Forgotten War, the British Empire and Commonwealth’s Epic Struggle Against Imperial Japan, 1941-1945.
In the opening weeks of the expanded Asia/Pacific war, a garrison made up of British, Indian, Canadian and local forces put up a determined, but hopeless, defence of Hong Kong against an enemy that was more than twice its size and had complete control of the air. This battle began on the morning of 8 December when three regiments of the Japanese 38th Division crossed the Sham Chun River and advanced into Hong Kong’s New Territories from the north. Here, they met British and Indian forces, which conducted a fighting withdrawal to a series of strong defensive positions known as the Gin Drinkers’ Line. Meanwhile, that morning Japanese bombers attacked Kai Tak airport and effectively destroyed the meagre RAF force stationed there as well as several civilian aircraft. On the 9th the first Japanese forces reached the 10-mile-long Gin Drinkers’ Line, which was only defended by three British battalions, and began a series of probing attacks. That night the Japanese seized the Shing ...