The Battle of Hong Kong (1940)

The Battle of Hong Kong was a month long battle between the British and Canadian garrison of Hong Kong and the invading Japanese forces throughout the month of December in 1940. The battle was characterized by the die-hard resistance of the British and Canadian troops and by the brutal house to house fighting that ensued in the streets of Hong Kong. Though under-supplied, under-gunned, and overwhelming outnumbered, the defenders of Hong Kong, lead by Gerard Bradford, Andrew Marshall, and John K Lawson, all put up a spirited and now iconic defence of the city. The bravery of the Canadian "C Force", lead by the war hero John K Lawson, helped secure the eventual success of the Evacuation of Hong Kong in the last days of the battle.

On December 3rd, 1940, Japanese forces violated International law by bi-laterally invading Hong Kong, British Burma, and the Dutch East Indies without a former declaration of war. Border guards and perimeter forces were decimated in the first hours and days of the battle as Japanese infantry and tanks rolled over the countryside supported by bombers and fighters that had virtual control over the skies. The Japanese advance was slowed on December 8th by well-fortified troops on the outskirts of the city of Hong Kong itself, who ambushed Japanese soldiers from camouflaged hiding spots, laid down barbed wire and booby traps, and committed hit and run attacks on Japanese supply columns.

Nevertheless, Japanese forces entered the city on December 14th and began a long two week siege of the city as the British garrison iconically refused to surrender. Severely outnumbered and out-gunned, the British and Canadian soldiers put up a spirited and now iconic defence. About 8,500 British and 1,500 Canadian troops, the equivalent of one fortified Brigade, resisted over 48,000 invading Japanese, the equivalent of almost four divisions. Defending troops were eviscerated at almost every step of the attack, but fought a brave delaying action nonetheless. The most notable of whom being the now famous counter-attack conducted by then Colonel Andrew Marshall, who lead over 1,000 British troops in a bold but successful counter-attack that is now recognized to have earned the garrison a handful of extra days of resistance, as well as the Defence of Hong Kong Town Square, also iconically known as the Christmas Day Defence, by John K Lawson and his 1,500 Canadian troops on December 25th, who reportedly "fought to the end" in the morning so they could celebrate Christmas Day the following night.

All the same, the defence of the city became intangible by December 26th as most of the Garrison began to suffer too many casualties to continue fighting. The same day, a widespread evacuation was ordered and the Garrison fought one last fighting retreat to the edge of Victoria Harbour. The Royal Navy attempted an orderly evacuation but was greatly hindered by the Japanese naval presence in the area. The light cruisers HMS Glasgow and HMS Galatea, supported by three Destroyers, attempted to protect the evacuation convoy for as long as they could from the IJN on December 27th. The fierce fire-fight lasted most of the day, the IJN kept at bay only by the aid of coastal batteries manned by brave soldiers who stayed behind to protect the evacuation. By the end of December 28th, about ~4,500 British and Canadian soldiers were successfully evacuated from Hong Kong, with most of them en-route to the Dutch East Indies. All three of the British destroyers were burning wrecks by the end of the 28th, with the HMS Galatea at the bottom of the sea since the end of the 27th. The HMS Glasgow managed to escape with the convoy, though with a severe hull leak and oil-fuelled engine fire. The leak cut off the ships crew from being able to reach the ammunition compartment and stopping the spread of the fire, and as a result of the Glasgow exploded on the 29th with most of the crew having abandoned the ship.

The loss of five warships in the evacuation, the only instance in the war where a British naval force suffered a 100% casualty rate, as well as the loss of ~10,500 soldier killed or captured and the loss of the Hong Kong colony and port was a great blow to British morale. Many of the survivors of the Hong Kong garrison would go on to fight in the Dutch East Indies Campaign, the Malayan Campaign, or the Indochina Campaign. The eventual re-capture of Hong Kong three years later in April, 1943 by a former defender, Andrew Marshall, would become one of the most iconic events of the war, with the picture of seven Allied soldiers of each participating Allied country; one soldier each of British, French, German, Canadian, American, Dutch, and Chinese allegiance all standing together, arms around each other, cheering in front of their respective seven country flags.