanley, 19-12 to 26-12 * Prisoners of War * Today * Points of Interest on the Itinerary * Jardine’s Lookout * The Anti-Aircraft Position * Volunteer Pillboxes * Sir Cecil’s Ride * Lawson’s Bunker * Repulse Bay Hotel * Stanley * Why Hong Kong? Historians may never cease arguing over why Canadian forces were sent to reinforce Hong Kong. In retrospect, with perfect 2 of 13 11/5/2011 12:34 PM Tony Banham - Battle of Hong Kong Background http://www.hkvca.ca/historical/banham.htm hindsight, it certainly seems a strange decision. It was one that Churchill himself initially opposed, and it now seems clear that however many men had been sent to defend Hong Kong, the Japanese would still have attacked with sufficient forces to take the Colony. In the first half of 1941, Hong Kong’s garrison was commanded by General Grasset. It consisted of three infantry battalions, the 2nd Battalion the Royal Scots, the 5/7th Rajputs and the 2/14th Punjabis, plus one machine gun battalion, the 1st Battalion the Middlesex Regiment. These were supported by a large number of Royal Artillery Batteries, the Hong Kong Volunteer Defence Corps (HKVDC), and all the supporting units that an isolated garrison needed. Also, of course, the Royal Navy was there in some force. Altogether, the garrison consisted of some 10,000 men at this time. In mid-July, Grasset was replaced by General Christopher Maltby. When Grasset left the Colony, he – himself a Canadian – suggested that the Colony be reinforced by two Canadian Battalions. Somehow he persuaded Churchill’s advisors to ask for these battalions, and he had also made his case to the Canadian Government. There are many theories as to how and why his representations were successful. C Force finally arrived in Hong Kong just three weeks before the Japanese attacked. This brought the number of defenders to 12,000 (which, when police – who had been sworn in as militia – and front-line nurses are included, increased to a peak of around 14,000). This was, of course, too small a number to have a hope of stopping the Japanese. However, the war against Japan was primarily a war of attrition, and every soldier and piece of equipment lost by Japan in attacking Hong Kong was a step towards victory. It is often forgotten - as everyone knows it was the atomic bomb that ended the war - that without this attrition and the island-hopping war across the Pacific, the bomb could never have been carried to Japanese soil. The Battle of Hong Kong The eighteen days of fighting can neatly be summarised as six phases: The Loss of the Mainland The Siege of the Island The Invasion of the Island The Forcing of Wong Nai Chung Gap Pushing the Line West Encircling Stanley In fact the last two phases were concurrent, but as the Stanley battle was the final engagement, it will be left to last. The Loss of the Mainland, 8-12 to 13-12 Beginning in the early hours of December 8th, the Japanese slowly but irresistibly moved south towards Kowloon. A small force 3 of 13 11/5/2011 12:34 PM Tony Banham - Battle of Hong Kong Background http://www.hkvca.ca/historical/banham.htm of 2/14th Punjabis and Field Engineers, supported by infantry of the HKVDC, delayed their progress by sabotage until the Gin Drinker’s Line was reached. Here, at the Shing Mun Redoubt, was the first – and telling – skirmish in which the 2nd Battalion the Royal Scots were pushed out of their position and fell back to Golden Hill. Golden Hill was very exposed, and in a far bigger battle the next day, it was given up. From then until the evacuation of the mainland there was only one other significant engagement, at the Ma Lau Tong line, as the Indian rearguard defended their retreat. Canadian involvement in the Mainland fighting was minimal. Apart from a few Signalers, the only unit deployed was D Company Winnipeg Grenadiers, This Company was intended to plug a gap in the Gin Drinker’s Line, but by the time they had arrived in Kowloon, the decision to evacuate the mainland had already been taken. The Siege of the Island, 13-12 to 18-12 With all defending forces now tied up on the Island, the Japanese started a concerted effort to bomb and shell all militarily significant areas. The Peak and the fixed defences (naval installations, gun batteries and pillboxes) were the major targets, though civilian areas in Central, Mid-levels, Causeway Bay, and Wan Chai were also hit with many casualties. Of the Canadian forces, the Royal Rifles were the most exposed, and took some casualties. Wounded men were generally taken to the St Albert’s Convent Hospital. During this time the defenders were organized into two Brigades. West Brigade, under Brigadier Lawson (the senior Canadian officer) consisted of the Punjabis, the Royal Scots, and the Winnipeg Grenadiers. East Brigade, under Brigadier Wallis, consisted of the Rajputs and the Royal Rifles. Both Brigades included elements from the Middlesex, the HKVDC, and supporting units. The Invasion of the Island, 18-12 On the evening of December 18th, the invasion began. Japanese landings commenced between North Point and Shau Ki Wan, in conditions made all the more confusing for the defenders by poor weather and thick smoke from bombed industrial sites. The Rajputs, with elements of the Middlesex, HKVDC, Royal Artillery and Royal Rifles (in particular, C Company) becoming involved as the beachhead moved inland, put up the initial resistance. By midnight, almost the whole north-eastern corner of Hong Kong was in Japanese hands, with the line as far south as the northern most point of Jardine’s Lookout, and as far west as the North Point power station. The Forcing of Wong Nai Chung Gap, 19-12 The Japanese strategy was simple: take Wong Nai Chung Gap and continue south along Repulse Bay Road to split the island in two. This necessitated keeping East Brigade busy so they could not organise any useful counter-attack, while other Japanese forces concentrated on knocking out defences on Jardine’s Lookout and Mount Nicholson (overlooking the Gap from the east and west respectively), and in the bottom of the Gap itself. Once this was done, and the strategically important Police Station at the south of the Gap was captured, the fighting moved south along Repulse Bay Road. In 1941 it was relatively sparsely populated, thus the skirmishes on this and later days were generally named after the isolated houses at or around which they occurred; from north to south: Postbridge, Altamira & The Ridge, Twin Brooks, Overbays, Repulse Bay Hotel, Eucliffe. 4 of 13 11/5/2011 12:34 PM Tony Banham - Battle of Hong Kong Background http://www.hkvca.ca/historical/banham.htm This was by far the hardest day’s fighting, with the defenders losing in twenty-four hours approximately one third of their total fatalities. Losses to the attackers were probably in a similar ratio. By midnight, although there were still pockets of resistance, the Gap and the majority of the road were in all practical terms in Japanese hands. How far south Japanese forward patrols advanced along the road that day is uncertain, but there is a distinct possibility that a few small groups or individuals reached the south coast itself. Pushing the Line West, 19-12 to 25-12 As early as the night of the 18th, the defenders had the genesis of a line running south from the Power Station through the developed north coast to the hills, preventing the Japanese from advancing to Central. Over the next few days, this ‘northern sector’ was pushed steadily west with the northern-most anchor moving from Caroline Hill quickly back to Leighton Hill (which was defended energetically by the Middlesex) and finally Morrison Hill and Mount Parrish, while street fighting was rife in Wan Chai. The southern anchor moved from Wong Nai Chung Gap to Mount Nicholson, then Mount Cameron, and finally Wan Chai Gap and a little west. Further south was the ‘central sector’. Here Mount Nicholson was taken with ease, but Mount Cameron was a hard struggle, with Wan Chai Gap being held almost to the end. Finally, the ‘southern sector’ which fell back in stages from Shouson Hill, to Brick Hill, to the stoutly-defended Bennet’s Hill. It was this relentless western progress that prompted the surrender on the 25th, by which time it was felt that Wan Chai could not be held any longer. Central was already within the range of small arms fire from the central sector. Encircling Stanley, 19-12 to 26-12 When East Brigade HQ at Tai Tam withdrew towards Stanley on the 19th, fighting on two fronts became impossible to avoid. Delaying actions at Red Hill and Bridge Hill could not prevent the Japanese advance from the northeast, and the Repulse Bay Hotel area could not be held against their advance from the northwest.