December 25th, 1941 - The Battle of Hong Kong

Conflict: World War II

Combatants: British vs. Japanese

Location: China

Outcome: Japanese victory

After retreating to Hong Kong Island in early December of 1941, the British 12,000 man garrison commanded by General C. M. Maltby was bombarded by the Japanese by land, air, and sea. On December 18th, the Japanese began amphibious landings. After a week of fighting, the British forces were hopelessly divided and out of drinking water. The remaining soldiers surrendered to the Japanese seven days later.

Japanese Army assault on Tsim Sha Tsui Station on 1941 from a Japanese Newspaper

Points of Interest:

• Mark Young, the British governor of Hong Kong, surrendered the city to the Japanese on Christmas Day.

• Eleven thousand British troops were taken prisoner.

C. M. Maltby by an unknown photographer

Mark Young in 1930s by an unknown photographer

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Sources:

Dupuy, Trevor N., Johnson, Curt, & Bongard, David L. (1992). The Harper's Encyclopedia of Military Biography. New York: Castle Books (HarperCollins).

Dupuy, R. Ernest & Dupuy, Trevor N. (1993). The Harper's Encyclopedia of Military History. New York: HarperCollins.

Eggenberger, David (1985). An Encyclopedia of Battles: Accounts of Over 1,560 Battles from 1479 B.C. to the Present. New York: Dover Publications, Inc.