The Battle of Hong Kong December 8-25 1941

Where is Hong Kong?

Hong Kong Hong Kong was a small British colony off the Coast of Southern China

Details The Pacific Ocean British colony of Hong Kong was guarded by only four battalions in 1939. There was little hope it could be held if the Japanese chose to mount a serious attack. Nevertheless, military leaders in London convinced themselves that the Japanese might be scared off by a show of force. They asked Canada for help. Prime Minister Mackenzie King, usually cautious, agreed. For this duty, the army staff selected the Royal Rifles of Canada, a bilingual battalion from Quebec City, and the Winnipeg Grenadiers Neither unit was adequately trained.

Hong Kong Battle of Hong Kong Video

Hong Kong This “battle” is also known as the Defense of Hong Kong and later the Fall of Hong Kong The two Canadian units left in October and arrived in Hong Kong on November 16, 1941. The Japanese attack began three weeks later. One day after the Japanese attack on the US at Pearl Harbor. Not even the best troops could have stopped the more numerous and better-prepared Japanese troops. The “best” troops were fighting in Europe.

Significance This is the only active warfare Canadians engaged in on the Pacific Theatre. Hong Kong surrendered on Christmas Day 1941, only two weeks later. Japan continued to occupy Hong Kong for almost four years until Japan surrendered at the end of the war (following the bombings on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August, 1945). Of the 1,975 Canadians, 290 were killed and 493 wounded. A further 260 died in the awful conditions of prison camps in Hong Kong and Japan

Results 2,000 Canadians troops went to Hong Kong. They expected little more than a guard duty They fought bravely against the overwhelming power of an invading Japanese force.  When the British colony surrendered on Christmas Day, 290 Canadians had been killed in the fighting. Another 264 would die over the next four years, amid the inhumane conditions of Japanese prisoner-of-war camps. When his headquarters was overrun on December 19, Company Sergeant Major John Osborn of the Grenadiers died when he threw himself on a Japanese hand grenade to save his comrades. His bravery was recognized with the Victoria Cross.

13,981 troops 1 destroyer 1 gunboat Results Strength 13,981 troops 1 destroyer 1 gunboat 29,700 troops 47 planes 1 cruiser 3 destroyers 4 torpedo boats 3 gunboats Casualties and losses 2,113 killed or missing 2,300 wounded 10,000 captured[a] 1 destroyer captured 1 gunboat sunk 675 killed 2,079 wounded[2]

POWs CBC POW Experience http://www.cbc.ca/news2/interactives/hong-kong-prisoners/

Japanese Internment Because of the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong, Japan was deemed an “enemy” of Canada. Japanese Canadians were removed from the West Coast as it was determined to be militarily necessary. Japanese Canadians posed no threat to our security but we would continue to intern them until 1949 This was another example of terrible injustice committed by Canadians during wartime.