To commemorate this week of Remembrance Day, I'm going to discuss the Battle of Hong Kong from World War 2. There are two angles to this story that makes it interesting to me. For starters, this was the first battle that Canadian forces fought in the Pacific theatre of the war. Secondly this battle was fought on my family's motherland, so this is important history for me. Read on to learn about Canada's contribution to the Battle of Hong Kong.
Let me set the scene for you. It's 1941, and China is occupied by over a million Japanese soldiers. Japan hasn't attacked Hong Kong yet because it is a British colony, and Japan isn't formally in the war yet. However, the British are worried about a Japanese invasion, as it doesn't have enough forces to hold the Pacific. The British colony, Hong Kong, is deemed indefensible if the Japanese wanted to invade. Hong Kong is easily in range of the Japanese airforces, while the British has a handful of planes to defend the air. The British asks Canada to commit troops to Hong Kong, hoping that a larger force will deter the Japanese from invading. The British manage to put together a rag tag army of 15,000 soldiers versus an Imperial Japanese division consisting of 50,000 well-trained soldiers.
From the
Wikipedia, the Battle of Hong Kong:
The Battle of Hong Kong took place during the Pacific campaign of World War II. It began on December 8, 1941 and ended on Christmas Day with the then British colony of Hong Kong under the control of Imperial Japan.
The Japanese attack began on the morning of December 8, 1941 (Hong Kong local time), less than eight hours after the Attack on Pearl Harbor. British, Canadian and Indian forces, supported by the Hong Kong Volunteer Defense Forces, resisted the Japanese invasion, commanded by Lieutenant General Sakai Takashi, to the best of their abilities, but were outnumbered.
The Japanese achieved air superiority on the first day of battle as two of the 3 Vickers Vildebeest torpedo-reconnaissance aircraft and the two Supermarine Walrus amphibious planes of the RAF Station, which were the only military planes at Hong Kong's Kai Tak Airport, were destroyed by Japanese bombers.The attack also destroyed several civil aircraft including all but two of the aircraft used by the Air Unit of the Hong Kong Volunteer Defence Corp.The RAF and Air Unit personnel from then on fought as ground troops.
The majority of the Allied naval forces were placed in the seas around Hong Kong, in an effort to achieve superiority in a potential naval battle, meaning the land forces on the mainland were surrounded and outnumbered. The British and their allies decided against holding the Sham Chun River, for it was too long and might cause many perils, and instead established most of its force along the Gin Drinkers' Line across the hills. On December 13, they retreated from the Gin Drinkers' Line and consequently from Kowloon under heavy aerial bombardment and artillery barrage. The Japanese forces crossed the harbour on December 18. Fierce fighting continued on Hong Kong Island and the only reservoir was lost. Canadian Winnipeg Grenadiers fought at the crucial Wong Nai Chong Gap that secured the passage between downtown and the secluded southern parts of the island.
On December 25, 1941, British colonial officials headed by the Governor of Hong Kong Mark Aitchison Young surrendered in person at the Japanese headquarters on the third floor of (the hotel) The Peninsula Hong Kong. Isogai Rensuke became the first Japanese governor of Hong Kong. This ushered in the three years and eight months of Imperial Japanese administration.
After the surrender, Japanese soldiers terrorised the local population by murdering many, raping an estimated 10,000 women, and looting.
Canadian Involvement:
In November 1941, Canada sent 1,975 soldiers to help garrison the British colony of Hong Kong. They were not fully equipped and still undergoing training. They fought against the 50,000 strong Japanese Imperial Army. This situation lead to the deaths of 557 soldiers (130 from the Grenadiers). The Canadian soldiers all surrendered to the Japanese on Christmas Day. The survivors were all taken prisoner. It should be noted that most of the soldiers in the Canadian divisions were in need of retraining or were not combat-ready.
The defence of Hong Kong saw the first commitment by Canadian troops to battle during the War. According to Veterans Affairs Canada, on 11 December 1941, the "D" Company of the Winnipeg Grenadiers became the first Canadian Army to fight in the Second World War. It was also in Hong Kong that Canadian troops suffered their first casualties of WWII. On December 8, 1941, Japanese aircraft reached Hong Kong, destroying its targets including a nearly-empty camp at Sham Shui Po where two men of the Royal Canadian Signals were wounded.
The Canadian units involved in the defence of Hong Kong consisted of:
Winnipeg Grenadiers
Royal Rifles of Canada
...
The Canadian dead were interred at the Sai Wan Military Cemetery on the northeastern corner of Hong Kong Island amongst 1,528 Commonwealth soldiers who defended the Colony.
A Victoria Cross was awarded posthumously to Sergeant Major John Robert Osborn of the Winnipeg Grenadiers for his actions during the battle. The Japanese were throwing grenades at the position that he and his men were defending. He managed to catch most of them and lobbed them back to the enemy. However, he missed one, and the grenade landed on the ground. He shouted at his men to get out of the way and threw himself on top of the grenade, absorbing the full impact of the blast, and thus saving the lives of his men. A statue of Osborn can also be found in Hong Kong Park.
Surviving Canadian servicemen from this battle formed the Hong Kong Veterans Association.
Hong Kong was liberated in 1945.
I read some pretty horrific things about this battle. After the Japanese won, they forced British soldiers (who surrendered) to dig their own graves. Once the grave was dug, the Japanese executed the prisoner and pushed him into the graves. Horrific. Other survivors were moved to awful Japanese prisoner of war camps.
In either case, I salute those who fell while defending and liberating Hong Kong. I may not have existed if it wasn't for your sacrifice and contribution. Thank you for giving a crap about an island that's halfway around the world. Thanks to the British forces for liberating Hong Kong. Thanks to the American forces for destroying the Japanese war machine.
