The battle of Hong Kong 1941 (Part 1).
Chris Green is The History Chap; telling stories that brings the past to life.
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https://www.thehistorychap.com/NewsletterThe battle for Hong Kong fought between the 8th and 25th December 1941, is overshadowed by the British defeat at Singapore and thus is often a forgotten chapter in World War 2.
And yet, the British, Indian, and Canadian troops plus local volunteers who fought a grim and bitter battle against a Japanese enemy that outnumbered them is one that should be told and remembered.
It is the story of the Gin Drinkers defensive line, a Dunkirk-style evacuation, a massacre at a field hospital on Christmas Day, a desperate escape to freedom led by a one legged Chinese admiral, the first Canadian Victoria Cross of the war, and a loyal dog who would receive the animal version of the Victoria Cross.
In fact it is such a fascinating story that I have broken it into two episodes.
This is episode one.
In December 1941, Hong Kong faced impossible odds. Churchill had already written off the colony as an "outpost" — to be held for prestige alone, with no hope of relief or reinforcement.
General Maltby commanded a garrison of just 14,000 men against 50,000 Japanese troops of the 38th Division. His forces included the 2nd Royal Scots, 1st Middlesex, 5th/7th Rajputs, 2nd/14th Punjabis, and two inexperienced Canadian battalions — the Winnipeg Grenadiers and Royal Rifles of Canada — who had arrived just three weeks before the attack. The Hong Kong Volunteer Defence Corps, part-time soldiers with veterans stretching back to the Boer War, would fight alongside them.
Maltby's defence rested on the Gin Drinkers Line, optimistically dubbed the "Oriental Maginot Line." It was nothing of the sort. The Shing Mun Redoubt, designed for 120 defenders, was held by just 43 Royal Scots when the Japanese attacked on 9 December. Expected to hold for a week, it fell in twelve hours.
What followed was a desperate fighting retreat. As Royal Engineers demolished military installations and scuttled HMS Tamar in the harbour, the garrison fell back through Kowloon. The Star Ferry became an unlikely evacuation fleet, carrying the last Punjab rearguards to Hong Kong Island in the early hours of 13 December.
The mainland had fallen in just five days. Now Maltby's battered force faced the next phase — the defence of the island itself.
Chapters:
0:00 Introduction
1:59 Alliance Gone Sour
2:48 Japanese Expansion
3:26Hong Kong: A Lost Cause
4:56 Gin Drinkers Line
6:45 Brooke-Popham
8:01 Canadian Reinforcements
10:15 Maj. General Maltby
11:54 Japanese Plans
13:24 The British Defenders
17:28 War is Coming
19:15 Invasion
21:18 Sing Mun Redoubt
23:13 Japanese Breakthrough
25:05 End of an Era
26:02 Evacuation
27:00 What Next?
#britishhistory #militaryhistory #hongkong1941
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https://bit.ly/37IUfkHhttps://www.youtube.com/c/TheHistoryChapMy name is Chris Green and I love to share stories from British history. Not just because they are interesting but because, good or bad, they have shaped the world we live in today.
History should not be stuffy or a long list of dates or kings & queens.
So rather than lectures or Youtube animations, I tell stories that bring the past to life.
My aim is to be chat as if I were having a coffee or meal with you. Jean in Maryland, USA recently wrote: "Chris, is the history teacher I wish I had at school!"
Just for the record, I do have a history degree in Medieval & Modern history from the University of Birmingham and am a member of the Royal Historical Society.
I am also a member of the Victorian Military Society, the Anglo Zulu War Society and the Military Historical Society.
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