A
Hail of Bullets ...
Sgt. Manchester wrote:
"We were struggling to keep the high ground. On December 22 we
were hard pressed. A Japanese machine-gun was over on top of a
hill... He opened up again and just at that time I got smacked in
the arm, the the marks on my forearm are still here. There are four
holes that went through at that point."
December
21...Churchill's Message to the Troops in Hong Kong:
"There must be no thought of surrender. Every part of the island must
be fought for and the enemy resisted with the greatest stubbornness. The
enemy should be compelled to expend the utmost life and equipment. There
must be vigorous fighting in the inner defenses and, if need be, from
house to house. Every day you maintain your resistance you help the allied
cause all over the world, and by prolonged resistance, you and your men
can win the lasting honour which we are sure will be your due."
By nightfall of December 21st, the garrison troops were exhausted, having
fought non-stop for four days with little food and less rest. All attempts
to push the Japanese back to the North were withering in the face of
almost maniacal attacks pressed by the Japanese.
A group of volunteers from "C" Coy of the Grenadiers mounted a
counter-attack on Sugar Loaf and Stanley Mound. By nightfall of the 22nd,
they had retaken the hills. However, they were quickly running out of food
and ammunition. No more than one hundred Grenadiers held out against two
Japanese regiments and controlled Sugar Loaf Hill and Stanley Mount until
the next day.
They had kept the North/South road out of the Japanese hands for three
days. They were totally exhausted and on the night of December 22/23,
"D" Coy of the Grenadiers were out of ammunition, out of food,
out of water, and almost out of time. The remaining survivors were still
fighting from a bunker when the Japanese blew the steel doors off the
shelter and charged to find 37 wounded Grenadiers. The Grenadiers
had fought until they had nothing left to fight with. They lay down their
weapons and "D" Company's valiant struggle came to an end. They
joined "A" Company of the Grenadiers as prisoners of war.
The Japanese were incredulous
to find just 37 men. They had thrown hundreds of troops into the
fight. They had lost hundreds. They could not believe that so
few had held off so many for so long. The Grenadiers were able to
take some satisfaction from the fact that the commander of the Japanese
troops was forced to make a public apology to his superiors after the
Battle.
December 23...The
End Draws ever Closer:
On December 23, the Royal
Rifles of Canada found the situation pretty much unchanged. That is
to say that the fighting was continuous, furious and bloody. Things were
so fluid that Maltby was unable to set up a coherent counter-attack or, to
that point, a single strong defensive position.
He was forced to stamp out brush fires wherever they sprang up and they
sprang up everywhere. Troops were sent climbing all over the rugged
terrain, as orders were issued then cancelled before they could be carried
out.
This accomplished little and
bewildered and exhausted the troops. The Japanese had managed to push
farther onto the island and were approaching its centre, close to West
Brigade Headquarters at Wong Nei Gap. The situation was going to go
from grim to gruesome. During the night, the Japanese had landed
even more troops and they launched a new murderous attack. Since early
that morning, the Royal Rifles and the Grenadiers had managed to stave off
further advances. Confusion reigned. The Grenadiers, thinking that
Stanley Mound had been taken by the Japanese, machine-gunned the
position. They unfortunately fired on "D" Company of the
Royal Rifles who were dug in on the Mound.
The defenders' casualties were mounting. So many officers had been killed
that NCO's were in charge of many of the survivors. Maltby's
situation was grim. They were surrounded by water on three sides.
Both the enemy and the defenders were able to concentrate all their fire
power on the narrow battle line. Though it was clear that any
fighting would be fierce, and the end was near for the defenders, backs to
the sea they fought on.
A Communiqué
Issued from Hong Kong at 3:00 PM< December 24:
"Minor patrol encounters
ended in our favour. Our position on Mount Cameron is being
maintained. Naval oil fuel tanks in enemy hands at Kowloon have been
set ablaze and are still burning."
The
Grenadiers' Last Stand:
The remaining troops in the West Brigade consisted of the Royal Scots, The
Middlesex Regiment, the Indian Punjab troops and the remainder of the
Winnipeg Grenadiers. For the Grenadiers there was one more battle to
fight. The Grenadiers did indeed hold Mount Cameron, but only by
their fingernails. They had been dive-bombed and under mortar attack
all night long on December 22/23. That night the Grenadiers were
pushed off Mount Cameron as the Japanese attacked in force.
The Royal Scots were on Mount Comeron's western slopes, and the Grenadiers
on the East side of the mount. They were vastly outnumbered.
Down to just a few rounds of ammunition per man, they still managed to
maintain their positions. After an attack on Bennet's Hill which
gained back some ground, a truce was called. After three and a
half hours, the truce ended and the Japanese attacked for the last time,
overran the West Brigade and the war was over for them. The Winnipeg
Grenadiers had lost 130 brave men in the battle.
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