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Agreement for Help
The Canadian government agreed to send the Royal Rifles of Canada and the Winnipeg Grenadiers to Hong Kong, although they were not considered fit for action. -
Preparing for Battle
The Royal Rifles of Canada and The Winnipeg Grenadiers sailed from Vancouver toward Hong Kong on October 27, 1941. These Canadian units had not received training as front-line troops. However, war with Japan was not considered pending and it was believed that they were travelling to Hong Kong for garrison duty. -
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Duration of the Battle
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The Arrival
They arrived in Hong Kong. Their arrival occured twenty-two days after the Japanese attacked the colony's New Territories on the mainland. -
Japan Begins to Battle
Japan enters the war with a series of effective offensives in Asia and across the Pacific Ocean. -
The Japanese Attack
The day after the Japanese Air Force had devastated the U.S. Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbour, the Japanese Empire launched an attack on the Britsh Crown Colony of Hong Kong. -
Later That Day..
On December 8, at 8 a.m., Japanese aircraft attacked the Kai Tak airport and easily damaged or destroyed the few aircraft of the Royal Air Force. The nearly-empty camp at Sham Shui Po was the next target, where two men of the Royal Canadian Signals were wounded. They were the first Canadian casualties in Hong Kong. -
Canada Begins to Battle
On December 11, the D Company of the Winnipeg Granadiers exchanged gunfire with the enemy and became the first Canadian unit to engage in combat in the WWII. Midday on December 11, the mainland troops were ordered to withdraw from the mainland. The Winnipeg Grenadiers covered the withdrawal down the Kowloon Peninsula. The Punjabs moved at night and the Rajputs followed from Devil's Peak. The evacuation was successful and most of the heavy equipment was saved. -
Canada Refueses to Give Up
The Japanese demanded that the British and Canadian Forces surrender at Hong Kong. They were categorically rejected. -
A Surprise Attack
Brigadier Wallis of Canada's East Brigade visited India's headquarters, and assured military personnel that Japan would not attack.
An invasion came that night. The enemy launched four separate aassaults across a 3 Km. front on the northern beaches of Hong Kong. They came ashore in the face of machine-gun fire from soldiers of the East Brigade (Rajput, Canada, Britan) who were manning the pillboxes. -
The Invasion Continued
By night, a new defensive line was established from Palm Villa to Stanley Mound, and a brigade headquarters was set up at Stone Hill. Sadly, valuable mobile artillery was destroyed during the withdrawal.Vital communications were severed between the East and West Brigades when the advancing Japanese reached the sea at Repulse Bay. -
A Night At War
By early morning, the Japanese had reached as far as the Wong Nei Chong and Tai Tam Gaps.Japan attempted a thrust along the shore of Repulse Bay in the hope of reaching Wong Nei Chong Gap, where theWest Brigade was. The Allies drove the enemy out of an area around the Repulse Bay Hotel. They could not dislodge the Japanese from the surrounding hill positions and were forced to withdraw. -
Fighting A Losing Battle
At noon, the Japanese took Sugar Loaf Hill, but members of the Royal Rifles' "C" Company went forward. By dusk, they had recaptured the hill. Another Allied unit was driven from Stanley Mound. -
The Beginning of the End
This evening, orders were given for a withdrawal of Stanley Peninsula. The exhausted Royal Rifles were taken to Stanley Fort, down the peninsula, for a rest. They were soon recalled for action as the Japanese made advances which the available troops could not control. -
Christmas Eve
Japanese forces overran a makeshift Allied hospital in Hong Kong. They assaulted and murdered nurses, and bayonetted wounded Canadian soldiers in their beds. -
Christmas Day
The Royal Rifles returned to battle. Brigadier Wallis ordered a counter-attack to regain the land they lost the night before. D Company was successful in this mission but suffered heavy casualties. -
The Bitter End
At 3:15 p.m. General Maltby advised the Governor that further resistance was futile. TSurrender was declared. After seventeen and a half days of fighting, the defence of Hong Kong was over. The men who survived would have to endure three and a half years of hardships as prisoners of war.
