Battle of Hong Kong

After annihilating the U.S. Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbour, the Japanese empirical army moved on the British colony of Hong Kong. On December 8th 1941, the invasion began.

The Japanese army came swift and solid, well supported from the air and reinforced from the mainland. The Winnipeg Grenadiers - among the first Canadian ground troops to see action in the Second World War - were dispatched to a series of defenses in the New Territories on the Chinese mainland. However, after being bombarded by heavy artillery and air attacks, the British were forced to evacuate its forces from the New Territories to their garrisons on the island of Hong Kong.

On the night of 18th, the Japanese army stormed its northern beaches with four separate amphibious forces. Even though they came ashore in the face of machine gun fire, they quickly took control of the three-kilometer-shoreline. From the beach they moved through the valleys to high ground, severing the British East and West Brigades into two. The Royal Rifles - another Canadian contingent - were the first to engage the enemy in efforts of pushing them back.  But the large, efficient night-fighting Japanese army soon overwhelmed Canadian and British soldiers and the crown colony of Hong Kong was surrendered.

The battle of Hong Kong ended with immense Canadian casualties as the death and suffering didn't end with surrender. Hundreds of soldiers were killed in action, and hundreds more were captured, and taken to POW camps, left to die in the worst conditions. On December 24th the Japanese overran a makeshift hospital, beating and killing the nurses and the injured men in their beds. While the final death toll was 554, only 290 died in action, while the other 264 died horrible deaths at the hands of the Japanese.