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Part III-d
76. At 0135 hours the armoured cars of HKVDC at Wong Nei Chong Gap reported that they were in difficulties and had arranged for help from 2 Royal Scots, who had two companies in the close vicinity. In the meantime the Hong Kong Regt., HKSRA, reported that the enemy had Deen cleared from Wong Nei Chong Police Station.
At 0400 hours 20th December 2 Royal Scots estimated the enemy to be one battalion strong in the vicinity of Jardmes Lookout.
North of Wong Nei Chong Gap the situation was as before, viz., a company of 2/14 Punjab Regt. then " B " Company 5/7 Rajput Regt. then 1 Middlesex Regt. on Leighton Hill.
At 0715 hours the Officer Commanding the Winnipeg Grenadiers reported that he was withdrawing troops from the Mount Nicholson area, as two companies19 were distributed in many small units and needed reorganising for further employment, especially as they were much mixed up with 2 Royal Scots. He proposed to reorganise on the line held on the day before, viz , Middle Gap, thence South West to Cable Hill.
At 0745 hours it was learnt that the enemy had occupied the large garage at the Repulse Bay Hotel.
At 0800 hours 20th December the Royal Artillery reported two companies 2 Royal Scots digging in on North East slopes of Mount Nicholson.
The Commissioner of Police now reported that a part of enemy had discarded their uniform and had collected in houses in Happy Valley for, he thought, fifth column work. He proposed to round them up.
At about 1000 hours the Officer Commanding 1 Middlesex Regt. reported that the crews of pill boxes 12, 13, and 15, which had been withdrawn to stiffen up the landward defences, were opposing an enemy advance on to Bennets Hill and that the enemy on Brick Hill were moving on Aberdeen. He reported that all pill boxes from Deepwater Bay to Repulse Bay were intact. The Officer Commanding the Winnipeg Grenadiers was authorised to withdraw his platoon from Aberdeen Island to assist in the main defensive positions.
77. At about 1000 hours 20th December orders were issued to 2/14 Punjab Regt. to send a company (" A " Company) to operate through Aberdeen and along Island Road to clear the enemy (estimated at thirty strong) from the Repulse Bay Hotel garage and to relieve the personnel there.
78. Repulse Bay Hotel —At about 0930 hours Lt. Grounds, 1 Middlesex Regt., rang up on a civil telephone and reported that the Japanese had surrounded the Hotel. He was ordered to put the women and children on the lowest floor space and to make them lie down, to organise the defence himself and to take full charge with Lt. Tresidder, R.A.S.C , to assist With him were two or three Royal Navy personnel 20 , and his own Middlesex machine gunners Lt Grounds did excellently until he was unfortunately killed whilst organising an attack on the isolated Hotel garage with the object of driving out a strong enemy party and rescuing HKVDC officers and others imprisoned there The area round the Hotel was not finally cleared till the afternoon, " A " Company Royal Rifles of Canada having arrived from the direction of Stone Hill and co-operating in the action. The enemy lost one officer and 25 men killed.
At about 1100 hours 20th December a message was received that "A" Company 2/14 Punjab Regt. had reached Aberdeen and was moving towards Shouson Hill, but during the day they could make no progress, as the enemy were in strength around that position, and the company itself numbered under thirty.
79. At 1200 hours Fortress R.E. were reorganised into three sections—two covering Wanchai Gap, the third in reserve. They were ordered to support the Winnipeg Grenadiers in every way possible.
A Japanese monoplane flying over Stanley was hit, was obviously in trouble, lost height and was last seen low behind Lamma Island, and not re-appearing, may be presumed to be a casualty, giving a total of five enemy aircraft shot down during the battle.
80. At 1300 hours the Chinese crew deserted the A.A searchlight on Aberdeen Island. The five remaining British other ranks temporanly , joined the nearest infantry unit
81.—
(i) During the morning several eye witnesses stated that Chinese planes had bombed Kowloon.
(ii) Admiral Chan reported that General Yu Han Mou had wirelessed that 60,000 troops were at Sham Chun on the frontier and were about to attack.21
82 During the midday period 20th December the enemy continued pouring troops and material across the harbour in every type of craft The North Point area and other likely points were accordingly engaged by our artillery.
In the morning Colonel H. B. Rose, MC., Commanding HKVDC, was nominated as Commander West Brigade. Its role remained as heretofore—to clear the enemy from Wong Nei Chong Gap and to establish itself on the A.A. position on Stanley Gap high ground
1400-1500 hours. The enemy were active behind the Repulse Bay Hotel, at Shouson and Bennets Hill, and along the road between Tytam Reservoir and the Gauge Basin. An enemy battery and two platoons deployed near Stanley Mound.
During the day Brigadier Wallis from his HQ at Stone Hill was continuously forward along the Repulse Bay Road endeavouring with Lieut -Colonel W. J. Home to force a way either West via .Middle Spur or North via the gap to join up with the West Infantry Brigade It was not known till later that the attempts were unsuccessful owing to the strength of the enemy.
At about 1700 hours the enemy was reported to have surrounded the civilian food stores (Little Hong Kong) and to be attacking again at Wong Nei Oiong Gap, driving out a company of 2 Royal Scots and some Winnipeg Grenadiers. Some of the enemy moved up towards the high ground, Mount Nicholson.22
83. At about 1930 hours, 20th December, a counter attack, about which I had previously instructed Lieut.-Colonel J. L R. Sutcliffe and planned for 1900 hours, was launched by a company of Winnipeg Grenadiers from Wanchai Gap, via Blacks Link to achieve the objects set out in para. 82 above, and to collect considerable numbers of wounded known to be at Wong Nei Chong Gap. Artillery support had been arranged but nothing was achieved, nor was the preliminary clearing of Mount Nicholson effected.
84.
(a) Major C. Manners (retired R A.) telephoned at about 1900 hours from Repulse Bay Hotel reporting that Canadian troops had arrived.
(b) At 1930 hours East Infantry Brigade was ordered to hold Repulse Bay Hotel at all costs, and Major Young, Royal Rifles of Canada, the Company Commander there, was ordered direct from Fortress HQ to pay particular attention to strong patrolling that night. The company was 140 strong
85 At 2000 hours, 2oth December, the Senior Naval Officer Aberdeen reported that " A " Company 2/14 Punjab Regt. was still tied to the ground North of Brick Hill and that Major C R. Boxer had been wounded—making the third General Staff Officer wounded in that locality that day. It was apparent that there was little chance of getting through to Repulse Bay from the Aberdeen side. (It was afterwards established that " A " Company 2/14 Punjab Regt., only 25 strong, had tried every method of clearing the enemy from the strong pocket in which they were established with at least one machine gun and a light mortar.)
86 Serious fires were now reported in the Central District of Victoria and the Civil Fire Brigade asked for the assistance of troops which under the circumstances I was unable to provide.
87
(a) At 2230 hours I discussed the situation with Brigadier Wallis. A special reconnaissance patrol under Lieut. Bompas, R.A., had located two companies of enemy infantry working their way towards Repulse Bay Hotel, along the catchment from the East, during the afternoon. The road from Stanley to Repulse Bay was overlooked from the high ground Violet Hill and Middle Spur, with two hundred enemy in position, making the road unsafe. The Canadians could not get to Wong Nei Chong Gap by the routes tried this day. Brigadier Wallis considered the enemy to be in too great strength in the Hotel area to be turned out without proper artillery support, now a matter of great difficulty He believed the enemy were not so strong in the Gauge Basin area and that another plan should be tried, but it was pouring with rain, visibility very bad, the men tired out and they had had little food I ordered him
(i) to hold what he had got,
(ii) to press on to Wong Nei Chong Gap via Gauge Basin and
(iii) to use Bren carriers boldly in reconnaissance.
(b) By midnight 20th-21st December two 3-7-in. Howitzers had been positioned near Stanley Prison with an observation post on the hill behind, i.e., to the South. These, together with one 18 pounder from a Beach Defence role (which had to be man-handled and could only fire over open sights from road locations), were the only remaining field pieces in East Infantry Brigade Commander's hands.
(c) Later Commander East Infantry Brigade said that the earliest his attack could be staged was 0900 hours. Contributing factors were.—
(i) lack of transport and administrative facilities and
(ii) delay caused by a virtual breakdown of unit communications. He was unable to help in the last mentioned item, for the Brigade reserve of signals equipment had already been used to replace this unit's signal equipment, lost on the previous night's positions.
88 The company of 2 Royal Scots—see footnote to para. 82—was driven back in the early morning, exposing the flank of " B " Company 2/14 Punjab Regt.
89 Commander West Infantry Brigade arranged for a fresh attack at 0700 hours by the Winnipeg Grenadiers to recapture Wong Nei Chong Gap " C " Company of that regiment was in position at 0300 hours at Middle Gap, though they reported that they had encountered a party of enemy whilst moving up, and had suffered a few casualties. The attack did not succeed.
90 At about 0700 hours 21st December Major Manners (see para. 84 (a)) rang up again from Repulse Bay Hotel He said the defences appeared to be quite inadequate, and with the women and children in the Hotel helpless, he viewed the situation with extreme pessimism
At 0725 hours Major Young at Repulse Bay Hotel was ordered to organise two strong patrols, to reconnoitre Westwards from the Hotel and to clear up the situation at the junction of Island Road with the road to Hong Kong, where some troops who were coming down from " The Ridge " Advance Ordnance Depot had been ambushed over-night.
At 0800 hours a review of the situation was received from Lt. Tresidder at Repulse Bay Hotel: —
Enemy estimated 450 strong on Stanley Mound and over-looking Repulse Bay with H Q at Wong Nei Chong Gap: they had three machine guns and a heavy mortar they had British and Chinese prisoners with them some of the enemy were Koreans
91 At about 0600 hours 1 Middlesex Regt reported enemy attacking near pillbox 14 and on Brick Hill H.M.S " Cicala " (gunboat) was ordered to assist land operations in the Deepwater Bay area. Valuable close co-operation resulted.
This ship entered the bay and shelled enemy mortars and artillery, scoring hits. Unfortunately strong air action developed against her, and having been badly holed she withdrew and sank later in the Lamma channel.
92 Meanwhile (see para. 85) " A " Company of 2/14 Punjab Regt had still made no head way and I ordered a senior officer to be sent at once from the battalion in Victoria. Lt.- Colonel Kidd elected to go himself and collected a few naval ratings in Aberdeen en route, but he was most regrettably killed when putting his own men in to the attack on Shouson Hill in order to clear that area. The attack failed with twenty-one casualties (out of a strength of twenty-five).
At 0900 hours 21st December Major H. Marsh reported from his machine gun company H.Q. at Little Hong Kong that the enemy could be seen moving from Wong Nei Chong Gap along the crest of the hill westwards. That matters in that area had not progressed favourably was evident when at 1025 hours I learnt that out troops were being pushed back North of Blacks Link23 and Mount Cameron. The Winnipeg Grenadiers now in positions on Mount Cameron were ordered to hold on at all costs.
93 A second air raid on the Peak District developed at 0950 hours and a bomb of 500 Ibs. was dropped, amongst others, just below Jardines Corner, entirely blocking the road and cutting off communications with Volunteer HQ except by telephone, by which means the Observation Post Commander reported that forty steam launches in line, with steam up, were assembled two hundred yards off shore by Kai Tak aerodrome. Unfortunately, at this time Royal Artillery communications to observation posts were destroyed except the one to High West, and from this observation post the target was invisible.
94. At 1000 hours 21st December 2/34. Punjab Regt. in the Garden Road-Kennedy Road area were ordered to re-orientate themselves to face South East to cover a possible break through from the Wanchai Gap direction. - A section of machine guns was sent at once to connect up by fire with the Wanchai Gap dispositions, at which place were located the HQ of both West Infantry Brigade and the Winnipeg Grenadiers. At the same time all garrisons of 2/14 Punjab pillboxes on the North shore were to be withdrawn to Battalion HQ—I had now to take considerable risks on other portions of the island defences in view of the direct menace from the Mount Cameron area.
95. By 1100 hours the enemy had brought a heavy mortar into action just off King's Road near the Power Station, with which they bombarded the R.N. Yard. They also bombed Repulse Bay area and carried out a ground attack on the Little Hong Kong area from the direction of Aberdeen, thus threatening encirclement, at any rate temporarily, of that important area in which was located the new R.A.O.C. Magazine and the main bulk of the remaining ammunition stock. The enemy had landed some troops near Causeway Bay, and the housetops in that area were reported " crowded with them." At noon they were pressing down King's Road and had mounted a gun at No. 163. At this time all the guns, at the R.N. Yard were out of action, following a heavy bombardment.
96.
(a) At midday 21st December our " line " ran from Little Hong Kong area to the Southern slopes of Mount Cameron. In the former area were located two parties under Major H. Marsh,, i Middlesex Regt., and Major A. J. Dewar, R.A.S.C., respectively. Major Marsh had one officer (plus a R.A M.C. officer), eighteen other ranks i Middlesex Regt., five men of the Winnipeg Grenadiers and fourteen Chinese of the Medium Detachment of the HKVDC, and was located in the " Combined Company HQ " of the defence sub sector—one company of the Winnipeg Grenadiers havingbeen withdrawn for the Wong Nei Chong Gap counter attacks. Major A. J. Dewar, with twenty naval ratings, placed himself under the command of Major Marsh and was posted on the high ground (Shouson Hill private houses) covering the East flank. This " Island " of defence resisted all attacks from 20th December to the afternoon of 25th December and fought very gallantly, as did also a similar isolated detachment, viz , the administrative details on " The Ridge " under Lt.-Colonel R. A. P. , Macpherson.
(b) During the course of the morning I had issued instructions to withdraw the Middlesex machine guns from the pillboxes between Sandy Bay and Aberdeen, and to put them on a mobile basis as far as possible: a platoon at a time could be " ferried," even though the transport situation was acute. The South West sector of the island defence was therefore completely denuded,—another undesirable but necessary risk. A section of machine guns was now sent to supplement the defences in the Aberdeen- Bennets Hill area, under Commander H. C. Millet, R.N. (retd.). A platoon was also sent to the Officer Commanding 1 Middlesex Regt., for the Leighton Hill defences.
97.
(a) Mortaring of North shore defences continued at 1300 hours 21st December, and pill boxes were subjected to accurate high velocity shell fire from both Kowloon and positions on their flank on the island. Pill box 59, for instance received thirty direct hits, but the Middlesex sergeant in command personally upheld the defence, though withdrawing the crew temporarily.
(b) Enemy craft were still ferrying backwards and forwards between Kowloon and the Sugar Factory-North Point area.
(c) In the morning a motor torpedo boat had evacuated from Stanley the Commanding Officer of 5/7 Rajput Regt. and the remnants of his battle HQ, and he now took over command of the troops of 5/7 Rajput Regt. who were fighting alongside 1 Middlesex Regt.
98. HKVDC
(a) A report was received that No. 1 Company had had heavy casualties in the Stanley Mound area and had lost all their officers. The remains of the company had rallied at Stanley.
(b) The A.A. Lewis gun post of No. 6 Company (Portuguese) at " Watson's," Causeway Bay, reported that they had been captured by Japanese, disarmed, and told to make off towards our lines. They did so and rejoined for duty.
99. 1330 hours. A Japanese destroyer, escorting two merchant vessels, was sighted South of Cheung Chau Island, heading for Hong Kong.
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