It Happened Here: Battle of Hong Kong
On Christmas Day, 1941, white flags were flown. Eighteen days after the battle began, British colonial officials headed by the Governor of Hong Kong, Sir Mark Aitchison Young, surrendered at the Japanese headquarters on the third floor of The Peninsula hotel.
This marked the end of the Battle of Hong Kong, which began shortly after 8am on December 8, 1941, one day after the attack on Pearl Harbor. The Hong Kong raid was part of Japan’s broad designs on China and the South Pacific.
Back then, Hong Kong was protected by a garrison force comprised of British, Canadian and Indian soldiers. They were also supported by the Hong Kong Volunteer Defence Forces. However, the forces (14,000) were slim compared with Japan’s (52,000).
The Japanese achieved air superiority on the first day of battle, and on December 13, the last Commonwealth troops on Kowloon retreated to Hong Kong Island. Fierce and continuous fighting was pursued throughout the centre and eastern part of the island.
On Christmas Day at 6pm, General Maltby decided further resistance would entail the useless slaughter of his troops without affecting the inevitable outcome, despite cries from the governor to “hold fast for King and Empire”.
This day was thereafter often called “Black Christmas” by locals, and it began three years and eight months of Imperial Japanese administration.
Jinxin Ma
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