029 - The Fall of Hong Kong

In December 1941, victories continued to add up for the Empire of Japan, meanwhile American and British forces were in a constant state of retreat.

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Like the rest of the islands throughout the Pacific, the element of surprise was on the side of the Japanese. British commanders were fully aware of the Japanese Army’s presence in China, but their estimate of 5,000 soldiers was well short of the actual 60,000 troops along Hong Kong’s northern border, Above and beyond that, the Royal Air Force Base in Hong Kong was understaffed: the air force totaled five specialty planes and a single destroyer headed up a fleet of small gunboats and torpedo patrol craft.

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Even though the Japanese had advanced south through China during the China-Japan War, British Intelligence felt that Hong Kong was safe from attack. Still, in early November, British command deployed two 1000-men regiments, the Winnipeg Grenadiers and the Royal Rifles of Canada. Although the Japanese were only 250 kilometers away, the poorly-trained Canadian troops felt as if they had landed in a land of exotic luxury. They also did little to prepare their defenses and the little bit of preparations they made were mostly in the area of Hong Kong Island facing the South China Sea. British commanders felt that the rocky terrain of Hong Kong would be a defense to itself.

On two separate occasions, Japanese commanders had requested surrender from the combined forces in Hong Kong. Both times, the British commanders said no to surrender. However, the Hong Kong defense force was small and weak.
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On December 18^th, the Japanese Army crossed Kowloon Bay and invaded Hong Kong Island. By Christmas afternoon, the British surrendered Hong Kong to the Japanese Army. Lt. General Sakai and his officers led parade through the streets of Hong Kong as he was appointed Governor of Hong Kong.