Hong Kong 1941-45 - First strike in the Pacific War, Benjamin Lai

Hong Kong 1941-45 - First strike in the Pacific War, Benjamin Lai

Before the Second World War the British colony of Hong Kong was judged to be indefensible, isolated from support and with Japanese forces nearby on the Chinese mainland. Nevertheless the decision was made to try and defend the island in the hope that help would soon arrive, and so when the Japanese attacked in December 1941 the outnumbered garrison attempted to hold on for as long as possible.

The Hong Kong campaign is rather similar to the more famous Malaya and Singapore campaign, with a short-lived attempt to defend the mainland followed by an unsuccessful attempt to defend an island. Once the Japanese were on the island the fighting lasted for about a week before the defenders surrendered, and in both cases the Japanese committed war crimes during the fighting. The defence of Singapore Island lasted for about the same length. In both cases the defence suffered from poor decisions by senior commanders, with the Japanese landings on Hong King island initially dismissed as a diversion, and costly counterattacks ordered with poor intelligence on the mainland. On Hong Kong some of the British and Commonwealth troops put up an impressive fight, and so the battle on the island itself lasted longer than the Japanese had expected. However the entire British plan was flawed - as the Japanese surged across Malaya and towards Singapore there was no chance of a relief force being sent to Hong Kong, and so the defenders were entirely on their own.

I have one quibble with the chronology here - the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor just before 8am on 7 December Hawaii time, a couple of hours after midnight on 8 December in Hong Kong, and thus several hours before the start of the Japanese attack on Hong Kong early on 8 December local time.

The text is supported by an excellent selection of maps, starting with one covering the entire Pacific War Zone, and including maps of the entire colony (I hadn't realised quite how large the New Territories were), the Japanese attack on the mainland, Hong Kong Island, and the final stand at Stanley.

It is nice to have sections on the Chinese resistance, which lasted throughout the Japanese occupation, the fate of the POWs, many of whom died while being taken to Japan for hard labour, and the eventual liberation. As a result this serves as a history of the entire Hong Kong campaign, rather than just the initial battle.

Chapters
Chronology
Opposing Commands
Opposing Forces
Opposing Plans
The Battle
Aftermath
The Battlefield Today

Author: Benjamin Lai
Edition: Paperback
Pages: 96
Publisher: Osprey
Year: 2015


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