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Canada decided to send troops in
The Canadian government agreed to send the Royal Rifles of Canada and the Winnepeg Grenadiers to the battle even though they werent considered fit for battle. -
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The Battle of Hong Kong
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Canadian Reinforcement
A Canadian brigade under the command of Brigadier John Lawson MC sailed from Vancouver, Canada to reinforce the garrison on Hong Kong. -
Canada arrived
Canadian forces arrived, and 22 days later the Japanese attacked the colony's New Territories on the mainland. -
Canada engaged in Battle
Canadian soldiers first engaged in battle while defending the British Crown Colony of Hong Kong against Japanese attack. -
The Battle of Hong Kong Begins
Japanese forces invaded the British colony of Hong Kong. At 8:00am, a Japanese aircraft attacked the Kai Tak airport and damaged/destroyed the few Royal Air Force aircrafts there. The nearly empty camp at Sham Shui Po was targeted next, two men of the Royal Canadian Signals were wounded. They were the first Canadian casualties in Hong Kong. -
British Gin Drinker's Line
Japanese troops breached a western segment of the British Gin Drinker's Line, which stretched from the Gin Drinker's Bay in the west to the White Sands Bay in the east. 27 prisoners were taken. -
Winnipeg Grenadier Company
The company of the Winnipeg Grenediers was dispatched to strengthen the remaining defenders on the mainland. -
Winnipeg Grenedier Company continued..
The Winnipeg Grenedier company exchanged fire with the enemy and became the first Canadian army unit to engage in combat in World War Two. During midday, General Maltby ordered mainland troops to withdraw, the Winnipeg Grenedier covered the withdraw to the Kowloon Peninsula. The excavation was successful and most of the Brigades heavy equipment was saved. -
Wong Nai Chung Gap
Japanese troops reached the Wong Nai Chung Gap in central Hong Kong island where they were captured by Canadian Soldiers. -
Wong Nai Chung Gap continued...
After holding off the Japanese troops at Wong Nai Chung Gap for a day, Canadian troops began falling back because they were suffering heavy casualties. -
Panic Builds at Wong Nai Chung Gap
While Canadian troops completed the withdraw from Wong Nai Chung Gap, order began to crumble as panic built up rapidly. The Rifles (Canadian troops) contacted a group of British soldiers only a few hundred yards from Wong Nai Chung Gap, holding position till the twenty second. -
Rejoining the Main Forces
The Rifles withdrew to the hotel which was ordered to be evacuated during the night. A plantoon of soldiers managed to slip through the enemys position and rejoin the main force at Stanley. The Japanese continued its constant attacks. -
Hospital invasion
The Japanese invaded a makeshift hospital in Hong Kong, bayoneting over 60 wounded Canadian soldiers and nurses. -
The End of the Battle of Hong Kong
Hong Kong surrendered. Canadians who survived would have had to endure three and a half years of hardships as prisoners of war. The fighting in Hong Kong ended with approximately 290 Canadians killed and 493 wounded. In all, more than 550 of the 1,975 Canadians who sailed from Vancouver in October 1941 never returned. -
March Through Victoria
General Takashi Sakai, commander of Hong Kong Operation, paraded through Victoria, Hong Kong with the troops of the Japanese 38th Infantry Division.
