The Fall of Kowloon: December 13, 1941.

Memories of the day Kowloon fell, as described in my book chapter one “Song of the Azalea”, seem like yesterday. It began at eight o’clock December 8, 1941. The Japanese bombed Kai Tak Airport in Kowloon and ended on the 13^th of December with the British troops withdrew across Victory Harbour back to Hong Kong island. The Japanese took full control of Kowloon in the afternoon of December 13, 1941 in just six days.

We had gone through hell as bombs were raining from the sky, cannon shells were flying over from somewhere at the back of our building. These explosions shook the earth, trembled buildings, and shuddered window glasses. The sound of crying and screaming made us feel as if the world was coming to an end. This was followed by nights of looting and killing, and soon Kowloon fell into anarchy.

Surprisingly, Japanese troops marched into the Kowloon encountering no resistance. After the British troops retreated back to Hong Kong Island, “Friends of Victory” didn’t put up any resistance as they shouted loudly “To protect Chinese compatriot” when they pried the doors open of Kowloon residents and asked for support.

A few paragraphs were described vividly in the book “The Fall of Hong Kong.”

THE FALL OF HONG KONG: Britain, China and the Japanese Occupation by Philip Snow

An interesting history book detailing and documenting the period of the era of WWII Hong Kong. Included in the book are detailed maps of Hong Kong Island, Victoria Harbour, Kowloon, the New Territories, and many historical photos. It is of great value for the Chinese and students who study Hong Kong, Chinese history and the war in the Pacific theatre. I would highly recommend this book and would like to quote some of the informative facts.

On page 40 “By December artillery intended for the invasion is said to have been ready and waiting in Hong Kong territory, camouflaged in the bunkers of the Japanese golf course at Shatin and hidden inside the godown (warehouse) of Japanese companies on the Kowloon Wharves. “

“Thick cement blocks had been built for artillery support on the water front directly facing Hong Kong Island inside the warehouse where Japanese companies rented the spaces in the early years before the war.”

On page 55 “In the meantime the British troops at the front had begun to find their operations impeded by acts of deliberate sabotage…

On 9 December – twelve hours before Colonel Doi sprang his assault – the Royal Scots officer in charge of the Shingmun Redoubt reported the ‘Japanese in civilian clothing’ had spend the night cutting his barbed wire and telephone lines. The fifth column which had been so painstakingly nurtured by the Japanese Army’s subversion team was showings its hand. Triad members and Wang Jingwei partisans began to guide the invaders along the precipitous mountain paths of the New Territories…”

On page 56-57 “At different points in Kowloon British police cars and ambulances had to battle their way through crowds of hundreds or even thousands of armed and hostile Chinese. The crowds shot and stabbed, burned and rioted and above all they plundered; witnesses spoke of gangs emptying the contents of shops into lorries as though moving house, of the ‘the roar of the lootings in Nathan Road’. And this was no random epidemic of burglary, but a carefully organized operation designed to maximize the chaos. The looters had been deployed by the largest Triad faction, the Wing On Lok. They wore white identity armbands and issued safe conducts, when it pleased them, to favoured Chinese citizens. They proclaimed their political allegiance by yelling ‘Victory! Victory!’ (A slogan which earned them the nickname of the Victory Fellows.)”

That was when my mother paid the Victory Fellows fifty dollars and asked them to issue some kind of proof that we had supported them. They finally sent two members of the Victory Fellows on guard for us on the night of 12^th of December.

The Gin Drinkers’ Line—a defensive line was built in 1936 linking several peaks of New Kowloon and New Territories. In a documentary film recently shown on TV, a Hong Kong Chinese veteran indicated that there were Japanese collaborators in the labour teams when the British refurbished Gin Drinkers’ Line before the invasion.

It was clear that the fifth column was planted by the Japanese, together with the groups of local gang— the Triad, and the Wing On Lok created the horrible nights.

Another fact was written by Kenneth Cambon, M.D. in his book “Guest of Hirohito.”

“Once the mainland (Kowloon) had been completely evacuated, the artillery bombardment intensified, as did the bombing and strafing from the air. It was later revealed that the enemy was able to place the heavy artillery in position so quickly, because before the war, Japanese business men had prepared concrete placements in their warehouses in Kowloon.”

Mr. Kenneth Cambon at age 17 Canadian Rifleman was sent to defend Hong Kong in 1941. Click Here for Full Text and Photos from Guest of Hirohito

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